Onboarding
Dec 12, 2025 – Project Confirmation
Jan 23, 2026 – Provider registration
Jan-Feb 2026 – Live sessions
Feb 27, 2026 – Training completion
Late Feb 2026 – Books and resources arrive at clinics
March 2, 2026 – Program launch
Yes, every participating provider who is involved in having early literacy conversations and providing a book/resource must complete their own registration. All administrators supporting the program must also register.
There will be an asynchronous module available after the live sessions conclude. Anyone who is registered and has not yet signed up for training will receive an email with the online training module.
A short 25-minute training session. We will provide practical training for healthcare providers on what early literacy is, why it matters, and how simple, high-impact actions can be woven into routine visits to better support families.
We will be shipping books and resources directly from our publishers. We will try our best to provide shipment tracking information, but this may not always be readily available from our publishers. You will receive an email about all the items that will be arriving at the clinic for confirmation.
Implementation
Bimonthly, you will receive an email with a link to complete a short online form. You will let us know the number of board books, paperback books and other printed resources as applicable remaining on site (including any of your satellite offices, if applicable).
At each bimonthly inventory check, you can indicate if you’re running low on stock. We’ll do our best to replenish it, subject to product availability and the cost of one-off shipments. Please note that replacement materials may not always match the exact title originally provided, so continue using your current materials where appropriate.
We ship books and resources twice each year, around early October (Fall order) and early March (Spring order).
You will have a chance to report this to us during the bimonthly inventory check. Or you can also email us with this information so we can get your new staff set-up.
New participants can get up and running by completing these two steps:
Contact us for the unique registration links for your clinic.
Let us know and we’d be happy to set up a call with the new Primary Contact to run through our program responsibilities.
No, feel free to assign someone in your office to take on this role. Let us know if you want to stay in the loop with inventory emails and we can send that bimonthly check to the indicated administrators.
Onboarding
Live training sessions will be available starting January 23, 2026. There are 6 sessions in English and 1 in French. If you can’t make it to any of the available dates/times, we will send you an asynchronous training module that you can complete on your own time before February 27, 2026.
As a participant of the Early Words program, you agree to provide early literacy counselling and a book/resource to patients ages 5 and under according to the routine schedule as discussed with your clinic champion (primary contact). You will also:
Implementation
Books and resources are distributed as part of early literacy conversations during routine appointments. Confirm your schedule with your Primary Contact.
All participating providers give books and resources only as part of a conversation they have with families about early literacy.
All participating providers give books and counselling according to their clinic distribution schedule. The books and resources are only for children ages 5 and under , but please encourage all your patients to read! Questions about your clinic’s distribution schedule? Check in with the Primary Contact at your clinic.
All participating providers give a maximum of one book/resource per appointment unless there are multiple children aged 0-5 receiving care at that appointment.
We open our Expressions of Interest (EOI) each summer. Each of our clinics submit an EOI followed by a consultation process before site selections are made in the fall. If you know of another clinic interested in joining the program, please encourage them to apply when our new cycle of EOI opens. They can also sign up for our Early Words e-bulletin to stay up-to-date when we are accepting new applications.
The first resource families are given is our early literacy activity guide (red booklet).
We don’t have a prescribed order of which books to give out, as different clinics may receive different titles each shipment. Generally, we recommend board books for children ages 0-3 for vocabulary development and basic concepts. Paperback books for children ages 3-5 for discussing higher-level concepts and storytelling.
The last resource families should be given is the adventure map/sound-letter tool (for 4- and 5-year-olds).