Grow A Reader @ MCPL
Learning to read begins before your children start school. Help your children develop early literacy skills now and they will have an easier time learning to read when they begin school. Children learn best by doing and they love doing things with you! You know your child best and can tell when they are calm and relaxed. This is when they will be most receptive to learning. Ten of the best ways to help your child get ready to read are: talking & listening, singing & rhyming, reading & sharing, writing & creating, and playing & imagining.
Reading & Sharing
Reading helps children learn how print looks and how books work. Reading together—shared reading—is the single most important way to help children get ready to read.
Talking & Listening
Children learn language by listening to their parents, and others, talk. As children use language, they learn new words and what they mean.
Writing & Creating
Both reading and writing represent spoken language and communication information. Children can learn pre-reading skills through writing activities.
Playing & Imagining
Play helps children think symbolically, so they understand that spoken and written words can stand for real objects and experiences. Play also helps children express themselves and put thoughts into words.
Singing & Rhyming
Singing slows down language so children can hear the different sounds that make up words. This helps when children begin to read printed language.
Resources
Games on the Go provides early literacy rich games to play while you are traveling, waiting, shopping, etc.
This guide helps you create joyful moments with your child that help build early literacy skills.
Fistful of Fingerplays (PDF, 2.5MB)
Rhymes that help build early writing skills, vocabulary, and have fun together.
Storytimes at MCPL branches offer a variety of book related experiences for young children. They strive to be developmentally appropriate.
BookFlix reinforces early reading skills and introduces children to a world of knowledge and exploration.