PALM HARBOR, FL - February 3, 2006 - The Youth Services Department of Palm Harbor Library recently unveiled an exciting new collection of themed kits for parents, grandparents, and day care providers called "First Steps to Go". This project, funded by a grant from the CitiGroup Foundation, gives families of toddlers and preschoolers a variety of activities they can check out and enjoy at home. The kits are designed to help young children develop pre-literacy skills and concepts. They also allow for verbal and social interaction between caregivers and children.
Twenty different kits are available, each provided with books, videos, toys, puzzles, puppets, and activity sheets that can be used for interactive play and learning. Themes include Dinosaurs, Farm Animals, Creepy Crawlies, Firefighters, Community Helpers, Shapes and Colors, Music and Rhythm, Seasons, Sign Language, Things That Go and Things That Grow. Each kit comes in a rolling duffel bag, checks out for 28 days and is renewable for 14 days. Only one kit may be checked out at a time per family.
Lois Eannel, Head of Youth Services, said this program is designed to extend the type of interactive playtime that is evident in the Library's First Steps Parent/Child Workshops. "Families who complete the First Steps Program in the library are thrilled to learn that they can continue the fun and learning at home with these kits."
Please call the Children's Desk at the library for more information (727/784-3332, Ext. 206).