Rhea Ayne Peñalosa Chong has three children and has been with the reading program since 2007.
She became a certified parent trainer in April in that same year.
“Before I was a parent trainer, I went to three sessions to be part of the program. Ever since then I’ve been very active,” she said.
She has seen the progress of her children since she joined the program.
“It helps them with their challenges in school. They are trying really harder now,” she said.
One of her children has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and she said books calm him down.
“At home we love to read. I’ve learned how to incorporate a book in activities for the kids. It provides quality time with my kids and my husband,” she said.
She said the reading program builds the parents’ self-esteem.
“That’s the reason why they keep coming back [to the program]. They feel heard and they feel like they have something to share and everybody will learn from each other,” she added.
A family partnership advocate of the CNMI Head Start program, Chong said more parents are joining Motheread/Fatheread.
“The encouragement from [the Public School System] is also there,” she said.
The Motheread/Fatheread program is sponsored by the NMI Council for the Humanities in partnership with the Joeten-Kiyu Public Library and the Public School System.
