Youngsters in Osceola County have an opportunity to win a Samsung tablet while discovering the joy of reading next week as Osceola Reads hosts a Spring Break Reading Challenge for children ages 3-5.
Parents are encouraged to read with their little ones and to log the amount of time spent reading on the website Beanstack. com. At the end of the challenge, the Osceola Reads team will look for the little reader that has the most minutes read and will award them a new Samsung Galaxy Tablet. Osceola Reads, a program launched by the Early Learning Coalition, was established in 2014 to improve sub-par Kindergarten readiness rates in the county. In 2014, the rate of Kindergarten readiness in Osceola County was only 13%. By 2024, those rates had improved to 45%. The Osceola Reads program has sponsored contests like the Spring Break Reading Challenge, resulting in over 50,000 documented minutes read and offering prizes like tablets to the top readers.
Studies show that early reading plays a big part in future reading and school success. According to a report by the Commission on Reading, “The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children. This is especially so during the preschool years.”
“Nothing is more important than early learning,” Osceola County Commissioner Ricky Booth has said. “We tend to overlook the 3- and 4-year-olds, but we have to have them ready to start school. Those who aren’t ready are the ones who don’t pass the third-grade assessment tests, and then they don’t pass the 10thgrade assessments, and then they don’t graduate.”
While reading aloud to preschoolers has definite cognitive benefits, it has other values, as well: developing a stronger bond with your child; decreasing screen time; encouraging creativity; and creating a thirst for knowledge.
To join the Spring Break Reading Challenge, register at www.osceolareads.com/springbreak- reading-challenge. The challenge is open to children ages 3-5 who have not yet entered Kindergarten and who reside in Osceola County.
