For me, a love of reading came from the school library, devouring as many books as I could—and it’s like that for a lot of children.
The school library is the foundation of not only a love of reading, but helps to develop the curiosity and sense of adventure in children. Books have a big part in the development of child’s overall growth, helping young children to build logic, sensibility, reasoning and socialization skills.
The library is the place where Olivia has begun to develop those first steps in the love of reading—and as the parent of a reluctant reader, I’m thankful that there are shelves and shelves filled with books (thanks to the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation—Olivia’s school participated in the Foundation’s Adopt a School program last year!) to foster this love of reading.
For her, it’s important to have the ability to go to the library and choose any type of book she’s interested in, books that include her favourite characters and her favourite subjects.
For us, the weekly visits to the school library have changed the way that she feels about reading, and have increased her skill level. Though we’ve got an impressive home library of books for the girls, there’s something about being able to choose a new book, that your parents haven’t added to the library for you—there’s something exciting about being able to pick it out yourself, sign it out of the library and spend the entire week reading a couple of library books before bed. That fosters a love of reading.
There’s no doubt about it—school libraries are essential to the development of children, but not all libraries are as lucky to have their shelves filled.
Indigo Love of Reading Grants
Unfortunately, there are many school libraries across Canada with empty shelves, or shelves that include books that are as old as fifteen years or more, due to inadequate funding.
To help fill libraries for children and encourage children to develop a love of reading, the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation just announced the recipients of its 2016 Literacy Fund GrantTwenty-five high-needs elementary schools across Canada will benefit from the Foundation’s $1.5 million annual grant commitment. The grants will help to fill those library shelves, and break the cycle of dwindling bookshelves – helping kids just like ours to find that love of reading on library shelves.
For more information on the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation please visit www.loveofreading.org
This post is brought to you by Indigo but the images and opinions are my own.
