Free Magazine to Debut on National Family Literacy Day

Newswise — Thousands of community events will be held Nov. 1 to mark National Family Literacy Day. But this year, families won’t even have to leave the comfort of their own home to celebrate the importance of reading.

The National Center for Family Literacy will unveil Cultivating a Reader, which provides activities for parents to support their child’s literacy, language and reading skills. This free magazine will be especially helpful to low-income families, whose children hear 30 million fewer words by age 3 than their counterparts who live in households led by professionals.

“Parents are in the best position to instill in their children a lifelong love of learning,” said Sharon Darling, president & founder of NCFL. “Studies show that children who spend time reading with their parents are more likely to become accomplished readers themselves.

“This magazine will help parents incorporate effective, research-based literacy and reading activities into their daily routines.”

The 16-page magazine includes activities and strategies to increase the reading readiness and school success specifically for three age groups – infants and toddlers, preschoolers, and students from kindergarten through grade three.

Here are seven easy ways that all parents can incorporate to make reading a new family ritual:
• Create reading rituals by setting aside a special time and place every day to enjoy stories without interruptions;
• Cuddle closely to foster a sense of security to eliminate stress, which scientists have found produces a hormone that blocks learning;
• Provide sound effects to capture their attention;
• Make connections between the spoken and written word because hearing sounds in words is a basic skill needed for reading;
• Talk about the story to reinforce comprehension and memory skills;
• Read it again because repetition helps children recognize and remember words as well as build sequential thinking; and
• Follow you children’s pace so you don’t push them to read beyond their ability or stifle their enthusiasm.

The magazine, which was funded by Houghton-Mifflin, will be sent free of charge to parents who email info@famlit.org. It also will be distributed to family literacy programs, early childhood programs such as Head Start, libraries, school- and community-based programs, faith-based programs and day-care centers for the cost of shipping and handling only.

The National Center for Family Literacy, the worldwide leader in family literacy, has raised more than $100 million for literacy efforts since its founding in 1989. More than 1 million families have made positive educational and economic gains as a result of NCFL’s work, which includes training more than 150,000 teachers and thousands of volunteers. For more information, visit http://www.famlit.org.