March is National Reading Awareness Month
More than half the children in this country — 13 million children — will not hear a bedtime story tonight.
A coalition of organizations, including our own, is working to change that. ReadAloud.org is a non-profit that is launching a 10-year campaign this month to promote a simple, powerful message:
Organizations that touch the lives of children in Greater Cincinnati have rallied to the 15 MINUTE Movement. ReadAloud’s partners include:
- Cincinnati Public Schools
- The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County
- The Strive Partnership
- Every Child Succeeds
- Success by 6
- 4C for Children
These groups recognize the importance of reading aloud, and we do too. Why? Because reading aloud every day is the single most important thing you can do to prepare your child to learn. And, unfortunately, many parents and caregivers aren’t aware of the power of 15 minutes of daily reading aloud:
- Some children begin kindergarten having been read to as few as 25 hours, while their peers may have been read to as many as 1,000 hours. Every time you read to your child you are improving their learning advantage.
- By age four, low-income children have heard an average 32 million fewer words than their wealthy peers. Reading aloud is a key way to introduce new vocabulary.
- Even in higher-income households, nearly 40% of families do not read aloud every day.
- 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.
How can you support the cause? It’s easy! Spread the word, and continue to read to your child every day, or renew your commitment to do so!
Reading aloud can easily become part of your daily routine, before bedtime or naptime or after mealtime. Make it fun! Don’t forget funny voices, sound effects, acting out parts of the story, and asking lots of questions. Even a very young child can look at pictures, practice turning the pages, and hear you talk about the story. A child is never too young to learn that books are fun, engaging, and something that your family values.
