The Blue Haven Community consists of four mainly residential suburbs in the northern end of Wyong Shire on the Central Coast of NSW. Wyong Community is situated approximately 75 kilometres from Sydney CBD. The area covers 915 square kilometres. The residential population is 139,801 with 11,074 children aged 0 to 5 years (ABS Census 2006).
The Let's Read program commenced in Blue Haven, San Remo community in 2010 and has since expanded to be offered by nine community services who are members of the Smith Family Local Literacy Loop.
Gorokan Schools as Community Centre helped to promote the core values of the Let’s Read Program, whilst families participated in a Stories and Songs program for children under 2 years. The idea was to promote and demonstrate how to use books effectively with babies, why it’s so important to introduce books at a young age, and how to incorporate reading into everyday life.
The families who participated all had babies under 12 months and were delighted to learn about simple and practical ideas of using books with their little ones. Many families claimed they were surprised at how interested their babies were in the books, saying they only get through a couple of pages, but could see their baby’s interest in books increasing with time. The parents were thrilled with the book packs they each received, stating the flyers were a great starting point in looking for additional quality books for their baby.
September 2018
The Let's Read program Blue Haven is sponsored by The Smith Family.
E letsread@thesmithfamily.com.au