Dads and Kids Book Clubs

Dads and Kids Book Clubs

The concept of Dads and Kids Book Clubs was developed by the Minnesota Humanities Center in collaboration with Dr. Glen Palm of St. Cloud State University and St. Cloud ECFE. The goals of this program are to:

strengthen father-child relationships through shared literacy activities
provide fun early literacy activities for dads and kids
provide fathers with new ideas for supporting early literacy development

Pilot series of Dads and Kids Book Clubs were held in St. Cloud, Coon Rapids and Hugo. Each series consisted of four to six weekly sessions. Each session focused on one specific children's picture book and included the reading and discussion of each story, father-child activities related to the story and its themes, and a separate discussion time for dads. Each father/male caregiver received a copy of the book along with printed tips on how to read/share the story with his children.

Extra efforts were made in recruiting fathers and to make the father-child activities more dad-centric. Feedback from the pilots demonstrated that these extra efforts were essential in the success of these pilots. Based on the success of these pilots, the Humanities Center has also made Dads and Kids Book Clubs a regular component of Family Literacy Programs.

The Humanities Center is currently recruiting host organizations to implement Dads and Kids Book Clubs in their communities and has developed the following list of responsibilities.

The Minnesota Humanities Center will provide:

Information manual on implementing Dads and Kids Book Clubs
One copy per family of each children's book selected in a series of Dads and Kids Book Clubs (typically four to six weekly sessions per series)
Sample lesson plans with handouts for five to 10 books as models and templates for new books (included in the "manual")
Format and materials for Parent and Program Evaluation
Consultation from Humanities Center staff on program design and implementation
Reading with Dad Booklist and other informational materials related to dads and literacy

The Host Organization will commit to:

Recruitment of fathers and children for the book club
Providing a location and space for the book club meetings
Providing materials for projects, snacks, etc.
Providing staff facilitators: typically a children's teacher and a parent educator/teacher to lead the Dads and Kids Book Club
Sending completed information of attendance and parent evaluations.
Completing program implementation for the Humanities Center including outlines of sessions, tip sheets, and overall assessment of program success.

For more information on Dads and Kids Book Clubs and/or to apply to become a host organization, please contact Tom Fitzpatrick at (651) 772-4255.