At the end of the year, we like to take a look back at some of our favorite articles we posted on the blog. Don't miss our top 10 posts from 2020 and leave a comment to let us know your fave!

1. Free Kids’ Learning Activities & Educational Resources
   This one-stop-shop contains loads of free ideas to promote literacy, encourage exploration nearby, and spark a lifelong love of learning. Check it out to discover whimsical ideas such as free children’s story audio books, virtual field trips and book clubs, free coloring pages, and reading & comprehension activities.
   
2. 10 Ways to Help Kids Read More Books in the New Year  
   Studies suggest that making learning fun and engaging can lead to a genuine curiosity and enjoyment of different subjects, especially reading. This blog post lists ten creative ways to help kids read more - don't miss it!
   
3. 35 Things Kids Can Read That Aren’t Books
   Do you know a reluctant reader? Sometimes reading books or homework passages simply doesn't inspire a love of reading at a young age, and that's okay. There are tons of things for children to practice reading that aren't books. Check out our blog article for 35 great ideas.
   
4. StoryLane - Community and Family Literacy Activity
   StoryLane is part scavenger hunt, part storytime, and entirely awesome. A great activity for families who are socially-distancing, StoryLane promotes family fun, literacy, and a way for neighbors to come together for a great cause! Read about StoryLane in Asheville and how your community can create your own over in our blog post.
   
5. Read Aloud Tips for Young Readers (And Their Parents)
   Research suggests that reading aloud is an excellent way to practice and promote reading abilities in children. There are many evidence-based methods for reading out loud that have been shown to improve literacy achievement. Read the blog post to learn what they are!
   
6. 15 Fun Ways to Weave Reading Into Family Time
   Who knew that activities like baking, cooking, board games, scavenger hunts, and chore charts could be fun ways to encourage your child to read more? It's easy to weave more reading into family time without your kids even knowing they're doing it! Read our blog post to learn more.
   
7. Vocabulary Jar - Fun Family Literacy Idea
   The Vocabulary Jar is one of our absolute favorite family-based literacy activities–easy to make and a fun tradition to build on at home. A Vocabulary Jar turns the chore of attaining new words and definitions into a fun family game - and can even become competitive. Check out the blog post for more information.
   
8. 10 Ways to Celebrate National Family Literacy Month
   While November is National Family Literacy Month, these 10 ideas can be used to encourage reading and family literacy all year long. Discover some of our favorite celebratory ideas, including the Thanksgiving Cafe (which can be modified for other dinner parties), starting a Little Free Library, and reading to senior citizens.
   
9. 5 Multisensory Ways to Teach Sight/Trick Words
   Sight words are frequently-used words that cannot be decoded and are often difficult for beginning readers to sound out; for example, “said,” “you,” and “make." Check out our blog post to discover five fun ways for children to learn sight words using multiple senses!
   
10. Get to Know R2S Executive Director, Jamie Creola
    Take a few minutes to enjoy learning about our new Executive Director, Jamie Creola, with our fun (literary) interview questions.
    

Stay tuned in 2021 for more fun, creative, and effective family literacy ideas on the R2S blog!

The incredible challenges of 2020 have shown our entire community just how resilient, compassionate, and forward-thinking we are. Read to Succeed volunteers and supporters are no exception.

When the pandemic struck and schools closed, our volunteers were unable to continue serving the 200+ students with whom we worked in-person across 11 elementary schools. We quickly had to adapt our programming and find a way to reach families, support teachers, and keep advocating for literacy in our WNC community.

Over the past eight months, R2S has invested significant time and resources in transforming our delivery of services. In addition to creating interactive online training courses for our volunteers, we also fully adapted our reading tutoring program to an online format.

Now, when 2nd-grader Amani meets with her tutor Bob, they do so over video conference. Amani in her home on her laptop, and Bob in his home on his computer - reading, connecting, and practicing core literacy skills.

We know that R2S students have not received the support they deserve this year. The pandemic has widened an already-existing opportunity gap between Black and white students in Asheville City and Buncombe County Schools. Lack of access to learning resources, one-to-one support, and in-class instruction leaves students further and further behind.

Bottom line: THE TIME TO STEP UP IS NOW. Your partnership makes our work possible. Will you help us reach our fundraising goal of $25,000 by December 31st, 2020? Click the button below to donate securely online.

Or mail a check made out to Read to Succeed Asheville/Buncombe to:
 
Read to Succeed
PO Box 18652
Asheville, NC 28814
 
Despite the challenges of this year, we have emerged on the other side of 2020 with a renewed sense of purpose and an impassioned commitment to advocating for early literacy. Your dedication to our community’s children energizes us. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your continued support of Read to Succeed!