Read to Babies/Toddlers Campaign
Read to your baby/toddler daily
Have you read to your baby today? Are you struggling with reading to your baby? Don't know why it is critical you read to your baby today and every day? Don't know why reading to your baby helps them enjoy school more? Then call us and WE can help YOU understand the importance of reading to your baby every day, help you with reading to your baby, and provide you tips to help you and your child enjoy the precious bonding time of reading to your child.
"If a child has never heard the word, the child will never say the word; and if you have neither heard the word nor said it, it's pretty tough to read it, and to write it." Jim Trelease, author of the bestseller The Read-Aloud Handbook.
WHAT WE DO IN THIS CAMPAIGN:
(1) We created an informative brochure that provides valuable tips to reading to babies/toddlers as well as suggested books. The tips are for those babies 0 to 4 months, 12 to 18 months, and 18 to 24 months. The brochures are distributed to the Stork Group of the IRMC Auxiliary and the IRMC Women's Health Care who in turns provides them to all families of newborn in the hospital. The brochures are also distributed to local day care centers, doctor's offices, and anyone who requests the brochures.
(2) All Indian River County babies born in 2013 will receive a brand new book, ‘Abigail the Snail’ authored by local residents Beth and Michael Hofer. We are grateful for Outhouse Ink Publishing for donating the books to us and for the Stork Group and Women's Health Care for distributing the books on our behalf.
(3) We visit various childcare centers to discuss the importance of reading to young children and to model reading to toddlers.
(4) Once a year we have a book drive to have local residents donate gently used baby books that are then distributed to local families who have no access to books or who have no or limited books in their homes. We have already distributed well over 1,000 books to such families.
Ask us about our free Read to Babies/Toddlers informative brochure on reading to babies and toddlers. It provides valuable tips on reading to babies from 0 to 4 months, 4 to 12 months, 12 to 18 months, 18 - 24 months. In the brochure you will also find types of books to consider in each age category as well as suggested books to read for each age category. We distribute them to every family in our county that has a baby. "I have a college degree but I was pleasantly surprised how helpful and informative the brochure was on tips on reading to your baby. It helped me relax and not worry about not finishing a book or not reading the book in order. I am really enjoying the time reading to my baby." K.W.
Baby book drive
We are looking to collect (1) new baby books for all newborn babies in Indian River County - cost is around $3,000 yearly; and (2) gently used baby/toddler books to donate to families with no or very few books in their homes. Distribution drop off sites for donate books includes all Marine Bank & Trust branches and all Starbuck coffee branches. Books are distributed each spring. We have distributed over 1,500 gently used books in the past two years.
Barbara Brooks chairs this campaign and she can be reached at barbbrooks100@yahoo.com.