It's never too early to give your child a head start on reading.
This fall, Fraser Valley Regional Library will launch an innovative early literacy program for children from birth to kindergarten. 1000 Stories Before Kindergarten is a self-paced program that will help parents teach their children early literacy skills in the first years of life.
The program encourages families to read 1,000 books with their preschooler before they enter kindergarten. FVRL will provide each child with a free reading log to track the stories read. Registration is now underway at all 25 FVRL locations, including branches in Ladner and Tsawwassen.
1000 Stories Before Kindergarten is inspired by similar programs that have
achieved success in other North American libraries. These programs all stress the value of building literacy skills in the very young. Both the Canadian Paediatric Society and the American Academy of Pediatrics advise parents to read aloud to babies. Activities like reading, talking and singing encourage brain development and provide positive, nurturing experiences between parent and child.
"Children's librarians and teachers know how important it is to read to kids from a very young age," says FVRL librarian Frances Thomson. "It can have a huge impact on their future success at school. Once they reach kindergarten, these kids will have bigger vocabularies, longer attention spans and a greater awareness of the world around them."
While the idea of reading 1,000 stories may seem daunting at first, the program makes reading fun and easy for parents and children. The illustrated log book lets parents track their progress and offers many helpful tips on how to read, write, talk, sing and play with their child.
Parents can log stories read at home, preschool, daycare or library storytimes - they all count. If a child enjoys hearing the same story over and over again, each telling of the story counts as well.
A sticker is award to the child every time 50 stories are logged.
The program is selfpaced. It can take anywhere from a few months to a few years to complete depending on how often parent and child read together.
