BONUS: Early Literacy - Helping your children get ready to learn to read.

What is early literacy? Helping your children get ready to learn to read. You are your child's first teacher.

Enjoy five playful and simple ways to prepare your children to become readers! Children learn about language by listening and joining in the conversation. Talk as you play and choose whatever books interest your children to give you more to talk about! Fingerplays, Rhymes & Songs slow down language so children can hear the different sounds that make up words. Have a librarian show you the Library's extensive CD collections to find familiar or new songs to sing together. Shared reading--or reading books together--is the single best way to help children get ready to read. Kids who enjoy being read to are more likely to enjoy reading themselves, which leads to success in all school subjects. Watch short Read To Me videos to see how fun and easy shared reading is and find tips for choosing books your child will enjoy. Provide your children with lots of opportunities to write or draw. Many of our libraries have either writing stations or toys that stimulate small motor muscle control, which is a first step to writing. Children learn language by interacting with others and also by interacting with their physical surroundings. Come to the library and see all the ways we encourage play within our spaces.