What people say about the program...
The educational value of reading to children has long been supported by various literature and educational experts. More recently, research has identified the increasing developmental benefits of spending one on one time with children.
Reading aloud to young children has such an impact on their ability to learn to read- and on their lives:
“Finding a book and learning to read changed my life…storytelling and
imagination emerged as the essence of my life and the gift I have to offer the
world. The value of developing these skills can not be over estimated, is
desperately difficult to measure and is often overlooked. Learning to read
changed the outcome of my life”
(Bryce Courtenay, Author)
“Children who are read aloud to regularly associate books with feelings of
safety and happiness and fall into literacy without much trouble at all…“If
every parent and every adult caring for a child read aloud a minimum of three
stories a day to the children in their lives, we could probably wipe out
illiteracy within one generation.”
(Mem Fox, best selling author, literacy expert and
well know read aloud expert)
The magic of language…One of the keys in learning to read is exposure to
literature.”
(http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/gotoschool/a-z/readingtoyourchild.php)
A body of international research reinforces READING ALOUD to children from
birth to five as the most important thing parents and carers can do to ensure
that every child experiences joy and success in learning to read.
(Australia’s first ever Read Aloud Summit)
It is generally accepted that the younger children are when parents start
reading to them the better the results are likely to be. Some professionals
believe that reading to young children should begin soon after birth, while
others say it should start when the baby is around four to six months, has head
control and can sit comfortably on an adult’s lap.
(Centre for Community Child Health, 2006)
Literacy outcomes for disadvantaged children can be improved by promoting
home-based literacy activities during the years prior to school entry.
(Let’s Read Program, 2005)
