Early childhood literacy matters. Academic success depends on reading, yet nearly one and five school children have trouble reading. The 1000 Books Before Kindergarten challenge was founded to jumpstart early childhood literacy. It encourages reading to children. According to the University of Virginia’s Kindergarten Readiness Program, as many as 34% of children are unprepared to start kindergarten. They lack at least one of four critical learning domains: literacy, mathematics, self-regulation, and social skills. Formal education in this country doesn’t begin until children start kindergarten when they’re 5. That is too late to start learning. Parents and other caregivers take care of children in the critical first five years of life. Few have any teacher training, but all of them influence a child’s development for better or worse. Children learn to speak by hearing others speak to them. The more words they hear, the easier it will be to learn a large working vocabulary. In the same way, the more someone reads to them, the easier it will be for them to learn to read. When parents speak to their babies a lot and read to them, it promotes not only learning once they get to school. It also helps with … Continue reading →