Read to Succeed! Early Literacy Activities at the Library

The Ashe County Public Library is the perfect place to instill a love of reading in your child even before they enter kindergarten. This month at the library, the youth services department offers several opportunities for emerging readers (from birth to age five) to build early literacy skills through fun activities.

At 11 a.m. this Friday, October 17, children and their parents looking to get some exercise while enjoying a good book should head to Ashe County Park (off Highway 16) for the library's debut of it's first StoryWalk®, "Monsters Love Colors." StoryWalks® are an innovative way to get kids reading at an early age while enjoying a stroll with their parents. To create a StoryWalk®, a picture book is deconstructed and each page is mounted to a post (similar to a picket sign) and set a few yards apart from each other; a different literacy tip and activity relevant to each page is mounted beneath the pictures. Starting at the cover page, youngsters walk to each sign with their parents who guide them in completing each page's activity. The unveiling of "Monsters Love Colors" will begin at 11 a.m. at the picnic tables in Ashe County Park. This StoryWalk® is provided by the Library Services and Technology Act (LTSA) EZ Literacy & Lifelong Learning Grant, made possible through funding form the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the provisions of the LSTA as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources. The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and developed in collaboration with the  Vermont Bicycle & Pedestrian Coalition and the Kellogg Hubbard Library.

http://www.jstart.org/campaigns/bunny-cakes-photo-contest

On Tuesday, October 21st, early readers are invited to come to the library for Jumpstart's premiere national reading campaign, Read for the Record; the campaign encourages children and their grown-ups across the country to participate in a day of shared reading. The campaign is part of Jumpstart's early literacy mission "to work toward the day every child in America enters kindergarten prepared to succeed" (http://www.jstart.org/campaigns/campaign-faq1). Wee ones are invited to grab their favorite stuffed animal as a youth services librarian leads them in reading a variety bunny books throughout the day, including Bunny Cakes, a comical children's book about sibling bonding and birthday shenanigans by Rosemary Wells. Come to the library any time that Tuesday and help us set a world record! 

As always, the library will continue its regularly schedule programs for early readers:
Baby Bounce (birth to 24 months) - Saturday, October 18 at 10 a.m.
Tot Time (ages 2-3 years) - Tuesday and Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m.
Story Time (ages 4-5 years) - Thursdays at 10:30 a.m.