I just read a great article in Parenting magazine last night about childhood literacy. It contained some pretty crazy statistics that encouraged me in the reading that we do with Caleb. Even though Caleb would rather eat the books or tear the pages right now rather than listen to the story or look at the pictures, I am hopefully taking a few (albeit small) steps in the right direction.
Check this out:
-"many children who enter kindergarten without pre-reading skills in place will never catch up . . . by second grade we can predict who will go on to higher education and who will not based on their literacy skills." (Parenting, pg. 111, March 2010)
This piece of information was down-right depressing:
-"having reading difficulties also increases the odds that a child will drop out of school and have a criminal record. States like California and Indiana have even factored in the number of third-graders who are not reading at grade level when planning future jail construction." (Parenting, pg. 112, March 2010)
The article goes on to mention the hugely disparate numbers of books and reading opportunities available to kids from lower income homes and middle income homes (1 book per 300 kids vs. access to at least 13 books at any time) and several volunteer-based free programs that are out to change that.
We have access to a great library system here in Sugar Land and an awesome weekly Toddler Time . . . though Caleb has no idea what is going on yet, I think he likes watching the other kids dance and sing. Yay for free stuff!
What are some favorite books currently at your house? Do you have any good recommendations?
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