Reading on Purpose with The Book Vine for Children

Building literacy skills and encouraging a love of reading is a core component of curriculum in all CV classrooms. Children’s literature and stories play a very important role in child development. They guide children towards exploring themselves and the world, and they convey important values such as friendship, empathy and courage. 

An exciting initiative that Children’s Village has been participating in this year, thanks to a partnership with The Book Vine For Children is a national educator training opportunity called “Reading on Purpose.” Each month, a CV Lead Teacher or Education Staff member has been co-facilitating an online learning session about how they use books to encourage creativity, model healthy expression of emotions, and inspire active engagement from students.

Participants from across the U.S. benefit from an interactive and collaborative learning environment where they can hear about new books and gain ideas for classroom use.

President of the Book Vine, Amy Vandament, was emboldened to start Reading on Purpose when she noticed two coinciding trends in early childhood spaces: seasoned teachers who had a deep understanding of children's literature retiring and a declining emphasis on children's literature in education coursework, leading to a gap in new teachers' knowledge. “I wanted Reading on Purpose to be a forum where teachers could get literary support for their classrooms. It's really about helping teachers understand why a book is useful and how to use it,” shared Amy.

Amy expressed how partnering with Children’s Village has allowed Reading on Purpose to reach a larger and more diverse audience. Shoutout to our superstar educators Larry Everett, Noelle Woytko, Marie Marks, and Adrianna Estrella-Perez for bringing amazing energy to these sessions!

At Children’s Village, we understand that building a strong foundation for early literacy in the infant, toddler, and preschool classrooms sets our students up for success in school and in life. We also understand that our teachers are integral to building that strong foundation, which is why we are so passionate about equipping teachers with literacy teaching strategies. In addition to co-hosting, we also encourage many of our own teachers to attend Reading on Purpose and compensate them financially and in credit for their participation.

Thank you so much to Amy and the Book Vine for this incredible opportunity and partnership!