EARLY CHILDHOOD SUMMER PROGRAM

July 12th - August 13th

Partnership with Chicago Public Library

The combined expertise and commitment of the Library and WITS will provide Chicago families with hands-on learning resources that support play, reading, and discovery ─ both during this challenging time and far beyond. Together, we will empower thousands of Chicago families to fight the COVID learning slide by connecting them to an unparalleled network of educational services and supports. 

This August, WITS ECSP activity books will be available for families to take home in all 81 library branches. The activity book complements WITS weekly online materials and can also be used as a stand-alone resource. To bridge access divide and ensure the widest possible reach, these activity books will also be part of the Library’s mobile van delivery to different neighborhoods – bundled with free books, play kits, and other learning materials. In this way, we can meet families where they are with resources they need for a fun summer of learning. 

Learn More

What is the Early Childhood Summer Program?

The WITS Early Childhood Summer Program (ECSP) is an online literacy program that supports young learners as they enter elementary school. To keep children engaged, the program includes singalongs, dancing, puppets, real-life animal visitors, animation, and interactive call-response dialogue that invites young viewers to participate.

Students practice emergent literacy skills such as letter name and sound recognition, book and print awareness, and early writing skills.

Who will be teaching this program?

The WITS Early Childhood Summer curriculum was developed by educators and is delivered by our full-time Program Team members. The Program Team has a combined 60+ years of experience delivering early childhood programming, and we are thrilled to be able to showcase their expertise with a wider audience this year. To read more about our Program Team, click here.

WITS is excited to partner with long-time WITS advocate and CPS Kindergarten teacher, Ms. Rosalba Granados. Ms. Granados has a M.A. Ed in Early Education, bilingual certification from the Erikson Institute, and has been the lead teacher for ECSP at Talcott Fine Arts and Museum Academy.

Why Early Childhood Summer Program?
WITS Virtual ECSP is hosted on the WITS website, with no ads, logins, or opportunities to purchase anything. Caregivers and teachers can trust that the curriculum, developed by educators, is fun, engaging, and appropriate for learners as young as three. Starting July 12th, this five-week program is comprised of a series of videos and a fully bilingual (English & Spanish) activity book that can be downloaded and printed. Sign up before July 9th to request printed copies of the activity book be mailed to your home.

The video series includes:
  • 10 fairy-tale read-alouds in English
  • 10 fairy tale read-alouds in Spanish
  • 5 movement activities
  • 15 mini-lessons (“morning messages”) in English
  • New this year: 5 morning messages in English and Spanish!

There are two versions of each fairy tale, and the morning messages are all related to the fairy tales: this repetition and consistency helps children gain a deeper understanding of the stories and lessons.

Why Fairy Tales?
Many children are familiar with fairy tales from hearing them at home or at the library, seeing videos based on fairy tales, or even hearing them referenced: this familiarity helps with comprehension. Just like nursery rhymes, fairy tales bridge the generational gap between children, parents, and grandparents by providing common stories for them to relate to. Fairy tales also have predictable plots and repetition, which helps children learn about how stories work.

Jump to your favorite fairy tale. 
Three Billy Goats Gruff by carol ottolenghi
Los Tres Chivitos Gruff por Carol Ottolenghi
Three Billy Goats Fluff by Rachael Mortimer
Los Tres Chivitos Gruff por Mary Finch
little red riding hood by Candice ransom
Caperucita Roja por Candice Ransom
Little Red Reading Hood by Lucy Rowland
La Caperucita Lectora por Lucy Rowland
The Three Little Pigs by James Marshall
Los tres cerditos por NINA FILIPEK
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
La Verdadera Historia de los Tres Cerditos by Jon Scieszka
The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone
La Gallinita Roja POR Lucinda McQueen
The Little Red Fort by Brenda Maier
El Fuertecito Rojo por Brenda Maier
Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Valeri Gorbachev
Ricitos de Oro y Los Tres Osos por Valeri Gorbachev
Abuelo and the Three Bears by Jerry Tello
Abuelo y los Tres Osos por Jerry Tello
Download the complete activity bookIn Spanish and English

What will each week look like? / ¿Cómo será cada semana?

