West Virginia University Child Development and Family Support Services is celebrating Week of the Young Child April 2-8 by sharing the gift of reading with kids.

Starting Friday, April 7, Director Leslie Haning will visit local elementary schools and licensed child-care and Head Start centers to hand out copies ofHello Mountaineer,a book that takes young readers on a tour of the WVU campus with the Mountaineer mascot.

In honor of the week, we will be making deliveries to sites over the next week to recognize professionals who work with and educate young children,she said.

Hanings first book delivery is at 9:30 a.m. Friday at the Presbyterian Child Development Center on Forest Avenue.

Early learning experiences are crucial to the growth and development of young children,she said.Week of the Young Child (sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children) is an opportunity for early childhood programs across the country, including those in higher education, to hold activities to bring awareness to the needs of young children.

Student-parent support

WVU Child Development and Family Support Services provides a support system, enabling an estimated 1,200 student-parents to pursue and complete their studies at WVU .

Programs and services include:

• the Student Child Care Assistance Program that provides low-income undergraduate students with reimbursement for a portion of their child-care expenses;

• Student Recreation Center Child Care Room, offering free drop-in child-care service for members;

• listserv for student-parents that keep them up to date on programs and services;

• and lending library that contains parent education resources, including books, brochures, videos and audio cassettes.

For information about other services, go tohttp://www.sa.wvu.edu/childcare/or e-mail childcare@mail.wvu.edu .