I am involved with Lapsits for Early Literacy™ because I have seen first hand what can happen when very young children are not prepared to be readers. When parents have not provided language experiences long before sending a child to school, learning to read is a struggle.
Each week when I volunteer at a Title1 Elementary School, I see second graders who want to do well in school, but can’t. A high percentage of the children here require one-on-one tutoring in reading because they are not reading on grade level; these same children have difficulties in their other subjects as well.
Through Lapsits, we help parents understand the need to start the process by reading to their children at a very early age, instilling in them a love of books and stories. When a 5 year old is ready to learn to read, his chances for success in school are much greater.
As a nonprofit, Lapsits plays a key and unique role by promoting early literacy through its awareness events, parent workshops, free age-appropriate books, and volunteer center readers in at-risk areas.
We invite you to use the resources of this website and its links to share early language and literacy with your little ones whether as a parent or caregiver. We look forward to your continued support as we work to make very early literacy the norm for our community.
Joseph
P. Long, Board Chair