As some of you may know, March is “Read Aloud Month” and Emerge is all over it! Knowing the importance of reading aloud with your child is something many are not familiar with. This month, we want to highlight why it is important to spend time reading with your child out loud. Our upcoming Book Fair is a great opportunity to purchase books to read aloud with your child. Join us from Monday, March 30 through Friday, April 3 in The Emerge Center Conference Room for our Scholastic Book Fair!
The Why
“When every child is read aloud to for 15 minutes every day from birth, it will change the face of education in this nation,” according to Read Aloud 15 Minutes, a non-profit organization that focuses on bringing together nationwide partners to make 15 minutes of daily reading aloud a new parenting standard.
During the nightly routine of a bedtime story with your little one, reading aloud not only soothes and entertains them, but also enhance their literacy and language development. “Reading aloud is, according to the landmark 1985 report “Becoming a Nation of Readers,” ‘the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading.’”
The How
Add in 15 minutes to your routine to spend some quality time with your child and their favorite book. Encourage them to mimic your voice as you read the story and watch them become invested in the story line and characters! As you bond with your child over the books, notice how they react to your voice and hearing the inflections for each different character and storyline.
The Facts
According to Read Aloud 15 Minutes:
- More than 1 in 3 children start kindergarten without the skills necessary for lifetime learning.
- Reading aloud builds literacy skills including: vocabulary, phonics, familiarity with printed words, comprehension, and storytelling.
- Birth to age 3 are critical years in the development of language skills.
- More than 15% of young children (3.1 million) are read to by family members fewer than three times a week.
- Reading 15 minutes every day for 5 years totals 456.25 hours, making 15 minutes a day enough to create a true difference.
For more information on the importance of reading aloud to your child, visit www.readaloud.org and become a partner of the 21-day challenge. Happy reading!