People say talk is cheap, but for babies, talk is priceless. Talking with babies has been shown to have an amazing impact on the growth of their brains and development of language, key to their future success in school and in life. And, unlike products that are advertised to parents as critical to making their Read More
Shaping Dreams Through Reading
As we honor and remember the accomplished life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, let us take to heart her statement in support of books and reading: “Reading shaped my dreams, and more reading helped me make my dreams come true.” We can help children shape their dreams and make them come true through sharing books with Read More
A Different Kind of School Year
Some of you will remember the “good ole days” when school started the day after the Labor Day holiday. That’s why I always envision the beginning of the year is September. It was exciting to see the wide array of school supplies for sale all over town. And new school clothes and shoes. How many Read More
Navigating Change with Children
During these challenging and uncertain times, parents/caregivers of young children have been doing their best to manage through these several months of dealing with COVID-19 – and it’s not over yet. We thought by now we’d be back at work and our children would be back in their early care and learning programs. However, for Read More
Bringing the Learning To You with Little Learners
Can you believe that it was just a year ago that we filled the Cuddy Park with hundreds of people to celebrate the tenth year of Imagination Library in Anchorage? The coronavirus has caused changes in so many aspects of families’ lives, and community-based learning activities for their young children are no exception. Even we Read More
Seasons of Alaska has Arrived
A few months ago you could hardly walk through the Best Beginnings office. Boxes upon boxes of our newest book set for young children, Seasons of Alaska, filled nearly every room. Thanks to hard work and many, many mail runs, now over 20,000 of these books are in the hands of Alaska children all across the state – Read More
Best Beginnings Receives Library of Congress State Literacy Award
Best Beginnings is one of 10 organizations selected from nominations across the United States to receive a State Literacy Award from The Library of Congress in 2020. Best Beginnings was nominated for the award by The Alaska Center for the Book for its “outstanding and innovative contributions to literacy in the local community and across Read More
Week of the Young Child
With lots of families spending more time at home together, it may feel like every week now is the week of the young child. However, there’s one particular week in which we pay special attention to young children, their families, and the early care and learning programs and teachers that support them. The Week of the Read More
Lean in to Literacy
As we continue to “hunker down” in Alaska during the coronavirus pandemic, good news is often hard to come by. Here’s a good news story I love to tell! This month, 17,609 children in 118 communities in Alaska are finding a brand-new, high-quality, age-appropriate book in their mailbox, at no cost to their family. Best Read More
Update from Best Beginnings
Thank you for taking the health and safety of our Alaska community to heart. The last few weeks have seen dramatic changes for nearly every family, and like you, we continue to monitor the spread of COVID-19 closely. Best Beginnings is committed to doing our part to slow its spread and support families during this Read More
