Books Before Birth and Beyond (B4 Literacy) believes that cultivating a reader and thinker can be compared to planting a garden. In order to plant a garden, you will need four items: soil, seed, water and sunshine.
You need the same four items in order to cultivate a reader and thinker for life:
The soil can be compared to the child. A mother and father should begin to read to the child while in the utero stage. When this is performed a reading bond is established and formed between the parents and child before birth and beyond.
The seed can be compared to the books that are read to the child in utero and the books that will be read to the child during the lap years, gap years, and pre-teen years.
The mother and father can be compared to the water. Water is a source of life, and you as the parent(s) of the child are the source of life for the child. You will be responsible for teaching the child everything he/she will need to know.
The sunshine can be compared to the support system (grandparents, aunt, uncles, siblings) that will play a major part in the child's life.
These four items given to the child in a balanced fashion will produce a child that will have a hunger and love for literacy and numeracy for a lifetime.
