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DALLAS – New spaces and initiatives for the city’s littlest learners at Dallas Public Library focus on building early literacy skills and engaging parents with the tools they need to help their children get ready to read.
Installed at 28 neighborhood branches and the Central Library this fall, the Reading Ready Play Spaces are interactive play areas for children under age 5. Every location has been furnished with toys that spark imagination, get families talking and encourage children to learn as they play with supplies such as kitchen sets with play food and non-electronic learning toys. The spaces are designed to make the library a welcoming environment where families can play, learn and grow together.
“Play has an important role in child development and literacy, as kids create stories and use new vocabulary in their play,” Director of Libraries Jo Giudice said.
Other new and ongoing early literacy initiatives at Dallas Public Library include regular storytimes, Books for Dallas Babies at Parkland Hospital, 1000 Books Before Kindergarten and Reading Ready Kits— take-home bags distributed through WIC offices that provide a bilingual book, learning toys and at-home learning instructions for parents.
“In all our early literacy efforts, we try to stress that parents are their children’s first teachers. The Reading Ready Kits, Books for Dallas Babies and the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten programs really focus on the easy things caregivers can do to help build the skills their toddlers need outside of the library or school,” Giudice said.
In the Spring, Dallas Public Library will launch Here Comes Kindergarten, a 6-week program to help children get school-ready by preparing them with the knowledge and social-emotional skills to succeed. Many Dallas kindergarteners start school below grade level and struggle to keep up with their classmates.
These early childhood initiatives are possible thanks to a donation from the Munson Family, a Texas Reads grant from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, and the Friends of the Dallas Public Library.
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Dallas Public Library operates the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library and 29 branch locations, serving more than 9 million visitors each year. A library card is free for any Dallas resident. For information on the many free programs and services available at Dallas Public Library, visit www.dallaslibrary.org.
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