On Thursday May 5 at 10:00 a.m., over forty celebrity readers will be reading to young children throughout Ventura County to kick off the Take 5 and Read to Kids campaign.
The impressive lineup of readers who have committed to taking time out of their day to promote the importance of reading early to young children includes Sheriff Geoff Dean, Supervisors Kathy Long and Steve Bennet, County Executive Officer Mike Powers, Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen, CSUCI President Dr. Richard Rush, Ventura County Office of Education Stan Mantooth and several others.
Events are geared to kids age 0-5 and will begin at 10am on May 5th at the locations below:
- E.P. Foster Library, Ventura
- Pacific View Mall, Ventura
- Thousand Oaks Mall – Open Book Store, Thousand Oaks
- Camarillo Public Library, Camarillo
- Blanchard Community Library, Santa Paula
- Over 35 preschools throughout the county
“Early literacy begins at birth,” said First 5 Ventura County Executive Director Claudia Harrison. “By age four, 90% of a child’s brain development is complete, laying a foundation for school, work and life. Words build that foundation - even before a child can talk, words help their brain grow.”
Take 5 and Read to Kids! is a partnership between the Ventura County Star and First 5 Ventura County to raise awareness about the importance of early childhood literacy. Take 5 encourages parents and caregivers to talk, read, and sing with young children ages 0-5 to support their early language and literacy development.
“Being introduced to books in the home and reading to a child before they enter school has been shown to be the strongest predictor of school success. And yet, in Ventura County, nearly a third of children are not read to everyday,” Harrison adds.
Economic research shows that early investment in children can produce lifelong dividends to those children and to the taxpayers supporting those investments. Early investment is far more effective and less expensive than remediation to help teenagers and young adults catch up later on.
“Falling behind in education impacts our economy,” said Ventura County Star Publisher Shanna Cannon. “We want parents and everyone in the community to become champions of early literacy and all it takes is to read with a young child for a few minutes each day. That’s what Take 5 is about – take 5 minutes today! Reading early and often can give Ventura County children the start they need to succeed – in school and in life!”
For more information visit First 5 VC on Facebook or online at http://www.first5ventura.org/
