Our library day supports literacy development

Recently at Mairtown we have re-established our children’s library.   This is where we have a system to put our collection of books on offer to our children.  Once a week, currently every Thursday, the children have the opportunity to look through a selection of our books and choose one to take home in a named book bag to read and share with their whānau.

The thing I love about working in a community based early childhood education is all the fantastic parental support we receive at Mairtown.  Our library day is made possible and is successful due to our amazing parent helpers who set up and organise the library.  We are very fortunate to have such wonderful support from our families who willingly volunteer their time to come in and share the role of librarian.

“The experiences a young child has now effects them for a lifetime.  Thus it is never too soon to introduce children to books.  Children need to have experiences with books each and every day, including time for being read to and time for reading or looking at books by themselves.”  (Angie Dorrell, 2007)

It’s lovely to be part of a teaching team who are all passionate about the benefits of sharing books and stories, and believe that exposure to books is important for all children and their future learning and education.

Te Whāriki states that children develop an expectation that words and books can amuse, delight, comfort, illuminate, inform, and excite.

Not only does our library day create exposure to books it is a great way to support our children with transitioning to school.  Upon entering primary school children will be expected to have a book bag to take home reading books.  Our library day creates a wonderful opportunity for our children to gain familiarity with book bags and taking books and returning them, as well as assisting with the transition from kindergarten to school.

Experts agree that the prevalence of books in the home fosters a desire to read in children.  The more books and other reading materials that are available, the more children will value reading. (Lynn Dean, 2007).

Library day is always an exciting time, where our children seem thrilled about being able to choose a book to take home and share with their whānau.  At Mairtown we treasure books and stories as it is such a great way to encourage an early interest and love of books, so important for future learning and literacy development.

Literacy learning does not ‘begin at school’; it begins at birth.  Caring families foster and applaud children’s early achievements and early childhood educators complement and enhance this important learning which underpins school and life success.  (Jenni Connor, 2011).

Here are some of our children’s thoughts about books and our library day:
Sadie:  “I like our library day.  I got a kittens and cat book.  I like cats and dogs so I got it.  Sometimes I have stories in bed when I go to bed early.  Sometimes my Mum and Dad make stories up’.

Pippa C:  “I like taking books home, my Mum reads to me at night time.  Sometimes my sister reads to me when Mum does the dishes.”

Danielia:  “We take a book home then we have to bring it back.  My Mumma and Dadda read to me, I’m going to take that book home.”

Maximus:  “I like book day, we only take our library books home not any of the other books.  We don’t take our library bus books home.”

Kaden:  “My Daddy always reads to me every night and my Mum reads to me in the daytime.”

Lali:  “My book was about a chocolate.  The sun found the chocolate it melted, then the ants found it.”

Milla:  “My book was about hide ‘n’ seek.  My Mummy read it to me.  I really really love books.”

“There is no substitute for books in the life of a child.” May Ellen Chase

Mā te wā

Susie