Democratic Congresswoman Julia Brownley of Westlake Village is reading to a group of pre-schoolers at Catalyst Kids preschool in Oxnard.
It’s part of the take 5 and read to kids campaign.
"0 to 5 development is critically important," said Brownley. "Most of these children don't have the same access as many other children do, and it is important for them to have the developmental skills so that when they arrive in kindergarten, they can be equally as successful as everyone else and not fall behind. And what we have found, if you're not doing the work and particularly around reading, because reading is the avenue to learn, then children get left behind and they get further and further and further behind. And it's critically important."
Research shows that the prenatal period and first five years of a child’s life are critical for developing social, emotional and learning skills, says Petra Puls, the Executive Director at First Five Ventura County.
"What we know is that only about half of kids in Ventura County are read to every day. We also know that the more kids are exposed to language, to books, to letters, by talking, reading, singing in the home, the better off they are when they get to school," said Puls.
For many of the pre-schoolers here, English may not be spoken in the home. Another of the local celebrity readers is Celina Zacarias; she was elected as the 1st Latina woman to serve as president of Oxnard Harbor District.
"The kids need a role model," said Zacarias. "The kids need to know that outside of the classroom, there are other people that support them, that love them, that encourage them to succeed," she said.
"I grew up in this particular neighborhood, so that's why I'm so passionate about coming to this particular site. A lot of times, the parents don't want the kids to retain their native languages, the Spanish language. They want them to learn English, right? On the contrary, all the jobs I have gotten since I got out of college was because I was bilingual. So I really want the kids to understand that they have to retain their language. It's important that they retain a language not only to communicate with their parents, but the grandparents. And in doing so, they're capturing and they're keeping part of their culture," said Zacarias.
It’s so much more than an opportunity to hear a story being read, says Ventura County Fire Chief Dustin Gardner. It’s also a chance to break down barriers in the community.
"We spend five minutes reading books that are both in English and Spanish for one, to show them how easy it is to read, and I try to give them a little confidence - I don't read Spanish all that well - to show them that I'll try to read Spanish and they can try to read English, and together we'll read the books," said Gardner.
"It's the importance of teaching them how to be read, to read books, to look through books, how easy it is to take it home to their parents, to say, 'hey, please read to me', because it helps them grow and helps them mature and really sets them up for success," he said.
"For a lot of these kids, it's the first time somebody in uniform comes in here and sits down with them, and you can always see when we first sit down, they're a little timid, and by the time we're done reading and giving out stickers, they're giving me high fives. And it kind of breaks down those barriers," said Gardner.
Members of the public with children age 5 and younger are invited to these local libraries during their regularly scheduled storytimes:
- Fillmore Library in Fillmore --Wednesday, May 8th at 10:30 a.m.
- Hill Road Library in Ventura -- Wednesday, May 8th at 10:30 a.m.
- Ojai Library in Ojai -- Wednesday, May 8th at 10:30 a.m.
