Early childhood literacy is crucial

Literacy begins at birth. Early childhood literacy promotes the success of our children and our community. Studies show that children's brains are 80% developed by the age of 3, and when entering kindergarten, at age 5, young students must know thousands of vocabulary words in order to be successful at the beginning of their academic careers. We can support early childhood literacy by introducing youngsters to books as early as possible. Research confirms the value of reading aloud to children. By reading to infants only a few weeks old, they get familiar with language. They hear the human voice in a variety of inflections and see faces that show a multitude of expressions as well as the diversity of colors, shapes and textures that many books contain. Reading to children also aids priceless parental bonding — the snuggling and playful, loving touches encourage even the littlest babies to appreciate the time spent with mom and dad that is so critical in childrearing. Parents have the privilege — and responsibility — to be their children's first teacher, and by spending as little as 15 minutes daily, caregivers boost their infants' and toddlers' brain power and encourage the love of books. Preschoolers absorb information at a rapid pace. Learning about numbers, letters, friendships and community gives them a true head start toward success in school and in life. Of course, we want to give our children every chance for success, and early efforts to make our children successful are also good for our community. Research is proving that literacy, strong language, math and science skills are important to a viable workforce. Yet, in the U.S., 30 million adults are considered functionally illiterate, meaning they lack the skills to be able to perform basic tasks of daily living and work. Additionally, 130 million Americans are only reading at or below a sixth-grade level. Collaboration of efforts for early childhood literacy with educators and career enhancement programs, with support from governmental officials, offer the opportunity to improve such outcomes. Of the available early literacy programs, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is truly the most unique in providing free books to infants and toddlers. Beginning at birth, registered children receive one free book each month until their 5th birthday, allowing them to acquire a 60-book library by the time they enter kindergarten. The books are age-appropriate, award-winning stories. Erie County Imagination Library is the local affiliate of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. It is sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Sandusky and partners with many organizations, agencies and foundations to bring the high-quality reading directly to the homes of our area's preschool children. Since 2012, the Erie County Imagination Library has been committed to early childhood education, and nearly 3,000 of our youngest community members have graduated from our local Imagination Library. Currently, the Erie County Imagination Library serves an average of 2,300 preschoolers each month, which is 55% of all the eligible children in Erie County. The books it provides are offered to all children regardless of income. The benefits of this book-gifting program have been recognized at various governmental levels, including the state of Ohio. Beginning in 2019, the Ohio Governor's Imagination Library, with funding from the state legislature, offered matching funds to the Imagination Library affiliate in every county in Ohio. The future success of our children will prove this is a wise investment. Based on this information, the Sandusky Library agrees that it's especially important right now that we find ways to provide opportunities and resources for families with young children. It collaborates on the program because Imagination Library is such a simple way to support families in that it provides pre-selected, high-quality, age-appropriate books for families. Imagination Library helps parents discover books and authors that they might not have selected on their own and then families can visit their local library to check out even more books by these authors and illustrators. The Sandusky Library values its partnership with the Erie County Imagination Library. The library understands the importance of early literacy and its impact on later school success. Imagination Library is a fantastic way to get books into the hands of children and helps to create a community of lifelong readers and learners. Parents of participating children are just as thrilled to have access to Imagination Library as the children. As one parent states: "I highly recommend this program not only from a parental viewpoint but also from a professional (speech language pathologist) view. It encourages excitement with reading and is available to everyone." For information on enrollment and reading resources, visit ohioimaginationlibrary.org. Anne H. McGookeyChairperson, Erie County Imagination LibraryKiwanis Club of Sandusky Carly RogersYouth services librarian, Sandusky Library If you want to submit a Local Voices column, please email it to brandonaddeo@tandemnetwork.com. Columns should be 500-750 words and include the writer's headshot, or other photo.