by Kelly Rogge
Staff and faculty at Kansas City Kansas Community College have been spending the last few days sharing their love of reading with the children at the KCKCC Campus Childcare Center.
Nov. 17 to 21 is Kansas Reads to Preschoolers Week, a week that focuses on reading to all children from birth to 12 years old who are enrolled in Center Learning Programs and for Family Day Care Homes.
“The Kansas Reads to Preschoolers Week offers young children in the state of Kansas a chance to be read to by teachers, parents, neighbors, professors, college students and local libraries within the child’s local community,” said Doris Holleman, director of the KCKCC Campus Child Care Center. “The benefits of reading to children will offer babies, young children and youth the opportunity to look at books together with the reader, pointing to pictures in books and talk about what they see.”
More than 120 KCKCC faculty, staff and students signed up to read to children at the Campus Child Care Center this week. Holleman said reading benefits young children, youth and even babies by giving them the chance to learn new words and learn to enjoy books. She said infants and young children also have the opportunity to move and play along with the reader and other children.
“Basically, children can play make-believe, and explore new objects, places and people. Reading to older children allows them to talk about their day and ask questions that begin with who, what and why,” Holleman said. “Older children can use complete sentences to describe what is happening in the story, and they can make predictions and perform high critical thinking skills to retell stories in their own words.”
Holleman said she thinks the volunteers enjoy getting to share their love of literacy and literature for all age groups of infants, young children and youth. She said these individuals can think back to some of their favorite books such as Dr. Seuss or book collections and other favorite authors they had during their childhood.
“For some, Kansas Reads to Preschooler Week gives them the opportunity to step out of their formal role and enjoy being with people who will not judge them for using a funny voice or sitting on the floor. For others, it affords them a chance to be children again and/or relive their childhood or their children’s childhoods through connecting with a child or group of children,” she said. “Many say that they enjoy seeing the looks on the faces of the children as they begin to understand the story and be able to read along with it. Lastly, it opens doors for relationships with other departments and/or agencies that may have never been explored or developed otherwise.”
For more information on Kansas Read to Preschoolers Week, contact Doris Holleman at 913-288-7615 or by email at [email protected].
Kelly Rogge is the public information supervisor at Kansas City Kansas Community College.
