Why is reading important in Childrens lives?

• Books help children devleop vital language skills.

• Reading can open up new worlds and enrich children's lives.

• Reading can enhance childrens's social skills.

• Reading can improve hand-eye coordination.

• The more we read the more informed we are. It's the means to upgrade ourselves constantly. Reading helps us keep abreast of the times.

• Reading helps develop creative and critical thinking skills. It develops vocabulary, sharpens language skills and leads to greater cognitive development. It leads to a better understanding of self.

• Children who are introduced to reading at an early age are seen to have a better understanding of phonics. They acquire language skills with ease, have a richer vocabulary and possess greater cognitive abilities.

SA adults lag behind in global literacy stakes

South Africa is experiencing serious issues in the current literacy levels.

The South African Institute for Race Relations issued a statement earlier this year confirming that comparing to other emerging markets South Africa is lagging in adult literacy despite spending more on it.

South Africa has a adult literacy level of 89%. The only other country with a lower literacy level is India at 62.8%. The factors faced as challenges in adult life may be negated with the introduction of effective reading programs introduced in the foundation stages in a child's life.

Therefore focusing on enforcing a strong foundation in the early education phase of life with regard to reading, writing and numeracy may positively assist these children in their adult life. The importance of reading cannot be stressed enough.

Reading paves the way to education and self-enlightenment

Reading gives you incomparable pleasure. Read one good book and you will know what the joys of reading are. Reading nourishes your mind. Reading gives you both information and knowledge (and teaches you to distinguish between the two). You eat to keep your body fit and working, right? Then reading is food for your mind and soul.

Reading informs you of what's happening around, helps you remain updated about what's changing and not just that. Reading encourages you to think and imagine, think out-of-the-box and imagine the impossibles.

Our group believe that the empowerment by bring the wonder of reading and writing as well as numbers to our children, we assist them later in life.

Early Literacy Fact

Early Literacy Facts

Did You Know?

• 1 out of every 5 of our nation's school-age children suffer from reading failures.
• A majority of all poor readers have an early history of spoken-language deficits.
• A child who is not a fluent reader by 4 ^th grade is likely to struggle with reading in adulthood.
• Poor reading and writing skills have a devastating lifelong impact - 75% of school dropouts report reading problems, and at least half of adolescents and young adults with criminal records have reading difficulties.

The importance of literacy for learning

"Literacy is a critical tool for the mastery of other subjects and one of the best predictors of longer-term learning achievement. Reading must be considered a priority area in efforts to improve the quality of basic education, particularly for learners from disadvantaged backgrounds." EFA Global Monitoring Report 2005: Summary Unesco Publishing

"Reading for fun is a foreign idea to many people," says Prof Thomas van der Walt, head of the Children's Literature Research Unit at Unisa, "Yet research shows that there is a direct link between reading (stories) - and school results. The more children read, the better they do at school. Even in maths and science." Daily News October 28, 2004

More Thoughts, facts, figures on reading ...

Thoughts, facts, figures on reading

 The following books are considered to be excellent books teachers could recommend to their scholars:

Teachers' top 10 books for children

1. "Charlotte's Web" by E. B. White

2. "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak

3. "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein

4. "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss

5. "Goodnight Moon" by Margaret Wise Brown

6. "I Love You Forever" by Robert N. Munsch

7. "Because of Winn-Dixie" by Kate DiCamillo

8. "Oh! The Places You Will Go" by Dr. Seuss

9. "The Little House" by Virginia Lee Burton

10. "The Polar Express" by Chris Van Allsburg

Happy Reading guys ...

Top 10 books for kids ...

Thoughts, facts, figures on reading

"To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark." — Victor Hugo

 

Kids' top 10 books

1. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

2. Goosebumps series by R. L. Stine

3. "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss

4. "The Cat in the Hat" by Dr. Seuss

5. Arthur series by Marc Brown

6. "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White

7. Shiloh trilogy by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

8. "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen

9. "Holes" by Louis Sachar

10. "The Giver" by Lois Lowry

"We read to know we are not alone." — C.S. Lewis

Thoughts on reading

I came across an article today which is quite interesting. It gave a bit of facts and figures on reading focusing on the reading habit of kids aged 8-18. The article is dated April of 2010 a bit old but its scary to think what the facts are in 2012.

Our kids are losing their ability of free thinking which is characterised by reading. They get too wrapped up in games, movies, mobile phones and - don't say it - the internet, that creating a habit of reading and imaginative thinking are becoming foreign concepts in today's youth.

Thoughts, facts, figures on reading

• Today's 8- to 18-year-old's spend an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes using entertainment media across a typical day — or more than 53 hours a week.

• Over the past five years, time spent reading books remained steady at about 25 minutes a day. Time with magazines and newspapers dropped from 14 minutes to 9 minutes a day for magazines and from 6 minutes to 3 minutes a day for newspapers. 

• The proportion of young people who read a newspaper in a typical day dropped from 42 percent in 1999 to 23 percent in 2009. (Kaiser Family Foundation)

• More than three out of four of those who are on welfare are illiterate. (Washington Literacy Council)

Now a few famous and infamous quotes on reading:

"A capacity and taste for reading gives access to whatever has already been discovered by others." — Abraham Lincoln


"The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." — Dr. Seuss

"The greatest gift is a passion for reading." — Elizabeth Hardwick


"No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance." — Confucius

"Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers." — Harry S Truman

"There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all." — Jacqueline Kennedy

"Literacy unlocks the door to learning throughout life, is essential to development and health, and opens the way for democratic participation and active citizenship." — Kofi Annan