Storytimes

What Happens During Storytime? And Tips for Learning & Engaging with Your Child

• During our storytimes we tell stories, sing songs, play games, and do action rhymes and fingerplays. We repeat some of these weekly so that children (and our caregivers!) have a chance to learn them and participate.
• Each storytime features different books and sometimes a theme like pets, summer, or feelings. 
• Children are welcome to sit on the ground in front of the library staff leading the storytime, while parents/caregivers can join them or sit in chairs around the floor sitting area.
• Parents/caregivers must stay with their child during storytime. Having our "big kids" participate often motivates children to participate too or serve as another model for how to do a fingerplay or the gestures during a song. It can also help your child relax and have fun.
• Don't be discouraged if your child gets the wiggles or is extra chatty during storytime. It's okay to take a break and leave the area or room and then rejoin, or come back next time. Storytime can be a child's first public group learning experience and acting out can be a result of confusion in an unfamiliar setting, excess energy, or even separation anxiety. 
• Besides learning to love reading and practicing early literacy concepts, storytime is a good opportunity:
  • For Preschool Storytime attendees to learn the basic rules of classroom conduct like paying attention to an adult in charge and keeping our hands to ourselves.
  • For Toddler Time attendees to also work on focusing, mimicking an adult and developing social skills like empathy.
  • For Baby Lapsit attendees to bond and experience something fun and meaningful together while practicing body movements. 
• Talk about storytime with your child. Ask what their favorite book, song or rhyme was, or if your child was having a hard time sitting and listening, debrief about what appropriate storytime behavior is and how they can work on it next time.