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Youth Services

Welcome to Youth Services!

"Creating Readers and Lifelong Learners"

Literacy starts at birth! The six early literacy skills on this page are an easy and effective way to start your child on the path to reading and school success. Read to your child every day. Let a librarian know if you need help choosing age appropriate materials. When a child turns five years old, they can get a library card of their own - so make that a birthday milestone!

Art & Poetry Contest for Grades 2-8
Create an Illustrated Haiku
Deadline: Friday, March 19, 2010

Walking in the wind
I listen to the bluebells
On the silent trail
Please bird, don't go yet
You are the finishing touch
To the snowy branch

Early Literacy Skills

Suggested Books

Print
Motivation
Find books that speak to your child's interests and share them often.
Vocabulary
Building
Teach your child the specific names of things, like vegetables at the grocery store.
Print
Awareness
Help your child discover how to hold a book and turn the pages.
Narrative
Skills
Tell stories together, encourage pretend play, and let your child be the storyteller.
Phonological
Awareness
Sing songs, play games and share rhymes to help your child play with the smaller sounds in words.
Letter
Knowledge
Help your child identify the first letter in his/her name and find it in book, on street signs and package labels.