Reimagining School Readiness Kits

About CSL Kits

The State Library kits collection is our “library of things” for Colorado libraries. While it is fairly common for public libraries to have a collection of “things” like tools or activities that they lend out to their patrons, our collection is intended to be tools designed to help Colorado library workers: readymade programming, reusable resources, and the use of technology, mostly for archival type projects. All the kits, like the book club sets, are available for eight-week checkouts.

When you explore the CSL Kits site, you will see the collection is broken down into broad categories: STEAM Kits, Early Literacy, Technology, Social Topics, Immersive, Programs, and Games. All told, there are around 50 different types of kit, and more are being developed all the time. (On another note: send us your suggestions for kits we could make!)

School Readiness – Reimagined!

Today I want to spotlight some of the most recent additions to our early literacy resource kits. These kits provide fun and easy ways to engage young audiences in learning critical skills that will set them up for life. The storytime kits are some of our original kits that are due for a refresh, but thanks to Early Literacy Consultant, Kate Compton, eight brand new kits on “reimagining school readiness” were added in this year alone!

Here’s what Kate had to say about the project:

Libraries play a vital role in preparing young children for school by providing interactive and playful programs in which children can develop social, emotional, math, science, and executive function skills. Research, including that found from the Bay Area Museum, has shown these skills to be important for later kindergarten and lifelong success. The kits are a way to build on the knowledge and work of the trainings provided for libraries in Colorado from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) funded Reimagining School Readiness project. They were created for library staff as a program in a box, with various ideas and tips on how to use the material and resources to enhance the work you are already doing while supporting academic readiness. The Reimagining School Readiness kits were funded with a combination of Colorado Shines Brighter Preschool Development Grant Birth Through Five Initiative and Buell grant funds.

You can learn more about school readiness through the following links:

https://www.librarieslearn.org/calendar/quick-bites-supporting-school-readiness

https://bayareadiscoverymuseum.org/school-community/resources

Brief overview of kits

The images below show kit components, not the full kits.

Dinosaurs

It’s no secret that lots of kids love dinosaurs. Learning about them introduces important skills, such as classification (sorting is a precursor to the development of math skills). Learning names helps develop their sense of phonetics. It’s also a chance for youngsters to explore big feelings from afar, allowing them to approach a topic that could be overwhelming. The dino kits give educators a chance to focus users for a sustained period, a key skill and one we could all use practice with these days!

Mazes

Guided play is one way to develop new skills. Mazes (building them or even simply watching an object navigate a maze) is one way for young audiences to develop their memory and executive functions, and the ability to be flexible. This kit contains different maze building materials and digital nano bugs that makes exploring mazes easy and exciting.

Coding

Yes, you read that correctly – coding for kiddos! We’re not talking about developing software (yet!), but learning the basics (also known as precoding) from activities that allow users to think through steps of tasks, make connections, and create commands and stories. The kits include eight Tale-Bots, which you can learn about on YouTube. They can draw shapes and even help with learning new languages as well as pattern recognition or other abstract thought processes!

Space/weight and Liquid Measurement

These two distinct kits utilize fun and quirky measuring tools and devices designed to help younger audiences develop their powers of observation to experiment, gain knowledge and awareness, be creative, and take initiative.

Process Art

A good life lesson is to gain satisfaction from the journey and worry less about the destination, and this kit helps with exactly that idea. It is a chance for younger audiences to express themselves and because there is no expected outcome, they can enjoy experimentation at their own pace. When experimenting with making art, children develop their motor skills, forge new connections and understanding, and flex their problem solving abilities. It can also help children and their caregivers bond over a shared endeavor where there is no right or wrong.

Music & Movement

There’s a reason that we use the term “play” so often in reference to music. When people play music, they are playing in a fundamental way: experimenting, building skills, enjoying our creativity and the beauty of art. In a music and movement class, children begin with what they do instinctively: play! Imitation and personal expression occur naturally as students become confident, life-long musicians and creative problem solvers. This kit contains all the instruments you need for an accessible program for young audiences, such as a ukulele, roll up piano, drums, triangles, bells, wooden sticks, tambourines, and more!

Why entertain the youngsters at your library when you could easily have them entertain themselves and build something along the way? Building forts is a rite of passage for many of us, and for good reason. This kit enables libraries to easily include families in building something simple and fun. The materials make for a great starting point and your library could augment the kit with extra sheets or other building materials. Not only does this activity stimulate a raft of skills (engineering, spatial reasoning, imagination, executive function…), it encourages kids to work together towards a common objective. The challenge then is to make a game of teardown!

Community Helpers

With this kit, children can begin to think about the community in which they live and understand what makes it tick! Part of that, of course, are the different vocations that weave the fabric of society together every day. This kit enables children to explore the roles of community helpers though dramatic play.

• About the CSL Kits Program
• FAQs about the program
• List of All the Kits
• Kits Currently Available for Holds