Build your home library

Literacy is important. It helps you get a job, take your medication, and thrive in life. If you have read my past columns, you are aware of our standing in the state and country when it comes to our literacy rate. While, we are working on raising this rate as I type this article, there is a solution that is available to our community. Studies show that having a home library helps improve how far a student will go in school. There are several ways to build your home library.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Sign up at the library for this great program. Children birth until 5 years old receive a free book every month. The beginning book will be the classic The Little Engine That Could and the last book is about starting kindergarten. All you have to do is be a resident of Eddy County who is between the ages of birth to 5 years old. Submit an official registration form completely filled out by parent or guardian. The library has forms you can fill out. Then sit down and read with your child. It is truly that simple.

My son received books from the Imagination Library, I do not think he got all 60 books since we moved a few times during his first 5 years of life. But last night I was reading with my son the book, Pup and Bear it was then when I realized all of our favorite books came from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. So many books we received over the years that we have read more times than we can count. Each night my son picks out three stories for us to read. Last night all three books he picked were from the library. We even read the last one by himself loudly and with confidence. After we were done he declared that he loved reading because it was so fun. This made my heart melt. My son is a math kid and we have struggled with reading and books. Last school year he even didn’t like going to the school library, he would go to the extent of trying to stay home sick so he could miss library time. All it takes is time reading with your kids to help develop a love of reading. And I’m very excited to get my son signed up for this next program.

Is your child older than 5 like my son? Don’t worry Carlsbad Municipal Schools has partnered with Kids Read Now. Kids Read Now program mails new books to students throughout the school year and summer. Students will be receiving a book they selected every 2 to 3 weeks. The books include exciting multicultural, bilingual, fiction, and nonfiction titles children love. These books are mailed directly to students’ home addresses; no in-home technology is required. Each book includes multilingual guided discussion questions to help increase family engagement. A bonus ninth book of beautifully illustrated creative writing prompts concludes the summer session of the 2024 program so that children can write their own stories after their year of learning. Nonfiction titles can be great for boys, sometimes they do not like a regular story book. My son loves learning about the earth and animals around him and how things work.

I was so excited to learn about this new program. Deputy Superintendent LaVern Shan discussed it at the Mayor’s Oil and Gas Summit in October. After her panel on education had finished I let her know how incredible this new program was for our community. She asked that I share this program with our library patrons. All students K-5 will be enrolled and their teacher will help them pick books that will be directly mailed to you. Once they are at home you can read with your child, help play the games that are connected to the books, and ask them questions about the books they read to keep them engaged. A love of reading starts at home. I know how much you all love reading, help share it with the next generation! If you need more ways to help engage children in reading make sure to stop by the library for more resources.

Sarah Jones is the Carlsbad Public Library executive director. Sarah can be reached by phone 575-885-6776 or by email at sejones@cityofcarlsbadnm.com. Visit the Carlsbad Public Library website at https://cityofcarlsbadnm.com/departments/carlsbad-public-library/.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Build your home library