Category: Early Literacy Kits

Baby Bundles: Balls

For an overview of the Baby Bundles early literacy kits, please visit the original post. The cost listed is the list price of each item, regardless of whether or not we got it on sale/discount. The activity sheets amount was calculated by cost of binder clip + lamination sheets.

Itemized List

  • Tote Bag ($6.89) — 4Imprint
  • A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka ($8.99) — Baker & Taylor
  • Where is Baby’s Beach Ball? by Karen Katz ($6.99) — Baker & Taylor
  • Infantino Textured Balls Multi Set ($9.99) — Amazon
  • Activity Sheets ($2.55) — created in-house

Total Cost: $35.41

Confession time: I actually started with toys while I was creating Baby Bundles. Since baby/toddler toys are a relatively small market compared with children’s toys, it seemed like I should get a list of toys that were appropriate for circulation before I picked out themes. Luckily, the toys lent themselves to natural themes and I still have a list of toys that I may use for future kits!

The Infantino Textured Balls are actually a set that we have in our in-house play items for after storytimes/during play groups. I know from personal experience that babies loooooove to chew on them and that toddlers love to put them into boxes/bins or to throw them. I figured that it would be worth it to have a kit dedicated just to balls!

I included a board book adaptation of A Ball of Daisy. This is a board book that I did not purchase for the general collection because our picture books versions do not circulate very well. I thought that the board book is a great choice for the older toddlers who are started to develop their own words and that the story would be relate-able — the best kind of book to put inside of a kit. It will reach a whole new audience! And Karen Katz is a genius of board books — her flap books, like Where is Baby’s Beach Ball? are beloved here. An easy decision to include it!

It’s been three months since the Baby Bundles debuted and this Bundle has circulated a whopping six times! Impressive!

June 19, 2017 0 Comments Short URLEarly Literacy Kits

Baby Bundles: Alphabet

For an overview of the Baby Bundles early literacy kits, please visit the original post. The cost listed is the list price of each item, regardless of whether or not we got it on sale/discount. The activity sheets amount was calculated by cost of binder clip + lamination sheets.

Itemized List

  • Tote Bag ($6.89) — 4Imprint
  • Alphabet by Matthew Van Fleet ($19.99) — Baker & Taylor
  • My First ABC by DK Kids ($5.99) — Baker & Taylor
  • Sassy A to Z Letter Links ($9.99) — Amazon
  • Vinyl Bag ($1.99) — The Container Store
  • Activity Sheets ($2.55) — created in-house

Total Cost: $47.40

Confession time: I actually started with toys while I was creating Baby Bundles. Since baby/toddler toys are a relatively small market compared with children’s toys, it seemed like I should get a list of toys that were appropriate for circulation before I picked out themes. Luckily, the toys lent themselves to natural themes and I still have a list of toys that I may use for future kits!

I found the Sassy A to Z Letter Links pretty early on in my searches online. These were a great opportunity to expand popular linking toys to really be about literacy. I got to include activities about spelling words, the textures on the letters, and about the colors. A great toy with a lot of caregiver tip opportunities.

As for the books, alphabet board books tend to fall apart because of their chunkiness and the sheer amount of pages that the books have in them. It worked out well for the My First ABC book. I had just weeded it from the collection and decided it would be better suited for a Bundle.

And Matthew Van Fleet’s Alphabet is such a gem of a book. But with its flaps and movable parts, it doesn’t circulate more than a few times if it’s on the floor. I’m pleased to report absolutely no damage to the book in the first four months of circulation!

It’s been three months since the Baby Bundles debuted and this Bundle has circulated five times.

June 12, 2017 0 Comments Short URLEarly Literacy Kits

Baby Bundles Overview

Baby Bundles were something that I had on my SOMEDAY list. After the success of Book Bundles, I knew that I wanted to create a Bundle that would target the very youngest patrons and their caregivers. Part of this was because baby/toddler toys often become obsolete quickly after a child loses interest. The other part of this was to teach caregivers how to use simple toys and books to teach their child early literacy skills.

This past fall, my manager was putting together a list of proposals for a sponsor and I worked out a very quick budget for the Baby Bundles without any guarantee of seeing the project come to fruition. I was pretty darn floored when Baby Bundles was chosen by the sponsor!

