Parent/Caregiver Workshops and Resources

Storytimes alone aren't enough. By sharing key skills and practices with at-risk parents and caregivers in your community, you will make a vital difference in the early literacy development of young children. The Every Child Ready to Read® @ Your Library® 2nd edition toolkit (ECRR2) provides talking points and customizable slideshows for workshops that allow you to educate parents and caregivers, library staff, and community partners on the importance of promoting reading readiness by reading, writing, talking, playing, and singing with young children. To facilitate your workshop planning:

Use your ECRR1 and ECRR2 materials to develop your workshops.
Schedule a Ready to Read training for your staff to teach them how to do workshops in the community.
Borrow an Ohio Ready to Read kit to enhance your workshops.
Download a Fun and Facts early literacy workshop presentation (Microsoft PowerPoint, 3.3MB). A version of the workshop presentation incorporating links to the Ohio Department of Education's Early Learning Content Standards (Microsoft PowerPoint, 3.8MB) is also available for download.
Use the Ohio Early Literacy Crosswalk to relate ECRR concepts to the Ohio Department of Education Pre-K Content Standards and the Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework Outcomes.

More Workshop Resources

Consider offering a workshop in partnership with another community group. Find suggestions on the Partnerships section of this website.

Use this Tip Sheet (PDF) as a guide to reach out to families who do not come to the library.

Browse the Early Literacy Resources section of this website for more ideas

For Parents and Caregivers

Many excellent resources exist to educate and encourage parents to thrive as their children's first and best teachers. Consider sharing these links in your workshops and in your outreach and in-library interactions with parents and caregivers of young children:

PBS Parents: Reading and Language
Learn how children become readers and writers and how parents can help them develop by talking, reading, and writing together every day.

Zero to Three
Resources for parents and others to learn about brain development, early language and literacy, and child development. The site includes special sections for Family, Friend, and Neighbor Care and School Readiness.

Get Ready to Read screening tool
This online, 20-question tool for 4-year-olds was designed to show where a child is on the path to developing pre-reading skills. It is free for parents and caregivers to use with children, and is available in English and Spanish.

Boosting Your Child's Brain Power
Sponsored by the Ohio Department of Education, this site offers information on methods parents can use to help their young children learn in the early years.