CHILDREN at a Torquay kindergarten had a special guest last week to encourage them to join the Premier\u2019s Reading Challenge for the Early Years.
\nMinister for Families and Children Jenny Mikakos visited Torquay Early Learning Centre to launch the initiative, and read Eric Carle\u2019s The Very Hungry Caterpillar to some of the boys and girls.
\nShe also added to the centre\u2019s library, gifting copies of Where is the Green Sheep?, How Big is Too Small?, Davy and the Duckling, and Max.
\nThe state government is asking parents and carers of young children to take part in the Premiers\u2019 Reading Challenge for the Early Years and read to their children to set them up for success in later life. The Early Years challenge aims to draw attention to the added benefits of reading to children from the day they\u2019re brought home from the hospital.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ve heard some parents think as their children don\u2019t talk, there\u2019s no need to read to them but they\u2019re like sponges when they\u2019re young,\u201d Ms Mikakos said.
\n\u201cWhen families read with their children, it not only fosters strong relationships with the most important people in their lives, but also a love of reading that we know has long term benefits”. Dr Patricia Eadie, from the University of Melbourne\u2019s Melbourne Graduate School of Education, said the recently-released Early Language in Victoria Study showed that what parents did mattered enormously for development of their children\u2019s language skills, early literacy skills such as knowledge about letters and the alphabet, and eventual reading and spelling skills. This year, the state government has introduced a new competition to encourage more preschoolers to enter the challenge. Kindergartens and childcare centres can sign up for an opportunity to win one of two visits from Jimmy Giggle from ABC KIDS\u2019 Giggle and Hoot.
\nFor more information, head to education.vic.gov.au and click on the \u201cPremier\u2019s Reading Challenge\u201d banner. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CHILDREN at a Torquay kindergarten had a special guest last week to encourage them to join the Premier\u2019s Reading Challenge for the Early Years. Minister for Families and Children Jenny Mikakos visited Torquay Early Learning Centre to launch the initiative, and read Eric Carle\u2019s The Very Hungry Caterpillar to some of the boys and girls. […]<\/p>\n