Paint Hawkesbury REaD
Read, sing, rhyme, talk and play with your child every day – from birth!
These simple activities are essential to giving children the best start in life they can have!
Sharing such activities on a daily basis helps your child’s language and social development, and it increases bonding between parents and children, which is so essential to raising resilient children. And it’s so much fun, for parents and children alike!
More than 20% of Australian children arrive at school without the skills necessary to make the most of their early education.
In some communities the figure is much higher. Research shows that no matter how good their subsequent teaching, these children can fall further and further behind. They may struggle with literacy, employment, health and happiness for the rest of their lives.
Paint Hawkesbury REaD is part of the Australia wide initiative Paint the Town REaD, which works to overcome this by motivating communities across Australia to read with their children so they’re ready to learn to read when they get to school!
Paint Hawkesbury REaD is a partnership initiative of local Health and Community Services, auspiced by North Richmond Community Centre. We aim to educate the community about the importance of reading, singing, rhyming, talking and playing with your child right from birth.
- We run reading, singing and play sessions in the community, at shopping centres, playgroups and at special events
- We give away free books to children
- We run an annual reading day or reading week together with our Paint Hawkesbury REaD partners
- We distribute and maintain book boxes in the community, including doctors’ and dental surgeries, Community Health Centres, coffee shops and generally areas where parents with their young children may be waiting!