It’s no easy task for early childhood leaders to strategically disburse funds from PDG B-5, CCDBG, CLSD, and ARPA grants into the hands of LEAs and CCR&Rs. In fact, the alphabet soup of early childhood education funding streams can be a bit hard to digest, so to speak. In this webinar, state leaders will tell the stories of how and why they invested in initiatives for statewide implementation, as well as their visions for further expansion and impact.
LENA - Building brains through early talk
Webinars (9)
Foundations of Literacy: The Science of Reading
What role may a child’s earliest interactions play in laying the foundation for learning to read? In this webinar, we take an expert deep dive into how conversational turns from ages birth to five fit into the ongoing discussions around the “science of reading.”
Evaluating LENA Grow’s impact on early childhood education classrooms
Two independent program evaluations of LENA Grow show links between the professional development program and positive outcomes for early childhood educators and the children in their care.
ReadPlayTalk: How one school district in Texas is prioritizing birth-to-five
Mesquite Independent School District, serving around 40,000 students in the suburbs of Dallas, has developed a successful early literacy initiative powered by city-wide dedication to a unified vision: School readiness and early literacy are vital for long-term success, and they start at birth.
“Reading for Our Lives”: A conversation about early talk and early literacy with Maya Smart
In her book Reading for Our Lives: A Literacy Action Plan from Birth to Six, Maya Smart uses the analogy of a road trip to describe the “road to reading” for parents of young children. Early talk can jumpstart the journey.
Learning Together: Increasing staff and family commitment to early literacy at Phoenix Public Library
Libraries, early literacy, and LENA go hand-in-hand. In this webinar, Phoenix Public Library talks about its LENA Start implementation, including funding sources, community partnerships, staff development, parent reactions, and effectiveness.
LENA for Libraries
Learn more about how libraries can incorporate LENA programs into their offerings for patrons. How have our current library partners achieved positive results?
Every child ready by kindergarten: A case study in one school district’s vision of early childhood
New neuroscience research shows us that the first five years of a child’s life are the most critical period for brain development. What are school districts doing to give all children an equitable start?
Implementing a new community program: What we’ve learned in the first five years of LENA Start
Learn more about LENA Start, an evidence-based community program designed to engage families and help them learn how to increase conversation with their children during the first few years of life.
Blog Posts (22)
Early childhood mental health, dual-language learners, the science of reading, and more: A look back at our most popular content of 2023
LENA’s journey through 2023 has been marked by revealing insights and transformative discussions. Join us as we take a look back at some of the blog posts, webinars, and resources that gained the most attention over the year.
Conversational turns linked to literacy skills: LENA participants nearly twice as likely to be kindergarten-ready
Children who participated in a LENA program were nearly two times more likely to demonstrate school readiness in language and literacy, compared to demographically matched controls.
Learning to read (and write) starts earlier than you think!
Dr. Lucy Hart Paulson, co-author of LETRS for Early Childhood Educators, on how learning to talk and learning to read and write happen in parallel. Learning to read starts earlier than you think, and conversational turns are an important piece of the puzzle!
LENA’s role in “The Right to Read” documentary: A focus on preliteracy skills
A documentary film from director Jenny Mackenzie and executive producer LeVar Burton features two LENA Start coordinators and their families.
Fostering family engagement and early literacy at Pasco County Schools: Webinar highlights
One of the largest school districts in the U.S. brought LENA Grow to its Early Head Start and Head Start classrooms. Watch these webinar highlights to hear their story.
“Mae Mae’s House”: One teacher’s story behind an evaluation of LENA Grow in Milwaukee
In this video, a long-time preschool teacher in Milwaukee reflects on LENA Grow and what motivates her dedication to the profession.
Early literacy and early talk: Webinar highlights featuring author Maya Smart
In a recent webinar, author Maya Payne Smart shared her vision for our “collective power to raise our readers well.”
“1, 2, 3 Talk with Me”: One mother’s story of completing Virtual LENA Start
Working from home while caring for a baby is an all-too-familiar juggling act these days. A mom in Phoenix tells her story of how LENA Start helped.
Some of our favorite books for the 0-5 year olds in your life!
An assortment of the LENA Team’s favorite books, in honor of National Reading Month.
Turning children’s books into conversation starters
Here are some tips for turning read-aloud time into interactive conversation time for the young children in your life.
