World Read Aloud Day Message from Kenya

I just had to share this wonderful message from Kenya on the importance of learning to read and write. This was created as part of World Read Aloud Day (yesterday, March 9) by LitWorld, an global literacy organization.

Thanks to to Room to Grow for pointing me toward this video.

RIF Thank-You Video

I just had to share this precious thank-you video from Sandburg Elementary School. The students share some of their favorite books that were introduced to them by the RIF program.

An Ode to RIF

I've spoken of my love for Reading is Fundamental before, but I wanted to revisit it again today because they do such important work.

If you don't know, Reading is Fundamental (or RIF) is a national organization that goes into communities and puts books into the hands of the kids and families that need them. Schools, doctors offices, clinics, and other locations across the country are armed with books and staffed by wonderful volunteers thanks to RIF. Kids have a variety of books to chose from and are encouraged to find something they are truly interested in. They not only bring books to children, and also foster a feeling of joy and excitement around reading. This is just one of the many reasons I love RIF.

So what can you do?

I'm so glad you asked! Visit RIF's Get Involved page for ways you can advocate, volunteer, and support RIF (even by shopping!). They partner with many organizations, who provide ways for you to donate and support RIF while also getting great deals for yourself. Visit their website for all the great details.

RIF's website also provides tons of valuable resources for teachers and parents. Come check it out for reading-aloud tips, book lists, and other great information.

Hurray for RIF!

Talking to Babies is Essential

I recently came across this NPR story which demonstrates how important it is to talk to babies and young children. Their growing brains thrive on frequent verbal stimulation from a real human being interacting directly with them.

I am fascinated by the process of literacy and language development, and that fascination only grows as I read and learn more about it. If you are interested in learning more, I recommend these books:

The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease

Growing a Reader From Birth by Diane McGuinness

Baby Read-Aloud Basics by Caroline Blakemore and Barbara Weston Ramirez

Reading Magic by Mem Fox

Smart-Wiring Your Baby's Brain by Winifred Conklin

These books follow many of the same principles and are based on some common research, but they each provide a unique perspective. When read together, they give a comprehensive and useful guide to understanding how children learn language and how to help them become life-long readers.

The links will take you to Better World Books where you can buy many of them for $3 or $4 (with free shipping!)

Reach Out and Read

I once read somewhere that it's never too early--or too late--to start reading aloud to a child. I have read many books that emphasize how important early literacy experiences are for children and their future intellectual development. Children need to be read to and exposed to books from infancy to have proper verbal stimulation. However, this does not happen for many children.

Reach Out and Read is a fantastic nonprofit that has found an innovative strategy to address this issue. They equip pediatric doctors and nurses to talk to parents about the importance of reading aloud to their children during check-ups. They provide children (ages 6 months to 5 years) with a new book to take home from their doctor's visits. It's wonderfully simple, and very effective. Visit their website to look at some of the statistics and information about their success.

I am always so encouraged by the wonderful work so many different organizations are doing in the world of literacy. I hope to highlight many of them in the coming weeks. Are there some organizations I should know about? Please share!

Book a Brighter Future

Well, friends, it's that time of year again. Macy's and RIF (Reading is Fundamental) have teamed up for another summer for Book a Brighter Future. Supporting RIF and getting books into the hands of kids that need them could not be easier. Here's the scoop:

Starting TODAY (June 30) and through the end of July (July 31) go to a Macy's store and donate $3 to RIF. The nice people at Macy's, in turn, will give you a $10 gift certificate to be used for a Macy's purchase of $50 or more. Let's review. You give $3 and you get a $10 gift certificate. That's 7 FREE dollars! 100% of the $3 you donate goes to RIF. And $1 will stay in your community to help kids locally. Another $1 will go to RIF's national program and the last $1 will support their multicultural literacy campaign.

RIF provides free books and literacy resources to children all across the country and has special outreach programs for those kids who are particularly at risk for developing reading difficulties. Their federal funding is currently in jeopardy, so this fundraising endeavor is especially important this year.

So please, shop to show you care. Go to Macy's and donate $3 to RIF. We all have summer shopping to do! Or get your back-to-school shopping done early!

And spread the word. Go to the Book a Brighter Future page for links, banners, etc. Tweet about it. Become a RIF fan on facebook and spread the word there. Tell your friends and family.

The Read-Aloud Handbook

I was prompted to write this post because of Jen Robinson's recent review and reflection on this classic text.

I read The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease about a year ago, and absolutely loved it! Obviously, I don't have children yet, but I still found it to be fascinating. I learned a lot of things that I packed away to apply to my own children someday, but also applied it to my interactions with my nieces and nephews and with the kids I baby-sat for.

Basically, the premise is that one of the best indicator's of a child's reading-level and comprehension is how much they are read to. Trelease emphasizes the importance of reading to children even after that are able to read to themselves. He blends detailed research studies with experiences and advice from reading to his own children. For a comprehensive review, I direct you to Jen Robinson's link above.

I also encourage you to visit his website www.trelease-on-reading.com. It includes book lists, book reviews, excerpts from the book, and a plethora of other useful information and resources. I just reread his biography page and was inspired to learn that he began his research and work on literacy out of personal interest. He wasn't originally trained in education or reading, but rather as an artist and journalist. This is encouraging to me as a consider how I want to incorporate my love of reading, books, and education into a future career. I love stories of highly successful people who found their niche later in life!

Image from amazon.com

Reading is Fundamental Funding

My beloved sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma, supports Reading is Fundamental as our national philanthropy. I've blogged about it before, but I cannot say enough about this wonderful organization. Their mission is to bring books into the hands and homes of children who need them most. Many of the books I've read about literacy stress how important it is for young readers to have books in their home and books to call their own. RIF fills that need for children across the country.

RIF's funding has been completely eliminated in President Obama's next proposed budget. This will be catastrophic for RIF programs across the country. What can we do to help? RIF's website provides a simple and easy way to contact your congressional representative about this vital issue.

Budget issues are always difficult, I realize, and I don't mean this to be an overly-political blog. So if you believe these cuts are justified, I respect that. But I ask you to go to RIF's website and learn about the issue. Find other ways you can help. You can volunteer to read to kids, collect books, or donate money directly. And SPREAD THE WORD! There's a button (albeit truncated) on the left column of my blog where you can enter your zip code and be directed to a web page that allows you to contact your representative. You can easily paste that same button on your webpage if you so desire. Tweet or blog about RIF's work.

Reading is good for kids and kids need books to read. RIF delivers those books to kids. Can you help them?

RIF-Book a Brighter Future

Reading is Fundamental is a fantastic organization and always in need of our support. I've had the honor of working with them on a number of occasions and meeting some of the marvelous people involved with the organization.

They have a great partnership with Macy's and for the months of July and August, if you donate $3 to RIF at Macy's, you will receive a $10 gift certificate for a $50 or more purchase. That's 7 free $s and $3 for RIF. 100% of the money donated will go directly to RIF. What a tremendous deal and easy way to get books into the hands of the kids who need them.

Please consider shopping at Macy's in July or August and making a donation. YOU GET SEVEN FREE DOLLARS!! And please spread the word!!! Go the their website here and there are easy ways to spread the word via Facebook, Twitter, and your own blog.

Oh, and here's the promo video. Very cute and informative. And if nothing else, you should watch it to hear the little kid say "wegend".