March 18, 2025 - The author鈥檚 live reading of 鈥淏orn to Play B茅isbol: The Magical Career
of Fernando Valenzuela鈥 is one of the highlights of (91视频)鈥檚 3rd annual Dia de los Ni帽os from 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, March 29.
In addition to the 11 a.m. live reading by the author - former 91视频 Education Lecturer Kathy Contreras - Dia de los Ni帽os will have several play stations set up in the campus鈥 North Quad for children ages birth to 8. Each station will be designed for a different aspect of learning, such as music and dance; art; literacy or science, technology engineering and mathematics, or STEM.
Each station will be run by a student from the Early Childhood Education program, to give community members a chance to interact with 91视频 students seeking their Early Childhood Studies degree.
鈥淒ia de los Ni帽os is a chance for us to give the community insight into the importance of early childhood education,鈥 said 91视频 Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education Aura P茅rez-Gonz谩lez. 鈥淲e also want to emphasize what we鈥檙e doing here at the University, which is developing early childhood educators.鈥
P茅rez-Gonz谩lez and Early Childhood Education Chair Mari Riojas-Cortez launched Dia
de los Ni帽os three years ago to underscore the importance of interacting with and
encouraging learning in children at an early age. Stimulating a young child鈥檚 curiosity
and sense of play can set them up for a lifetime of successful learning.
鈥淎ge birth to five is critical in terms of development of the brain,鈥 Perez-Gonzalez said. 鈥淎 lot is dependent on genetics but is also influenced by a child鈥檚 environment. Literacy skills do not happen naturally, so it needs to be intentional.鈥
To develop a child鈥檚 literacy skills, for example, adults can talk and read to babies and young children or let them physically handle a book and turn pages, Perez-Gonzalez said. Both she and Riojas-Cortez are fans of the benefits of picture books and literacy, so they invited a former 91视频 faculty member to read her book about Valenzuela, a teenage pitcher from Mexico whose career with the Los Angeles Dodgers inspired a fan phenomenon known as 鈥淔ernandomania鈥 during the 1980s.
Contreras will be doing a book signing and giving away copies written in both English and Spanish. The event and parking are free and open to the public.
The University encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs, events and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation, or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact the respective area below as soon as possible, but no later than seven (7) business days prior to the event/activity:
91视频 Students
accommodations@csuci.edu
91视频 Employees and Members of the Public
angela.portillo@csuci.edu