The children and staff of the Bay Mills Child Development Center invites our family and our community to participate in the “Read With Me: 2004 RIF Community Reading Challenge,” Monday, Feb. 16, through Friday, Feb. 27.
Our center has received a RIF (Reading is Fundamental) Grant for the third consecutive year. This grant allows us to purchase books for ownership and for our Lending Library.
We have three Family Fun Night/RIF Book Distributions each program year. During these events the children select a book for ownership. Twice a month, Lending Library books go home with the children. The parents read the book to their child and return it to the center.
Another annual RIF activity is our “Twice Upon a Reading Challenge.” During this 2-week challenge, the parents read to their children each evening and the staff read to the children during the day — so the children are read to at least twice each day.
This year our center will participate in the “Read With Me: 2004 RIF Community Reading Challenge.” We will host this 2-week reading challenge in conjunction with our “Twice Upon a REading Challenge.”
Our goal is to have the children be read to at least three times a day — once by their parents, at lease once by their teacher and once by a member of our community.
This 2-week, mid-winter reading challenge will help foster a new generation of lifelong readers by having children read for fun and involving families and community members in motivating children to read regularly.
The challenge awards points to RIF sites that involve parents, grandparents, tribal leaders, tribal members, tribal employees, college students and our tribal school.
“Reading is the bedrock for success in school and beyond,” said Sibyl Jacobson, president and chief executive officer of MetLife Foundation. “'Read With Me' gives communities and families the opportunity to join forces to stir a love of reading in young people — a gift that will last a lifetime. MetLife Foundation is happy to partner with RIF on this important program.”
Reading is Fundamental, Inc., based in Washington, D.C., will name a large site champion and a small site champion in all participating states across the nation. All champions will receive money to purchase books for children. Additionally, delegations from the national champion sites will receive the 2003 Margaret McNamara Readers Cup as well as a trip to Washington, D.C.
Each day of the reading challenge we will invite members from a particular group in our community — Human Resources, health center, Law Enforcement, etc. — to come to our center and read to a child.
We will be sending out invitations to the various groups in our community and letting them know when their day is scheduled. Each group will have a different symbol to fill out and put on our wall in the main hallway. We are hoping to encourage a little friendly competition among the different community groups. At the end of the 2-week challenge, our wall should be covered with symbols representing the books that have been read to the children.
The reading times at our center will be 9 to 10:30 a.m., and 2:30 to 4 p.m. These reading times will be very informal; you may sit in the book area of our Head Start rooms or may find the rocking chair in the infant room a great place to read a poem to the babies as they go about their day.
Just come in, pick a book, find a comfortable place to sit and begin to read ... soon children listening to the story will surround you.
Please just take the time to visit our center and read a book to a child.
If you have questions, please contact Holly Wilkins at the Bay Mills Child Development Center at 248-5820.