On Mondays we will…

  • Start with a welcome activity that introduces a reading skill
  • Use Zoophonics to learn letter names and sounds with animal motions
  • Read a fairy tale together

Los Lunes vamos a…

  • Empezar con una bienvenida que introduzca una habilidad de lectura
  • Leer un cuento de hadas juntos

On Wednesday we will…

  • Start with a welcome activity that introduces a reading skill
  • Get our bodies moving with a movement activity
  • Read a different version of Monday’s fairy tale

Los Miércoles vamos a…

  • Empezar con una bienvenida que introduzca una habilidad de lectura
  • Leer una versión diferente del cuento de hadas del lunes

The Three Billy Goats Gruff

The Three billy goats gruff by carol ottolenghi

lectura en voz alta en Español: Los Tres Chivitos por Carol Ottolenghi

Did you enjoy Three Billy Goats Gruff by Carol Ottolenghi? Chicago Residents can check out this book from their local library. If you don’t have a library card, click here for information on how to get one.  Check out this book now!
¿Disfrutaste Los Tres Chivitos? Residentes de Chicago pueden sacar este libro de su biblioteca local. Si no tienes una tarjeta de biblioteca, ¡haga clic aquí para información sobre cómo obtener una! ¡Saca este libro ahora!
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The Three Billy Goats fluff by rachael mortimer

lectura en voz alta en Español: Los Tres Chivitos Gruff por Mary Finch

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Download a pdf of this week's activityEnglish
Descarga un PDF de la actividad de esta semanaEspañol

Little red riding hood

little red riding hood by Candice ransom

lectura en voz alta en Español: Caperucita Roja por Candice Ransom

Did you enjoy Little Red Riding Hood by Candice Ransomb? Chicago Residents can check out this book from their local library. If you don’t have a library card, click here for information on how to get one.  Check out this book now!
¿Disfrutaste Caperucita Roja por Candice Ransom? Residentes de Chicago pueden sacar este libro de su biblioteca local. Si no tienes una tarjeta de biblioteca, ¡haga clic aquí para información sobre cómo obtener una! ¡Saca este libro ahora!
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Little Red Reading Hood by Lucy Rowland

lectura en voz alta en Español: La Caperucita Lectora por Lucy Rowland

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Download a pdf of this week's activityEnglish
Descarga un PDF de la actividad de esta semanaEspañol

The Three little pigs

The Three Little Pigs by James Marshall

lectura en voz alta en Español: Los tres cerditos por NINA FILIPEK

Did you enjoy The Three Little Pigs by James Marshall? Chicago Residents can check out this book from their local library. If you don’t have a library card, click here for information on how to get one.  Check out this book now!
¿Disfrutaste Los Tres Cerditos por Nina Filipek? Residentes de Chicago pueden sacar este libro de su biblioteca local. Si no tienes una tarjeta de biblioteca, ¡haga clic aquí para información sobre cómo obtener una! ¡Saca este libro ahora!
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The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka

lectura en voz alta en Español: La Verdadera Historia de los Tres Cerditos by Jon Scieszka

Did you enjoy The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka? Chicago Residents can check out this book from their local library. If you don’t have a library card, click here for information on how to get one.  Check out this book now!

