Reading Rockets website

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Website recommendation from MeL -

Often library staff that are not children’s specialists will need to assist patrons/parents who have children and will be asked for reading tips for their young children. When training or sharing information with other staff members, you might want to recommend the excellent Reading Rockets website. If you are not familiar with Reading Rockets, you might want to spend a little time exploring their site as there is an incredible amount of useful information. Reading Rockets is described as “a national multimedia literacy initiative offering information and resources on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help.”
The following links would be useful for ALL library staff to be aware of, but also the tips could be reproduced on bookmarks to hand out to parents or distribute at programs.  Most importantly the information is given in numerous languages including Spanish, Arabic, Traditional Chinese, Haitian Creole, Hmong, Korean, Navajo, Russian, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.  
Here are just a few tips under each age group.
A.  Reading Tips for Parents of Babies:  http://www.readingrockets.org/article/reading-tips-parents-babies
A few of the recommended tips:
1. Keep books where your baby can reach them
2. Talk with your baby all day long
3. Develop a daily routine (and make reading a part of it)

B. Reading Tips for Parents of Toddlers: http://www.readingrockets.org/article/reading-tips-parents-toddlers
1. Don’t expect your toddler to sit still for a book
2. Keep reading short, simple and often
3. Encourage play that involves naming, describing, and communicating

C. Reading Tips for Parents of Preschoolers: http://www.readingrockets.org/article/reading-tips-parents-preschoolers
1. Read with fun in your voice
2. Talk about writing too
3. Point out print everywhere

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