Take the PTA Family Reading Challenge this July!

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This post is part of the PTA Family Reading Challenge Blog Party Challenge series. View the full post on “The Mixed Bag”.

1234822_10153272270660416_412819113_nWhen I think of reading and what it means to me, I start to have flashbacks of my childhood. I constantly had my nose buried in a book. My favorite place to to hang out? The library. While most kids were spending their chore money on toys, I was spending mine on books. The book store was still in existence and a great source of happiness to me as a child! I excelled in reading courses, and enjoyed reading all sorts of genres throughout my school years. Any book worm, book lover will know the joy that comes from reading a book – the opportunity to escape into a world that is unlike their own, or whatever the book reader is looking for!

As a parent, I really hope that my children enjoy reading as much I did growing up and do now, that’s why I decided to blog about the PTA Family Reading Challenge and help spread the importance of reading! What’s the PTA Family Reading Challenge?

In July, National PTA will empower families with tips and activities that encourage ongoing reading, while challenging them to share photos, videos and memories that demonstrate how and why reading together is a fun and treasured family activity. Studies show that reading daily during summer break is the most important activity to prevent learning loss, especially for younger students. However, busy activity schedules can make it challenging to keep reading a priority, especially by the middle of the summer.

  • 61% of low-income families in the U.S. have no age-appropriate books in their homes for children.
  • Good reading habits have a greater impact on a child’s reading skills than household income.
  • Nearly 40% of parents say their child does not spend enough time reading for fun.
  • 73% of children get ideas from their parents for books to read for fun.
  • Where parent engagement is high, classrooms score 28 points above the national average.

My son is 2.5 years old and just this past month he’s gotten into this (wonderful) habit of insisting on a story to be read to him before bedtime. I remember back when he was very little, he never cared about books (but what infant does?) or at least refused to sit still. Now he actually lays back and interacts with the photos and listens to what I am saying. It pretty much melts my heart. Even if I have a million of things to do – I will always take a few minutes to sit down with him to read.

Some of our favorites in the home? Dr. Seuss, Berenstein Bears, Peppa Pig books, and anything with Elmo!

Be sure to check out the PTA Family Reading Challenge and sign up so you can participate in activities and win prizes!

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