Early Learning

Storytimes take place in the library's storytime room, located in the main library in the children's area. 

• Babytime (ages 0-2 years): Short stories and songs followed by stay-and-play time
  • Mondays at 9:30 a.m. 
• Toddler Time (ages 1-2 years): Short stories and songs followed by stay-and-play time
  • Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. & 10:30 a.m.
• Preschool (3-5 years): Longer stories, songs, rhymes, and early literacy activities
  • Thursdays & Fridays at 9:30 a.m. & 10:30 a.m.
• Saturday Storytimes: Bring the whole family to storytime - read books, sing songs, and have fun
  • First and third Saturdays at 10:30 a.m.
  • Fourth Saturdays Stay & Play at 10:30 a.m.

1,000 Books Before Kindergarten (1KB4K) is a nationwide reading initiative designed to encourage families to read at least 1,000 books to their children before they enter kindergarten. Funds for prizes and books for this program have been generously provided by the Frontier Masons.

How it Works: 

1. Register online to participate and begin tracking the books you read to your child using a paper reading log or the free app. (You can also pick up copies of the reading log at the library.) 
2. Each time you complete a reading log (100 books), come to the library to pick up a prize! 
3. At the 500 and 1,000 book goals, your child gets a new book to keep!
4. We will acknowledge your remarkable reading achievements on our wall of readers in the storytime room.

FAQs:

• Reading 1,000 books isn't as overwhelming as it seems! If you read three books a day for one year = 1,095 books.
• You can read the same book over and over again. You don't have to find 1,000 different books to read. Repetition is valuable for young learners. But the library has thousands of books to choose from!
• If you read chapter books, one chapter from a book may count as one book on your tracking sheet. 
• Children who have not yet entered kindergarten can participate in 1KB4K and other reading challenges, like the summer reading program. 

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails free, high-quality books to children from birth to age five. Visit imaginationlibrary.com/check-availability to register. 

This initiative is sponsored by the United Way of Payne County, Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness, Faye Allene Brown Foundations, and local individual business donations.

We are fortunate to have two Storywalks® in Stillwater, one at Couch Park and another at Strickland Park. Stories get changed frequently, so visiting can always be a new adventure!

What is a Storywalk®? An innovative and fun way for all ages to enjoy reading while enjoying physical activity outdoors. Pages from children's books are attached to stakes, which are installed along an outdoor path. As you stroll down the trail, you read the pages of the story.

How did we get Storywalks®? Funding for both storywalks® came from health literacy grants from the Oklahoma Department of Libraries and the Institute of Museum and Library Services in 2018 and 2022. 

The Storywalks® are supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the Oklahoma Department of Libraries (ODL). The opinions and content of activities and materials do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of ODL or IMLS, and no official endorsement should be inferred.

Sprouts Early Learning Backpacks include high-quality learning materials, books, and activities, complete with guides that make learning fun! All materials are developmentally appropriate for young children and teach valuable concepts kids need for school success. Browse backpacks and place holds by searching "Sprouts Backpack" in the library catalog.