AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR AND PUBLISHER CREATES NEW, FREE READING PROGRAM FOR PRE-BORN TO PRESCHOOL
BEAUFORT, SC: "You could say I've just had it!" claims Carole Marsh, longtime children's book author, publisher, and participant in the reading/writing education market for fifty years. Lounging in her hammock by a lap pool in her backyard in Beaufort, South Carolina, you might assume she's retired. "No!" insists the author, who has just completed a free reading program for parents and parents-to-be, READ EARLY, READ OFTEN, READ FOREVER. And why? "Because I'm sick and tired of unnecessary, abysmal reading scores. The solution is easy; read the name of my program!"
Marsh claims she is no reading specialist, but her personal and professional background belies that. Born an extreme preemie (24 weeks; 1 pound and eight ounces), she was perfectly fine except for exceedingly poor eyesight brought on by a now obsolete newborn eye procedure. She did not get corrective lenses until she was in tenth grade.
"So how did I ever learn to read?" the author asks with a laugh. "The answer is I finally taught myself. The impetus to teach my own children to read early, often, and forever was inspired by my experience. It was nothing elaborate, expensive, or magical. It was just starting early, as in before they were born."
The author of many books (51 pages in Books in Print) is thrilled that one of the most popular and longest in print is HELLO IN THERE!: POETRY TO READ TO THE UNBORN BABY. "We can turn these sorry reading scores around if we just start so much earlier," claims Marsh. Science shows that babies in utero who are read to are calmer, listen, and build neural patterns that facilitate later literacy success, and possibly, higher IQ.
"Waiting until kids get to first grade is too late," the author says. "Waiting at all is unnecessary. Playing catch-up later is a trap. Kids need to go to preschool already well-disposed to become successful readers. I believe we fool ourselves and cheat kids out of a head start if we do not start pre-birth and never let up."
Created by Marsh's Curriculum Lab and Studious Studios, this simple program is aimed at parents and grandparents. "No one is going to read to an unborn child except the mom-to-be, dad, brothers or sisters if any, and grandparents who are desperate for their grandchildren to get a head start in reading," says the author. "No one cares more."
Indeed, the internet is rampant with blogs devoted to teaching babies to experience literacy much earlier than preschool. But Marsh has aimed her program at a certain audience.
"While all parents care about their children's educational success, I wanted to reach that one-on-one parent who is desperate and devoted enough to buy into preborn reading," Marsh explains. "I was a divorced young mom when I first used these methods. I had no money to spend at a school supply store, nor did I need to; that's what I want parents-to-be to understand. This is easy, it is free, and it is a process, not an event. It's not hard. It's fun, and most of all, it's effective."
At first glance, READ EARLY, READ OFTEN, READ FOREVER is a simple format that adults can enjoy (the unborn baby does have some pithy comments!) and instantly grasp. As the sections [Preborn, Newborn, Crawler, Toddler, Pre-preschooler] come up, straightforward "how to" information and encouragement can make anyone want to grab a pregnant mom and begin to read to her tummy.
You'd think it could not be this easy, but as screens relay specific methods to be done at home by anyone at any time, you are easily convinced. You don't even need a book. "Read to baby, or just talk to it," the program begins. "A book, a story, the electric bill, the how-to instructions for their crib. Baby is listening and learning. By the baby's first birthday, it will have learned all the sounds needed to speak its native language. So, what would we be waiting for?"
READ EARLY, READ OFTEN, READ FOREVER is about instilling the habit of reading to your child, so that listening to words and sounds and stories sticks in that growing brain. The program offers all kinds of ideas as the child grows, some quite simple and charming. Interspersed throughout are humorous asides from the author building reading readiness with her own children. (One involves her daughter spelling the word LIQUOR at church, that she learned by reading a neon sign while they waited for dad to get out of his college class.)
The program encourages parents that there are no rules, no right or wrong, and that it's ok to take a break as needed. It also advises recruiting babysitters, siblings, grandparents, and others to read to the child. Marsh seems to recognize (perhaps from her own experience) that parents are often at work, tired, and would rather watch a football game or take a nap. "Audio books are fine!" she says, relating that she kept lots of paper and plastic letters she would spread around and make a game for her willing toddlers to collect [as in, "Bring me all the As"] to keep them occupied and learning so she could get some work done.
As you go through the program, it soon seems plausible that any child could pick up literacy skills, learn letters and numbers, simple words, and even read well before preschool. "It's NOT about being able to read, but about being able to learn to read because there was such a sincere, earnest, and dedicated head-start," says Marsh.
The program also suggests the library as a great source of free books, sharing books with fellow new parents, and other logical, unusual, and "well, that's a great idea” kind of things that really do make the program easy to do, with little cost. There's also a bit of wise psychology, such as there is no wrong way to read. "If your child wants to say the word cat is firetruck, that's ok. They probably know it says cat, but are just playing, teasing you a bit, and having fun with words-nothing wrong with that."
In fact, adults who go through the program will learn a lot that might serve them well as their child grows. Things we might wish our parents had done, such as not always correcting, or saying what we'd done wrong, not right. "There is NO wrong way to read a book," Marsh insists. "I usually start at the end, myself."
Perhaps one of the best aspects of READ EARLY, READ OFTEN, READ FOREVER is the promise of long-term rewards for parents and children. The author shares how she and her children built a permanent reading bond over time, sharing or suggesting books and texting or emailing new facts on mutual, beloved subjects such as sharks, dinosaurs, space, pirates and more.
"My only goal is to help parents understand they are the solution to their child growing up to read well, the kind of reading everyone needs to survive in class, real life, and the work world. We all want that for every child."
READ EARLY, READ OFTEN, READ FOREVER is copyrighted by the author but downloadable at no cost for use in the home, parenting programs, and more from gallopade.com. For further information, contact Gallopade International at 800-536-2438 or reach the author directly at carole@gallopade.com
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