The Virgin Islands Department of Human Services (DHS) is encouraging all childcare providers to join today’s “Virtual Storytime” presentation on Zoom and allow their children to be entertained by the governor of the U. S. Virgin Islands, Albert Bryan Jr. It will take place at 11 a.m., Tuesday, March 8.
Dr. Seuss stated it best: “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” The DHS Office of Child Care and Regulatory Services (OCCRS) has been hosting a virtual Zoom series, designed to engage children’s interest and excitement about reading and literacy.
The Virtual Storytime series, also called the “Hour of Power,” has been ongoing since December 2021 and has featured exciting reading presentations and storytelling by local authors, commissioners, assistant commissioners, social media personalities, childcare specialists and students as well as other community stakeholders.
“The first five years of life offer a critical window for learning, with rapid brain development that does not occur at any other time of a child’s life. During these early years, children acquire the ability to think, learn language and reason; and as research indicated; this early literacy is directly related to later achievement in reading, writing and spelling.
“If children miss the opportunity to acquire foundational language skills, they are set up for immediate struggles with literacy as soon as they arrive in the classroom. Research also shows that children who enter kindergarten with poor literacy skills start behind in school and tend to stay behind, leading to poor academic achievement, high dropout rates, and often a lifetime of struggle.
“We definitely want to encourage early learning and literacy for our Virgin islands children and are thankful to our public and private partners who have assisted in this,” said Commissioner Kimberley Causey-Gomez.
Join this exciting “Story Hour with Governor Albert Bryan Jr.” at:
Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/9066357720?pwd=b2c0MlBzTVlQMXZkM0JmTkdDa0lKZz09
Meeting ID: 906 635 7720 Passcode: 373158