WPL Has Opportunities to Help Parents Read Early to Young Children

Research has shown that reading to children at a young age has many benefits. Beyond using that time as an opportunity to bond with your child, it also positively impacts their cognitive development and emotional skills while also fostering their creativity and imagination. We are fortunate to offer two programs at our library designed to support parents when choosing books that reinforce these skills and encourage children to love reading at a young age.

The first program I would like to highlight is one we have had in our library for nearly three years. It is called "1000 Books Before Kindergarten." This program encourages parents and young children to work towards the goal of reading 1000 books before they are in Kindergarten. Prizes and incentives are offered at various milestones as the children read their way to the 1000 books goal. Once they have read 1000 books, they will have their picture taken and displayed in the children's section at the library. They also choose a book in the children's section, and a label is placed inside with their name to honor their accomplishment.

Another benefit of this program is the ease it offers parents when choosing books for their children. While the children can read any book to earn 1000, the library has prefilled backpacks with 10 books in each backpack. Each backpack has a different theme, and the books are all centered around that theme. The books were also carefully compiled and are some of the best children's books. These backpacks are a quick and easy way to choose books and keep their child on track to earning their goal.

Recently, we have started offering another program for children called Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. Once parents sign their child up for this program, their child will receive a free book each month until age five from the Imagination Library sent directly to their home. The Dolly Parton Foundation created this program because of her desire to inspire all kids to read. If you want to learn more about the Imagination Library, visit www.imaginationlibrary.com. You can also sign up your child on this website if your Zip code is within the sponsored area.

The Washington Free Public Library Foundation made each of these programs possible. If you would like to learn more about the foundation and the other programs it supports, you can read about it at this link: https://www.washington.lib.ia.us/about/library-foundation-board.

Remember, our librarians are here to answer any questions about either of these programs. We love to encourage all children to read and love books and know this can be the best start to a lifetime of learning and enjoyment.