Magical time for students

The Pre-Primary students of Djidi Djidi Primary School were delighted to be read the Magical Egg book by Bunbury MLA Don Punch.

Paint the Town REaD Bunbury and Beyond is part of a nationwide movement to promote early literacy.

Paint the Town REaD Bunbury coordinator Gaia Boranga said there was an identified need in the South West for early literature support.

“It is really about promoting the importance of early literacy and based on a lot of compelling research that the early years are crucial to a child’s long-term development,” she said.

It is about getting the whole community on board to talk, read, sing, rhyme, yarn and play with children every day from birth.

Ms Boranga said The Magical Egg book and mascot is a strategy used to promote reading.

“By taking the egg around to different schools and having it read allows it to grow and eventually it will hatch into a Paint the Town REaD mascot, the book was to help create context for the egg,” she said.

Pre-Primary teacher Rachael Murphy said getting children to read is important for developing strong language skills.

“Extra things like Paint the Town REaD is encouraging to them and they have loved having it,” she said.