Grand Island, Neb. — The Grand Island Public Library is partnering with Humanities Nebraska to bring bilingual Prime Time Family Reading to local families once again this spring.
Prime Time is a family literacy program that helps strengthen participants’ interest and skills in reading and talking about books. A definitive 10-year analysis published by the creators of Prime Time Family Reading found that children who attended Prime Time outperformed their peers on standardized tests from elementary through high school.
There will be two concurrent Prime Time programs at the library this fall:
Preschool Prime Time (Kids ages 3-5 & families)
Saturdays – 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
March 8 – April 12
Elementary Prime Time (Kids ages 6-10 & families)
Mondays: 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
March 3 – April 7
Space is limited and registration is required. Interested families may visit or call the Library at (308) 385-5333 to register before the first program session on March 3 (Elementary) or March 8 (Preschool). Registration is free and open to all families thanks to generous statewide sponsors including the State of Nebraska, Nebraska Cultural Endowment, National Endowment for the Humanities, the Sherwood Foundation, Humanities Nebraska, the Rogers Foundation, and an anonymous donor. Grand Island Prime Time is also funded by the Grand Island Public Library.
Childcare is provided for younger siblings ages 3-5 at the Monday night elementary-aged program. Each weekly session begins with a family meal, followed by storytelling and discussion based on award-winning children’s books in both English and Spanish that have been sent home the previous week.
Since 2002, more than 21,000 Nebraskans have participated in one or more of the 500 bilingual and English-only Prime Time Family Reading and Prime Time Preschool series held in 19 communities throughout the state.
Teachers who are interested in recommending families for Prime Time or families interested in taking part should contact the Grand Island Public Library and ask to speak with Youth & Family Services Librarian Laura Fentress at (308) 385-5333. For more information about Prime Time, visit the Humanities Nebraska web site, www.HumanitiesNebraska.org, and select “Prime Time” from the programs list.
The Grand Island Public Library serves both residents of the City of Grand Island and Hall County. Anyone who lives in or owns property anywhere within Hall County may apply for a library card at no cost. Keep up to date with all library happenings online at https://www.gilibrary.org, Facebook and Instagram. You can also access your library account, search the catalog, and discover our digital collections at https://gilibrary.tlcdelivers.com or download the Grand Island Public Library app on your mobile device.