1. Family Literacy Involvement Program (FLIP): Parents helping their children learn to love reading. A collaborative research study by the Children’s Museum of Houston & The UT Children’s Learning Institute

2. What is FLIP? 201 Bilingual Kits Infant – 3 rd grade 5 age categories Kits = –Book –Activity Card –All Materials

3. Where is FLIP? Children’s Museum of Houston 34 Houston Public Libraries 10 other cities and more to come… FLIP was: developed through partial funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, led by the Children’s Museum of Houston, in partnership with CLI, Houston Public Library and others.

4. Study Goal: Look for evidence of impact of FLIP kits on parents and children

5. Study Design Children ages 3-6 yrs and their parents. Divided into Preschool and K-1 age groups. Random assignment within age group to “Kits” (Target) group or “Books Only” (Control) group. Pre- and post- assessments.

6. Study Protocol 10 week intervention. Families borrowed 10 books or kits across study period. Families in books and kits groups received same books.

7. Child Measures Interview (favorite activities, home reading practices, enjoyment of books/reading, favorite books) 4 Knowledge Tests (books & text, letters, vocabulary, math)

8. Parent Measures Interview (home literacy practices, favorite family activities, perceived value of reading with children, enjoyment of books/kits and related changes) Surveys of individual books/kits (frequency, enjoyment, observations about child, rating of kit, value to family/child)

9. Sample 131 = families took the pre-test: Preschool = 66; K-1 = 65 93 = families (71% of pre-test) completed the post-test.* Required to complete 6 of 10 books or kits to participate in post-test. 73% completed all books/kits.

10. Sample Characteristics Child’s Race/Ethnicity * 60% White 31.5% Hispanic/Latino (separate from race item) 18.5% Asian 16% African-American 5.4% Mixed * Families needed to complete study in English.

11. Sample Characteristics 5% Doctorate degree 29% Master’s degree 36% Bachelor’s degree 14% Some college coursework 5% High school diploma ---------------------------------------------------------------- 84% married 9% never married 6.5% separated or divorced

12. No statistical significance between group differences on: any standardized test scores of children’s skills** child-reported home literacy practices ** To change standardized test scores for children, a more intensive and longer-term intervention is likely to be needed.

14. Examples: An area of interest of which parent was previously unaware “ His interest about the doctor’s job” “ He was curious about color mixes” “She really enjoyed being creative with drawing and stickers” “His joy of searching for pictures” “He enjoys learning” “The different countries she would travel to” “He likes to point at the picture and try to describe what the picture is.” “He likes stories with babies.” “He likes new strange words.”

15. A skill of which parent was previously unaware “My son knew about different transportation vehicles” “That he knew yellow and red made orange” “His adding and subtracting ability” “His understanding of hurt feelings” “She is able to match like colors using the cards and the book” “She has great sorting abilities!” “How quickly my 4-year-old can find small details in a picture” “Great ability to count but misses 15” Examples:

17. Types of Changes Anticipated Reading more, making more time in schedule for regular reading. Making the reading process more interactive. Asking more creative questions during reading. Taking the child to the library more often. Doing more hands-on activities related to books. Paying more attention to child’s individual skills, interests, and abilities. Incorporating more ideas and discussion related to the book, relating the book to child’s own life experiences and home environment.

18. Types of Changes Anticipated Broadening the range/variety of types of books to read with the child. Some parents noted that they were introduced to many books that they had not seen before and might not have known their child would enjoy. Focusing less on teaching during reading and more on having fun with child around books, to enjoy the process more. Getting FLIP kits from the library! “Try to make the book come to life”. Getting new books more often. Spending more one-on-one time with each child.

19. Implications FLIP kits (including activity and interactive suggestions) appear to positively impact interactions between parents and children around reading:  makes book-sharing more interactive,  opens dialogue between parent and child,  provides opportunities for child to demonstrate skills and interests,  stimulates creative thinking for parent as well as child,  provides positive, fun literacy-related experiences through extender activities.

20. Thank you! Susan Landry, Ph.D. (Research PI) Children’s Learning Institute For more info: FLIPKits.org Cheryl McCallum, Ed.D. (Project PI) Children’s Museum of Houston cmccallum@cmhouston.org