School Readiness and the Library

Image by tolmacho from Pixabay

School is right around the corner (or maybe already in session) meaning it's a great time to think about how the library can support kids heading into Kindergarten.

"Many, if not all, public library systems provide story time for their preschool-aged patrons. These story times focus on early literacy skills to help get children ready to read. We often market these programs as helping to prepare children for preschool. This is because we know that early exposure to singing, talking, and reading sets children up to become successful readers. However, there is even more that the library can offer in terms of school readiness programs," writes Anna Melvin on the ALSC blog.

Inspired by professional development trainings hosted by DC Public Schools, she put together a four day program she runs to simulate a typical school day for kids entering school for the first time. Each day includes circle time, a group read-aloud, a group craft, and different stations for the kids and their grown-ups to work through at their own pace.

The program went over extremely well with Melvin's patrons, "Many of the patrons who attended still discuss last summer’s program with me a year later. I also had families inquiring about the program for this summer back in January! Because of the previous year’s success, I am able to host this program again and get even more children ready for preschool."

To read the whole article (check out the planning spreadsheet Melvin links to at the end that includes each days activities and schedule), stop here.  [Little Learners: Getting Ready for PreK at the Library. Anna Melvin. ALSC blog. July 29, 2025.]

You may also some useful tips for school readiness in Lindsay Barrett's 4 Ways To Stress Less About Kindergarten Readiness post on the Read Brightly blog. While geared towards caregivers, there are some ideas that could be adapted to a library program setting. 

Stop here to read her post.  [4 Ways To Stress Less About Kindergarten Readiness. Lindsay Barrett. Read Brightly blog. undated.]

Do you have a program similar to this a your library? What as been your experience with it?

Planning for Fall Preschool Services

Image by Prawny from Pixabay

We recently posted about what programming might look like in the fall. 

With the delta variant gaining traction and many pockets of our state still well under the vaccination level needed to get us to herd immunity, there remain many questions on how best to provide services - especially preschool programming - to our families.

Two recent blog posts continue to add to the conversation and our thinking.

The first is from the ALSC Early Childhood Program and Services Committee. This committee devised a survey to collect data on early childhood programming plans for fall to see where people were at. This post shares some early results as well as links you directly to the data collected. You can also fill out the survey to share your library's approach. You can read the July 22, 2021 post here.

The second is from Katie Salo aka Storytime Katie. She shares what she has done with her storytimes - her methods, thinking, processes, data collection strategy and set-up. This post is a great way to see what another librarian is doing as well as to help us think about where we might be going as fall planning starts. You can read Katie's blog post here.

What are your plans?

Antiracism Work with Preschoolers

We have been sharing some antiracism and social justice resources over the past month that have come our way. You can access these resources in the compiled blog posts link at the bottom of this post.

Some resources that we have seen lately are important to highlight especially in providing programs, services and collections to preschoolers and thinking about talking to our youngest children about race or helping support families with young children  as they address racism.

They're Not Too Young to Talk About Race
This graphic from the Children's Community School In Philadelphia is an excellent place to begin raising awareness and learning about the importance of talking about race with young children.

Diverse BookFinder for picture books 
As described in Tessa Michaelson Schmitt's recent Friday FAQ:
"The Diverse BookFinder's free, online Collection Analysis Tool (CAT) for public and school libraries -- funded by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services -- offers an analysis of which racial/cultural groups are represented, and how they are represented, in your current picture book collection." You can signup for their newsletter here: sign up"

Photo - ALSC Virtual Storytime Services Guide

Serving Diverse Children and Families section of ALSC's  new Virtual Storytime Services Guide

In 70 powerful pages, a wide range of issues are explored and resources and guidance provided to empower librarians to make their storytimes more inclusive, more diverse and more just. The sections include:

• COVID-19, Racism and Xenophobia

• African American Children and Families

• Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander Children and Families

• Children and Families with Disabilities

• Latinx Children and Families

• LGBTQ+ Children and Families

• Native/Indigenous Children and Families

• Serving Families Across the Digital Divide

Join the Movement #FamilySummer4Black Lives
Seen on the blog Books for Littles, three monthly actions are being planned to engage families in anti-racism work. The first, coming up this weekend, involves families creating cards and "To Minneapolis with Live - Love Letters 4 Black Lives." It's a great way to work in the larger community to support Black Lives and communities and social justice work.

For more information on anti-racism and activism resources, please see these additional YSS posts:

• Race, Justice, Kids and Libraries   5/28/20
• CCBC - Black Experiences: Affirmation and Resilience, Activism and Resistance  6/19/20
• CCBC - Race and Racism: Selected Books for Children and Teens  6/19/20
• DPI- Race and Anti-Racism Resources for WI Libraries   6/22/20
• Antiracism Work with Preschoolers  6/24/20