March kicks off Read Across America Month and a California campaign encouraging parents to read to kids for 30 minutes for 30 days. Literacy is such an important part of our society - a basic skill needed to read a street sign, write a check or review a bus schedule.
You really value how much you rely on being able to read something when you start to teach a child to read. With a soon- to-be kindergartner in our house we are working hard on writing our own name and recognizing letters. Knowing how to read, I never really thought about how much being able to master certain skills (even finding a program on the tv) requires the ability to identify words. We have a slow start going on in our house, but relating finding his favorite tv show to the letter it starts with on the DVR has seen a good response.
There is so much to say about the importance of teaching children to read, reading aloud to them and letting them read aloud to you. This month we encourage you to take the challenge and read to your kids, or encourage them to read, at least 30 minutes every day. One of our favorite therapists Vickie Chiang has some tips for getting the most out of reading to your kids. We have a profile of Pasadena's cutest bookstore and Macaroni Kid fan favorite Little Junebugs and a roundup of the favorite titles of a few local Macaroni Pasadena friends.
We also think it's so important for every child to have at least one book at home so we're hosting a book drive. All month long you can drop off your donations of gently used and new kid friendly titles to the following locations and we'll make sure they go to families in need (stay tuned for details on our collection success and the organizations we were able to help:
Little Gym La Canada
2196 Foothill Blvd, Suite A, La Canada
Little Gym Monrovia
925 W. Foothill Blvd, Monrovia
Bellies, Babies and Bosoms
2430 Honolulu Avenue, Glendale
Little Junebugs
27 S. El Molino Avenue, Pasadena
Have a wonderful week and don't forget to check our calendar of fun events this month.
Enjoy!
Faith
faithm@macaronikid.com
You can also reach my-co-publisher Joyce at joyces@macaronikid.com
