Families with young children will soon have access to new early literacy programs at their local public libraries, says Tourism and Culture Minister Robert Vessey.
“New Preschool Story Time programs will help children to develop a love of reading from an early age, and will help them to be better prepared to learn to read and write when they enter the school system,” said the Minister.
Starting in January, free Preschool Story Time programs will be offered weekly at 25 branch libraries across the province. Each week, children aged three to five, along with a parent or caregiver, can visit their library for a 30-minute interactive program. The program will include stories, rhymes, music, finger plays, and felt board activities.
These programs will increase children’s mastery of six essential early learning skills, which are the building blocks for later success with reading and writing. The enhanced Preschool Story Time program has been adapted from an early literacy program created by Newfoundland and Labrador Public Libraries.
“The PEI Public Library Service has many initiatives to make learning to read fun for Island children, including online resources, computer games, and activities at the libraries. I encourage families to learn more about what their community library has to offer,” said Minister Vessey.
Online multimedia storybooks called Tumblebooks can be accessed on the PEI Public Library website. These interactive books contain illustrations and stories from hundreds of published books. Children can read the stories aloud by themselves, read along with the narrator, or listen to stories while learning to recognize words and sounds. The Tumblebooks collection also includes games, puzzles, and books for school-aged children.
Several library branches also provide access to Early Literacy Computer Stations. These computers are equipped with games that feature popular children’s characters and help children with literacy and numeracy. Libraries with these computer stations include Charlottetown, Montague, Stratford, Summerside, and Tignish. Stations will soon be added in Cornwall and Kensington.
For more information on early literacy programs, Tumblebooks, or other library programs please visit www.library.pe.ca, or contact Literacy and Public Services Librarian Rebecca Boulter at (902) 888-8370.
BACKGROUNDER
Early literacy refers to what children know about reading and writing before they can actually read and write. It is the process of getting children ready to learn.
Six early literacy skills have been identified as essential to learning to read and write. The six skills are:
1. Print Motivation (Liking Books)
Print motivation refers to a child’s interest in and enjoyment of books. It’s about making reading fun! Children with print motivation enjoy being read to, play with books, pretend to write, and like trips to the library.
2. Print Awareness (Seeing Words)
Print awareness means understanding that words have meaning. It’s about seeing words everywhere and knowing how to handle a book. A child with print awareness can point to the words on the page and mimes reading books in the correct order (front to back, left to right).
3. Phonological Awareness (Hearing Words)
Phonological awareness means being able to hear and play with the smaller sounds that make up words. Children with phonological awareness can hear and create rhymes, say words with sounds left out, and combine sounds to make words.
4. Letter Knowledge (Knowing Letters)
Letter knowledge is knowing that letters are different from each other and knowing their names and sounds. For example, children with letter knowledge can recognize the letter B and identify its sound.
5. Vocabulary (Knowing Words)
Vocabulary means knowing the names of things. Most children enter school knowing between 3,000 and 5,000 words. If a word is in a child’s spoken vocabulary, it is easier for a child to identify the written word.
6. Narrative Skills (Telling Stories)
Narrative skills refers to the ability to describe things and tell a story. Children with narrative skills can recount events and create stories.