Fall Early Literacy Newsletter is here!

The Fall Early Literacy Newsletter is out! It's full of the usual goodies - staff favorites, music and parenting picks, and early literacy tips. The newsletter also features articles about wordless picture books and Jan Brett. 

Adorable Hedgie!

Did you know that Jan Brett is visiting Corvallis on Saturday, October 20th? It's true! he Corvallis-Benton County Public Library is honored to host a special event with bestselling children's author and illustrator, Jan Brett, on Saturday, October 20th, 2012, 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. at Corvallis High School, 1400 NW Buchanan. (Doors open at 4:30 p.m.)  
Special appearance from Hedgie! Book sales and autographing. Fun for everyone! For more information, contact 541-766-6794 or click here for the event flyer.

Pick of the Week: Just One More!

Just One More! by Tracey Corderoy, illustrated by Alison Edgson (Good Books, 2012)
Little Brown Bunny always wants just one more book read to him at bedtime, so he spends all day creating a bedtime book that is so long the story will last all night.

Does your little one want to hear his or her favorite story over and over and over again? While this might be tiresome for the parent, it's serving a purpose for the child. Repetition is important in the early years - it helps build and reinforce neural pathways. As we adults recognize - something we do a lot sticks with us. Children are building their language skills and pouring over the same day after day reinforces the language pathways in their growing brains. They might be building vocabulary skills, recognizing letters on the page, building a better understanding of how the printed book works. It might also be that the plot, a certain message, or experience in that particular book really speaks to the child's experience, worries, or interests. Rest assured, your child will move along to new selections, but in the mean time she or he is enjoying a positive experience with that book and with you!

Meet the Early Literacy Coordinator!

Early Literacy Coordinator

Meet Peik-Kuan Lim, the Early Literacy Coordinator for the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library. She brings Storytime to them! The Corvallis-Benton County Library offers Storytime at the library for infants, toddlers, wobblers and preschool children. As the Early Literacy Coordinator for the Library, Peik-Kuan brings Storytime to preschools and to day care facilties and providers. She provides these outreach activities to children who cannot get to the library for Storytime. If you are picturing Peik-Kuan standing in front of a group of children sitting quietly in neat rows, you do not have a clear picture of what she does. When Peik-Kuan brings Storytime to preschool children, she brings props, crafts and an ability to lead a group of children based on their age, mood and developmental needs. She uses her knowledge of early brain development to structure her programs and sometimes even re-structure them on the fly to meet the needs of the day. Oftentimes they spend more time singing and dancing about letters and concepts than sitting down in one spot and listening to her read a book. She says that working with special needs children requires many of the same tools. It can require some additional flexibility, but she goes through the same process to create those programs as well.

Early literacy is much more than introducing letters and words on the page. Peik-Kuan's early literacy programs create context and exposure that will help turn children into active readers. She coordinates programs that include music, art and dance, and she looks for ways to engage all of their senses. She says early literacy is about getting children comfortable with and interested in written language in any number of ways. Peik-Kuan also says children exposed reading from a young age will learn very early on how to sit and hold a book, and that is the beginning of a reader!

Peik-Kuan enjoys collaborating with her colleagues in selecting materials and assisting them in program creation. She says her colleagues are as much a resource to her as she is to them. They bounce ideas off one another and work well as a team. She also provides guidance to volunteers, parents and teachers. She has spent time developing and maintaining relationships with many agencies in the area. In this way, she can help them serve the community, and they can provide resources for our library programs. For example, she has worked with the Oregon State University Head Start program and given them advice on what age-appropriate items will encourage reading.

Peik-Kuan says she finds the most important part of her job is the ability connect with children. It is this ability that allows her to get their attention and open them up to learning. She also says she feels lucky to have one of those few jobs where she gets hugs wherever she goes.

--Interview from "Read and Recycle: City of Corvallis Employee Newsletter," Volume 21, No. 10, September 30, 2011

Mother Goose Asks "Why?" Science for Preschoolers this Thursday

 Mother Goose Asks "Why?": Investigating Plants
Join us at the Corvallis Library on Thursday, May 10th, at 10:00 a.m. for this fun preschool program that links reading to science and math by using picture books and family projects that make science learning fun! Questions? Contact Youth Services: 541-766-6794.

Nursery Rhyme Mini Books

Hearing and saying nursery rhymes help children develop early reading skills. Children who listen to nursery rhymes often have an easier time recognizing and sounding out the different sounds that make up a word. Plus, many nursery rhymes are just plain fun! Here's a family activity that will help promote this skill:

Print out all 24 nursery rhyme coloring pages, fold them into mini books, and have your child color them. Read them at home with your child or carry them with you in your bag to share with your child on the go! Early Literacy - To Go!

