The dawn of a new year is just like starting a fresh, new book. You know the goals and roadmap you’ve laid in front of you, but you’re wise enough to also know that many of the experiences to come along the way are unknown and cannot be charted.
Similarly, you can read the back cover of a new book, but you have yet to see how the author will take you on the forthcoming journey. The anticipation builds as you begin those first few pages, knowing that – just like a new year – the journey will be full of exploration, new learnings, surprises, and probably some plot twists as well!
It’s with this mindset that Team READ USA gratefully begins a new year (our 10th anniversary year, too – more to come on that!). As we look ahead to 2025, we are more steadfast than ever in our commitment to solving illiteracy, and following a restful holiday break, we are ready to kick back into high gear. We have so much to look forward to this year – spring Literacy Tutoring starting soon, our annual Book Fairs in April-May, our Summer Leadership Academy, and so much more – and, just like the anticipation of opening a new book, we cannot wait to get started.
To all of our friends, supporters, and partners, we are grateful for you continuing on this journey with us. We wish you a year full of happiness, health, and – naturally – books aplenty!
Easy Ways to Support Literacy in 2025
Our daily work in solving illiteracy through high-interest books and high-quality teaching is only possible because of the people, organizations, and institutions who continue to invest in our mission. Turning the page on illiteracy, starting in Duval County, is no easy feat, but we do know one thing for certain: illiteracy IS solvable.
To be part of the solution, there are several easy ways that you can help Team READ USA move our community toward a fully literate society:
Invest in Proven Outcomes
READ USA’s programming occurs year-round. From Literacy Tutoring to Book Choice & Ownership to Educator Professional Development to Family Engagement, these programs are making a measurable impact on literacy in our community.
For example, elementary students who are struggling to read experience a proven, tangible impact due to Literacy Tutoring: through daily, intensive, one-to-one tutoring, they are now reading on grade level. This growth empowers them to continue building their skills and pursue any future they want – a future that will no longer be limited due to the inability to read.
By investing in READ USA’s mission, for any amount, you are directly investing in improving literacy in our community.
Join the READ USA Book Club
For only $30 a month, you are putting two free books into two children’s hands every month. In the course of a year, that’s 24 books in 24 children’s hands, hearts, and homes – many of whom don’t have the means to purchase books themselves.
But not only that: by joining the Book Club, you are empowering children with choice in what they read. At our free book events and annual Book Fairs, children get to choose the books they take home. When children choose books that interest them, they are infinitely more likely to read them – and as they say, the more you read, the better you get!
Through the READ USA Book Club, your monthly support has a direct impact on the lives of young readers!
Now through Feb. 28th: Purchase Lowest-Cost Tickets to THE PLAYERS Championship
Yes, you read that correctly!
READ USA is an approved Chip-in for Charity nonprofit, so we receive $40 from every competition-day ticket sold using our promo code (305FTE) – and you receive the most affordable tickets available!
Truly, competition-day ticket prices won’t go up between now and Feb. 28 through Chip-in for Charity!
Thank you to THE PLAYERS Championship for providing this fantastic opportunity for golf fans to attend the tournament AND support literacy, all in one action.
Remember to use our promo code: 305FTE
Some things to keep in mind:
Volunteer with READ USA
We host and attend so many events every year, and our volunteers are vital to ensuring they happen without a hitch!
There are a number of volunteer opportunities available year-round at READ USA, including:
We also provide a volunteer orientation for new volunteers and an appreciation event every year, which are great opportunities to meet fellow community-minded individuals (who also love books!) and make new connections.
Spring is in the Air (Wait, Already?!)
Just like Florida’s warmer weather typically arrives well before March 20, preparations at READ USA for our annual Book Fairs begin well before the dawn of Spring!
Beginning in April through May, READ USA will host free Book Fairs at Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) elementary schools across the district. The massive, weeks-long undertaking, which provides thousands of students with free books to keep, requires a deeply collaborative effort between the elementary schools, our READ USA team, and our wonderful volunteers who generously give their time to help make the Book Fairs possible.
For businesses and organizations looking for group volunteer opportunities – and for individuals who love seeing faces light up because of a new book – our Book Fairs are the perfect opportunity!
Volunteer activities at each elementary school’s READ USA Book Fair include:
And you receive a red READ USA apron to wear while you volunteer!
The Book Fair schedule will be released soon, but it’s not too early to choose your school site! If there is a particular elementary school where you’d like to volunteer, just let us know by emailing books@readusainc.com.
Children’s Book: Pete the Cat Snow Daze by James Dean
Illustrated by Kimberly Dean
With an Arctic blast on its way to the Appalachians and East Coast, some of us who have lived in cooler climates are thinking of one thing: snow days!
In Pete the Cat: Snow Daze, school is canceled, and Pete cannot wait to play in the snow with all his friends. Imagine a day filled with snowball fights, hot chocolate, snowcats, and more. But when the next day and the day after that are all snow days, Pete comes to a sudden realization—it is possible to have too many snow days.
When it snowed, Pete really enjoyed going out with his friends sledding, building snowmen, and snow forts. He was so excited about all the things that he could do in the snow that he couldn’t wait to get back to school to share his snow experiences with his friends. Every day that it snowed, Pete would come up with creative ideas of what to do and then he began to miss his teachers and his classmates. One day Pete and his friends decided to shovel the snow from the sidewalks and streets so the buses could run, and the children could go back to school. Pete and his friends were so happy to return to school to share what they did on the snow days.
This picture book is a great way to expose children to climates that they may not be accustomed to seeing!
Parent Education Corner: Early Reading and Conversations
One of the most important things you can do as parents is to play with your children, talk with them about the everyday routines in your family, and share time together.
It doesn’t matter if you are at home with a baby, toddler, or preschooler, the time you spend together is one of the strongest contributors to a child’s overall development.
A research study through MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) suggests that parents can have considerable influence over their children’s language and brain development by simply engaging them in conversation. “The important thing is not just to talk to your child, but to talk with your child. It’s not just about dumping language into your child’s brain, but to actually carry on a conversation with them,” says Rachel Romeo, a graduate student at Harvard and MIT and the lead author of the paper, which appears in an online edition of Psychological Science. (Tafton, 2018)
To extend this idea, having conversations about books is a great start to begin this structure of daily discussions. Here are some ideas about what that conversation can look like in your home.
Reading Rockets suggests the strategy of CROWD.
CROWD is used to remember the types of questions to ask: completion, recall, open-ended, “wh” questions, and distancing. Here is an example of CROWD questions for the well-known story of The Three Little Pigs.
Completion question: “I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll __________ ___________ _________ ___________.”
Answer: Blow your house down.
Recall question: Which house couldn’t the Big Bad Wolf blow down?
Answer: The one made of bricks.
Open-ended question: Why do you think the first pig built his house out of straw?
Answer: It was the easiest to build. He was lazy.
“Wh” question: What kind of animal was after the pigs?
Answer: Wolf.
Distancing: How do you think the pigs felt when the wolf tried to get them? Why?
Answer: (Answers will vary.) Scared, angry, sad.
Give this technique a try to help build comprehension skills while also having more meaningful conversations with your child!
Do you have any questions or ideas for the Parent Education Corner? Anything you’d like to learn? Let us know here.