Whenever I hear about a terrific opportunity for young children, I like to pass along the information. There’s a wonderful new program in NYC that encourages a love of learning and books. The NYC Imagination Library is an initiative of the NYC Dept. of Education. The goal is to promote the development of emergent literacy and language skills that are important for every child’s success in school by encouraging all NYC parents to read aloud to their children from birth until age five.
Parents can enroll their preschool child (age 0 to 5 yrs) in the NYC Imagination Library and a new, carefully selected, age-appropriate book will be mailed each month in the child’s name directly to the family’s home. Books will begin arriving six to eight weeks after a registration form has been received, and will continue every month until the child turns five. You can enroll your child at: www.nycimaginationlibrary.org. Children are eligible for this program as long as they live within the five boroughs of NYC.
As I navigated the site, which is currently under construction, I was linked to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Turns out Dolly Parton started this program in her home town and is now helping to replicate it across the country. If you go to her website you can check to see if there is an affiliate it your town. If the program is not currently available to you, the site has information for getting it up and running. Early childhood is the time to encourage language development and instill a love of literacy and learning!