Bridging the Gaps

We are no strangers to the strong link between play and literacy in early childhood. In a July 2013 School Library Journal article titled Read, Play, Grow! Enhancing early literacy at Brooklyn Public Library, author Rachel G. Payne introduces the notion of a “play gap” in early childhood. Payne wrote, “Studies notwithstanding, many parents are mystified as to how to play with a very young child, particularly one who is still gaining language.” It seems that often, parents don’t know where to begin or rather when to begin to play. In the 2010 Play Report, the majority of parents surveyed said they either don’t have time to play with their children or if they did, they were too stressed to enjoy it.

Payne goes on to say that “All parents want what is best for their children, and many often think that a very young child’s activities must take a school-like approach. In the race to learn more and more, earlier and earlier, some parents turn to packaged programs for babies and toddlers that incorporate dubious flash cards and video…A child stacking blocks is a developing math skills. When babies pull books off the shelves, they are experimenting with gravity and figuring out the properties of books (much to a shelver’s chagrin). Trips to the sandbox and bath time water play are all early science experiments.”

It’s safe to assume that since parents are anxious or just don’t have time to play with their babies, they may not be spending a lot of time talking to them either. This creates a concept closely associated to the play gap, known as the “word gap.” Recently, NPR published an article with new findings on the word gap and its association to income levels.

Findings in Payne’s article echo the research reported in the NPR piece. “Research has shown that low income parents engage less in literacy-rich experiences than their wealthier peers…the disparity in the amount of talk between babies and parents of different income levels and education backgrounds is enormous, adding up to massive advantages or disadvantages for children in language experience long before they start preschool.”

The NPR articled reported that, “It turned out, by the age of 3, children born into low-income families heard roughly 30 million fewer words than their more affluent peers.”

Be it lack of access, shortage of information, or just basic bewilderment as to how to play, two things have become evident in this play deficit: libraries are the key to helping parents get ideas about how to play and talk to their babies and play, language development, and literacy are closely linked.

Based on the information gathered about these crucial “gaps,” the Brooklyn Public Library created a program very similar to our own 1,2,3 Play with Me. Theirs is called Read, Grow, Play, and simplicity is at the root of its nature. Sensory activities and open-ended play is encouraged. Librarians can incorporate aspects of simple play activities into their regular story times. Tips are offered to parents for how to talk to their babies in ways that encourage early literacy development, and parent-child interaction is encouraged. Librarians also model interactions to help set anxious parents at ease. Activities like putting contact paper on tables, sticky side up, to introduce the word “sticky” and using board books as blocks are just a couple examples of the simple ways play can turn into a lesson. The folks at Brooklyn also came up with a very exciting idea called The Big Brooklyn Playdate which you can read more about in the Read, Play, Grow article.

Payne writes, “Many librarians want to create a program that results in something toddlers can take home. While the goal of giving the child a product based on a theme is laudable, all too often, the parents and caregivers complete the paper plate fish that requires motor skills that the toddler does not have yet. Young children are still getting the feel of what a paper plate is and what it does, and are not yet ready to make it into a fish. That is why we have incorporated open-ended collage, process-based activities into our programs.”

1,2,3 Play with Me, offered in the spring and fall for those unfamiliar, is an early childhood, literacy-based program that promotes language skill development through play and parent-child interaction and also offers the assistance of a developmental professional for parents who have questions about everything from nutrition, to speech development, to sleeping though the night and potty training. Children’s Outreach Coordinator, Kristin Williamson, has been doing a great job conveying information about the importance of incorporating math-based activities into the programs.

And if the sound of terms like “process-based” and “math-based” activities sounds difficult, well that’s just misleading. These activities are not only related to simple, everyday tasks, but they usually only require simple, basic materials. These activities are both money savers and easy to plan.

Most of our locations offer 1,2,3 Play with Me twice a year. Our spring sessions at Capitol Hill will begin soon and I plan to incorporate some of the Brooklyn activities into my March sessions. These programs are another way that libraries are bridging the gaps caused by poverty, education deficiencies, and other barriers in our communities. They give our customers exposure to the world-at-large that exists outside of their daily life and they create an inviting place for families to come out and play!