Early Literacy Skills Video

Check out this great video from Garden City Library (Garden City, Idaho) on developing the six early literacy skills every child needs to become a successful reader.

Spring Early Literacy Newsletter

"daffodil" by antaean on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8656572@N04/

Spring is officially here and so is the latest installment of the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library's Early Literacy Newsletter. Check out the Spring Early Literacy Newsletter for book and music recommendations, rhymes and movement ideas, early literacy tips, and more! The Spring newsletter features information on gardening books, bullies and bullying, developing empathy, and early literacy activities. For previous Early Literacy Newsletters, click here.

The Early Literacy Crisis: A Mom Congress Special Report (Parenting Magazine)

Ten Tiny Babies by Karen Katz

The Early Literacy Crisis: A Mom Congress Special Report (from Parenting Magazine online)

Too few books and too little time are adding up to a disaster for some of the nation's youngest learners.

by Lisa Moran 

Read more...

Storytime for Dads & Children

Man With the Yellow Hat Storytime

Join us on Saturday, November 6th, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. for a special, fun early literacy storytime for children 0-3 years-old and their dads (or father figures). Located in the Storytime Room at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library. For more information, call 541-766-6794 or email Peik-Kuan Lim, peik-kuan.lim@ci.corvallis.or.us. 

Image Copyright 2003 American Library Association. Curious George and related characters, created by Margret and H.A. Rey, are copyrighted and trademarked by Houghton Mifflin Company and used under license. Licensed by Universal Studios Licensing, Inc. All rights reserved. Produced in cooperation with the Public Library Association and the Association for Library Services to Children.

Fall Early Literacy Newsletter

Check out the Fall Early Literacy Newsletter today! This season's newsletter features book and music selections for children and parents, early literacy tips, rhymes to share with young children, ideas for encouraging movement and literacy, and more! Past issues of the newsletters can be found here. If you have topics you'd like to see featured in future newsletters, please contact Peik-Kuan Lim, Early Literacy Coordinator at 541-766-6481.

Promoting Early Language and Literacy Development

Promoting Early Language and Literacy Development  

ZERO TO THREE’s Policy Center announces the release of a new video illustrating how early language and literacy development contributes to a child’s success throughout life. Watch it now online here: http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid4250110001?bctid=587336352001.

Reading Rockets: Reading & Brain Awareness

Are you curious about why some children struggle to learn to read, while others pick it up so easily? Henry Winkler (who suffered from his own difficulty learning to read) hosts the "Reading and the Brain Series" from Reading Rockets and PBS, which discusses how brain scientists are exploring this very issue. Watch the introduction to the program below, then head to: http://www.readingrockets.org/shows/launching/brain to watch the rest of the program.

Spring Early Literacy Newsletter

Over the weekend, we welcomed Daylight Savings time. The weather is supposed to be warmer today and the Spring Early Literacy Newsletter is here! This issue contains information on brain development, spring rhymes, music selections, poetry picks, the new parenting collection, staff favorites, TV Turn-Off Week and more. Take a look inside here.

Pizza & Literacy

Many families have a regular pizza night. Why not extend the family time fun and create a play "pizza restaurant" with literacy-enriched activities?

Start by sharing a pizza-themed book! Two of my favorite are:

"Hi, Pizza Man!" by Virginia Walter, illustrated by Ponder Goembel

While a young girl waits for the delivery of a hot pizza, she provides the appropriate animal sounds for a variety of pretend animal pizza deliverers.

 

 Pete's a Pizza by William Steig

When Pete feels miserable because rain makes it impossible to play ball outdoors, his father finds a fun indoor game to play with his son.

Children want to do what they see grownups doing. During dramatic play experiences, children act out what they've seen the grownups in their lives doing. Just gather up a few literacy and play props around the house and you can create a pizza restaurant with your child. They'll get to play a role as chef or server as they prepare a pretend pizza meal for you, their guest. Many grownup routines are so full of literacy activities, but we rarely stop to think about this fact. As a guest at a restaurant, you might read the daily specials on a chalkboard and browse the menu at your table. When a server takes your order and writes it down on his order pad, that's modeling literacy skills. When the chef reads the order and refers to the recipe, she is using literacy skills as well. Cooking involves both reading and math skills.