The Details

Baby Bundles

  • I created sixteen Baby Bundle themes: Alphabet, Balls, Bugs, Colors, Counting, Faces, Farm, Food, Make Music, Ocean, Peek-a-Boo, Pets, Shapes, Sounds, Things That Go, Zoo.
  • The backpacks were purchased from 4Imprint and are the “Chervon Zippered Business Tote” style.
  • Book Bundles are shelved on the floor with a zip-tie securing the tote closed. I punched a grommet into the tote to allow the Bundles to be secured.
  • I provided a lot of input for our logo, but it was created by our fabulous graphic designer.
  • For each Baby Bundle, I made both an Inventory and an Activity Guide. The Activity Guides for Baby Bundles differ from Book Bundles because I wrote ideas based on the five practices of Every Child Ready to Read (read,
    sing, talk, play, and write). For Book Bundles, I wrote activities based on each item in the kit.
  • The Baby Bundles were sponsored by a donation from a patron and we do recognize that patron on our materials. I did remove the donation logo for uploading purposes in order to protect their identity.
  • Twice a week one of our adult volunteers checks the returned Baby Bundles against the Inventory sheet and then staff checks them in, backdating to the date that the patron returned the item. Because baby toys often go in the mouth, each item is cleaned with disinfectant or washed before going back out on the shelf.
  • They circulate for two weeks, with a fine of $1.00 per day if returned late. That’s the library’s standard for kits like Book Bundles, Parenting Packs, LeapFrogs, etc.

The tags on the Baby Bundles give a recommendation age range for the toy inside (provided by the manufacturer of each toy) as well as a picture of all the items inside the Bundle so that patrons know what they are checking out without having to open the Bundle on the floor.

Circulation of Baby Bundles is now handled by the front desk (and for that matter, so are Book Bundles and Parenting Packs which they were not originally)!

Over the next sixteen weeks, I’ll be showing off a kit a week so you’ll get to see what was chosen and why.

And that’s about it in terms of specifics in getting the kits put together. Technical Services helped SO MUCH in creating a catalog record for these items from scratch and making sure all the materials got tagged with the barcode. I am so appreciative of how everyone at the library works together.

June 5, 2017 15 Comments Short URLEarly Literacy Kits

Parenting Packs: Safety

bookbundlesparentingpacks

For an overview of the Book Bundles and Parenting Packs early literacy kits, please visit the original post. The cost listed is the list price of each item, regardless of whether or not we got it on sale/discount. The activity sheets and resource guide amount was calculated by cost of binder clip + lamination sheets.

Itemized List

  • Carrying Tote ($15.99) — The Container Store
  • Be Safe Around Strangers by Bridget Heos ($8.95) — Baker & Taylor
  • Fire Safety by Lisa M. Herrington ($23.00) — Baker & Taylor
  • I Can Be Safe by Pat Thomas ($7.99) — Baker & Taylor
  • Safe Kids, Smart Parents by Rebecca & Elizabeth Bailey ($15.00) — Baker & Taylor
  • Stranger Safety DVD ($9.99) — Amazon
  • Melissa and Doug Firefighter Costume ($29.99) — Amazon
  • Playmobil Crossing Guard Set ($14.99) — Amazon
  • Traffic Sign Puzzle ($9.99) — Amazon
  • Vinyl Bags (3) ($6.97) — The Container Store
  • Activity Sheets & Resource Guide ($3.00) — created in-house

Total: $145.86

I chose pretty much the only adult book that I could find about safety: Safe Kids, Smart Parents. I enjoyed this book and actually read it carefully because I wanted to see how it would handle many safety scenarios (consent, law enforcement, etc.). For the children’s books, I tried to select a variety of safety topics: strangers, fire, and a catch-all that mentions other situations.

The “Stranger Safety” DVD was actually one that we already have in non-fiction and have to replace every now and again for wear. It made sense to include it here.

The toys were really fun to select with this kit. I knew that I wanted to have a dress-up component and chose the Firefighters costume since kids are often frightened of the firefighter’s gear. Hopefully this will help them get used to it; although it doesn’t have the big face mask.

The Playmobil set offers a chance for caregivers to do role-playing with different scenarios (biking, crossing the street, etc.) and I thought that aspect would be helpful.

And lastly, the Traffic Sign puzzle — something that would appeal to the smallest patrons while teaching them about road signs.

