Early literacy is what children know about language and the world around them before they learn to read and write. Children prepare to read long before they enter school. Research shows that children are learning the skills they’ll use for reading from the time they are born. Early literacy skills are the building blocks of reading success, and it is never too early to begin setting the foundation. MCPL has great resources to help:
- Parents and caregivers can learn about the best ways to encourage early literacy skills in young children at our Jan Jablonski Early Literacy Training Center located in the Noyes Library for Young Children.
- The Early Literacy Center located on the 5th floor of the Silver Spring Library the Little Falls Library interactive early literacy area, and the Olney Library interactive early literacy area are designed with interactive structures for children and parents/caregivers to explore and play in together. All are filled with opportunities to develop young children’s pre-reading skills and help them become lifelong readers and learners.
- Storytimes are fun, and they help develop children’s early literacy, math, and science skills. For parents, storytimes model activities that can be used at home to guide children along the road to reading, writing, and incorporating math and science activities into daily life.
- Little Explorer Go!Kits are backpacks developed by MCPL for children 3 to 6 years old to get them excited about science and math. The kits are designed to encourage the parent/caregiver and child to actively explore the world around them. Go!Kits are funded by the Friends of the Library, Montgomery County.
- STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. It becomes STEAM when “art + design” activities are added. Science and math activities provide many opportunities for conversation, exploration, and interaction which lead to learning new words and information. MCPL has a host of STEM/STEAM programs for children and hands-on STEM stations at every branch.
- 1000 Books Before Kindergarten is a fun way to help prepare children for kindergarten. This initiative, based on The 1000 Books Foundation program, is for children from birth until they start kindergarten. Reading to children is a great way to expand their vocabularies and is an opportunity for parents to bond with children, creating lifelong memories.
Visit our website and check out all the early literacy resources, aids, and materials MCPL offers.Labels: August 2018, From the Director
