Feb 09,2006 00:00
It's been proven that children who read achieve. They boast higher test scores and recognize letters and numbers more often than their peers who read less often. But getting children to crack open a book sometimes can be the tricky part for parents and teachers.
Nine years ago, the National Education Association launched the "Read Across America" program to encourage, excite and energize children to do just that.
Originally created as a one-day event to celebrate the joy of reading on March 2, the birthday of Dr. Seuss, NEA's Read Across America has grown into a nationwide initiative that promotes reading every day with more than 45 million participating annually.
"As teachers and parents, we know that kids who read - and are read to - do better in school and in life," said NEA President Reg Weaver.
"NEA's Read Across America provides a unique opportunity to encourage parent and child interaction to foster literacy on a large scale," Weaver said. "We remind parents, teachers, children and the community that reading is indeed fun because you're never too old, too wacky, too wild to pick up a book and read with a child."
For more information, visit www.nea.org/readacross.