The Safety Pack has been checked out eight times since debuting five months ago, which is higher than I expected!

May 29, 2017 0 Comments Short URLEarly Literacy Kits

Parenting Packs: Manners

bookbundlesparentingpacks

For an overview of the Book Bundles and Parenting Packs early literacy kits, please visit the original post. The cost listed is the list price of each item, regardless of whether or not we got it on sale/discount. The activity sheets and resource guide amount was calculated by cost of binder clip + lamination sheets.

Itemized List

  • Carrying Tote ($15.99) — The Container Store
  • Be Polite and Kind by Cheri J. Meiners ($10.95) — Baker & Taylor
  • Emily Post’s The Gift of Good Manners by Emily Post ($19.99) — Baker & Taylor
  • Excuse Me! A Little Book of Manners by Karen Katz ($5.99) — Baker & Taylor
  • Manners Time by Elizbeth Verdick ($7.95) — Baker & Taylor
  • Time to Say “Please”! by Mo Willems ($16.99) — Baker & Taylor
  • Golly Geepers Manners Flash Cards ($12.99) — Amazon
  • Playskool Picnic Basket Manners Game ($16.95) — Amazon
  • Vinyl Bag ($2.99) — The Container Store
  • Activity Sheets & Resource Guide ($3.00) — created in-house

Total: $97.80

I wanted to have a variety of kid-appropriate titles for caregivers to use. I went with two board books: Manners Time (which has caregiver tips at the end of the book) and Excuse Me!. Both of these titles work well for the younger crowd and will help toddlers navigate beginning manners. For the older kids who might be using this Pack, I included Be Polite and Kind and Time to Say “Please”!. Be Polite and Kind is very much a “teaching” book. With Time to Say “Please”!, I hoped that including a favorite author’s take on manners would help kids engage with the material.

For the caregivers, I choose Emily Post’s The Gift of Good Manners. It took me some time to find a caregiver book that specifically addressed teaching children manners as opposed to adult manners. I could have easily have selected a book on grown-up manners and etiquette, but that didn’t seem productive in the Pack.

I found the Golly Geepers Manners Game very quickly on Amazon and I was impressed with the quality of the cards and the customization for families. I also liked that this was a game to play DURING a meal together. What a great way to encourage manners and family together time!

The Playskool Picnic Basket Manners Game was another purchase from Amazon. I think this one appeals more to children because of the brightly colored pieces and the picnic basket and tablecloth game board. It encourages polite manners and turn-taking during gameplay.

The Manners Pack has been checked out six times since debuting five months ago. (That’s pretty much on par for the Parenting Packs average circulation. I find that these kits stay out for the full two weeks since there’s so much information and lots of materials in them.)

May 22, 2017 0 Comments Short URLEarly Literacy Kits

Book Bundles: Patterns

bookbundlesparentingpacks

For an overview of the Book Bundles and Parenting Packs early literacy kits, please visit the original post. The cost listed is the list price of each item, regardless of whether or not we got it on sale/discount. The activity sheets amount was calculated by cost of binder clip + lamination sheets.

Itemized List

  • Backpack ($7.39) — 4Imprint
  • The Game of Patterns by Herve Tullet ($8.95) — Baker & Taylor
  • Spotty, Stripy, Swirly: What Are Patterns? by Jane Brocket ($26.65) — Baker & Taylor
  • Too Purpley! by Jean Reidy ($7.99) — Baker & Taylor
  • Lakeshore Learning Bead Sequencing Kit ($39.99) — Lakeshore Learning
  • Lakeshore Learning Texture Rubbing Plates ($14.99) — Lakeshore Learning
  • Vinyl Bags (2) ($4.98) — The Container Store
  • Activity Sheets ($2.55) — created in-house

Total: $113.49

I’ll be honest: finding books on patterns was hard! But I’m pretty pleased with all three of the choices offered in this Book Bundle. The Game of Patterns is a really fun interactive book that encourages one-on-one reading and play with a caregiver or older sibling. Spotty, Stripy, Swirly: What Are Patterns? clearly defines patterns for young children. And Too Purpley! is a board book that many children can relate to.

The Bead Sequencing Kit from Lakeshore Learning might be one of my most favorite things that I’ve ever purchased for the Bundles. I love that the kit comes with patterns for kids to replicate and build, but I also love that it allows for creativity as kids can create and match their own patterns.

