Panhandle Health District

                                                              8500 N. Atlas Road         Hayden, Idaho  83835

www.phd1.idaho.gov

Oct. 21, 2011

Free Training to Increase Child Literacy

Kellogg – Panhandle Health District and the Kellogg Public Library will teach child care providers how they can help increase literacy rates among children at a free training on Nov. 5.

                  Participants will receive 20 paperback books appropriate for children up to age 6, a book bag and one resource book for child care providers courtesy of the Idaho Child Care Reads program through the Idaho Commission for Libraries.

                  Research shows that providing quality books, training and library information to child care providers increases the frequency with which they read to children. The Idaho Child Care Reads program aims to increase books, reading opportunities, language use and literacy in children’s lives.

                  According to the Idaho Commission for Libraries, there are fewer than 50 children’s books in two-thirds of early childhood classrooms across the United States and more than 28 percent of those classrooms are likely to have less than one book per child.

                  A large-scale study of child care centers in the United States found that television sets were more prominent than books in child care centers that serve low-income children. More than 80 percent of the centers in this study lacked book corners, age-appropriate books and other print materials for young children.

                                    The training at the Kellogg Public Library, 16 W. Market Ave., is from 9 a.m. to noon and includes breakfast and refreshments. Participants will receive three hours of IdahoSTARS-approved training that they can use for child care licensing.

                  At noon following the Idaho Child Care Reads training, Jennifer Ross, PHD Child Care Resources Center coordinator, will offer a free orientation to the IdahoSTARS Professional Development System. The 30-minute orientation will cover scholarships and cash incentives for attending continuing education classes in the early childhood field.

                  Registration is required for the Idaho Child Care Reads program and the orientation. Space is limited. To register, call 415-5145.