Pay it Forward with LeapFrog's 20/20 "Reading Month Challenge"

By posting this information I was entered to win books by Leap Frog

We take education seriously at our home.  From a very early age my husband has started our daughter on reading and we are proud to say that while she is just seven years old and in the first grade she is already reading chapter books and if given the chance would live at the library.

This is why I will be taking the Leap Frog 20/20 Reading Challenge pledge. 

Did you know that:

• Twenty-six percent of children who were read to three or four times in the last week by a family member recognized all letters of the alphabet. This is compared to 14 percent of children who were read to less frequently.

• According to NCES, only 53 percent of children ages three to five were read to daily by a family member. Children in families with incomes below the poverty line are less likely to be read to aloud every day than are children in families with incomes at or above poverty.

• The NCES also reported that children who were read to frequently are also more likely to:

1. Count to 20 or higher than those who were not (60% vs. 44%)
2. Write their own names (54% vs. 40%
3. Read or pretend to read (77% vs. 57%)

As a part of the March "Reading Month Challenge," LeapFrog will be partnering with a great non-profit, Kristi Yamaguchi's Always Dream Foundation, to donate 20 books to the foundation's under-served classrooms for every pledge received. Through this program, they plan to donate over 350,000 books to children in need.

One of the keys to reading success is knowing if your child is ready to learn to read, there are several ways to know if you child is ready such as:

• Notice and discriminate rhyme, alliteration and smaller units of sound
• Identify and name letters and use letter-sound knowledge 
• Appropriately handle books and demonstrate concepts of print
• Interact during read-alouds and book talks
• Use emergent reading skills
• Retell stories
• Write their name
• Write to convey meaning

If your child is able to do any of the above, then join me in taking the LeapFrog's 20/20 Reading Month Challenge.  I promise you will be impressed with your child's success.

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