Preschool Prime Time: Where Stories Spark a
Lifetime of Learning

This past week, preschoolers and their families eagerly gathered for the final session of the 2025 Preschool Prime Time Bilingual Program. As always, the session began with a “picture walk,” where children preview the illustrations and make predictions about the story—empowering them to be active learners. This week’s book, The Runaway Pig/El Cochinito Fugitivo, sparked wide-eyed guesses:

“The pig is going to run away!”
“I think it’s not a real pig – maybe a cookie or chocolate!”
“But WHY would a cookie pig run away?”

The young readers quickly connected it to their knowledge of The Gingerbread Man and began crafting theories about the pig cookie’s fate.

Each session of Preschool Prime Time includes bilingual storytelling followed by thoughtful, open-ended questions that invite children to reflect and relate the story to their own lives. This is the heart of what we do—helping families strengthen their love of reading and deepening children’s critical thinking skills.

One parent shared, “We now spend more time discussing books when we’re done reading them, and they want to act things out like they read in the book.” Another noted, “Hearing the books in Spanish and English has been eye-opening—especially seeing and hearing the similarities.”

Affectionately nicknamed “Preschool Supper Club” or “Preschool Reading Party,” the program offers much more than story time. Each week’s theme—from seasons and fairy tales to beach exploration—inspired hands-on activity stations: movement games, dramatic play, crafts, slime, playdough, and sand. Every session ended with a hot, delicious meal, where families connected in community.
This year, we were thrilled to expand our reach thanks to the warm welcome from Lopez Island School District. Hosting the program in the school library and MPR allowed 15 preschool-aged families to settle in and explore the space where many of their children will one day attend school—turning the “big school” into a familiar, friendly place.
Funded by Humanities WA and the DV & Ida J. McEachern Foundation, this program bought meals from local vendors and a new bilingual book each week for families to grow their home libraries. Local high school students and homeschoolers played a big part—from helping with activities to preparing meals. A huge thank you to LISD staff, Lopez librarians, and Lopez Bookshop for making it all possible!

✨ Support What's Next✨

Coming this summer: Read-A-Rama at Camp Huckleberry!
Building on the success of Preschool Prime Time, Read-A-Rama brings that same joy of story-centered learning to summer camp. Just like in Prime Time, campers will begin each day with a book and then dive into hands-on art and science activities that spark curiosity and help them connect the story to their everyday lives.

If you’re inspired by the impact of this program, please consider donating to support our bilingual literacy and family engagement programs. Your donation helps us cover meals, books, and staff time—ensuring we can keep bringing these joyful, enriching experiences to Lopez families. Simply click here or on the button below. Together, we can build a community where every child’s love of reading blooms—one story at a time.

Click HERE to Donate to Bilingual Literacy
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