Reading regularly with young children stimulates optimal patterns of brain development and strengthens parent-child relationships at a critical time in child development, which, in turn, builds language, literacy, and social-emotional skills that last a lifetime.
A recent national study, “Double Jeopardy: How Third-Grade Reading Skills and Poverty Influence High School Graduation,” found:
- One in six children who are not reading proficiently in third grade do not graduate from high school on time, a rate four times greater than that for proficient readers.
- The rates are highest for the low, below-basic readers: 23 percent of these children drop out or fail to finish high school on time, compared to 9 percent of children with basic reading skills and 4 percent of proficient readers.
- The below-basic readers account for a third of the sample but three-fifths of the students who do not graduate.
Here are some great resources for your family on Early Literacy:
Every Child Ready to Read
American Academy of Pediatrics – Top Literacy Tips for Families
Books Build Connections Toolkit
Talking is Teaching – Early Literacy
Door County participates in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program!
This is a locally funded program that mails a free book to the home of any child residing in Door County from birth up until the month of their 5th birthday. Learn more and sign-up here.
Want to give the gift of reading to a Door County child? For a $25 donation, you can give the gift of reading for one whole year to a Door County child. To get all the details about this gift giving program click here.
