Early Literacy Kits

One of the cool things about working for a newer library system is that there is always something to do.  Everything here has been built from the ground up.  Late last summer I went through a job change.  One of the questions that were a part of the application process was "What new collection would you bring to the library?"  My answer was early literacy kits.  They support our collection goals and our current programming (we have a big early literacy program here called Play to Learn).  My idea was that these kits would take what we do in our early literacy programming and send it home in bags for parents and children to do at home.

I know that this never happens, but as we were turning in last year's final grant report to a local organization, they asked if we were reapplying as they really wanted to fund us again.  Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, me and the person I was replacing spent the next 48 hours putting together a grant proposal for early literacy kits.  Two months later we were funded.  Whoo hoo!

I started putting together notes as to what to include and where to buy it.  Of course, very few of our items are sold through the same vendors.  Pinterest became a great place to bookmark ideas.  Our branches wanted some kits too, just not the 15 that we were planning on for our Main Library (space issues). 

Items started coming in and made a huge mess on my office floor-there were piles everywhere.  Things got put together in groups, were processed, and started filling our bags.  I worked with our Community Relations Specialist to create booklets for each bag (I came up with the content and she made them pretty.)

Today I finished our first two kits!  They are out on display and I created a binder so customers can see what is in each backpack.

Display

Binder

Kit 1-Brown Bear, Brown Bear

This kit contains:

• Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin, Jr.
• My Big Animal Book
• Brown Bear and Friends CD
• Flannelboard set made in-house
• Storytelling lapboard
• Brown bear puppet
• Brown Bear puzzle
• Booklet

Kit 2-Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
This kit contains:

• Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault
• ABC
• Wee Sing & Learn ABC book and CD
• Coconut tree puppet made in-house
• 26 coconut letters (A-Z) made in-house
• Alphabet Match Me cards
• Uppercase Tactile Letters
• Booklet

The rest of the early literacy kits should be appearing in my library (and here) over the next month.  13 more to go!