The good folks over at RIF (Reading is Fundamental) just sent me an email regarding this year’s Read With Kids Challenge. The mission is simple–get adults to spend time reading with children. The goal is huge–log 5 million collective minutes spent reading with kids from now (well, April 1. I’m a little late) until June 30. Log your time individually, or with a team of three or more adults, and not only do you enrich a child’s life (sweet), you’re entered to win a trip to Disney World (double sweet). Also, the winning team gets to choose both a featured RIF program and a school in their community to win a special children’s book collection. The sweetness doesn’t stop!
One of my favorite moments from my vacation in Florida this past Christmas? Lying side-by-side with my niece on her bed as she quietly read one of the books I’d given her (A Little Princess, my favorite when I was her age), and I read mine. Every once in a while I’d tell her to stop and read out loud the sentence she was on. She got a kick out of that. Of course, I occasionally had to skip a sentence or two when she did the same to me–can’t always play totally fair with the young ones when propriety is at stake.
I’ve already spouted on about the need for child literacy, and since most of you who pop by here are writers, I’ll spare the lecture. But, if you’ve got a little carpet crawler, monkey-bar-maniac or other wee (insert cute diminutive) available, snap ’em up and get to readin’.
Have no tots with which to share the book bug? You can always send money.
RIF needs that, too.
Hell and Wheels 
April 23rd, 2009 at 3:38 pm
Ah, my favorite bedtime story. I still don’t understand why my parents had to tie me to the bed to tell it, though.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:33 pm
I did neglect to mention that it was just the two phrases being read, non-stop for nine days:’The power of Christ commands you,the power of Christ compells you…’
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:18 pm
lwright — You’re very welcome. I don’t get much traffic, but I do what I can. That Steve is a card, no doubt. I’ll make sure he knows he amused.
April 22nd, 2009 at 6:43 pm
Thanks for sharing information about the challenge.Steve… that comment made my day! You know… every minute counts! Want to meet another ambitious reading parent? qubo (who does NBC children’s programming) created an “Ambitious Mom” PSA to promote the reading challenge. You can view it (AND all those old RIF PSA’s that everyone finds so memorable) on http://www.youtube.com/rifweb
April 15th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
Sidney — What’s it about the grandmas? Mine used to take me to the bookstore every time I spent the night (which was very often, especially in the summer). She definitely helped solidify my love of reading.Charles — Me? Never. How could you possibly think that?
April 15th, 2009 at 1:37 am
Surely you weren’t reading a book with bad words in it? I’m aghast.
April 15th, 2009 at 12:26 am
I remember RIF ads when I was a kid. My grandmother used to read to me when she was my babysitter while my mom and dad worked. I suspect that has made all the difference.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
Now, Steve, I’m sure they’d let you back in the program if you made some minor modifications so you might be unobtrusive and minimally disrupt the children: crouch by the bed, completely darken the room and use only flashlights held at chin level, and keep your voice down to a gravelly whisper. You know, things that won’t be so disturbing for them.
April 14th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
I believe in taking Reading to Children seriously. Last year, my team and I logged 12,960 minutes in little over a week. We stood around the child’s bed and took turns reading in shifts, each picking up where the other left off, twenty-four hours a day. I feel we could have done better, but after nine days a neighbor heard the child screaming and called the cops. This year, the good folks at RIF have asked me not to participate…
April 14th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
Close to the Twilight Zone. Circling it with one wing dipping in…Last year I posted on how our former glorious prezzie had tried to cut funding for RIF. The nice people at RIF (knowing I am the champion of all things good and holy) somehow caught wind of that post and sent me an email about this event. So, being the champion of all things good and holy (did I mention that?), I wrote another RIF-themed blog.Anything to help ’em out, you know? They’re good people.
April 14th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
This sounds terribly familiar, for some reason…You didn’t post this last year, too, did you? I feel like I’m in the Twilight Zone right now…