Playing with a child is an involved process — you just don’t realize it.
But peel back the layers and you see the building blocks for emotional stability being laid and verbal and motor skills being expanded. Add reading into the mix and the learning opportunities grow.
Put this all together into a safe place like a public library, and the potential for it becoming a movement starts to happen.
All this is behind Iola Public Library’s new initiative, “Early Literacy Can’t Wait,” which launched last month.
The program has two main goals: To help prevent child abuse and neglect by providing resources and activities that support families; and to help toddlers develop into well-rounded individuals eager to learn.
The program is the brainchild of Sharon Moreland, the library’s new director, and Tammie Benham, the youth services consultant for the Southeast Kansas Library System.
Benham, who is based in Pittsburg, wrote the grant to fund the program for one year.
Instead, the program received three years of funding, it was so well received.
“That was a nice surprise,” Benham said Wednesday. “They gave us three years without even telling us.”
Iola Public Library, home base for the Southeast Kansas Library System, was designated to implement the pilot program. In the second year, two more libraries will adopt the program, and in the third year, another two libraries. The SEKLS covers a 15-county area.
The monthly program is centered on playing, which is way more beneficial than many think.
When children are playing, “it’s their natural work environment,” said Benham. “They are natural explorers. Our job is to create those opportunities for them to explore different things.
“We’re intentional about creating opportunities for discussion, which build literacy skills because now they’re hearing new words and having the opportunity to use them.
“There’s a direct link to hearing words and learning how to read. The more words you hear, the larger your vocabulary. There’s a whole brain development that comes from playing, talking and reading,” Benham said.
“Let’s say I’ve set up a play kitchen. There’s a shopping cart and we’re going to the store. You ask a child what she’s shopping for. It’s an open-ended question that can be answered however they want. Maybe they start talking about their dog and now you’re going to make dog food and you’re going to cook it on the stove.
“On my end, I could be introducing new words like a top roast or a chuck roast or asking if that’s chicken or lamb. And then we introduce vegetables.
