This is when i volunteered for the Valencia County Literacy Council

1. B.O.O.K. READERS By: Rachel Aragon

2. b.O.O.K READERS B.O.O.K. readers is a part of the Valencia County Literacy Council, and specialize in reading to younger children. The B.O.O.K. readers program helps to promote early reading to children who are very young, and also helps parents understand the importance of reading to their children at a very young age.

3. B.O.O.K. stands for Books Open to Our Kids and the goal of B.O.O.K. readers is to promote early literacy to young children and their parents. The readers of this program are volunteers who volunteer at low income medical clinics and the readers that volunteer read to the children that are waiting for their appointment. The medical staff at these clinics talks about the importance of reading to their children, and they also give the family a book to take home.

4. This program is based on the “Reach Out and Read” program which came from success at the Boston children’s hospital. The Reach Out and Read program is “based nonprofit organization that promotes early literacy and school readiness in pediatric exam rooms nationwide by giving new books to children and advice to parents about the importance of reading aloud.”

5. The B.O.O.K. readers program is part of the Valencia County’s Literacy Program which was founded in 1987. Valencia County’s Literacy’s mission “is to enable adults to achieve personal goals and very young children to achieve pre-literacy skills through literacy services provided to the families free of charge.”

6. Lori Griego is the coordinator for the B.O.O.K. reader program and states that “I think reading establishes that nurturing relationship with kids, and it helps them develop their vocabulary and imagination. I read to my kids almost every day, and I read to my granddaughter’s, one’s two and one’s almost one”

7. Many researchers have done research on the importance of reading to children at a very young age. According to the United Nations Children's Fund, "Investing in children from birth to age 3 is the only way to ensure that every child has the opportunity to reach his or her full potential."Many young children are not read to in their early years of life, and later down the road are not set up for the necessary literacy skills they need to have in school. From personal experience if I was read to more as a child I would have more interest in reading. I was read to as a child, but not to often. Every parent should be informed about the importance of early childhood reading.

8. Exposure to reading at an early age can help children in ways that parents might not even know such as their language and writing skills. Dr. Paul Thompson from UCLA stated that “Recent neurodevelopment research has shown that even before children can read themselves, reading aloud to very a young child is extremely beneficial to the child."