May 15, 2019

We’ve all heard the term “April Showers Bring May Flowers.” At Raising A Reader, the month of May not only brings flowers, it brings Blue Bag Events, end-of-year celebrations, evaluations and a time for reflecting on the successes of the program year. In this month’s  BookMark  we are excited to share with you highlights of Blue Bag Events, end-of-the-year appreciation activities and other ways that you can recognize your children and families for the habits they have created with Raising A Reader, including celebrating our 20th  Anniversary!    

Want to see your program highlighted? Simply submit your ideas, photos or resources to  rarinquiry@raisingareader.org  at any time!      

Happy Book Cuddling,    

Your Raising A Reader National Office Team  

Affiliate Spotlight

James Madison Elementary  

James Madison Elementary in Santa Ana, CA, pulled out all the stops when planning an appreciation event for their funder, the Masons of California. Last year Madison was awarded a grant to bring RAR to their TK and Kinder classrooms. The Masons were treated to a musical performance from the Lion King, some wonderful singing, and the presentation of an enlarged photo of the RAR program in action. Parents made “RAR-themed” popsicles and cupcakes to add to the celebration. It was an outstanding example of collaboration between dedicated school employees, involved parents and generous community partners. Raising A Reader works best when everyone is involved!

Blue Bag Season

School’s Almost Over, That Means….

It’s Blue Library Bag season and time to celebrate children and families for the wonderful shared reading habits that they have developed and practiced over the course of the year. More importantly, the Blue Library Bag serves as a bridge for families to connect with their local or school libraries in order to maintain the habits that you have helped to foster with each rotation of the Red Book Bag. Featured below are tools from our Online Affiliate Network that will help!

Blue Bag End of The Year Ideas
Building Strong Library Connections for Children and Families Webinar
End of the Year Certificate
Meaningful Library Connection  Webinar

As you wrap up your RAR program year, it would also be worthwhile to start planning your implementation for the next year! Start thinking about what you would do differently to improve your program in the Fall! To help you get started, click here to access the RAR Implementation Plan document. From there you can find other resources on the Online Affiliate Network to help you plan for next term.

Raising A Reader Celebrates 20 Years!

Calling All Great Raising A Reader Stories!

In celebration of Raising A Reader’s 20th    Anniversary, we are collecting great stories that illustrate the impact the program has had on  all of  our stakeholders. These stories will be shared publicly to help spread the word about how RAR is helping children to succeed in life. We are looking for stories from and/or about parents, children in the program (current and past), school districts, Affiliates, donors, supporters, sponsors, teachers and implementers.
The deadline for submitting your great stories is  6:00 pm PST, June 7, 2019. If you have one to tell (and we are sure that you do), please go  online to submit. You can find all the information on this call for great stories  on our website    including the incentive for the first 20 submissions!  

Let Us Know About Your Upcoming Community Events

If you have any literacy-related event   planned, please let us know. We may be able to partner with you to increase the visibility of the event and tie it into our 20th Anniversary Celebration.
If you have any questions or want to discuss your public relations needs or plans with us, please do not hesitate to call us or reach us at  20Years@raisingareader.org.

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