EARLY LITERACY
EARLY LITERACY
Is Your Child Kindergarten Ready?
Our expert tools and programs can help you build fundamental early literacy skills for your little one.
Plan Now for Summer Learning!
Kindergarten Club is intended for the families of children who are entering kindergarten in the fall. Children and caregivers participate together in a variety of fun activities designed to help children prepare for kindergarten. Tips for adults, early literacy activities, social and emotional learning opportunities, and skills that set children up to be successful students will be the focus. While not required, we hope you join us for as many sessions as you can.
Registration is recommended when indicated, but not required. While supplies last, rising kindergarteners will receive a bag with early learning materials for attending.
Help Your Child Succeed
Be Ready by 5 connects families to resources in Montgomery County that help prepare children age 0-5 for success in Kindergarten and beyond.
1000 Books Before Kindergarten Challenge
Reading is fundamental to Kindergarten prep. Read, track, and earn prizes for early literacy success. Track on the go with Beanstack or pick up a paper tracker at Your Library.
Early Literacy Activity Calendar
Welcome to the Dayton Metro Library's early literacy calendar. Here you will find fun daily activities to support early learning, curated booklists to inspire a love of reading, songs or rhymes to promote language development, and early literacy tips to empower caregivers. Every day is a new opportunity to grow and explore with your Dayton Metro Library.
Checkout our April Reads!
Sprout Backpacks
Check out one today and nurture your little learner!
Full of books, toys, games and learning activities, these backpacks make learning fun! These quality, age-appropriate materials in each themed backpack teach young children the skills they need for school success: talking, singing, reading, writing and learning. Sprout backpacks are for parents, caregivers, teachers and homeschoolers of children ages 1-8.
Sprout Backpacks are available for a three-week check out from all locations or reserved online. Backpacks can be borrowed for up to 3 weeks, but may not be renewed.
Over 30 Learning Kits to Explore
It's Storytime @ Home!
Storytime is now whenever you want. Our librarians and sometimes some special guests bring some of their favorite books and songs right to your home.
Take a seat and sing-a-long. It's Storytime! Check back, new stories are posted every Tuesday.
Want to drop into a a live Storytime at Your Library, you can find them in our events calendar here.
Children are born ready to learn
and no one is better at teaching your child than you!
Early literacy starts at birth and includes everything children know about language, reading, and writing before they become proficient readers and writers.
That doesn’t mean teaching babies to read; it means developing skills through shared experiences, positive interactions between children and caring adults, and the critical role of literacy-rich interactions.
The best way to promote early learning starts with what parents and caregivers are already doing with their children. To develop the skills needed to read, use the five practices of early literacy: talking, reading, playing, singing, and writing. These five practices are easy to do with children of all ages. They can be done anywhere, and no special tools are needed! Take a look at some examples on our site or visit a Library program to learn more.
The sooner they start, the further they’ll go!
- When your baby makes sounds, be sure to make eye contact and respond. They’ll learn that efforts to communicate are effective and important.
- Imitate the sounds your child makes. Take turns imitating each other. Laughing is a bonus!
- Name the objects around you, describe what you’re doing, and explain what will happen next.
- Repeat what your child says using more sophisticated words and sentences to expand her vocabulary.
Thank you Dolly Parton!
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Ohio mails kids one free book each month until their 5th birthday. All Ohio children between birth and age 5 is eligible for the program, which is available at no cost to families.
Call for storytime anytime!
New stories each month - Free at 937.250.7500!
Press 1 for Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems
Press 2 for You Can't Be Cereal by Alan Katz
Press 3 for Last Day Blues by Julie Danneberg
Press 4 for Maybe by Kobi Yamada
Press 5 for Happy Dreamer by Peter H. Reynolds
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