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Independence, MO —
Ladybug Girl was the character of the day on Thursday.
Across the United States, including in Eastern Jackson County, children had ‘Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad’ by David Soman and Jacky Davis read aloud to them as part of Jumpstart’s campaign Record for the Record.
In partnership with the Pearson Foundation, the effort celebrated literacy and early childhood education, all while attempting to break the world record of a shared reading experience, set by last year’s Read for the Record when 2.2 million people participated.
Kathy Newman, library assistant with Mid-Continent Public Library, visited a handful of schools Thursday morning to read the story aloud, including the early education program at Randall Elementary School in Independence.
A retired junior high school teacher, Newman now has a group of schools that she reads to regularly as part of her role at the North Independence MCPL branch.
1. What do you enjoy about doing the activity?
Newman: It’s fun, and the kids like being involved in something that they know is involving kids in other places besides us.
2. What do you hope the kids will take away from the event?
Newman: It helps them feel like they’re a part of something. I always try to make the kids realize that they are part of the library. During the year, we talk about how their parents’ taxes help pay for the library, so then the parents own the library – (the kids) help own the library, so they have a feeling like they want to come in. This is all part of something bigger. It’s not that they’re just doing something as kids in preschool, but they’re doing something like other kids across the country.
3. How important is it to start reading aloud to children at the preschool age, rather than wait until they get to kindergarten or first grade?
Newman: Oh! It’s so important because this is the future, not only of readers, but it’s the future of education for them. This is it. We always talk about where they can find a book in the library – things like this make them want to be readers in the future. If they don’t start now, they’re going to get hooked on just electronics or things like that. This is important, and we have programs at the library to get the kids and their families involved in reading at lots of levels.
Ladybug Girl was the character of the day on Thursday.
Across the United States, including in Eastern Jackson County, children had ‘Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad’ by David Soman and Jacky Davis read aloud to them as part of Jumpstart’s campaign Record for the Record.
In partnership with the Pearson Foundation, the effort celebrated literacy and early childhood education, all while attempting to break the world record of a shared reading experience, set by last year’s Read for the Record when 2.2 million people participated.
Kathy Newman, library assistant with Mid-Continent Public Library, visited a handful of schools Thursday morning to read the story aloud, including the early education program at Randall Elementary School in Independence.
A retired junior high school teacher, Newman now has a group of schools that she reads to regularly as part of her role at the North Independence MCPL branch.
1. What do you enjoy about doing the activity?
Newman: It’s fun, and the kids like being involved in something that they know is involving kids in other places besides us.
2. What do you hope the kids will take away from the event?
Newman: It helps them feel like they’re a part of something. I always try to make the kids realize that they are part of the library. During the year, we talk about how their parents’ taxes help pay for the library, so then the parents own the library – (the kids) help own the library, so they have a feeling like they want to come in. This is all part of something bigger. It’s not that they’re just doing something as kids in preschool, but they’re doing something like other kids across the country.
3. How important is it to start reading aloud to children at the preschool age, rather than wait until they get to kindergarten or first grade?
Newman: Oh! It’s so important because this is the future, not only of readers, but it’s the future of education for them. This is it. We always talk about where they can find a book in the library – things like this make them want to be readers in the future. If they don’t start now, they’re going to get hooked on just electronics or things like that. This is important, and we have programs at the library to get the kids and their families involved in reading at lots of levels.
