Forest City, NC – Reading aloud to children is one of the most important things parents can do to help children learn. It’s a simple gift of time. By spending just 15 minutes a day you can equip your child
March is National Read Aloud Month, and parents are encouraged to take the 21-Day Read Aloud Challenge to read to their children 15 minutes every day for 21 days.
The premise is that a habit takes 21 days to form, and if parents read to their children for 21 days, they will continue reading after the challenge has ended.
The month of March represents a lot of national recognition days including one very important one – National Reading Awareness Month! Partnership for Children of the Foothills is marking this important milestone with the announcement of a collaboration with the national program Read Aloud 15 Minutes.
“We feel that this initiative is critical to our kids here in the foothills,” says Partnership for Children of the Foothills Program Director, Cathy Brooks. “We want to see reading aloud every day for 15 minutes become one of the essential routines of raising a child, as normal as daily tooth brushing.”
Read Aloud 15 MINUTES’ goal is to have every child being read aloud to by a parent or loved one for 15 minutes every day starting at birth. Read Aloud partners are united behind the idea that this simple step of reading to children from birth to age 8 can change the face of education, nationally.
The Partnership for Children of the Foothills joins a growing league of academic scholars, business leaders, government officials, child care providers, teachers, community workers, parents, and friends who are working to make reading aloud for 15 minutes every day, starting at birth, a parenting standard. Working together, will help more children begin kindergarten ready to learn, get the most out of their education, and become productive citizens.
Read Aloud Fast Facts:
- Reading aloud is the single most important thing a parent or caregiver can do to help a child prepare for reading and learning.
- Nationally, 37% of children arrive in kindergarten without the skills necessary to begin their learning journey.
- If a child is not reading at grade level by the end of the first grade, then there is an 88% probability the child will not be reading at grade level by the end of the fourth grade.
- Even in higher-income households, nearly 40% of families do not read aloud every day.
- More than half the children in this country – 13 million children – will not hear a bedtime story tonight.
