Literacy

I have been reading a lot of information as of late regarding the importance of reading to children and some of the information is scary, sad, and shocking!

A few facts to consider:
-37% of children in the US start school without basic pre-reading skills

-In low income communities there is on average 1 book for every 300 children (these are probably the kids that need books the most!)

-Reading difficulties increase the odds that a child will drop out of school and have a criminal record: CA and IN factor in the number of 3rd graders that are not reading at grade level when planning future jail construction!!! (I can't comprehend the idea of looking at 3rd graders and already having a good idea of which ones will end up in jail!)

I think everyone thinks that the way they grew up is "normal" and that everyone else grew up the same way. Coming from a family that valued reading the above facts shocked me! I remember my Mom reading to my sister and I every chance she had. She read us the whole Little House on the Prairie series while waiting for the bus every morning. We wanted to get to the bus stop early so she would have more time to read to us! As we got older she would bring bags full of books home from the library and I would literally spend all day reading books all summer long.

I realize that not every family is as fortunate as Mark and I are. We can afford our life and that of a child without having to work extra jobs, we don't have health issues or family situations that take up our time in the evenings and weekends, so we have the time to read and the money to buy as many books for our child as we want. I know that not every family has that opportunity, but it still amazes that some can't even find 5 minutes to read to their children. Library books are free...it does not have to cost money!

To this day Mark and I are both readers...we love to curl up with a good book, and I still love those days when I can read for hours at a time! Now I know Mark and I don't have kids yet so it is easy for us to say that reading a book before bed will be a nightly habit, however that is our goal non-the-less. I know reality will strike some evenings and it may not happen, but we are both pretty set on making reading an important part of our child's life! If you teach a child to read there is not anything they can't learn or become if they want to. It may be the most important life skill ever!

Bring on the books! I will read her 20 books a day if that is what she wants! It seems like such a simple little thing but if reading to my child will help her learn better and keep her out of trouble (yes I know it take more than just reading to them!) then I'm going to take every opportunity that I can and read to her!