Children growing up in homes with lots of books end up attending three more years of school than children who grow up in homes with no books. The more books in the home the greater the benefit!
Reading facts from the Scholastic website
- When children are provided with 10 to 20 self-selected children’s books at the end of a school year they not only maintain their skill level during the school break but they actually make reading gains during the summer months.
- Children learn an average of 4,000 to 12,000 new words each year as a result of reading books.
- Having as few as 20 books in the home has a significant impact on propelling a child to pursue a higher level of education.
This past summer, School on Wheels of Massachusetts hosted a five-week Summer Reading Olympics event at our largest shelter site. Each week we had 30 excited students reading with their tutors earning points towards their Olympic medals and completing their summer reading assignments. Over the course of the summer, students were given new books to build their own personal library. Each student living in our 10 program sites was given a summer reading bag at the end of the school year that included new books, a journal and flashcards to keep learning during the summer months. The backpacks were provided by Crescent Credit Union and the books were donated by Jordan’s Furniture. School on Wheels of MA is dedicated to creating literacy opportunities for all children. We are consistently striving to help foster a love of reading for our students.
Please help us provide NEW quality reading materials for our students.
Our Mission: Educate Kids ~ Empower Families ~ End Homelessness
