You are reading an archived post.
To visit the home page click here.
We are a big fan of library storytime here in the 'Popper household because 1) it's free and 2) we love to read. Elliot and I have been to several different storytimes in the Portland metro area. We've found some classes that really suck, and some that are wonderful.
What people may not realize is that storytime is very beneficial for babies. Listening to words, rhymes, music and movement during the first 24 months of life assist in developing language and physical skills.
Here's how to do storytime for the really little kids:
1. Get the word "story" out of your head. Babies will not sit and pay attention to someone who is sitting on a chair in the middle of the room, reading a book to them. They can't see the pictures. They don't know what is going on.
2. Sing. Very young children learn language through repetition, rhyming, and gestures. A baby storytime should be all about singing songs. And not just 1-2 songs- up to 10 songs (sung twice each) will keep them entertained. Combining those songs with gestures (think: Itsy Bitsy Spider) helps them associate words with movement, firing all sorts of synapses in their little brains.
3. Books. Yes, there should be books! But they should be short and super simple. As mentioned above, they don't even need to be a story. Books with photos are the best. Pass out copies of the same book to the babies and let them look at the books with their parent. Most babies will eat the book, and that's okay! Baby storytime is really just an opportunity to introduce little ones to books.
4. Toys. Playtime at the end of storytime is a great thing. The best libraries wash down the toys with alcohol after each storytime so the kids can do what they love to do: chew on toys. Pouring a pile of toys in the middle of the room brings the crawlers and walkers together to socialize. It also allows the parents time to meet each other.
5. Relax. Parents shouldn't feel like they have to keep their kids in their laps. If the babies are crawling around and checking each other out while you're singing songs, so be it. You can sing the songs with your kiddo when you get home. Just letting kids explore and check each other out is the true benefit of baby storytime. Don't worry, the books will come later.
For you locals, the storytime that we love the most is at Hillsdale library at 11:30 on Thursdays (no classes in August).
Babies are beautiful, are very happy people are nice.
why people give the babies up for adoption if they are not to blame for the mistakes of older people.
I love the podcast...great content!
The comments to this entry are closed.
Get the Mother Popper: Podcast -- Free in iTunes!
a Delta Park Project - © 2007-2008 Anna Johns - Contact Me
Subscribe to my blog (RSS) | Free Podcast in iTunes
Podcasts produced by Morley Studios.
Anna Johns is a blogger, podcaster and mother living in rainy Portland, Oregon.
Mother Popper is a daily blog and weekly podcast bridging the worlds of parenting and pop culture.
Love this post. I haven't been to a story time in a long time because some sucked more than others! I tried to take Emma to a baby storytime once, and I walked into a room with mellow babies sitting nicely on mommies' laps. The storyteller sang a few songs, and then proceeded to read from a rather long book. Needless to say, that did not work for my wiggly Emma! She was up exploring in 5 minutes and I got the "look." It was ridiculous. We tried another one when she was two and it worked out better - a mix of song, activity and story and a little more acceptance of normal kid behavior! Although we go to the library often, I think I need to get brave and try more story times with Gabe while Emma is in school this year.