Westminster Park’s iRead Program Assists Children with Development of Reading Skills

Earlier this month, London’s Westminster Park Community Church began another session of their literacy program, iRead. The program has been running for one year with great success with the children involved.  At present there are 10 children that attend the program every Thursday after school from 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM.

During that time, they switch from different stations which include, sight words, reading to someone, reading to themselves, as well as using iPads and computers that have reading programs designed to help children improve their reading and reading comprehension. The iRead program was created for children in need of assistance with their reading skills, as identified by their teacher and parents. It was also designed to assist parents who could not afford a literacy program for their child.

Every week the children are assessed and evaluated on their progress and parents are updated with progress reports that can be taken back to their teachers. The children are excited to come each and every week and respond very well to using the computers and iPads provided. One child said “It doesn’t feel like you are doing a test when you are using an iPad”. Still another commented, “I like using the computers cause it makes me want to learn and it is fun at the same time.”

In addition, this year Westminster Park are planning a half day iRead Camp during March Break with 8 children signed up already. One of the children said “I want to come on March Break even though there is no school.”

“We have seen the confidence building within the children that are participating in the program”, says Captain Jon Savage, Westminster Park. “When you have trouble reading, it can affect so many different areas in your life that you might not even realize.”