October 29, 2003

Reading project starts first chapter

Read to Kids Zone promotes reading to children 30 minutes a day

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer

       Just 30 minutes a day can make a big difference in a child's life.
      If parents read to their young children a mere 30 minutes each day, it can lay the foundation for literacy that lasts a lifetime.
      To encourage this positive relationship among families, a collaborative team from the Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District's Early Childhood Services/Way to Grow programs developed the Read to Kids Zone. Officially launched Tuesday, the Read to Kids Zone project plans to promote reading in many ways.
      The program garnered a Certificate of Tribute from Governor Jennifer Granholm for its innovative approach.
      "No age is too young for reading," said Sue Zell, early childhood supervisor in the Way to Grow program. "I think really when you start reading to a child regularly, it becomes part of their routine, just like breathing."
      Zell conceived of the Read to Kids Zone earlier this year after Governor Granholm's State of the State address challenging citizens to promote and encourage reading. Zell also noted that the district's superintendent identified literacy and early childhood as priorities over the next few years.
      With these mandates, Zell and other staff in the Way to Grow program began brainstorming ways to promote reading about a month after Granholm's address. They devised a strategic plan and have been filling in the pieces since summer.
      For their initial effort, or 'chapter' as they call it, of the Read to Kids Zone, they compiled a list of "36 Books Every Child Should Hear" and a list of reading activities for young children. Future chapters of the program will include additional reading lists.
      They also reached out to area businesses and community organizations to establish partnerships and promote reading. Something as simple as a real estate agent having a bag of books in the car to hotels having a books for patrons can make a difference, Zell said. A store or office offering a basket of books for children to read onsite or displaying the program's window cling can help.
      "I was in Grand Rapids a couple of weeks ago for a public TV broadcast with the Governor and one of the things she pointed out is that one-half hour a day can add years to the child's education," Zell said. "I could pick it out, too, when I was a school principal, I could almost tell those first few weeks of school the kids who had been read to."
      The program also encourages parents, business and community members to sign a pledge to promote reading in their community. In addition, the program includes a parent's pledge to read to their children daily.
      Sheryl Reed needs no encouragement to read to her daughter, Brianna, 2 «. Reed, a avid reader herself, has been reading to Brianna since she was a newborn baby. Now the two make time every day, usually multiple times a day, to curl up together and read.
      "We sit and she loves to read," said Reed, a city resident. "We've been going to the library's Wiggles story time since she was five months old and we listen to books on tape in the car when we travel."
      Actively encouraging reading is needed, Zell said, because many parents today are rushed and short on time. In addition, the lure of technology such as television, video games and computers now compete with reading time.
      "I think that parents face a different time frame than they did 30 years ago," she noted. "A different family dynamic."
      Becky Bernhard, the Way to Grow and School Readiness Coordinator for Central Grade School, noted that breaking the reading into chunks throughout the day will also work. She also pointed to 'environmental print' as a way to promote literacy.
      "When in the car, parents can point out stop signs or at breakfast they can point out the print on cereal boxes," she said.
      Talking and listening are also important components of a child's developing language and reading skills.
      "Literacy also includes talking, a lot of work is with babies face to face," Bernhard said.
      For more information on the Read to Kids Zone, call Sue Zell at 922-6200 or the program's website at www.tbaisd.k12.mi.us.