video by Stephen Dafoe
Located on the top shelf of the children’s area of the Morinville Community Library is a series of little cloth boxes with little cloth bags that contain a world of learning and activity for children.
The Library’s collection of Literacy Kits are available for families to sign out. Inside parents will find a book and a number of other items related to it.
“What these kits do is they give you an opportunity to engage with your child and the book,” Blanchette said. “Instead of just reading the story … there is this really cool parent guide that gives you a bunch of tips as to how you can expand on the story.”
Blanchette uses the book Jamberry by Bruce Degen as an example of what can be done. The kit comes with the book, guide, and a bear puppet, allowing one opportunity to make the book more interactive. But more than a potential puppet show, Blanchette recommends getting a variety of berries and using the book as a teaching opportunity about colour, and texture, and even flavour.
“We have all kinds of really interesting things,” She says of the kits. “They all come with stuffies. They all come with the parent guide, and they’re a lot of fun.”
Literacy Kits are available to be signed out at the library. See the video above for more details.
