Disclosure: I received a Reading Readiness Swag Bag to help facilitate this post.
All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Reading BrightStart! Promotes Early Childhood Literacy
More than 30 percent of children enter kindergarten without the language and early literacy foundation needed to be successful. Most struggling readers who fail to catch up by third grade will remain behind in reading for the rest of their schooling. Without intervention, deficits in early literacy can lead to reading challenges or even reading failure later on.
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Parents are crucial in providing the building blocks for early childhood literacy. Because literacy is the strongest single predictor for becoming a healthy adult, Nemours Children’s Health System has just launched Reading BrightStart!, a national effort aimed at improving reading readiness inchildren, from birth to 5-years-old. The initiative offers parents and caregivers evidence-based tools to help their children develop the language skills necessary to read.
I recently attended an engaging educational webinar, “Happy Readers, Healthy Kids,” which highlighted the topic of early childhood literacy and the new initiative. The webinar was hosted by Dr. Laura Bailet, Operational Vice President of Nemours BrightStart!, and a parent participant of Nemours BrightStart! who discussed how parents and caregivers can help their children become strong readers by fostering the language skills needed to learn to read and highlighting evidence-based tools available to help their children thrive as readers. I was really impressed with the Reading BrigthStart! initiative!
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As many of you know my middle child struggles with reading as part of her learning disabilities and developmental delays. Because of this, I tend to take notice of any programs that foster early childhood literacy. It really is SO important! I’ve literally watched as my child was shuffled on to the next grade each year, and each year her reading level slipped a little further behind. It’s a major struggle as it impacts every single aspect of her education and even a lot of her life outside of school! I do believe that Reading BrightStart! would have been helpful to both her and I years ago! Watch the video below to see how Reading BrightStart! has helped one specific child …
Free Preschool Reading Screener
Reading BrightStart! offers a free preschool reading screener intended for parents of children ages 3, 4 and 5. The screener has a number of reading readiness questions easily answered by clicking yes or no. Once you submit your answers you received a Customized Action Plan for Your Child that includes targeted activities specifically geared toward working on any barriers to early childhood literacy or other weaknesses your child might have. They also offer some insight into where your child should be and what to do if you have a concern. Click here to see a list of language and pre-reading warning signs to be aware of as your child grows from 6 months up to 8 years old. It’s a really great resource!
Reading BrightStart! also offers a number of fun (and free!) at-home activity ideas for you to do with your child(ren) to help build reading skills and support early childhood literacy!
To learn more about the importance of reading readiness in children birth to age 5, visit the Nemours BrightStart! website.
