March 18, 2025 - The author’s live reading of “Born to Play Béisbol: The Magical Career
of Fernando Valenzuela” is one of the highlights of (CSUCI)’s 3rd annual Dia de los Niños from 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, March 29.
In addition to the 11 a.m. live reading by the author - former CSUCI Education Lecturer Kathy Contreras - Dia de los Niños will have several play stations set up in the campus’ 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 CSUCI students seeking their Early Childhood Studies degree.
“Dia de los Niños is a chance for us to give the community insight into the importance of early childhood education,” said CSUCI Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education Aura Pérez-González. “We also want to emphasize what we’re doing here at the University, which is developing early childhood educators.”
Pérez-González and Early Childhood Education Chair Mari Riojas-Cortez launched Dia
de los Niños three years ago to underscore the importance of interacting with and
encouraging learning in children at an early age. Stimulating a young child’s curiosity
and sense of play can set them up for a lifetime of successful learning.
“Age birth to five is critical in terms of development of the brain,” Perez-Gonzalez said. “A lot is dependent on genetics but is also influenced by a child’s environment. Literacy skills do not happen naturally, so it needs to be intentional.”
To develop a child’s 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 CSUCI 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 “Fernandomania” 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:
CSUCI Students
accommodations@csuci.edu
CSUCI Employees and Members of the Public
angela.portillo@csuci.edu