It’s a buzz-term, but it may be one of the most important health issues facing our youngest residents. Early Literacy is the phrase we use for what very young children should know about reading and writing before they can actually read and write.
As parents or caregivers, you want as much interaction with the kids as possible in 5 key skill areas: reading, writing, playing, talking, and singing.
Find more information on these skills and the Association for Library Service to Children’s Every Child Ready to Readinitiatives here.
The Des Plaines Public Library was recently awarded a grant courtesy of Rivers Casino in the amount of $37,000.
This money will go to complete our early literacy and imaginative play areas on the 2nd floor of the library, and to fund three years of materials for our very successful Preschool Outreach Internships to local area preschools and to the District 62 Early Learning Center.
We are also nearing completion of our multi-year early literacy renovation in several areas of the 2nd floor.
Part of this renovation was funded by a generous gift from the Des Plaines Kiwanis in the amount of $9,000.
The final touch will be the installation of interactive panels intended to encourage play and early literacy skills in babies, toddlers, and preschoolers.
Outreach to our local preschools is one of the most critical parts of our mission at the library, fostering partnerships within the community.
During summers, a two-person intern team is trained in the fine art of storytime for preschoolers, then follows a rigorous schedule of visits to nearly every preschool in our service area to perform stories, songs, call and response activities, and more.
During the school year, one intern receives training, and then works exclusively at the District 62 Early Learning Center, providing storytime for nearly every class in the building, visiting close to 600 children and offering them a selection of books for checkout.
The library is excited to serve our customers who visit the library with our new early literacy area and its coming interactive installations, and to serve our customers who may not be able to visit the library with our wonderful preschool outreach internship program.