About Family Fun Night Programs

These parent and child programs were designed to be used by professionals who are training parents or caregivers to support young children’s literacy learning. Children and their families will enjoy the activities as well as the variety of take-homes for extending learning into their homes. The programs contain these three separate components:

1. Early Childhood Education activities,
2. Parenting Education activities
3. Interactive Literacy activities for parents and children to do together.

Program Characteristics

• Objectives-based instructional plans
• Evidence-based instructional strategies
• Centered on a children’s book (copies of the books should be provided for each family, to borrow or to keep).
• Variety of fun, hands-on activities for parents and children.
• Detailed lesson plans, reproducible materials and additional resources.

Other Program Particulars

• Program length is about one hour and fifteen minutes.
• Programs are suitable for use in libraries, schools, childcare centers, and family literacy programs.
• Format involves beginning with separate programs for children and parents, followed by joint parent-child activities during the second part of the program.
• Two leaders are needed: one to work with the children, and one to work with the families.
• Likewise, two spaces are required. Separate spaces for adults and children are needed during the first part of the programs, and a large enough space for children to join their parents is required for the second part of the programs.