The original Literacy Team of the School Readiness Council created this project as a collaboration of the Willimantic Public Library, Eastern Connecticut State University and the Windham Area Family Home Childcare Providers Association. The project is now guided by two members of the team: the Willimantic Public Library Children's Librarian and an instructor from the Eastern Connecticut State University Education Department. In addition, they collaborated with the co-chairs of the Windham Area Family Home Childcare Providers and two ECSU education instructors.

The Children's Librarian and the education instructor are the coordinators of the project. They assign students to family childcare providers and follow their progress during the semester. These two individuals also provide ongoing technical assistance to the students and providers. The librarian additionally oversees the logistics of getting materials to the home childcare settings through the students.

The goals of the program are to:

	Increase literacy opportunities for preschoolers in childcare homes.
	Increase the use of library book bags and resources by family childcare providers.
	Increase contact with and support to family childcare providers.
	Provide an environment for family childcare providers and university education students to develop and share ideas for literacy activities.
	Develop a book of ideas for each theme in the library book bags by having providers and students add their ideas to the notebook provided.
	Provide early childhood education students with experience interacting with multi-age groups of preschool students.

The cost of the project is minimal. During the first two semesters of its implementation, Windham CFI paid $100 each semester for the cost of the early literacy training for students and about $200 for an end-of-semester dinner and feedback session. The university and the library provided copying and professional coordination of the project. The university faculty also participated in facilitation of the project by including it in their class curriculum. ECSU students, who are members of an early childhood survey course in the Education Department, are trained at the library by an independent consultant in early literacy skills. Students are then assigned to a family childcare provider who has volunteered to participate in the program. Using a resource bag provided by the library, each student meets weekly with children in their home childcare setting and conducts early literacy activities and storytelling events. Students become familiar with the children in the home setting and design early literacy activities with them in mind. Their classroom teachers and the Children's Department librarians assist students in developing activities and making optimal use of the library's resource bags.

University faculty members support the implementation of the project throughout the semester. Staff members check in with students and with childcare providers several times throughout the semester to assess progress. All participants are invited to a closing event, which includes written evaluations by the childcare providers and the students and a verbal feedback session during which the success of the activities are considered. This project has been formalized as a field practicum by the university.

The project provides students with specific guidelines for visits to family childcare homes — guidelines for setting up the initial visit and conducting the first interview with the childcare provider plus suggested activities for each weekly visit. Instructors require students to complete observation/reflection reports on two occasions during the semester. Students also conduct exit interviews with the providers. The project includes a contract, signed by the provider, which outlines their responsibilities and guidelines for use of the storytime book bags. A letter with an application for a library card for the child or a family member is sent to the parents.

The program was originally developed because the literacy team of the School Readiness Council wanted to bring more emergent literacy activities to young children and to increase the connection of the library to young children. The library also had book bags or storytime kits, originally designed for use by childcare centers, which contained books with an assortment of themes. However, according to childcare providers, the book bags were rarely circulated due to lack of time. Having students bring the materials to the homes and implement activities addressed the logistics of getting materials to providers and also provided some enrichment for children in home childcare settings. It increased links between the library and the community and allowed university students to participate in childcare settings.

With the commitment of the ECSU Education Department to formalize the internship, the program is easy to sustain.

One of the biggest challenges in implementing this project was the ongoing support of the student-provider connection. One ECSU instructor and field practica staff handled most of the coordination work, devoting a lot of time to the matches between students and caregivers and ensuring that students were following through on their commitments. Sometimes students failed to return particular books, materials or resource bags; there was some confusion about whose responsibility this was — the childcare provider or the student. Transportation was a challenge for some students, since several homes are located outside the transit district. Also, the program had more home providers who wanted to participate than students.

Circulation of the storytime kits has increased since the beginning of the program, and the library has reported increased circulation overall. ECSU students have expressed positive impressions of home childcare settings, and the ECSU Education Department now has strong ties to the local children's library. The childcare providers report that the students created a livelier environment for the children. Where they had felt like the least supported component of the childcare system, providers now express gratitude for the resources and support.

Children's Librarian, Willimantic Public Library, (860) 465-3079

The Windham Library was offering free book bags to childcare facilities in the community. However, the childcare providers found it difficult to go to the library to get them. According to Kathy Tormey, a home childcare provider and co-president of the Windham Family Childcare Association, "the idea was conceived that if we could work with the students at ECSU, they could bring the book bags to us. The students would have the opportunity to work with multi-aged children in settings that they normally would not be accustomed to. And we would benefit as well, because they would be sharing literacy ideas, bringing in books, reading to the children, and developing crafts and art projects with the books they read."

Ms. Tormey looks at it as a "win-win situation" for everyone involved. The ECSU students are put in an environment where they have to learn to work with children at different ages and how to "engage a whole handful of kids who are at different levels of learning." The providers experience a new learning style — "not all providers have a degree in early education. We are able to learn from the students, including ideas we may not have thought of or different ways to do things." Also the children are introduced to someone new with a different style of teaching. "It exposes them to other people so that when the time comes to go off to center-based childcare or kindergarten, they have been introduced to a different style already. It works on their socialization skills."

Ms. Tormey has nothing but nice things to say about the program her center has participated in for the past three years. "My children in the daycare absolutely love it! I can't say enough about the program. It has really worked nicely . . . because everyone that participates gets something out of the program."