Turn A Page . . . At Any Age!

(Monday, June 26, 2006) - My 31-year old son, Dustin, still greets me on the telephone by saying, "Are you my mother?" The phrase comes from a favorite book that I read with him as a child. The greeting causes me to smile and reflect fondly on the time we spent together exploring the world through our favorite books.
Today is National Read Across America Day, a celebration that takes place on the birthday of famous children's author Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel), whose hilarious tales inspired generations of children to love reading. Seuss' stories epitomized fun, adventure and imagination. There is no better day than Dr. Seuss' birthday to commit to reading with your child 20 minutes every day. Doing so can promote literacy and a lifelong love of learning.
More than 38 percent of Atlantans are functionally illiterate, meaning they read at a fifth-grade level or below. Some Atlanta residents can't read newspapers or books to their children. Schools and lawmakers all across the country are working hard to prevent future generations of adults from facing the same obstacles. Children are pitching in, too. More than 45 million students nationally have agreed to pick up a book and read a story today.
Historically, reading was once reserved for "privileged" classes who withheld literacy from others --- an age-old strategy that recognized the power of reading and sought to suppress it. Today, everyone has the opportunity to learn to read.
Offering much more than information, reading provides pleasure, enjoyment and "exercise for the brain," and helps children develop ideas, thoughts and opinions about the world in which they live. Billions of federal, state and local dollars have been poured into schools to help children read and learn. Yet, not enough time and emphasis has been put on helping parents understand the critical role they play in promoting literacy.
Rule No. 1 (the only rule): Literacy is a lifestyle, not just a scheduled, daily occurrence. Literacy goes beyond reading. It encompasses four fundamental pillars of language development: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Together these pillars provide children with the foundation to express and experience a very real or sometimes imaginary world. Promoting literacy involves showing children that you enjoy reading and find it useful. Sharing a good children's book can be both entertaining and a great way to bond with your children. Educational research has shown that early interactive reading experiences between children and adults lead to future success in school.
Good books can imitate real-life experiences or take children to imaginary levels that expand their minds, spur ideas, foster creativity and engender curiosity. To give children these experiences sometimes requires parents to change their daily routines.
Try turning the television off and make time to listen and connect with one another. Reading aloud helps parents create bonds with their children that can't be duplicated by experiences with video games, computers and television that are available on an unlimited basis. While technology can be a powerful tool and resource for parents and children, books create connections that go beyond the electrical outlet.
Reading stories creates quiet moments that parents in today's loud and all-too-busy world can share with their children. Through the experiences of characters, parents and children explore new places, discuss new topics and meet people from all over the world and beyond. Authors such as Dr. Seuss have helped generations of parents and children laugh out loud when his zany characters say silly words, eat absurd dishes and visit totally ridiculous places.
Parents can even build on the experiences that books like Dr. Seuss' provide. They can engage their children further by asking them to point out photographs and identify characters, answer thought-provoking questions, and draw or write about a scene or story. Very early in their development, children begin associating the written word with the spoken word through stories. Parents have multiple opportunities to reinforce this learning every day. Whether you're at the grocery store, bank or mall, point out the written language that is all around. Read food labels or make a game out of looking for road or store signs.
Listening to, discussing and creating stories helps build cognitive thinking, reading comprehension and communication skills. Children who read at home frequently have a higher success rate in school and develop a stronger desire to read independently, which helps build confidence and self-esteem that will last a lifetime.
Most important, reading is fun and makes living fun. By committing to read with children for 20 minutes a day, parents are setting aside a special time to interact with their children without interruption. It's a very intimate experience where you turn off the outside world and turn your attention to your child. So make today the day that you commit to share your love of reading. Help your child build important literacy skills and create a mountain of memories that you and your child will cherish forever.
~Jo Kirchner is president and chief executive officer of Atlanta-based Primrose School.

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