March 5 Proclaimed Early Childhood Learning and Literacy Day

WAUKESHA, Wis. - Feb. 28, 2014 - PRLog -- WAUKESHA ─ County Executive Daniel Vrakas has proclaimed March 5, 2014 Early Childhood Learning and Literacy Day in Waukesha County. The proclamation will be presented by County Board Chairman Paul Decker at the Pewaukee Public Library, 210 Main Street, on March 5 at 10:45 a.m. The day celebrates the importance of reading aloud to young children and public library programs that encourage parents to embrace their role as their child’s first and most important teacher.

Brain research reveals that synapses, the connections between neurons, are twice as plentiful at 24 months as in adulthood. Reading to babies just 10 minutes a day helps ‘wire in’ those synapses so that babies get an early intellectual boost. In other words, early reading promotes early literacy. Public libraries in Waukesha County are committed to providing parents and caregivers with resources and programs to help foster their young children’s early language and literacy skills.

A new program called 1000 Books before Kindergarten challenges parents to read aloud to their children every day. Families are invited to stop by their local library, pick up a freefolder and keep track of the books read to their child. One thousand books sounds like a lot, but reading just one book every day to a child adds up to 1,000 books in three years.

March 5 is marked as Early Childhood Learning and Literacy Day in Waukesha County, but families are encouraged to celebrate the importance of early literacy by reading aloud to a child today and every day.

For more information, contact your local public library in Waukesha County or contact Waukesha County Federated Library System www.wcfls.org.