Isossy Children loves all things educational for kids and so when we recently discovered Routes to Reading we were so excited. Routes to Reading helps parents to instil their children with a love of reading from an early age. Read this interview to find out more and be inspired!
What inspired you to
start your business?
Sandee Sond and Ruth Wadsworth jointly run the Routes to
Reading programme and it was a shared a belief in the importance of reading
with young children that helped start the business. Around the time that Sandee
joined the company, Ruth became a first time mum to her son, Luke. In
discussion with the company’s CEO (who happens to be Ruth’s dad and Luke’s
Grandad), Ruth wondered when she should start reading with Luke and what books
she should be introducing to him. Sandee, being very interested in child
development and literacy, jumped at the opportunity to meet with Ruth and six other
families Ruth had met through NCT classes to discuss capturing their children’s
reading journeys.
In meeting the families, Routes to Reading was created as all
seven families agreed to film themselves reading with their babies, with Routes
to Reading providing the books and expert guidance. The videos were so
inspiring to watch and the feedback was so positive that Sandee and Ruth wanted
to share the project with the world. Others can get involved with Routes to
Reading through the baby book club, a subscription service which sends out
books chosen by experts and reading tips for parents.
What have been your
favourite client experiences?
Definitely our launch event! At the end of June 2014, we
hosted a free event in Bristol’s science centre, the At-Bristol. The event
revolved around reading and rhyme sessions for parents to attend with their
babies and toddlers as well as introducing people to Routes to Reading. Over
500 people attended the event and we loved meeting each and every family. Thanks
to several of the publishers that feature in our Baby book club, we were able
to provide over 50 families with free goodie bags which was a lovely addition
to the event.
What advice would you
give to someone starting up in your industry?
Get to know who else is out there and make friends. We have
been so lucky to be in touch with some great contacts via Twitter and our own personal
networks and we owe so many of our triumphs and successes to their help and
advice.
What are your long
term goals?
In terms of business, we would like to expand our age group
to help families as children go through learning to read at school. We
understand that helping a child to learn to read with phonics can be new
territory to many parents and not all schools are able to provide parent
training. Hopefully we can fill that gap and help parents find the best
resources for that stage of their child’s reading journey.
As well as expanding, we hope to be able to help those
parents who may need that extra bit of support with reading to their children.
We recognise that families in low-income areas may need more resources and encouragement
to read to their babies and toddlers regularly.
Isossy Children
celebrates diversity through global clothing for children. Why do you think
diversity matters for every generation?
Just like you celebrate diversity through clothing, we
celebrate diversity through books. We believe that reading about a diverse
range of cultures and lifestyles is vital as it allows children to recognise
similarities and celebrate differences. Introducing a variety of cultures from
the very beginning of a child’s life will hopefully lead them to being far more
accepting of differences as they grow up.
What words of wisdom
do you think every child should grow up knowing?
We’re big fans of Dr Seuss’ philosophy, especially ‘The more
that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more
places you’ll go.’
Contact Details
Twitter
@routestoreading
Facebook
/routestoreading
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