Welcome to Wolfner Library's
Early Literacy Program

A wolf cub playing with a print/braille block.

 

 

Reading is essential to success in life. Early literacy skills prepare young children to learn to read. Wolfner Library created this special program for blind and visually impaired children between birth and six years old to gain the skills they will need to learn to read.

 

About the Program

Through the course of one year, books and early literacy materials will be sent to children enrolled in the program. These items, which are designed to help children and their caregivers build early literacy skills, will arrive every other month. 

 

Qualifications 

  1. The child must be a patron of Wolfner Library. 

  2. The child must be between birth and 6 years of age. 

 

How to Enroll

Caregivers can fill out the That All Children May Read Early Literacy Program online form, or contact the Youth Services Librarian at (800) 392-2614.

 

 

About the Early Literacy Skills

Touching and Sensing: A child must explore the world around them to learn how to gather information through touch and other senses.  

Rhyming and Singing: Reading stories in rhyme and singing songs helps a child hear how a word is broken up into syllables. These activities help children recognize words that rhyme. Rhyming and singing help a child identify letters and words that sound similar.   

Playing with Books: Before a child can start enjoying books, she must first learn how to turn pages, hold a book and know when it is upside down or backwards. 

Letters and Dots: Introducing a child to letters, either as braille dots or raised letters, is the first step before learning to put the letters together to make words. 

Telling a Story: Talking about a child’s day helps them understand that there is a beginning, middle, and end of a story. 

Words Everywhere: Everywhere we go, there are words.  Describing the world around your child will help build their vocabulary.

 

Resources

• National Pre-Braille Literacy Resources

• Missouri-Specific Resources

• Missouri Council of the Blind

• Missouri First Steps

• Missouri Parents Act (MPACT)

• Missouri Rehabilitation Services for the Blind (RSB)

• Missouri Statewide Parent Involvement Network (MoSPIN)