BEGIN WITH BOOKS / Parent Reading Tips

The Imagination Library and BEGIN WITH BOOKS encourage parents to read aloud 15 minutes every day. These 15 minutes could be one of the greatest gifts you give your child. Reading aloud promotes language development and builds the skills needed to learn to read and arrive in kindergarten ready to learn.  But that’s not all.  By establishing a regular reading habit, you are also building your child’s emotional resilience and giving them the gift of self-regulation. What do we mean by self-regulation? Self-regulation is the ability to manage our emotions and deal with life’s challenges in healthy and predictable ways.  We develop self-regulation skills through the build ing   of the neura l pathways that make up our stress-response system.  Children who grow up in stable households, with loving and attentive caregivers, have an easier time regulating their emotions.  This, in turn, makes it easier for them to make new friends and get along with others in school and other social settin

Are you reading regularly to your little one?  If yes, keep it up!  You are preparing your child for life-long success.  The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends reading aloud to children for at least 15 minutes a day beginning in infancy.  Those 15 minutes spent reading together can be the best part of the day for both of you.  According to the AAP, children who are read to during infancy and preschool have better language skills and are more interested in reading when they start school.  What's more, sharing a book helps kids and parents create a closer bond which is so important for cognitive and social-emotional development. Reading to a child doesn't always come naturally Even though educators and children's advocates have long beaten the drum about the importance of reading to children, it doesn't always come naturally to parents.  They may have negative associations around reading and books from their own childhood, or school experience, or be uncomfor

The Gold Standard in Partnership -- Since 1999,  Charleston County First Steps (CCFS)  has been helping disadvantaged children be healthier  and better prepared to start school.  They do this through improving access to quality childcare, and by supporting, educating and advocating for parents.  Their two primary programs are: The Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership (EHS-CCP) , a federally-funded grant program that is intended to ensure private child development centers deliver quality childcare through Early Head Start services to low-income families with children ages 6 weeks to 3 years. Parents as Teachers (PAT) , weekly home visits conducted by certified Parent Educators/Advocates to meet the needs of low-income families with children prenatal through 5 years old.      Charleston County First Steps has been a strong supporter of BEGIN WITH BOOKS (BWB) since its inception over 10 years ago.  However, with the arrival of Program Manager Lea