By: Mary Ann Lawler
In a previous post, we talked about using CLEL Bell Award winners along with their Activity Sheets for teaching early literacy to staff. These activity sheets are written to help caregivers too, and they are an easy-add to boosting your collection. Here are some ideas.
Early Literacy Kits
At my library, we have bags for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers themed on each early literacy practice. For example, the Early Literacy Kit on SING for toddlers. They are hugely popular because caregivers are often busy and they can easily select a bag and have a fun set of books to enjoy.
Each bag contains:
- 5 books closely related to the Early Literacy practice
- A small toy
- A sheet with activity ideas using the small toy
- An information sheet about the Early Literacy practice
Make it easy – there are lots of resources here to put this together:
- Use the CLEL Bell shortlist titles and winners to pick some great books that show off the different ways that kids engage with the Early Literacy practice.
- Look at the winner Activity Sheets to get ideas for the kit’s activity ideas, or review CLEL.org’s 5 Early Literacy Practices and 6 Early Literacy Skills for more ideas.
Even better – you know that each year there will be more titles to choose from, so you have support for keeping your kits fresh.
Attach the Activity Sheet in your copy of the CLEL Bell winning titles
Tight on space? Here’s a tip that Holly Van Hoy used at Alamosa Public Library: Once the CLEL Bell Award winners are announced, you can print the Activity Sheet and attach it inside the cover. (You may need to shrink the size down to 70 or 80%, depending on the size of the book.) This puts activity ideas directly in the hands of your readers.
Thank you to the wonderful staff at the Broomfield Public Library in Broomfield, Colorado for your brilliant idea to promote early literacy in Early Literacy Kits. You can find out more in our catalog.
