A dynamic combination of music, rhythm, and lyrics, (and colorful handouts), skillfully woven to motivate and teach children the fundamentals of reading. I have watched it work its musical magic at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum with our Toddler Rock program. Children are drawn to it like popcorn. A powerful tool to stimulate and develop literacy in children!
Read Along With Wayne: What's Your Letter is an engaging book and CD that teaches kids phonics through music. Now when we say music, we're not talking about some simple songs with cute rhyming melodies. We're talking about some PHAT (Pretty-Hot-And-Tempting) kid-friendly hip-hop melodies that will have kids groovin' their way to becoming better readers.
One of the latest and hottest in Black music today!
Out of all the music out there that teaches kids, this music CD is THE BEST. Our children really need this.
I am approaching 60 and I love wayne's finger popping sounds! thank you for making learning so much fun.
Program meshes music to reading lessons
By Mike Loomis
STAFF WRITER
ELGIN — An education products company starts a program in Elgin this week aimed at helping children sharpen their reading skills.
4 My Kids Records, a Blue Island-based business founded by a former Chicago public school teacher, brings its music-oriented approach to reading to the New Hope Baptist Church at 1405 Wing St.
Scheduled on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. throughout the school year, the reading camps are for children age 3 and older. Tutors will be on hand Saturday to offer free tests to gauge each child's reading ability and decide which of the program's five levels is best suited to the child's needs. An orientation for parents also is planned.
"Depending on how a child performs in the program, it usually runs for eight to 12 weeks," 4 My Kids spokesman Edward Davis said recently. Davis said that in addition to the Saturday reading camps, after-school programs at the church will be offered on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays.
Davis said the key for helping young readers is to focus on phonemics, which deals with how letters are pronounced.
Sessions take about an hour to an hour and a half. Davis said three to seven teachers will be on hand, with a maximum of 10 students assigned to each one.
"It's almost as if you're building a house and the foundation is shaky. This enables you to go back and rebuild the foundation," founder Amy Grissette said. She launched 4 My Kids in 2001 with her husband, Steve, a record producer whose clients include Barry White and R. Kelly. The pair set out to provide an affordable reading program that would connect with students who were progressing through the system but still not improving — something that Grissette witnessed a lot during her time as a public school teacher.
"A lot of the children were illiterate, but they were being passed grade after grade," she said. "I knew that kids relate to music, as we all do. The concept was to make the music radio quality and have it put to my curriculum."
The result is "Read Along with Wayne," a reading readiness series that will eventually be in 10 parts. The audio CD is the main teaching tool used in the 4 My Kids program. The first one, "What's My Letter?", is a 36-track, hip-hop flavored CD that comes with a workbook and a 30-page illustrated book. The catchy songs introduce children to basic phonics and letter sounds. Students receive a copy when they start. The time spent with teachers reinforces what they learn from the music and stories.
Riverdale resident Yolanda Benson said the "Read Along with Wayne" CD brought an instant reaction from her 4-year-old daughter, Arianna.
"I was trying to teach her myself, but I was getting frustrated," Benson said. Arianna had an interest in reading, but needed some help with pronunciation. She took a 4 My Kids program over the summer, and now shows improved ability and can read short sentences, her mother said.
Besides bringing the program to Elgin, 4 My Kids already is underway in Stony Island at the Wyatt Community Center. Executive Director Wanda Jamieson said "Read Along with Wayne" has had an impact on many of the students there.
"We see kids from the school system and a lot of them just can't read. There are 8- and 9-year-olds who can't read or read two grade levels below," Jamieson said. One of the children who benefited from the "Wayne" CD was a 9-year-old boy who has progressed from zero reading ability to much-improved in 10 weeks.
"Now he's finally excited about reading. He walks around reading all the time," Jamieson said.
Grissette said she's in talks with School District U46 officials about making her programs available in schools.
Information about 4 My Kids Records is available at www.4mkrecords.com .
9/7/05