The Durham Public Library Helps Children Get Ready to Read

The Durham Public Library is pleased to announce that they have been awarded a $3,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

Learning to read begins before children start school. Young children need to develop important language and literacy skills before they can actually learn to read. This grant will enable the Durham Public Library to present a series of Every Child Ready to Read® workshops for local preschools, childcare providers, and parents. Additional grant funds will be used to develop circulating “literacy kits” that support the early literacy practices. These kits will contain books, music CDs, manipulative toys, and an idea packet of pre-reading activities that parents and children can do together.

Parents of children from birth to age five are invited to attend an Every Child Ready to Read® workshop at the Durham Public Library. The workshop will be offered on two dates: Thursday, April 3 at 6:30 p.m. or Saturday, April 5 at 2:00 p.m. This workshop will demonstrate how parents can use five familiar and easy-to-use practices to develop language and other early literacy skills in children from birth to age five. The Every Child Ready to Read® workshop explains why pre-reading skills are so important, demonstrates how to help children learn the skills, and sends parents and caregivers home with early literacy activities they can incorporate into their family’s daily routine.

The Every Child Ready to Read® @ your library® was developed by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and the Public Library Association (PLA), divisions of the American Library Association, in conjunction with national reading and education experts. The newly released second edition of Every Child Ready to Read® offers research-based practices that adults and children can enjoy together while helping children learn early literacy or pre-reading skills. The practices are talking, singing, reading, writing, and playing.

For more information about upcoming Every Child Ready to Read® workshops, as well as other materials and resources for parents and caregivers, contact Children’s Librarian Christine Michaud at the Durham Public Library at (860) 349-9544, or visit www.durhamlibrary.org.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 17.500 museums. The Institute’s mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas.