In a series of stories, AL.com will continue to explore big ideas for transforming Birmingham.

Every morning, Amber Martin sings to and prays over her 5-month-old son. The rest of the day is spent reading aloud, talking and explaining absolutely everything she sees and does.

It’s a routine she started after learning the importance of the number of words her baby hears.

Children’s brains grow the fastest from birth to age five and they should hear 21,000 words a day for optimal development, according to Small Magic, a local, free early literacy program working to help more people learn to read in Birmingham. As Alabama grapples with improving early literacy and the child care industry, Small Magic is focused on helping families. Their next literacy class begins on July 8.

What’s important, Martin said, is “being able to start that learning at home and be the ones that set that foundation for him to say education doesn’t have to be difficult or hard. It doesn’t have to be something that scares you or you’re fearful of. It could absolutely be something that piques your curiosity, that you love, that you enjoy doing.”

The program combines weekly literacy coaching, with tech and data reports to get more children reading.

“We know that this is a critical window in children’s lives, especially when it comes to their development. And so we’re working really hard to capitalize and maximize on their potential early on,” Ruth Ann Moss, Small Magic’s executive director, said.

What is Small Magic and how does it work?

In 2018, Bloomberg Philanthropies created a grant to fund the literacy program in five cities across the U.S., including Birmingham.

Of the five cities, which include Detroit and Louisville, Birmingham has become the largest implementer of the program, according to Moss.

Starting with 150 children in 2019, Small Magic is on track to serve 1,600 children this year by working with families and child care providers across the city.

During the two-month-long program, participants use a wearable device that counts how many words their child hears and how many times they go back and forth with adults in conversation.

The device then creates a data report. Small Magic coaches use this report to work with parents and child care workers to identify opportunities to increase learning and engagement.

The program also provides families with free books and toys.

“All throughout the day, I’m talking to him,” Martin said. “It was beautiful to start seeing him coo back even at three months.

“It just reminds you of how important it is to shape and mold from the very beginning, and how important brain development is in those first three years.”

‘It’s rewarding, satisfying and I’m grateful’

After participating in the program, 58% of child care providers and 75% of families said they read to their children more, according to a recent Small Magic report.

Since starting the literacy program, D’Bria and Patrile Stallworth said their children have put down their iPads and picked up books.

Every week, the Stallworths count how many words their 3-year-old daughter hears, finding where they can increase communication.

They say the program has made their children more engaged and imaginative.

“I felt proud to see it happen right before our eyes. Watching them having an aha moment, or a light bulb going off, or them using words that you didn’t know they knew the definition of no matter how big or small the word is, it’s just fascinating,” Patrile Stallworth said.

“It’s just very rewarding as a parent to be able to have those small moments of validation. I’m doing something that can better my child…It’s rewarding, satisfying and I’m grateful.”

According to the report, 91% of providers said the program positively impacted their classroom and 84% of families said they enjoy spending time with their child more as a result of Small Magic.

“I deeply believe these are things that are important for the future of kids in our community,” Moss said.

‘We’ve got to invest in the first five years of their life’

Alabama has long struggled with a child care and literacy crisis.

Low pay for child care workers has left some facilities short-staffed with more employees feeling burnout.

According to a recent National Association for the Education of Young Children survey, 51% of Alabama respondents working in the child care industry said they are more burned out and 27% say their economic situation has worsened post pandemic.

Parents often struggle to find affordable and accessible child care options as a result.

In 2022, almost 85,000 Alabama families needed access to child care but had no affordable, quality options in their communities, according to the Women’s Foundation of Alabama.

Moss said these are issues Small Magic often has to work around to continue to support child care workers, families and children.

“Children don’t just appear at five years old when the government starts dedicating significant funding for them. And so as a community, we’ve got to figure out if we want kids to start kindergarten ready, we’ve got to invest in the first five years of their life in ways that are systemic,” Moss said.

Martin said she joined Small Magic because of its accessibility. As a working mom, she was given the option to take the literacy coaching classes online.

“They have been here for each one of these families, no matter what the circumstance is, low socioeconomic status, no transportation, no matter what it is, they have found a way to navigate through those things and still make it a resource that’s accessible to all these children in here,” Martin said during a Small Magic graduation ceremony in June.

And the program isn’t just supporting families.

“We deeply believe that child care providers across our community are building the future of our community in their classrooms every day…We know that those people are building the brains of our future entrepreneurs, doctors, civic servants,” Moss said.

Raven Johnson, a program director, said Small Magic is helping to break down barriers by providing training to child care workers.

In 2024, 120 early education teachers participated in Small Magic, serving about 1,000 children through the child care provider program.

“This is professional development for their staff. Our coaches are going into these child care centers for five weeks, and they’re coaching teachers on literacy strategies, tools, tips for increasing language in the classroom environment, talking about the reports, setting goals, applying the strategies,” Johnson said.

Small Magic recently launched the Magic Makers Collective, where community members can donate to keep the program free for families and providers.

“We’ve really seen that there’s this appetite for folks in our community to really give kids in their lives the best from the very beginning…Folks are pouring their time and energy into the babies in their life through this,” Moss said.