INGLEWOOD — A love for reading must be developed early in life if children are to hold onto it for the rest of their education. This is the notion that drives Bright Stars Reading Club and Enrichment Center.

“It is so important to have a love for books at this age so that they will love to read on their own as they get older,” said founder and director Terri Norwood, who also teaches at Daniel Freeman Elementary School. “Reading is the most important skill that [children] acquire in school. As a teacher of 17 years, I’ve seen it. The students of mine that read most, they do well in all the other subjects, they are just successful students overall. It is the key to everything. … They have to read. … It’s important for every aspect of their lives.”

Children from first through third grade begin every Saturday — from 9 to 11 a.m. — by participating in a read-aloud session to enhance their vocabulary and strengthen their pronunciation before entering a vocabulary and comprehension development session, which is then followed up with a discussion and question-and-answer segment. As an added incentive, the group’s most intent listeners receive a prize from a treasure box, that range from glow-in-the dark stickers and yo-yos, bubbles and school supplies.

“It used to be where she would do reading because of an assignment,” said Felicia Newman, speaking about her 7-year-old daughter, Jasmine, who has been attending the reading club for two months. “But now she does it on her own. … Sometimes children feel that reading is a chore, but she actually really wants to do it. It makes me feel proud of her and makes me feel good that my daughter loves to read and that it is something that she really loves to do.”

Since signing up for the Bright Stars Reading Club, Newman has noticed that the play time Jasmine is allotted at home after her studies always involves books. She even uses the time to read to her younger sister. And at her school, Daniel Freeman Elementary, teachers have acknowledged that her reading comprehension is increasing, as are her vocabulary and writing skills.

“I love coming here because we get to read and find out the answers to questions,” said Jasmine. “It helps me because when I have a word that I don’t know how to spell I will sound it out.”

But more importantly they walk away with lessons that can be applied to their daily lives. On Saturday, when The Wave visited the site on Manchester Boulevard, the young boys and girls were getting a course on how and when to use polite words. “Excuse me,” “You’re welcome,” “Thank you,” “May I,” and “Please,” may have eased themselves out of many young people’s vocabulary, but they are very much a part of the language of the center’s bright stars.

The golden rule of the day was: “Treat others the way you want to be treated.”

After going over what this meant, Norwood further reinforced the concepts by illustrating to the children what not to do. This came in the form of reading Bill Cosby’s book, titled “The Meanest Thing to Say,” in which a bully tempts a fellow peer with a game that involves tossing tasteless words back and forth. The young boy who was summoned to play, wrestles with doing such and upon getting wise advise from his father, thwarts the bully’s plan of making a mockery of him by simply saying, “so what?” and walking away.

Visuals from the book and props allowed things to sink in. And as they did, the group of roughly 14 were then able to give their feedback. Even at ages 5 to 8, they had plenty to say.

Naima Sanders, 7, who has been attending the center for a year, “learned that bad things are not good to do, good things are good to do because a lot of people in America are doing a lot of bad things like killing people and trying to kidnap children, but that’s not nice,” she said. “They have to just be nice, they have to leave people alone. If someone is mean to me, I am going to say ‘So what?’”

Ayanna Clay, 8, also learned that, “You’re not supposed to be mean to other people and to solve your problem, if somebody talks about you, all you have to say is ‘So what,’ then walk away.”

One shy young boy, 5-year-old Chandler Faux, was chosen to speak before the group. Giving a disclaimer, he said “I don’t remember much,” with a defeated look on his face as tears fought to remain subsided. Norwood, however, would not let him get off the hook that easy. After much persuasion, Faux mumbled an answer and to his surprise he was right. The light that shined from his eyes was priceless.

And this is the testimony that several parents claim has been the case for their children.

“She loves reading now,” said Willie Amagye about his 6-year-old daughter, Josephine, who has been attending for 6 months. “On Saturday, instead of watching Disney [cartoons], she loves to come here and read. Now I find myself spending a lot of money on books. It makes me feel good. I take her to the library now and she just runs off and grabs them.”

He noted that now she is more confident reading in front of her classmates at school and often gives her teachers feedback. In addition, Josephine’s love for reading has sparked her imagination, creating another past-time: Drawing.

Lajoy Walker brought her daughter Ayanna Clay, 8, six months ago after her teachers from 156th Street Elementary School recommended that Ayanna improve her fluency and spelling.

“She definitely has improved those things,” said Walker. “We practice reading every 15 minutes, that is what Mrs. Norwood inspires us to do. At first, she was very hesitant to read especially in front of large groups, now she is more comfortable reading in front of people.”

Janelle Benson’s daughter, 6-year-old Ahmya Johnson, “already liked reading but now her comprehension level is increasing which is part of the reason why I wanted to bring her,” she said. “Now when I ask her questions about the stories, she is able to answer the questions without me coaxing it out of her. … It’s a very big improvement in just three weeks.”

Probably the most exciting was the “lights, camera, action” portion of the morning, where one child acts as a director, using a clapper board to call the others into action. They enacted scenarios in which they had to ultimately revert to using nice words to reference one another.

Next was sight-word bingo, one of more than two dozen learning games club members have to choose from. While it was a thrill to engage in friendly competition, their little minds kept reeling as they not only had to call out the words but make a sentence out of them. And back to the treasure box they go.

The last portion of the day was the independent and partner reading session. Colorful books, with pop-ups and lively illustrations met each child’s desire. And it was no wonder, because there were more than 500 books to chose from.

“Because they are young, they learn by seeing, sensing, touching, acting things out,” said Norwood. “They are visual, concrete learners. They need to see, touch and taste. Often we taste food if it is related to a story. So the story dictates what we do.”

After reading books, children in past sessions were able to further make connections by going on field trips to the movie theater, live plays and the Tooth Fairy Cottage. At the latter, they learned about oral hygiene.

Special guests, such as policemen, firefighters, dancers, authors, artists, magicians and animal handlers have come to the site to give the children one-on-one lessons.

Crazy hat and sock days, make for fun, as do tea parties, where guests dressed up like characters from the classic story “Alice in Wonderland,” before they jotted off to see Debbie Allen’s play “Alex in Wonderland.”

In the five-and-a-half years that Norwood has run the program, she has serviced more than 600 kids. But a lack of donations and only small grants have caused the numbers to dwindle because parents must then pay fees, which are $20 per class or $60 monthly. That money, said Norwood, pays for rent, snacks, prizes, props, presenters, and field trips.

She hopes one day funding will be so consistent and abundant that parents can enroll their children either at a low cost or no cost at all. Even more, “my vision is to have the Bright Stars Club House,” said Norwood. “I would love to have a bigger place where kids can be outside,” have a place for tutoring, a writing workshop, a computer room and rooms for dance, music, and acting lessons.