Cape school district expands parent liaison program

Children from the Cape Girardeau Boys and Girls Club took a morning walk to the Red House Interpretive Center Saturday and read stories for visitors as part of the Historical Family Reading activity. The event was sponsored by Cape Girardeau Public Library and the Red House.

Becky Burris of Cape Girardeau selected African folk tales to read for the afternoon slot.

Program coordinator Kendra Ward read from "Mamma Lou Sings," a story about a grandmother with Alzheimer's disease and a granddaughter who was named for her. Rowles pointed out the namesake parallel between Martin Luther King Jr. and the granddaughter.

Concepts of leadership, peace and justice were discussed by Cape Boys and Girls Club executive director Natika Rowles as she read from "Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King Jr." Each child read from different books with help from each other when unfamiliar words popped up.

The children, ages 10 and under, sat close together, struggling to see the pictures and listening up when Rowles explained civil rights and what words like "divinity" meant. It was the first trip to the Red House for five of the six children.

Reading, a regularly scheduled after-school activity for the Boys and Girls Club, is supported by the Cape Public Library with an outreach library within the club.

"The library chose to partner with the Red House Interpretive Center on several programs this summer," said Cape Girardeau Public Library youth services coordinator Sharon K. Anderson. "It seemed a logical partnership. Historical stories (both fiction and nonfiction) provide a lens through which we can learn to better see, interpret and appreciate history. Books and stories can give a strong sense of the voices of the past, but when we share such stories at the Red House, the voices of the past and the places of the past are woven together, resulting in a deeper appreciation of both."

cpagano@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 133