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Storytime 101: Sign Up for Fred Rogers Center ELE Activity

Storytime 101: Sign Up for Fred Rogers Center ELE Activity: If you’re a librarian who does…

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Target Grant Funded This Fancy Early Literacy Thingamajig

Last year I received a $2000 Target Early Childhood Reading Grant to produce a promotional item based on the 5 Early Literacy Practices. They finally arrived, and they’re everything I hoped they’d be (and more). Take a look:

Here’s a quick overview of the project:

“Readers Grow On The Go” is a set of collectible cards designed especially for toddlers and their parents to fill the difficult “waiting time” with constructive, engaging early learning activities. Parents of card collectors will receive a carabiner for clipping the cards to a diaper bag or stroller.

My objectives:

  1. Inspire parents to engage young children in spontaneous, practical EL activities outside of the library.
  2. Demonstrate how the 5 Practices support early literacy development
  3. Produce a durable object with that supports the 2 objectives above.

Thanks to my fantastic collaborators in the marketing department: Marketing Supervisor, Sue Wilsey, and Graphic Artist/Designer Colleen Kelly, the finished product is everything I hoped it would be (and then some).

Sue sourced the materials, and negotiated the deal. Originally, I proposed using laminated paper. Luckily, Sue decided to think bigger. She presented me with several options. In the end we went with a plastic similar to that used for library cards. The plastic gives this project a very professional look and feel.

I wrote the text for the cards. The instructions had to be short, simple, and clear. I had a design concept in mind when I applied for the grant. I’m a huge fan of Ed Emberley’s Fingerprint Drawing books, and decided the aesthetic was a perfect fit for this project. I designed the “S is for Snake” card to give Colleen an idea of what I wanted. As always, she took the concept and ran with it. I can’t stop gazing affectionately at the adorable robot, the little bugs on the “counting” card, and well, all the other ones.

I can’t wait to see what the kids think of it.