“We want the world to know that in Puerto Rico, we love to read together, as a family, as a community!” Desiré Sánches Cardona is the founder of “LeamosPorSiempre” or “Reading Always.”
Desiré is an expert in childhood education with a BA and MA in early childhood education, and currently in the process of finishing a doctoral degree in educational leadership. A leader she is. And passionate about reading!
It was this passion that encouraged her to create a program that instills the love of reading in families–Leamos Por Siempre.
Leamos Por Siempre is a community that promotes the love of reading and the development of a culture of reading in Puerto Rico. The program has impacted many families in the island, particularly since the quarantine.
“From reading at parks every weekend with a group of families, the program has moved to a FB community that includes families from all over since the lockdown. We host a FBLive every Saturday at 2pm, EST where we read a book together. Sometimes the book author joins us, other times, we involved a few families reading a piece of the story and sending us the recording of their read that we can then edit into our Live reading.”
I invite you to watch my chat with Desiré on IGTV!
Here are Desiré’s tips for promoting culture at home:
- Create a reading space for reading. Maybe not one but a couple of comfy places where books accessible.
- Have at least 15 book choices available in each space.
- Involve children in picking out the books for the family library. Books for the kids age groups.
- Parents need to READ – kids will follow that example!
- Establish a reading routine – maybe twice a day for family reading.
Here are Desiré’s book suggestions to teach children diversity. ¡En Español!
- Clemente Corazón de Pueblo by Wanda De Jesús Arvelo
- ¡Hombre de color!-Jérôme Rullier
- Wangari y los árboles de la Paz-Jeanette Winter
- Pelo de princesa-Sharee Miller
- Ella persistió alrededor del mundo-Chelsea Clinton
- Mila bonita-Ana María Machado
For more information on the program, check my profile or here: https://www.leamosporsiempre.com/
Thank you, Desiré!
