Charleston County Public Library is sharing a calendar that will help parents better engage their kids with reading and prepare them for kindergarten. The Public Library Association's Early Literacy 2020 Calendar features daily activities that are based on the Every Child Ready to Read (ECRR) model, which incorporates talking, reading, writing, playing and singing between caregiver and child. CCPL uses the ECRR model in its numerous storytimes in order to enhance kindergarten readiness.
The calendar is a perfect tool for parents to use, especially in light of the recent study that shows when children are not read to by their caregivers, they enter kindergarten having heard one million fewer words than children whose parents read them stories. The study, which appeared in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, focuses on the disadvantage experienced by children who are not read to regularly by their caregivers. Children who are read five books a day hear about 1.4 million words more by the time they enter kindergarten, and children who are read one book a day hear about 290,00 more words by age five than those who don’t regularly read books with a caregiver, according to the report. As many as 40 percent of children are never read to by their parents, according to the study. Read all about the report and other resources CCPL provides to close the million-word gap.
You can pick up the Spring Early Literacy Calendar at any branch location or download it here. (Or grab the Winter calendar here.)