After receiving a special delivery from the stork, area families are getting baby literacy packets dropped off on their doorsteps. The act is spurred by the Kimball area and Eden Valley-Watkins Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE). “We want to encourage parents to think of literacy and how children learn,” ECFE Coordinator Maggie Lundorff said. Studies have shown that children who are read to in their homes and have a larger vocabulary do better in school. Lundorff explained that children need to have a large vocabulary to learn. “You can’t learn how to read until you know ‘apple’ or ‘flower’,” Lundorff said as an example. The delivered kits give parents interactive books, a booklet of activities to help develop children’s brains, a growth chart, a list of available parenting services and a bib. The delivery also welcomes new children into the community. “Our goal is to get parents to interact with their babies,” Lundorff said. Jeana Meyer is a member of the ECFE Advisory Council and a parent. She reiterated the importance of this goal. “Literacy is important because every parent wants their child to do well in school and after school. Reading to children is a great way to start.” School Board member Dorothy Kersten also sits on the ECFE board. She said the kits bring many benefits including academic, social, emotional and vocabulary development. “It says welcome to the child, and emphasizes to parents that education begins at birth. The first few years are so crucial to a child’s development.” Interactive is key The activity booklet supplies parents with ideas and games to help their babies learn. Because babies’ brains develop through sensory activity and motor skills, the ideas focus on these concepts. Each activity gives the purpose, equipment needed, the position for the baby, and the procedure to follow. All activities can be done in the home and require objects that most families have. “These activities are more in-depth than peek-a-boo because parents already know this,” Lundorff said. “We wanted to provide them with new ideas.” “This is important basic information for first-time mothers [and fathers],” Meyer said. “There is a lot of good information on stepping stones that babies should be reaching or parents should be looking for. It gives you an idea of where your baby should be.” The funding source The literacy project was funded by Meeker Cooperative’s Round-Up program. The corporation granted $425 to ECFE for the project. With limited budgets in the school district, Kersten said, “It is a great cause that would be tougher to fund without the grant.” Lundorff also applied for matching funds from Stearns County, but was denied. As a result, only half of the program was funded and expenditures had to be reduced. To save on postage, the advisory council decided to hand-delivery the packages. The council is also looking for more hard-board page books, with interactive puppets, pop-ups or sensory items to touch. “The board book is good because the child can turn the pages,” Lundorff said. She added that the books are interactive so the child can learn something more through the book. Meyer said that the advisory council was excited about the project, especially the mothers who get to make the deliveries. Meyer is one of these. “I am excited to get to know other mothers in the community. It is always fun to meet other moms and new kids for my kids to play with.” The literacy promotion Lundorff said, “This is a way to say [to parents] here is how your child can be a literate adult, both in reading and writing.” Meyer added the message being sent is, “Literacy is important. There are people out there interested in educating you and your children.”
