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Promoting literacy community-wide

In today’s world, being able to read is needed more than ever.

It goes far beyond just being able to enjoy a book or magazine, or even this newspaper, for example.

Reading winds through so much of our lives, from writing to use of computers to traveling to shopping and many other areas.

While it is not impossible to get through life with without being able to read, it definitely makes things more difficult.

That’s why it is so great to see the continuation of the One Book, One School, One Community program at Weirton Elementary School this year.

The program returned this past week, with an assembly at the school and the announcement of this year’s book.

For those who might not be familiar with the program, each student is provided with a copy of the selected book. They are given reading assignments each night, and it is encouraged for their families to read along with them.

This year’s book is “The Lemonade War.”

The book tells the story of a brother and sister who wind up with competing lemonade stands.

It also provides some additional educational opportunities, focusing on mathematics and even business.

The expand even more, the school has put together both a friendly competition — in order to encourage attendance by the students — and to encourage community service.

On Saturday, the school held a lemonade stand at the MedExpress Kidz Day, with any donations going to Alex’s Lemonade Stand, a charitable organization aimed at supporting to battle against pediatric cancer.

Many of us probably take being able to read for granted. It’s a skill we’ve developed for many years, and we probably don’t think about there being people in our area who are unable to read.

One Book, One School, One Community encourages us all to spread the message of the importance of literacy.

It’s not just a matter of giving a child a book, but have family, friends and others in the community get involved.

The students can read together and talk about the book, parents are asked to read along with the children, assisting them with their reading assignments and maybe helping them with words with which they may have difficulty.

The kids are asked to keep track of their reading, and city residents can do the same, even if they are not reading that particular book.

Stop by the Mary H. Weir Public Library and pick up a copy of the community reading log.

At the end of the program, everyone who participates will have a chance to win some prizes.

It shouldn’t be about the prizes, though. The real reward for this project is the encouragement of reading.

It is also an opportunity to encourage families to spend more time together.

When I was a child, I enjoyed reading. My parents would read to me when I was much younger, and read with me as I began to grow.

Eventually, I would start reading on my own, but they were always there to help me with a word or to provide an explanation if needed.

That’s not necessarily the case today.

We all know how busy we get these days, and we’re not always able to spend time together.

This, however, is an opportunity for parents to take even 15 or 20 minutes with their child, read together, spend quality time together and encourage their educational opportunities.

Literacy opens up many worlds to us. On the practical side of things, reading helps us to further our education and make our way around the world.

More figuratively, reading helps to inspire our imaginations, introducing us to heroes and villains and destinations around the world.

We can learn more about ourselves and others through reading.

The idea of One Book, One School, One Community is a solid one, and it’s a program I’m glad to see has been embraced by Weirton. It would be great to see it picked up in other areas of the Ohio Valley.

After all, reading is still fundamental, and without it, who knows where we would be.

(Howell, a resident of Colliers, is managing editor of The Weirton Daily Times, and can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com or followed on Twitter @CHowellWDT)

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