For "pizza restaurant" play, you could use toy or "play" food, or create pizzas with craft supplies. Supplies you could use include:

• a play cash register or a small box to use for collecting "money"
• play money - create your own or use the money from a board game
  
• small pizza boxes, if you have them
• apron
  
• bowls, pizza pans, play food, cups
  
• construction paper for creating craft pizzas
• yarn for the "cheese", different colored construction paper cut into a variety of shapes for the "toppings", glitter for sprinkling with "basil" or "red pepper flakes"...
• pencils, crayons, markers, glue
• paper to create a menu and for taking an order. You can purchase order pads and receipt books at an office supply store for an added "real" touch.
  
• telephone to "call in the order"
• table and tablecloth
• chalkboard and chalk to write out the daily specials
  

Looking to move beyond pretend play? Children are so eager to help and do grownup activities, that they're likely to want to join you in the kitchen as you prepare the real pizza meal. Depending on your children's individual ages, you can give them jobs of varying responsibility helping you cook. Whether it is helping you sprinkle the cheese, spread the sauce, kneed the pizza dough, measure and pour ingredients, or read the recipe with you, there is plenty for them to help with. Delicious fun!

Fall Early Literacy Newsletter

Fall is just around the corner! We're nearing the start of school, the coming of a new season, the cooling of the weather and the changing of the colors in nature. At the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, we've just finished putting together our second fall early literacy newsletter! As we enter into our second year of bringing our community our recommendations, ideas, and hints for enriching the early years of childhood, we hope you've found the newsletters beneficial! Please feel free to leave us a blog comment or send an email to: kristin.starnes@ci.corvallis.or.us. Let us know what you think of our current newsletter or what topics you feel we should cover in our future newsletters. Your input can help us improve our services to better meet our community's interests and needs!

View our current fall early literacy newsletter here. You can also view past newsletters on our library's Birth to Six Early Literacy web page.

Spring Early Literacy Newsletter

New! Check out the Spring Early Literacy Newsletter for recommended children's books, music, literacy ideas, and fun rhymes to share with children. The Spring issue features themes of picture books about baby animals, raising bilingual readers, books to encourage beginning math skills, books for babies, and more. Enjoy!

Storytime Plus: March 5th

Join us at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library for:

Storytime Plus: Playing with Words and Sounds
March 5th, following Preschool Storytime in the Storytime Room

Continue the storytime fun and explore how you can enhance your little one's readiness to learn by developing their early literacy (pre-reading) skills. Storytime Plus begins following storytime for 30-45 minutes. No registration is required.

Questions or comments? Call us at 541-766-6794.

Winter Early Literacy Newsletter

photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gapito/433603032/

The Winter edition of the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library's Early Literacy Newsletter is here! Check out this quarterly publication for seasonal rhymes, children's book and music recommendations, early literacy tips and more.

Topics inside include:
*clothing
*nutrition
*writing - mail & letters
*exploring art

To download a pdf copy of the winter newsletter, click here. You will need Adobe Reader to view it.

Fall Early Literacy Newsletter available now!

New! Check out the Fall Early Literacy Newsletter for recommended children's books, literacy ideas, and fun rhymes to share with children. The Fall issue includes information about cooking with children, the fall harvest, disabilities, and adoption themes in books. Pick up a copy at your local branch of the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library or click on the link above to view and print a pdf of the newsletter.

You'll need Adobe Reader to view the newsletter online. Download Adobe Reader now.

Curious George Reading Program Launched

Curious George Reading Program for Children Ages Four-Years-Old and Younger!

The Corvallis-Benton County Public Library is kicking of a new reading program especially for very young children from birth through age four. The youth services librarians encourage you to spend time each day reading with your child. It's never too early to start sharing the love of books with a child.

Stop by the library to pick up your Curious George Reading Program bag to get started! Each bag contains a Curious George reading log, gameboard to record each day you read with your child, a sticker, bookmark, craft, and an application for your child's first library card. Each week the library will have a new craft and early literacy tip to share with families participating in the program.

The library will also be celebrating with a Curious George Ice Cream Social for all families participating in the program this summer:

Corvallis-Benton County Public Library: Thursday, August 7, 2008 at 10:00 a.m.
Branch library dates and times will be announced shortly.

For more information, call 541-766-6794 or see the announcement on the library's website here.

Images Copyright 2003 American Library Association. Curious George and related characters, created by Margret and H.A. Rey, are copyrighted and trademarked by Houghton Mifflin Company and used under license. Licensed by Universal Studios Licensing, Inc. All rights reserved. Produced in cooperation with the Public Library Association and the Association for Library Services to Children.