Storytime Theme: Playing

It’s time for storytime series! I’m going to be focusing on key areas that parents and caregivers can focus on to build their child’s early literacy skills. These are simple things that parents and caregivers are probably already doing, now you can encourage them to do these practices with purpose!

Every Child Ready to Read @ your library was developed by the association for Library Services to Children (ALSC) and the Public Library Association (PLA),divisions of the American Library Association (ALA) created by researchers, experts , and educators in the field. There are five practices – Talking, Singing, Reading, Writing, and Playing.

Since play is such a vital part of childhood, it’s no surprise that playing is one of the five practices of early literacy! Play nutures creativity and is a wonderful tool for kids to practice language. Think about it, while kids are playing they are talking about what they’re doing, explaining to their friends, siblings, caregivers that they are a monkey or a firefighter. They can also use play to learn how an object can symbolize something else – a box becomes a fort, a block tower becomes a building. Play encourages children to use language in a variety of ways and should be encouraged!

The Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy organization or CLEL created the CLEL Bell Awards to promote great books that help caregivers with these five practices. The winner of the annual award (**) and the shortlist (*) are included in the list below to share at storytime.

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