Child Care Search Website CareLuLu Partners with DC Public Library to Promote Early Literacy

WASHINGTON - July 31, 2014 - PRLog -- WASHINGTON, DC (July 31, 2014) -- CareLuLu, a free website that helps parents find child care tailored to their family's specific needs, has partnered with the DC Public Library to promote the Sing, Talk and Read early literacy campaign.

Many children who start school are unprepared to learn to read, lacking sufficient exposure to books, stories, words and letters during their early years. CareLuLu strongly believes that both parents and professional early childhood educators play a critical role in preparing babies and children for success later in life. The Sing, Talk and Read DC initiative, led by the DC Public Library with support from a variety of agencies and organizations including CareLuLu, shows parents and caregivers how to make singing, talking and reading to their very young children a part of their day, every day. By using surprisingly simple, daily practices, you can put your child on the path to success!

The pillars of the STAR early literacy program include:

Singing is a fun way for your child to learn new words. It helps her learn and remember words and helps her hear the smaller sounds in words.

Talking with your child helps him learn more words. Conversation and storytelling help your child understand how a story is organized and give context to what he will read later in school.

Reading with your child is an important way to help her get ready to learn to read. She will understand reading is a fun activity. He will see words in books and learn new words.

These simple and accessible practices can make a significant difference in a child’s early education, better preparing them to read and write once they start school.

Simple and practical ways to develop early literacy skills:

● Sing along to the radio while driving in the car.
● Talk with your child about her day as you prepare dinner.
● Read books with words that rhyme.

The early literacy campaign offers valuable tips from pregnancy, when unborn children can hear your voice, up through early elementary school when children are learning to read. Evgeniya Usmanova, co-founder of CareLuLu shares how these skills need to be used by not only parents, but also child care providers. “It’s important for parents to sing, read and talk to their baby, but it’s equally important for their caregiver to do the same, especially if the baby is in child care for long stretches of the day.”

Usmanova also notes the importance of preschool staff in promoting learning through play. “As children grow, more and more parents put pressure on their preschool to adopt a more ‘academic’ curriculum in order to prepare their children for kindergarten and school. However, it is through play that infants, toddlers and preschoolers learn best. Many parents might think that young children don’t learn as much through play as they would in a more ‘academic’ setting but studies have shown that it’s precisely through singing, talking, social interaction and play in general that young children learn best.”

As part of the Sing, Talk & Read campaign, the DC Public Library has produced a variety of educational materials such as parent and early childhood provider tip brochures, bookmarks, stickers, magnets, posters and more. The DC Public Library also provides Sing, Talk and Read workshops for early childhood providers. For more information about Sing, Talk & Read DC, please visit http://www.learndc.org/earlychildhood.

About CareLuLu

CareLuLu is a free website that helps parents to find licensed child care and preschool programs that match their family's specific needs. CareLuLu was born in 2013, when parents Evgeniya (Jen) Usmanova and Patrick Matos, turned weeks of research and frustration for their own daycare search -- including 16 in-person visits to child care centers -- into a powerful platform that simplifies the child care and preschool search process. Since launching in the DC-area in 2013, CareLuLu has helped hundreds of parents connect with child care providers (both center and home-based), and has been recognized by many news outlets as one of the most innovative start-up companies (Washington Post) and one of the most useful websites for new parents (US. News & World Report, Disney Baby.)

For more information on CareLuLu, please visit http://www.CareLuLu.com. CareLuLu can also be found on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/CareLuLu), Google+ (http://plus.google.com/+CareLuLu), Twitter (www.Twitter.com/myCareLuLu), Tumblr (www.carelulu.tumblr.com) and Pinterest (www.Pinterest.com/myCareLuLu).

About DC Public Library

The District of Columbia Public Library is a vibrant center of activity for residents and visitors in the nation’s capital. The library provides environments that invite reading, learning and community discussion and equips people to learn all their lives, to embrace diversity and to build a thriving city. They are a recognized force in the community for engaging the mind, expanding opportunities and elevating the quality of life.