¿Disfrutaste La Verdadera Historia de Los Tres Cerditos por Jon Scieszka? Residentes de Chicago pueden sacar este libro de su biblioteca local. Si no tienes una tarjeta de biblioteca, ¡haga clic aquí para información sobre cómo obtener una! ¡Saca este libro ahora!
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Download a pdf of this week's activityEnglish
Descarga un PDF de la actividad de esta semanaEspañol

The Little Red Hen

The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone

lectura en voz alta en Español: La Gallinita Roja by Lucinda McQueen

Did you enjoy The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone? Chicago Residents can check out this book from their local library. If you don’t have a library card, click here for information on how to get one.  Check out this book now!
¿Disfrutaste La Gallinita Roja por Lucinda McQueen? Residentes de Chicago pueden sacar este libro de su biblioteca local. Si no tienes una tarjeta de biblioteca, ¡haga clic aquí para información sobre cómo obtener una! ¡Saca este libro ahora!
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The Little Red Fort by Brenda Maier

lectura en voz alta en Español: El Fuertecito Rojo por Brenda Maier

Did you enjoy The Little Red Fort by Brenda Maier? Chicago Residents can check out this book from their local library. If you don’t have a library card, click here for information on how to get one.  Check out this book now! This books is also available as an e-book.

¿Disfrutaste El Fuertecito Rojo por Brenda Maier? Residentes de Chicago pueden sacar este libro de su biblioteca local. Si no tienes una tarjeta de biblioteca, ¡haga clic aquí para información sobre cómo obtener una! ¡Saca este libro ahora!
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Download a pdf of this week's activityEnglish
Descarga un PDF de la actividad de esta semanaEspañol

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Valeri Gorbachev

lectura en voz alta en Español: Ricitos de Oro y Los Tres Osos por Valeri Gorbachev

Did you enjoy Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Valeri Gorbachev? Chicago Residents can check out this book from their local library. If you don’t have a library card, click here for information on how to get one.  Check out this book now!
¿Disfrutaste Ricitos de Oro y Los Tres Osos por Valeri Gorbachev? Residentes de Chicago pueden sacar este libro de su biblioteca local. Si no tienes una tarjeta de biblioteca, ¡haga clic aquí para información sobre cómo obtener una! ¡Saca este libro ahora!
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Abuelo and the Three Bears by Jerry Tello:

lectura en voz alta en Español: Abuelo y los Tres Osos por Jerry Tello:

Did you enjoy Abuelo and the Three Bears by Jerry Tello? Chicago Residents can check out this book from their local library. If you don’t have a library card, click here for information on how to get one.  Check out this book now!
¿Disfrutaste Abuelo y los Tres Osos por Jerry Tello? Residentes de Chicago pueden sacar este libro de su biblioteca local. Si no tienes una tarjeta de biblioteca, ¡haga clic aquí para información sobre cómo obtener una! ¡Saca este libro ahora!
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Download a pdf of this week's activityEnglish
Descarga un PDF de la actividad de esta semanaEspañol

Enjoying these books? Check them out from your local Chicago Public Library. ¿Disfrutando estos libros? Sacalos de tu Biblioteca Pública de Chicago local.

Did you know you can access most of the read-aloud books for free through the Chicago Public Library using your library card account? If you don’t have a library card, see here for information on how to get one!

¿Sabías que puedes acceder a la mayoría de los libros de lectura en voz alta de forma gratuita a través de la Biblioteca Pública de Chicago utilizando tu cuenta de tarjeta de biblioteca? Si no tienes una tarjeta de biblioteca, ¡consulte aquí para información sobre cómo obtener uno!

Sign up to receive the ECSP activity book in your mailbox and for reminders of new ECSP content / Regístrese para recibir el libro de actividades de ECSP en su buzón y para recibir recordatorios del nuevo contenido de ECSP
Sign up before July 9th to be entered for a chance to receive ten BRAND NEW books from the ECSP program. / Regístrese antes del 9 de Julio para tener la oportunidad de recibir diez libros NUEVOS del programa de ECSP.

Your feedback is important to us./ Su feedback es importante para nosotros.

We hope you enjoyed our ECSP program. Your feedback will help us to create new content that best meets the needs of our community. Thank you for your participation!/ Esperamos que haya disfrutado de nuestro programa de ECSP. Su feedback nos ayudará a crear contenido nuevo que satisface lo mejor las necesidades de nuestra comunidad. ¡Gracias por su participación!