And Texture Rubbing Plates! We have another Bundle that has rubbing plates in it (Animals) and that item has been a big hit with our patrons. I thought that having a second Bundle available with rubbing plates would be a good idea and the Patterns Bundle made perfect sense once I found the Texture set!

This Bundle has gone out eleven times since it was originally released five months ago!

May 15, 2017 0 Comments Short URLEarly Literacy Kits

Book Bundles: Opposites

bookbundlesparentingpacks

For an overview of the Book Bundles and Parenting Packs early literacy kits, please visit the original post. The cost listed is the list price of each item, regardless of whether or not we got it on sale/discount. The activity sheets amount was calculated by cost of binder clip + lamination sheets.

Itemized List

  • Backpack ($7.39) — 4Imprint
  • Animal Opposites by Petr Horacek ($15.99) — Baker & Taylor
  • Eric Carle’s Opposites by Eric Carle ($7.99) — Baker & Taylor
  • Elmo’s World Opposites ($9.99) — Amazon
  • The Learning Journey Opposites Puzzles ($11.99) — Amazon
  • Melissa and Doug Soft Activity Book ($12.99) — Amazon
  • Vinyl Bag ($1.99) — The Container Store
  • Activity Sheets ($2.55) — created in-house

Total: $70.88

Ahhh, Animal Opposites is such a wonderful book that I can *never* have in the regular collection because of the flaps and pop-ups. We have it in our storytime collection and the kids really enjoy it whenever we take it out. So, it made sense to put it in a Book Bundle! Eric Carle’s Opposites is one of the better board books I found when I was looking for one on opposites.

I tried not to have too many Bundles with DVDs in them, but I couldn’t resist for this one. (Finding manipulatives on opposites is hard!) “Elmo’s World Opposites” is part of the Elmo’s World collection and a big patron favorite at my library.

The Learning Journey’s Opposites Puzzles were perfect for this kit. I did not include every pair of opposites though, as I thought some of them weren’t illustrated in a way that made sense and I wanted to have some back-up pairs for when some of these go inevitably missing.

And the Melissa and Doug Soft Activity Book gave a sensory component to the Bundle. I can also imagine that it is the favorite item for the younger side of patrons using the kits. And it’s machine washable!

The Opposites Bundle has circulated thirteen times since debuting five months ago!

May 8, 2017 0 Comments Short URLEarly Literacy Kits

Book Bundles: Family

bookbundlesparentingpacks

For an overview of the Book Bundles and Parenting Packs early literacy kits, please visit the original post. The cost listed is the list price of each item, regardless of whether or not we got it on sale/discount. The activity sheets amount was calculated by cost of binder clip + lamination sheets.

Itemized List

  • Backpack ($7.39) — 4Imprint
  • Families by Shelley Rotner and Sheila M. Kelly ($7.99) — Baker & Taylor
  • Families, Families, Families! by Suzanne and Max Lang ($16.99) — Baker & Taylor
  • The Family Book by Todd Parr ($8.00) — Baker & Taylor
  • Learning Resources All About Me Family Counters ($22.99) — Amazon
  • My Family Builders ($84.95) — My Family Builders
  • Mesh Bag ($3.99) — The Container Store
  • Vinyl Bag ($1.99) — The Container Store
  • Activity Sheets ($2.55) — created in-house

Total: $156.84

It was really easy for me to choose quality books about being a family. You’ll notice that all three books: Families by Shelley Rotner and Sheila M. Kelly, Families, Families, Families! by Suzanne and Max Lang, and The Family Book by Todd Parr include a lot of different kinds of families. It was important to me that all kids could see their family reflected in this Bundle and I didn’t want any specific family to stand out. So, while there are many great family books, most of them focus on one family at a time which isn’t what I was going for.

[If I was making this Bundle right now, I would include We Are Family by Patricia Hegarty, published in 2017. It’s an English illustrator, which means I can talk about it as it’s ineligible for Caldecott.]

Honestly, I knew immediately that I wanted to use the My Family Builders set as the interactive tool for this Bundle. It is simply fantastic and I would recommend it to any family or library. Great quality, really fun and interactive. I brought the Bundles to our Farmer’s Market over the summer as a “sneak peek” and the kids would not stop playing with the My Family Builders.

I also liked having the All About Me Family Counters which really provided opportunities for kids to build their extended family (and to include babies and pets!).

