Giveaway/Caring Causes: #FindtheWords

As the school year begins, too many children are already falling behind. I am 1 of 30 bloggers helping #FindtheWords with @SavetheChildren to raise awareness of the need for early childhood education for all kids. I am participating in this social media campaign to highlight 30 words in 30 days -- to symbolize the 30 million fewer words that children from low-income homes hear by age 3.

Save the Children provides kids in need with access to books, essential learning support and a literacy-rich environment, setting them up for success in school and a brighter future. Learn more about Save the Children’s work in the US and around the world: http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6153159/k.C8D5/USA.htm

Envision. What do you envision for your kids?

I'm a teacher. Every year, I have seniors that really make me wonder what sort of vision their parents had for them. They seem to lack a lifelong foundation and value for learning, and I worry about what their future holds.

My older daughter has
always wanted to be a
scientist; my younger daughter
 wants to write books.
Photo by Nate Jorgensen

My children are both bright and inquisitive. It makes me happy when they ask questions, when they insist on reading books past bedtime, when they chatter all day long. Even if it's annoying sometimes, deep down it makes me feel good, because I know that I can envision a future for them that is a lifetime full of discovery.

I don't know what my parents or my husband's parents envisioned for us when we were young. I do know that we were both read to a lot. I know that books were important, that asking and answering questions was a part of growing up, that our parents encouraged us to go outside the standard lessons to discover things that we wanted to learn. As adults, we are still learning new skills. We both learn new music and new instruments. We're both learning a new language. We've even learned new job skills, finding ourselves in employment that wasn't what we originally anticipated with our college degrees.

I don't have specifics when I envision the future for my daughters. I know that they have a great foundation already, because they were born to parents who read and talk a lot, parents who value continued education and model it by example, parents who create a literacy-rich environment. Kids who don't have that fall farther and farther behind each year - and it's a gap that follows them through high school. I've seen the differences in preschool kids in Head Start programs compared to higher-income areas. And it's nothing against the parents - they're doing everything they can to keep food on the table, and often don't realize the value of early childhood experiences themselves.

The facts are startling:

-          By age three, children from low-income homes hear on average 30 million fewer words than their peers, putting them 18 months cognitively behind his or her peers when they start school.

-          65% of young kids in need have little or no access to books.  More than two-thirds of poverty-stricken households do not possess a single book developmentally appropriate for a child under five.

-          Around the world, if all students in low-income countries acquire basic reading skills, 171 million people could be lifted out of poverty.

You can help envision a brighter future for kids in your area and far away. Connect with Save the Children. If you can't donate, talk to your local library or school district to find out how you can volunteer with early literacy programs in your area.

I have a chance to give away a $100 gift card. To enter, leave a comment with how you encourage literacy, in your own family or community. You can also enter by tweeting @mthrhood_moment and @SavetheChildren a picture of what "envision" means to you with #FindTheWords and #Envision. Deadline is September 2nd.