For children without many or any books in their homes, receiving one of these story bags can literally change a non-book-loving child into a child who falls in love with books. The magic is the matching toy. The matching toy acts as a bridge to the book. I bring story bags when I volunteer as a reading buddy with first graders and they love to get to pick which one they want us to read. My job is to make our time together so much fun, they will fall in love with books.
I’ve always said if I could give young children only two gifts they would be books and blocks. So, I’ve been making up bags containing three board books about the alphabet, numbers, and colors, and about 2 dozen colors-of-the-rainbow mega blocks. I call this a Blocks & Books LiT KiT. I give these LiT KiTs to PreK students entering school from under-resourced neighborhoods. These simple kits become magic when combined with as little as ten minutes a day of what I call “Special One-On-One Table Time” with a parent. Choosing any one of the 3 books and doing the enclosed block activities with a parent strengthens their foundation for both math and reading and their connection with their parents.