BCPL Birth to Five main page.
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It's never too early to start smart! As a child's first teachers, you as parents and/or caregivers are instrumental in promoting reading readiness in children ages birth to four. BCPL's programs and services for babies, toddlers and preschoolers can help you fulfill this important role.
BCPL nurtures a love of reading beginning in early childhood. In addition to children's materials and programs, Early Literacy services include:
Story Timers
The Story Timers program supports the needs of
children, caregivers, parents, and the community by providing
story times that have been researched and modeled. Two types of story times
are offered – Baby Boosters Story Times geared to children ages birth to 23 months, and
Preschool Story Times for children ages two to five.
Programs
Research shows that reading simple stories and playing silly word games are more than play
– they
provide necessary pre-reading skills. The stories, nursery rhymes, finger
plays, and songs shared at Baby Boosters and toddler storytimes are perfect
examples. Parents and caregivers can repeat them again and again to the
child's delight. During the summer months, young children can participate
in the Pre-School Reading
Program,
a special part of the Summer Reading Program geared especially for ages birth
to 5.
Baby Booster Kits
Baltimore County Public Library's
Baby Booster Kits, collections of books and resources available for
use by parents and child care providers, are housed in easy-to-carry
backpacks. Each kit contains 10 children's
books on a particular theme, plus a parent resource book and a compact disc or DVD.
My First Library Card
Baltimore County Public Library's
My First Library Card program provides library cards for
children ages birth through kindergarten in all library branches, and
through cooperation with various preschool programs and Baltimore County
Public Schools.
Early Literacy Resources
Book lists, developmental tips, guidelines for reading aloud to children, as
well as print and online resources for parents and caregivers of young
children.
Storyville is an interactive early literacy learning center designed specifically for children ages birth to five and their caregivers. Located in the Rosedale branch of the Baltimore County Public Library, Storyville was made possible by funds raised by the Foundation for Baltimore County Public Library.
The 2,240 square-foot child-sized village includes developmentally appropriate books and activities for children ages birth to five. The environments and activities in Storyville [PDF] are specifically designed for caregivers to help their young children enter school ready to learn.
This page is provided by the Baltimore County Public Library, Towson, Maryland USA.
The text version of this page was last revised on
26 August 2008.
The graphics version of this page was last revised on
26 August 2008.
You are welcome to provide feedback.