First 5 San Bernardino is encouraging parents and caregivers to give books as gifts in addition to toys this holiday season.
The Gift a Kid a Book campaign is about sharing the importance of learning and literacy with young ones. About 90% of a child’s brain develops by age 5, so making sure that all children 0-5 have access to books and are exposed to language from an early age is crucial for their development.
Beyond brain development, taking time to read to a baby or toddler is critical to developing social-emotional learning skills because the time together reinforces the importance of attentiveness and learning. Parents and caregivers must embrace their role in establishing curiosity and a love for learning through consistently taking the time to read with a child. Kids respond to the experience of dedicated, close and physical time with a caring adult.
We can also help you find the best books for children by age:
If you’d like to help us share the message about early literacy, we created a Partner Toolkit with sample social media posts, newsletter articles and resources. https://first5sanbernardino.org/reading/
We also brought snow, Santa and books to kids in San Bernardino County!
- Snow Day and Book Reading with Santa at Kordyak Elementary School
- Story Time with Santa at the VESD Family Resource Center with Moses House Ministries
- Big Bear Book Giveaway
