TALK Initiative Helps Parents Get Their Kids Kindergarten-Ready
Would you like to receive texts with literacy activities to do with your child? Find out if your library subscribes to TALK!
Discover fun and engaging literacy activities to prepare young children for school.
Text and Learn for Kindergarten, or TALK, uses an innovative approach to help parents and caregivers of children from birth to five years old prepare children for school success. The service provides simple activity ideas delivered in an easily accessible format—via text message.
Parents and caregivers with a library card from a participating library can sign up through that library to receive fun, librarian-curated activity suggestions via text messages. These activities encourage back-and-forth interactions and assist little ones in getting ready for kindergarten.
TALK is a service of the Midwest Collaborative for Library Services (MCLS) and was originally created by the Ypsilanti District Library with support from the Library of Michigan and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The Ypsilanti District Library led a team of local early learning experts to create the initial set of activities, with a specific focus on readability, accessibility, and cultural sensitivity. An IMLS grant funded the launch of TALK for public libraries in Michigan in 2020, with Indiana libraries added in 2023.
When the IMLS grant ended in July 2024, TALK transitioned to a subscription-based service of MCLS, an early partner in developing TALK's technical components. MCLS launched TALK nationally at the Public Library Association conference in 2024.
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The program has been scaled to accommodate individual libraries, library cooperatives, consortia, and state-level implementations. The libraries cover the subscription fee and the cost of the text messages TALK sends, meaning that users do not have to pay to use the service.
Addressing the critically low literacy rates among elementary school-aged children is a key part of the project’s goals. A recent Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions report revealed that approximately two-thirds of American 4th-8th graders are not proficient readers.
Using the research-based program Every Child Ready to Read, which encourages parents to read, write, talk, sing, and play with their children daily, TALK offers easy activities that help prepare kids for school. These activities focus on building pre-literacy skills from birth, including recognizing letter sounds and identifying letters and numbers.
Holistic child development, STEM learning, and social-emotional growth are all components of the activities, not simply early reading skills. The activities are designed to fit easily into daily routines and use materials that are readily available at home. The service is available in both English and Spanish (thanks to translation by Western Michigan University graduate students).
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"TALK was designed from the beginning as a way for public libraries to reach underserved families who aren’t already using their library. Its messages and toolkit materials for libraries are also available in Spanish, which we hope further extends TALK’s reach in communities. In addition to supporting parents and other caregivers and enhancing the frequency and quality of their interactions with their young children around proven Every Child Ready to Read-based early learning practices, libraries can also use TALK to encourage parents and caregivers to bring their children to the library to experience other activities such as story times that are also based on Every Child Ready to Read.”
Scott Garrison, MCLS Executive Director
Availability of the program in your area depends on whether your library is a subscriber. Those interested in bringing this resource to their community should encourage local libraries to contact MCLS’s TALK team to discuss subscription possibilities.
Additionally, the TALK website features a "For Parents" tab with resources for families and educators, even if their local library does not currently offer the TALK program. Parents and caregivers can also explore the FAQ page on the TALK website to learn more about the program.