The Smith Family – Donate A Book Pack!

Right now, 1.2m young Australians are facing the risk of falling behind in their literacy skills due to disadvantage. Without the proper support, these children are more likely to struggle with reading and communication, limiting their ability to thrive in school and beyond.

This is where you can help. 

Through The Smith Family’s Let’s Read program, your donation will provide essential book packs to help children develop their early literacy skills—giving them a chance to catchup on their learning journey.

To ensure these children receive the crucial boost they need, The Smith Family urgently require your assistance to raise $150,000 to fund 6,000 book packs.

For just $25, you can provide a book pack and make a lasting difference in a child’s life. Your gift will equip them with the tools they need to read, grow, and unlock their potential.

A book is a gift that keeps giving, especially for a child eager to learn.

Donate now and help change the future for a child in need – CLICK HERE

Why is reading important for children?

Reading is about so much more than just the book you’re sharing right now – although that can be wonderful too. There is a myriad of benefits of reading for kids, from cognitive to social and emotional. Books and stories teach children about the world and help them develop skills to become lifelong learners.

The cognitive benefits of reading for kids

There are many reasons why reading is important for children. Reading is a key tool for overall learning and to help children become better communicators. Story books give children exposure to new words and the rhythm of language, expanding their vocabularies and enhancing their language development and their ability to speak and write in properly constructed sentences.

Talking about the stories and illustrations helps improve children’s comprehension skills and gives them practice in problem-solving and critical thinking. Reading can help children build concentration and focus as they follow a story from start to finish.

They can strengthen their memory by retelling the story to another family member or seeing if they can recall what happened in the story they read the previous day before reading it again. Books that include repetition are terrific for building children’s confidence with reading, as they remember and “read” key lines along with you.

Stimulating children’s imagination and creativity are further benefits of reading. Children can imagine what happens next, describe an alternate ending, create their own illustrations or act out the story during playtime.

The emotional and social benefits of reading for kids

Stories can be a great way to show children how to behave in various situations. You can find books about practically everything, from making friends, to healthy eating and what to expect when you start school. Reading a diverse range of stories helps children develop empathy and understanding. Books can also be a great way to start a conversation about emotions or difficult topics.

Sharing a story – or a whole stack – can also be a special time that strengthens family relationships. You may bond over a particular line that gets you both giggling or one you like to shout together or say in a silly voice every time you read it. Setting aside a special time to read together also shows your child they are important to you, valued and loved.

The benefits of reading in education

There are many educational benefits of reading for children. Exploring stories together is the best (and most enjoyable!) – way to help children learn to read themselves. Repeated exposure to words and the rhythm of language in the early years makes learning to read a natural progression for children and is certainly more enjoyable for everyone than sight words and home readers.

Being able to read helps children with all their other learning, such as writing and maths and being able to read instructions at school on the whiteboard or on worksheets.

Having a special space at home to showcase books helps children know where to find their favourites – and also helps make it easy to find your library books when it’s time to return them! You could have a bookshelf or basket for children’s books or simply keep a stack on rotation on the coffee table.

Fostering imagination

Reading is one of the best ways to foster imagination. The more we read, the better we can build up and expand our knowledge. We can be open to new ideas and have an understanding of new things. Reading helps us practice imagination by letting the words describe a certain image while the reader manipulates the picture in the mind. This practice strengthens the mind as it acts like a muscle. But what are the benefits of imagination?

Benefits of imagination

Imagination has many benefits. It encourages creativity, which brings about new ideas. It also takes a huge part in innovation. Without imagination, people wouldn’t be able to come up with new inventions and new ideas that help advance society. It also pushes discovery and understanding. Martha C. Pennington and Robert P. Waxler state in “Why Reading Books Still Matters: The Power of Literature in Digital Times”,

“If imagination and magical thinking connected to reason spur discovery, innovation, and new understandings, it can be maintained that literature has a key role in both developing and engaging imaginative and magical thinking”.

This shows that reading is a key part of enhancing imaginative thinking, which can lead to innovation and understanding.

To the magical future

Unfortunately, not everyone can acquire the many benefits of reading. The World Literacy Foundation believe in literacy as the very base of education and lifelong learning. In addition to enhancing imagination, reading has so many benefits and can provide people with many opportunities. Together, we can make a difference to improve the future of many children around the world through the power of literacy.

Donate now and help change the future for a child in need – CLICK HERE