For birth to age 2
Complete 26 fun activities with your baby or toddler and receive a free board book and growth chart.
Stop by the library to sign up. You’ll receive an activity page that depicts characters from the book Peanut Butter and Jellyfish, written and illustrated by Jarrett Krosoczka. This sheet includes fun and loving activities for you to do with your baby or toddler that promote literacy development, including “Make animal noises together,” “Play peek-a-boo,” and “Attend a library program.” Once you’ve completed all of the activities with your child, stop by and pick out a new board book to take home, as well as an Eric Carle themed growth chart.
Did you know that literacy development begins at birth? Many people assume that a child’s literacy development begins when he or she learns to read and write. But there are crucial building blocks that take shape before a child ever even learns the alphabet. Learning to understand and speak language is the first step. Babies learn how to perceive the individual sounds of spoken language during the first eight to ten months of life. By eighteen months, they may know about fifty words, and after 24 months, they begin acquiring vocabulary at rate of up to ten new words a day!
How do babies learn vocabulary? First and foremost, from their parents and caregivers. Through talking, singing, playing, and reading to your baby or toddler every day, you are providing those crucial experiences that lay the foundation for later reading and writing success.
Want to know more? Follow these links for some great information and tips on strengthening your little one’s early literacy development:
Literacy Milestones from Birth to age 6 from Reading is Fundamental
Early Language and Literacy Development from Zero to Three
A Child Becomes a Reader, printable booklet from the National Institute for Literacy
And here are some books in the library collection you might find useful (click on a book cover for more information, or to place a hold.)