Early Head Start centers in Tennessee use LENA programs to improve early literacy
Porter-Leath uses LENA programs to boost early literacy and connect teachers and families.
Results from parent survey confirm LENA Start is building stronger families
We analyzed data from 1,700 program participants and found that families report spending more time with children, talking more, and feeling more confident in their parenting abilities.
School districts use LENA programs to improve kindergarten readiness, child outcomes
School districts around the country are increasingly investing in the early years to give children an equitable start long before kindergarten.
Research Roundup: How parents can shape children’s early brain development through reading
Three new studies highlight how reading supports brain growth and cognitive function.
Early Head Start programs use LENA Home to improve language and literacy outcomes
To help families and home visitors collaborate to improve language outcomes for children, many Early Head Start programs are using LENA technology in tandem with coaching during home visits.
New research strengthens link between adult-child conversation and brain structure, reading skills
A new study exploring associations between family socioeconomic background, children’s brain structure, and children’s reading skills indicates that children who experience more conversational turns may have increased brain growth, and in turn, better reading skills.
Initial longitudinal evaluation results: Huntsville children whose parents participated in LENA Start have stronger literacy skills two years later
Promising new data show that children whose families participated in LENA Start, a parent-group program focused on increasing early talk, demonstrated considerably higher early literacy scores and were far more likely to be at an advanced literacy level entering pre-K.
Four strategies one nonprofit uses to boost literacy citywide
Calgary Reads, a nonprofit in Alberta, Canada, uses LENA Start as a core component of their citywide strategy to boost early literacy in Calgary.
Research Roundup: How researchers are using LENA technology to make new discoveries
Read about how LENA technology is facilitating new research breakthroughs.
Libraries serve as community catalysts to build pre-literacy skills
Public libraries around the country are using LENA Start to build children’s early literacy skills, connect families with community, and increase library engagement.
First Book Partnership Brings High-quality Books at Lower Cost
LENA is teaming up with First Book, a nonprofit working exclusively with programs and schools serving children in need to ensure they have access to top-quality books. Through First Book’s LENA Marketplace, partners can browse a curated collection of bilingual and wordless books.
Research Roundup: The Latest Findings on Reading
We all know we should read with kids. But why? See the latest research on how reading affects child development.
Articles (11)
Study finds parents don’t talk to infants, toddlers enough
A new research study shows having conversations with infants and toddlers will eventually help their reading skills.
Virginia Beach family featured in ‘The Right to Read’ social justice documentary
“This is truly a crisis because two-thirds of our children in this country are reading below grade level,” said filmmaker and director Jenny Mackenzie. “We have to decide, do we have the political will to stand up and say ‘Enough?’ This is a huge issue and it is continuing to perpetuate systemic racism because we are leaving Black and Brown children behind?”
Podcast: Racing to get kids reading
People Fixing the World: How a race to write books and a gadget that counts words are helping child literacy.
Pandemic has made babies and toddlers miss talking and reading milestones
Multiple studies show that infants are talking less because parents haven't been able to engage them in language developing conversations due to COVID.
Covid-Era Babies Are ‘Talking’ Less, Signaling Future Reading Challenges
We know the pandemic has had a serious negative impact on the academic achievement of school-age children. But recent evidence shows we also need to worry about Covid-era babies and toddlers.
Do COVID Babies Talk Less
A decline in socializing during COVID could mean less verbalizing for babies born during the pandemic.
LIBRARY NEWS: New Early Literacy Program Arrives in Pagosa
In partnership with AmeriCorps and the San Juan BOCES, Archuleta county is launching LENA Start, a talk-based early literacy program focused on children aged birth to three.
Southwest Colorado program helps parents grow child’s literacy
Families are invited to enroll in a new program to boost language development in infants and toddlers in southwestern Colorado.
$20K grant helps Catholic preschool teach tots to read for life
Through a partnership with Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and LENA, families in Philadelphia are able to use LENA early learning technology.
Early education program addresses R.I. youth literacy
The Brown Daily Herald looks at the history of the Providence Talks program and its expansion made possible through additional funding pledged by the Providence Mayor's Office.
Central Iowa literacy program for babies expands this fall
Small Talk Story Country is a growing outreach project partnering with LENA to give caregivers measurable results about how they communicate with their children.