Tuesday, September 22, 2020
Children in Maryborough will be prepared for a lifetime of learning through an LNP initiative aimed at encouraging a love of reading and boosting language skills.
LNP Leader Deb Frecklington joined the LNP’s Candidate for Maryborough Denis Chapman today to announce the 1000 Books Before School initiative.
The LNP will invest $100,000 in libraries and daycares across the Fraser Coast region to support parents, grandparents and carers to read 1000 books with their children before they begin school.
“Reading is one of the foundation skills kids need to ensure they can succeed at school,” Ms Frecklington said.
“Reading 1000 books with children before they enter the classroom will help prepare them for the lifetime of learning that lies ahead.
“Research shows the brain develops faster in the first five years than at any other stage.
“The LNP’s 1000 Books Before School program will encourage parents and carers to read together with their children and develop foundation skills in those early childhood years.
“The LNP’s initiative is aimed at giving thousands of kids in Maryborough the best start to schooling life.”
The 1000 Books Before School program will complement the LNP’s trial of phonics screening in Year 1 across 100 schools to boost literacy and ensure students don’t fall behind. Phonics screening checks work by assessing a child’s ability to identify and apply different sounds in basic words and can pick up if children have a reading difficulty.
“I want local kids to get the best chance in life and that’s starts with reading from a young age,” Mr Chapman said.
“Worryingly, NAPLAN results in Maryborough have gone backwards in all but one local state school in the last five years.
“We need to try new approaches because business as usual isn’t working.
“The 1000 Books Before School initiative will help build vocabulary and language skills in early childhood that are essential for learning to read.
“The LNP will invest $100,000 in the program here in Maryborough on resources for local libraries to be part of the program.
“Our campaign will instill a positive attitude toward reading and encourage cognitive development – not just reading but other forms of communication as well.
“The initiative will also bring families together to read and create fun memories.”
Reading for five to ten minutes every day helps kids develop communication skills and understand basic concepts like the correlation between sounds and letters. Learning to identify and read sight words is crucial for young children to become fluent readers.
