About 80 kindergarten students at Sycamore Elementary School joined children across the county and the nation Thursday to listen to local leaders read from "Llama Llama Red Pajama" by Anna Dewdney as part of Jumpstart's annual Read for the Record campaign.
"It's very important that children get used to reading on a regular basis," said Orange Mayor Carolyn Cavecche, who read at Sycamore Elementary School. "It's also important that people interact with students and help them understand that."Some 26 Orange Unified School District elementary campuses are involved in the 6-year-old campaign, said Linda Stoterau, district curriculum administrator.
Similar events played out at other Orange County schools, including Heninger Elementary School in Santa Ana, where 200 kindergarten and pre-kindergarten students – many clad in their own PJs – listened as new Superintendent Thelma Melendez de Santa Ana read the tale. "Events like this encourage students to read more on their own because, at this level, reading is usually just done aloud," Stoterau said.
Jumpstart, an early education organization that helps children develop language and literacy skills, partners with the Pearson Foundation in the program. As of last year, the effort had raised $6.2 million and donated nearly 800,000 books. Final numbers for this year's event will be released in late October or early November.
Sycamore Elementary Principal Erika Krohn said students enjoyed the give-and-take of their session with Cavecche, who asked questions as she read to keep the children engaged.
"We should instill a love of reading into children, and today was just an added bonus that we could help break a record," Krohn said. "Research also shows that reading for pleasure helps boost vocabulary, and it's just a really important lifelong skill."
Five-year-old Jared Reyes enjoyed participating in the shared reading experience. "My favorite parts of the book are when the llama waits for his mom after she tucks him in and his mom later gives him a kiss," Jared said. Another student, Andrew Rivera, 5, said he often reads with his mother. Sometimes I read to her, and sometimes she reads to me," Andrew said. "I really like to read."