In an effort to promote strong early literacy skills, the Elk City Carnegie Library is encouraging parents and caregivers to read 1,000 books to their newborns, infants and toddlers before they head off to school. Dubbed “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten,” this new program is up and running at Elk City Carnegie Library.
A nationwide initiative, the program’s concept is simple. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to pick up lots of books to read, or reread, to their little ones. The goals are to promote reading readiness for kids entering kindergarten, instill a lifelong love of reading and encourage parent and child bonding.
Children will receive a welcome package when they sign up at the library, each package will contain a free book and information about the program. After each 100 books, children will receive another free book until they reach their 1,000 books goal.
If you read a child just one book a night, that’s 365 books in a year, 730 books in two years, and 1,095 books in three years. Considering most children start kindergarten around the age of 5, parents probably have more time than they realize to help their little ones begin to build strong literacy skills.
This program is made possible through a grant from the Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness’ (OPSR) Public Library Family Engagement Project. “We are so thankful for the chance to offer this program to our community, Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness has been very generous in providing the funding we needed to get this project off the ground” said DeAun Ivester, Director of the Elk City Carnegie Library. “The Friends of the Library have wanted to start an early childhood literacy program and this grant allows us to give books to the families in our community who are passionate about enriching the lives of their children”
Come into the Elk City Carnegie Library to sign your child up today and receive a free book.
