ABSTRACT

“READ TO ME” is a grant proposal by Cynthia Malinowski requesting support in funding books to be purchased for her early childhood classroom at Oxford Early Learning Center. The purchased books will be used in creating a classroom library where the children can choose books to take home and read with their parents, siblings, and friends. Once returned, students can then choose another book. The classroom library will allow for the children to have positive interactions with significant adults. They can then take that knowledge and continue to enhance their brain development in the curriculum domain of language and literacy within the first three years of their lives. The children will be taking home books that will help in building the parent-child relationship. Family is often the first teacher of language to children. When families share books, they are modeling how to develop literacy skills and sending the message of the importance of reading and writing. Early childhood professionals are second to family, playing a crucial role in language and literacy development. They foster the child’s confidence as communicators and encourage and acknowledge the understanding of narrative while fostering an appreciation of learning. Children having the literacy materials readily available beginning at infancy will assist in decreasing the language gap no matter what socioeconomic status they are in.