Book Harvest: Resources During Covid-19

By: Daniele Berman, Communications Manager at Book Harvest

North Carolina children’s literacy organization Book Harvest provides an abundance of books and ongoing literacy support to families and their children from birth and serves as a model for communities committed to ensuring that children are lifelong readers and learners. Our vision is of a world in which reading, learning, and access to information are considered rights, not privileges, so that all children thrive.

When schools and childcare centers began closing in mid-March, our team at Book Harvest knew it was more important than ever for parents to have access to support as they worked hard to keep their children learning at home, even as many were dealing with changes to their own work as well, either working at home or dealing with the stress of job cuts and losses. We remain, as always, committed to meeting children and families where they are, even when everyone is just staying home. So over the past ten weeks, we have curated a collection of free resources for children and families to keep learning alive. Here’s a roundup of those resources:

• Learning at Home: Our roundup of excellent online resources is broken up into categories to help make it easier to find what you’re looking for, including read-alouds, STEM activities, and resources in Spanish.
• Daily Tips from Our Experts: Each day in April, we released reviews of two recommended resources from our staff experts, one for children ages 0-5 from our Early Childhood Services Coordinator, Wilmarie Cintron-Tyson; and one for children ages 5-10 from our Education Partnerships Manager, Amy Franks.
• Weekly Parent Chats: Each week in May, Wilma hosted a video conversation with a parent from our Book Babies program, during which the parent shared a project or learning strategy that has worked well for her family at home, as well as tips for how other families can do the same.
• Weekly Audiobook Reviews: Each week in May, Amy invited an elementary student to review a free Audible audiobook with her.

We have also begun partnering with Durham Public Schools and the Durham Public Schools Foundation as well as other community partners to provide books to children in addition to meals they are receiving. We are continuing to refine those partnerships and have plans to keep the books flowing all summer long. In June, our online content will transition to providing resources for summer learning, ensuring that as the school break extends into the summer months, parents and kids have access to excellent content to keep learning alive -- and fun! Follow along on our website, Facebook, and Instagram to make sure you don’t miss any of these opportunities!

Do you have questions about book access for your family? Send an email to info@bookharvestnc.org and we’ll get right back to you!

Do you have books to donate? Thank you! After being unable to receive donations for so many weeks, we need your help more than ever. Donations of new or gently used books for children from birth through high school can be dropped off in the bin outside our office anytime, 24/7. We’re located in the Rockwood Shopping Center, at 2501 University Drive in Durham.