This is the most popular kit of the recent editions, circulating fifteen times in five months!

May 1, 2017 0 Comments Short URLEarly Literacy Kits

Book Bundles: Construction

bookbundlesparentingpacks

For an overview of the Book Bundles and Parenting Packs early literacy kits, please visit the original post. The cost listed is the list price of each item, regardless of whether or not we got it on sale/discount. The activity sheets amount was calculated by cost of binder clip + lamination sheets.

Itemized List

  • Backpack ($7.39) — 4Imprint
  • The Construction Crew by Lynn Meltzer ($15.99) — Baker & Taylor
  • Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker ($18.99) — Baker & Taylor
  • Crystal Climbers (48 pieces) ($24.99) — Lakeshore Learning
  • Hardwood Construction Vehicles (6 pieces) ($29.99) — Lakeshore Learning
  • Wooden Tool Belt Set (6 pieces) ($17.99) — Amazon
  • Vinyl Bags (3) ($8.97) — The Container Store
  • Activity Sheets ($2.55) — created in-house

Total: $126.86

For this Bundle, I took advantage of the fact that a favorite book was being re-released in a new format — Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site is now glow-in-the-dark! So I added that to the Bundle rather than re-buy it for the collection. And I got to write some pretty fun activities to go with the glow-in-the-dark aspect of the book. I also wanted to include a book that has not only racial diversity, but gender diversity as well. And that book was The Construction Crew.

The Crystal Climbers were a lighter option to building blocks and I like the opportunities that it provides to build something a bit more unusual that kids may not have seen before.

Hardwood Construction Vehicles were a great choice since I knew that I wanted to have actual vehicles in this Bundle. I love the weight of these vehicles — much better quality than plastic vehicles.

And the Wooden Tool Belt Set was something that I just couldn’t resist to buy for this kit. I’m always interested in providing dress-up clothes at the library, but I’m often concerned with germs. This wooden set allows for disinfection without needing any clothes to be washed.

This Bundle has circulated twelve times in the past five months!

April 24, 2017 0 Comments Short URLEarly Literacy Kits

Book Bundles: Clothes

bookbundlesparentingpacks

For an overview of the Book Bundles and Parenting Packs early literacy kits, please visit the original post. The cost listed is the list price of each item, regardless of whether or not we got it on sale/discount. The activity sheets amount was calculated by cost of binder clip + lamination sheets.

Itemized List

  • Backpack ($7.39) — 4Imprint
  • Let’s Get Dressed by Caroline Jayne Church ($7.99) — Baker & Taylor
  • Maggie and Michael Get Dressed by Denise Fleming ($17.99) — Baker & Taylor
  • Alex Toys One Two Tie My Shoe! (2 shoes/laces & instructions) ($14.99) — Amazon
  • Lakeshore Learning: The Jacket I Wear in the Snow & Book ($36.98) — Lakeshore Learning & Baker & Taylor
  • Lakeshore Learning Lapboard ($9.99) — Lakeshore Learning
  • Melissa and Doug Teddy Wear Plush ($19.99) — Amazon
  • Vinyl Bags (2) ($4.98) — The Container Store
  • Activity Sheets ($2.55) — created in-house

Total: $122.85

For the books in this Bundle, I knew that I wanted to include a board book for the younger kids and a picture book for the older ones. I found the perfect picture book in Maggie and Michael Get Dressed. I read this in preschool storytime and the kids just laughed at Michael dressed Maggie. And Let’s Get Dressed! is simple and has the pages tabbed out for little hands.

The Alex Toys One Two Tie My Shoe! is a great way to learn how to tie your shoes and it’s a toy that we have in our Family Center as well. I only included two shoes in the Bundle so I’ll have replacement laces or shoes if needed.

I made a whole kit of The Jacket I Wear in the Snow that includes the book, a lapboard, and the Lakeshore Learning puffy cloth pieces to re-tell the story.

And the Melissa and Doug Teddy Wear Plush is perfect because it has some different kinds of closures (snaps, Velcro, ties, zippers, and a buckle) and is non-gender specific!

The clothes Bundle has been very popular and has circulated eleven times since releasing five months ago! It was the fastest one out of the gates, circulating four times in the first month.

April 24, 2017 0 Comments Short URLEarly Literacy Kits

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