Storytime -- Maybe the Most Important Program Your Child Will Attend!
Storytime may sound like child’s play, but it just may be the most important thing that happens at the library. You’re about to read why, in four recent testimonials.
Our Racing to Read Storytimes are tailored for babies, toddlers and preschoolers with a purposeful mix of songs, stories and activities. They’re fun, and they give families ideas for building a child’s literacy skills at home. Through talking, singing, reading, writing and playing, children develop reading skills long before they’re able to read. Storytime also builds the social-emotional skills that many children lack when entering kindergarten.
If you’re a parent, grandparent or caregiver with a spare hour in your day or evening, consider the value of storytime. Here’s what these grown-ups shared with librarian “Miss Sarah” Bean Thompson.
Eli’s grandmother said the boy was shy and hesitant about participating when he first came to storytime. Now he’s the first one into the Story Hour Room. They sing “Finger Poppin” in the car to get pumped for storytime and he’s eager to join in the songs and activities. He more engaged at preschool, too, and grandmother credits storytime for helping him become more comfortable with participating in a group.
Another grandmother attends storytimes with her grandson, who also started out as shy and hesitant. On that day he was jumping up and down and singing along to ‘Finger Poppin’ and having a blast waving his scarf.
One mother said that, while her daughter doesn’t speak much, her love of storytime is apparent the minute she enters the library. Her face brightens, she waves to all the staff and points to the Story Hour Room door, and dances along and smiles through storytime.
Storytime is also the highlight of one 4-year-old’s week, her mother told the librarian. She regularly discovers her daughter playing “storytime” and “Miss Sarah” at home.
As for Miss Sarah, she never had to be convinced, but the stories remind her, “…What might seem like small things in storytime are actually making a huge difference to our patrons!”
There’s a storytime almost daily at nearly all 10 library branches. The complete schedule, and more about storytime’s purposeful structure is at thelibrary.org/racingtoread; or pick up a storytimes brochure or a copy of Bookends.
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