What is Early Literacy?
Early Literacy can be defined as a group of language skills which are typically developed from birth to the beginning stages of reading. These skills have gained a great deal of attention and importance for families, educators, and even policy makers as they have been directly linked to success in school and later in life.
Six prominent Early Literacy skills are defined as: 1) Print Motivation –being interested in and enjoying books; 2) Phonological Awareness – hearing and playing with the smaller sounds in words; 3) Vocabulary – knowing the names of things, knowing words; 4) Narrative Skills – the ability to describe things, telling stories, and remembering sequences of events; 5) Print Awareness – noticing print everywhere, knowing how to handle a book and how to follow the written word on a page; and 6) Letter Knowledge – recognizing the difference between letter shapes and sounds, seeing letters in the world around them and knowing the letter names.
In order to facilitate your child’s learning of these six important skills, a regular practice of reading aloud, talking about what’s been read, practicing mark-making and writing, and facilitating creative play is instrumental.
There are numerous resources available to the caregiver who would like to learn more about Early Literacy and we at Curry Public Library are excited to share these resources with you.
On this page:
Early Literacy Resources
Storytime at Curry Public Library
Storytime at Curry Public Library typically centers around one or more Early Literacy development skills within a framework of reading, songs, movement, and creative activities. All ages are welcome to join in the viewing of our storytimes and we encourage personal interaction through comments and caregiver feedback. Our storytimes are currently broadcast live weekly using Facebook. No login is required and storytimes may be viewed for up to one month after airing. Our library pet Spike the tortoise and our storytime companion Darby the canine reading buddy are often in attendance, too. Tune in to: www.facebook.com/currypubliclibrary to join in the learning fun!
The Dolly Parton Imagination Library
In 1995, Dolly Parton launched her Imagination Library to benefit the children of her home county in East Tennessee. Dolly’s vision was to foster a love of reading among her county’s preschool children and their families. The new program gave each child a specially selected book each month. By mailing high quality, age appropriate books directly to their homes, Dolly wanted children to be excited about books and to feel the magic that books can create. Moreover, she could ensure that every child would have books, regardless of their family’s income.
Each month, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library mails a high quality, age appropriate book to all registered children, addressed to them, at no cost to the child’s family. Countless parents have shared how excited their child is when their new book arrives each month.
In Curry County, the DPIL is funded by the Coos Curry Electric Charitable Foundation and the James and Shirley Rippey Family Foundation.
Curry Public Library's 'Baby Bags' Outreach program
With grant funding provided by the Oregon State Ready to Read program, we are grateful to offer ‘Baby Bags’ for local families who are welcoming a new addition. The baby bags include a selection of new infant board books, resources and information on early parenting tips, and a list of library resources to help you along the way. We’ve also included some safety outlet covers and baby’s first set of “keys!”
Baby Bags are available at Curry Public Library and at BrightEyes Midwifery in Gold Beach, Oregon.