CARES Launches Summer Writing Initiative

Take Me Out to the Ballgame! Last Saturday CARES launched the 1st annual summer writing initiative to help encourage kids to continue learning during the summer months. Research shows that kids can lose up to 30% of skills gained during the school year over the summer if they do not continue reading and writing DAILY.

CARES, together with the City of Berwyn, the Berwyn Recreation Center and District 100, asked coaches and parents to encourage kids to read and write EVERY DAY this summer.

And to help, CARES passed out over 400 blank books to kids playing baseball at the Rec and talked to them about writing a baseball story.

Kids can write (or draw pictures) about their baseball experiences during the summer and submit their stories to their coaches. CARES will award prizes for the stories and the team w/ the most submissions will get an ice cream party at Over the Rainbow!

I was amazed at the response from the kids and adults:

One parent, when learning about the program for her 4 year old said, "But he's only 4, he can't write." All the more reason to start practicing. 3 and 4 year olds can absolutely write! Writing is just representing your thoughts and ideas on paper. Young children should be encouraged to draw pictures, symbols and other representations and adults can say, "Tell me what you wrote there." You'll be surprised at the detailed story you'll hear! Your child will be developing language skills that are the prerequisite for good writing skills. Next, you can encourage your young child to label their picture, form letters to represent words and write their name (a GREAT skill to practice for kindergarten readiness!). I realized that this writing initiative was a wonderful opportunity to educate the adults in our community about some early childhood development basics.

A 7 year old asked, "Can the story be fiction?" "What a cool idea!" I shouted. The other kids immediately wanted to know what fiction was. We talked to the whole team about fiction vs. non-fiction, poetry, picture books, songs, and all of the other creative ways to represent your ideas on paper.

Another player wanted to know what they should call their books. So, we got to brainstorming about titles. Some ideas the kids came up with: THE BIG HIT, HOMERUN, THE WORST PLAYER IN THE WORLD (note to coach: work on self-esteem!), and BASEBALL ROCKS.

CARES is super excited to read all of the entries later this summer and award the prizes. We will surely share some on this blog. If you see a kid in Berwyn playing baseball this summer, ask if he/she has started a baseball story. You can help by encouraging all the kids of Berwyn to read and write every day this summer! Together WE can make a difference!