READ USA had the honor to host Mayor Donna Deegan and the Honorable Warren Jones, District 5 School Board Member, at our Literacy Tutoring program at R.V. Daniels Elementary School yesterday!
Our teen tutors and elementary students were delighted at the opportunity to meet Mayor Deegan and Mr. Jones, both of whom are strong advocates for education and uplifting literacy in our community. We are also grateful and thrilled that Mayor Deegan’s administration is focusing on literacy. We firmly believe that literacy has the power to improve and save lives, and we look forward to supporting Mayor Deegan and her team as we move forward together as a community to solve illiteracy.
Thank you, Mayor Deegan and Mr. Jones, for your leadership and dedication to the students, teachers, and families of Duval County!
Book Sorting Volunteers Needed in August
Even though summer Literacy Tutoring is wrapping up, our team is already beginning to prepare for the fall tutoring season – and we need volunteers in August to help us prepare!
We need volunteers to assist with preparing books, including filing, sorting, and ensuring all books and supporting materials are ready when fall tutoring commences.
All sorting will take place at the Schultz Center at 4019 Boulevard Center Dr. starting Monday, July 31 - but you are welcome to stay for as many hours as you like!
Sign up here for your volunteer shift.
Children’s Book: Give Your Park a Spark, by Anna A.P.
Illustrated by Marina Perisic
July is National Parks and Recreation Month. Do you want to teach your child about environmental protection and pollution? What would you say if we had a way for your little one to learn and have fun at the same time?
Give Your Park a Spark is a touching story that will raise environmental awareness in your kids. It will help them understand the consequences of pollution and the importance of protecting planet Earth.
Give Your Park a Spark invites children to become aware of the things we do every day that damage or pollute the environment. At the same time, it shows how by joining together, we can make a difference in our community and enjoy the resources that this planet offers us.
Submitted by Kathi Hart, Tutoring Program Content Specialist
Parent Education Corner: Reading To and With Your Child – Benefits and Beginnings
There are many benefits of reading to your child every day. Some are: helping your child bond with you, increasing their vocabulary, supporting great reading skills, and exposing children to topics that assist with their imagination and empathy.
READ JAX, a community impact group with the goal of having every child reading on grade level by 3rd grade, has adopted the slogan, Twenty Minutes a Day Paves the Way. Research shows that 20 minutes of reading or being read to can:
- Provide time for parents and caregivers to bond with children
- Expose children to as many 1.8 million words per year
- Help students reach the 90th percentile on standardized tests
- Improve listening skills
- Prepare pre-kindergartners for school
- Improve their earning potential later in life
- Lead to healthier lives
READ USA is a proud partner and leader with READ JAX in this effort toward grade-level reading. Do you want to learn more about the benefits of reading? Visit https://readjax.org.
How can you get started with reading to your child?
Young readers should be free to explore books and all the wonderful parts. You can start by talking with your child about what they notice in the pictures. Look through the book with your child and discuss what they notice before reading the words. Some questions you can ask before reading are:
- What is happening here?
- How do they feel?
- How do you know?
- Where are they?
- What time of day is it?
- What is the weather like?
- When is this happening?
- Why are they doing that?
There is a lot to discover in the illustrations before you read the words on a page. Let your discovery help you set the mood for your reading time together this week.
Submitted by Tabetha Cox, Chief Programs Officer
Do you have any questions or ideas for the Parent Education Corner? Anything you’d like to learn? Let us know here!