March celebrates National Reading Month

As the seasons change and spring brings new life, we’re reminded that growth happens at home too – especially through the simple, powerful habit of reading together each day.

National Reading Month is an annual celebration dedicated to fostering a love of reading. Schools, families, libraries and community partners participate through reading challenges, literacy events, story hours and classroom activities. This month highlights the importance of reading and reinforces how strong literacy skills shape academic performance and lifelong learning.

Along with these resources, Huntington County residents also have access to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library provides caregivers with the opportunity to enroll their children ages up to five in the program, which sends one free book in the mail each month until the child reaches their fifth birthday.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library strives to …

• Enhance participants’ home literacy environment so that books are available in homes, caregivers begin reading to children early in life, and caregivers read to children frequently and for increasing amounts of time as they age.
• Promote positive attitudes and increased motivation to read so children ask adults to read to them, and children “play” with books independently.
• Increase the number of interactions between caregivers and children during reading so that children respond and contribute to book reading, and children practice reading skills.
• Support children’s emerging literacy skills, including understanding print conventions, naming letters and making letter sounds, increasing their vocabulary, understanding oral sounds, syllables, words and improving auditory memory.

This month, consider how your family can take a step each day to integrate reading into your household routine. For more resources, visit Reading is Fundamental. To enroll your child in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, click here.

Sarah Kemp
Executive Director
United Way of Huntington County
Prevent Child Abuse Council for Huntington County, member