Introduction

I think Charlie is slowly beginning to grasp the colour concept, but with some difficulty. We did the leaf print activity with sponge and paint at home and she enjoyed it. When we sorted the laundry together, we worked on colours and she is getting it.

I wonder how I can handle Amy's (2.5 yrs. old) attitude. If I say no, don't touch, she has to do it, always with a smirk on her face. Sometimes it makes me so mad I scream at her to stop, and she looks at me like I'm crazy. Sometimes I think this will never end. It really wears me down, and I wonder how much patience I'll have.

(Mothers describing some observations of their children. Both attend family literacy programs.)

When literacy programs focus on adults as parents or include parents and children together, new dimensions and opportunities for literacy learning are introduced. The images above, of parents reflecting on parenting and playing with their children, learning and teaching together, are familiar ones for family literacy practitioners. At the same time, evaluating success in such programs becomes more complex.

How do parent and child interact in literacy experiences that involve teaching and learning from each other? How may family literacy programs document the accomplishments and perspectives of both parents and children who engage in literacy activities together? What is a program's impact on literacy in the home? What is the impact of family literacy involvement on adult literacy development? These are some of the evaluation questions which family literacy practitioners ask and for which the present guide offers some solutions.