Kibeo focuses strongly on the language development of young children. Reading plays a major role in this. Through the BoekStart program, many branches work closely with libraries to offer young children a rich language environment from an early age. BoekStart is now anchored at more than a hundred branches. A significant milestone, because behind that number are thousands of reading moments for young children every week: on your lap, at the table or in a cozy book corner.
Larger vocabulary
BoekStart is an initiative of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, implemented by Stichting Lezen and national libraries, which encourages parents to start reading aloud from infancy. And that is not without reason: children who are read to as babies have a larger vocabulary later on. And as toddlers, children are completely receptive to new words, sounds and language structures. It is therefore logical that BoekStart has now become a permanent fixture in childcare. “If you start reading aloud at a young age, you give children something very valuable for the future,” says Annemiek van der Weele, pedagogical policy officer and BoekStart coordinator at Kibeo. “A good reading aloud moment does more than teach words. It opens the imagination and makes language fun and lively.”
Obvious
Reading aloud is not a side issue at Kibeo. “For us, reading aloud is just as natural as playing outside,” Annemiek explains. “The effects of reading aloud are not only visible today, but throughout life. And the sooner you start, the greater the effect.” Reading aloud sets something in motion: children develop a richer vocabulary, understand more of the world around them, learn to express themselves better, gain more self-confidence and thus make contact with other children more easily. Annemiek: “That is why we embrace BoekStart at Kibeo. It strengthens our reading aloud offering with current books, inspiring training courses for our pedagogical staff and active parental involvement. Everything contributes to a language-rich environment for children, at Kibeo and at home.”
Reading expertise
Kibeo is active with BoekStart in dozens of villages and cities, spread across South Holland, North Brabant, Zeeland and Utrecht. Thanks to subsidies, the number of collaborations with libraries has grown considerably in recent years. "We are very happy with that," says Annemiek, "Together with libraries, we continue to work on maintaining and further expanding our reading expertise. At the same time, we are dependent on structural funding to be able to continue doing this." Fortunately, the growth is continuing for the time being: next month, Kibeo will start a new collaboration with the West Brabant library, with another six branches joining BoekStart.