Join us on Thursday, Sept. 20, from 7-8 p.m. for a special reading of "The Story of Ferdinand," the classic story of a peaceable cow by Munro Leaf. We'll also do crafts and other activities related to the book during this event, which is most suitable for children ages 5 and up. It's all part of a nationwide event designed to highlight the importance of early literacy skills for ALL children. Please call 301-891-7259 to register so we have enough craft materials.
The national event is sponsored by Jumpstart, a group that helps economically-disadvantaged preschoolers gain the early literacy skills they need by pairing them with caring adult tutors.
Here's how Jumpstart describes its second annual Read for the Record event: "The goal of Jumpstart’s Read for the Record campaign is to raise public awareness about significant disparities in early education. An early learning gap exists as early as age 3, due primarily to economic inequality. And because of these early discrepancies in language acquisition and literacy skills, one third of America’s children arrive at their first day of school unprepared to learn. Awareness about this issue is crucial, as this early learning disparity serves as a critical precursor to our country’s persistent educational achievement gap."
Posted by The Bee at September 5, 2007 04:58 PM