News

Wesley Mission’s Riverstone Families Connect has launched an innovative project aimed at boosting the early literacy skills of local children under the age of five.

The project, Paint Riverstone Read: Riverstone Children Rediscover Rhymes, brings together local parents, pre-schools, playgroups and daycare centres with a goal to help children memorise eight nursery rhymes by the time they are four years old.

The project is a significant awareness-raising campaign, highlighting the importance of providing a language-rich environment for children right from birth. It will involve:

• Free nursery rhyme books being distributed through Riverstone Families Connect, Riverstone Library and all participating preschools, playgroups and childcare centres in the Riverstone and Schofields area.
  
• A “Reading Bug” character who will make weekly visits to participating centres for eight weeks in Term 2 and six weeks in Term 3 to sing nursery rhymes with the children for 40 minutes.
• A “Big Day Out” for the community from 10:30am – 12.30pm on 5 September, 2009 where children will have the opportunity to perform their learnt nursery rhymes.

“We are very excited to have launched this great project for children in the Riverstone area,” said Riverstone Families Connect Coordinator, Tricia Young.

“Research shows that if a child can recite eight nursery rhymes by the time they are four years old, they will most likely be a successful reader. We believe that this is a target that we can achieve for our local children if we come together as a community and help our children to do it,” she said.

“Our experience at Riverstone Families Connect is that there is a noticeable increase in language-deficient children under five years old in the area. This causes major problems for children once they go to pre-school or school. They are far more likely to have anti-social behaviour and learning difficulties if they cannot read.

“This project is aimed at reversing this worrying trend. By providing children with the resources to learn nursery rhymes in a fun, playful and interactive way, we hope to decrease their language deficiency, increase their self-esteem, encourage them to enjoy reading and give them the best possible start to school.

“The project also aims to strengthen bonds between parents and their children and build connection between local community groups who work with children,” said Ms Young.

Linda Barclay
Public Affairs Officer, Wesley Mission
Mobile: 0434 076 642

Tricia Young
Riverstone Families Connect Coordinator, Wesley Mission
Phone: (02) 9627 3511