The Santa Maria Public Library’s Youth Services division seeks to engage young children up to age five in the joys of reading and learning, preparing them for later school success.

Literacy Kits with books and activities to promote literacy for babies and preschoolers are available for checkout in our Youth Services department. Offered in collaboration with the Central Coast Literacy Council.

We Read Together: Early Learning Diversity Kits story time kits for parents and early-learning providers.  Kits contain picture books featuring diverse characters.  Designed for sharing with toddlers, and preschoolers in a group or one-on-one setting. Available for checkout. 

Virtual Story Time features stories, rhymes, finger plays, and songs virtually on our YouTube page The Library also offers bilingual story time.

1,000 Books Before Kindergarten Parents and caregivers are their children’s first teachers. Begin planning for school success by reading together with little ones at home. Sign up for the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program to track reading and earn rewards.

Print Reading Logs (1-500 books): https://indd.adobe.com/view/77bf00a2-8534-4889-baf5-e43985c38777

Print Reading Logs (501-1,000 books): https://indd.adobe.com/view/1ece706e-d792-4795-956a-eb6eaa1769cd

 Visit the Public Library's Events Calendar or follow us on social media for information on more programs.
   

Check out the Library calendar for more information on these and other Youth Services programs.

Digital Resources for Early Learning:

	Story Place Story Place is a children’s digital learning library. With stories and activities for children of all ages, Story Place brings the fun of the library online.
	PBS Kids With PBS Kids you can read stories, listen to music, play games and color along with your favorite characters.

Other Early Learning Resources: 

First Five California Covid Resources:  COVID-19 continues to impact lives in countless ways. To help families get through these challenging times, First Five shares a variety of resources, advice, and parenting tips. 

Early Learning Practice: Miss the AWE Early learning computers?  Try these free printables from AWE. 

First Five California: Parenting resources for Early Learning and Literacy building through Talk, Read, Sing and more.