The power of story time at the public library
On a recent Tuesday morning, about 15 children from 19 months old to preschool age, along with their mothers and caregivers, gathered on individual carpet squares at the Cranberry Public Library waiting for ABC Storytime to begin. Some of the younger children toddled around the room while the older ones sat on the laps of their grown-ups.
Story time is so popular the library offers four identical sessions each week — at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The library also offers a weekly infant story time and a Caregiver and Me infant playtime.
At all sessions, parents or caregivers are asked to participate alongside their children.
At a recent session, children’s librarian Melissa Rice entered the room with a bright smile and a cheerful “Good morning!” followed by the familiar “Hello Rhyme,” that children stood up and recited together with motions such as reaching for the ceiling.
Cranberry Public Library is one of 9 locations in the Butler County Federated Library System offering story time sessions and other early literacy programs for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. The programs are designed to introduce children to books and language in fun, interactive ways.
The countywide system includes libraries in Butler, Cranberry Township, Evans City, Mars, Prospect, Saxonburg, Slippery Rock, West Sunbury and Zelienople.
In addition to a different story theme each week, children attending ABC Storytime enjoy activities that keep them engaged, including movement with scarves, shaker eggs and tambourines, and plenty of singing and dancing.
“All of these activities build crucial pre-literacy skills,” said Allison Newmyer, head of youth services at Cranberry Public Library. “We focus on helping children pay attention, listen carefully, sing, follow directions, count, identify body parts and learn through repetition and routine. Children thrive on knowing what to expect, and the way they learn from observing peers is incredible.”
Another popular program offered at Cranberry Township and several other Butler County libraries is the national 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten challenge. Families sign up at the library and track the books they read with their children as they work toward the goal.
It may sound ambitious, but the math is encouraging. Reading just one book a day gets a child to 1,000 in a little over three years. Any parent or grandparent who reads to a toddler knows how much young children love repetition. If you’ve read the popular “Goodnight Moon” to your toddler a hundred times, each one of those readings counts toward the challenge goal.
Children’s library programs, such as story time and 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten, encourage families to make reading part of everyday life.
Story time programs also give parents and caregivers a chance to connect with others who are raising young children.
At the programs, adults often share advice about favorite books and toys, activities and the everyday challenges of parenting. Those relationships benefit children as well, helping them develop language and social skills.
Rachel Uzarski, of Cranberry Township, has been bringing her daughter, Maisie, 2, to story time programs since she was 5 months old. She invited her college friend, Natalie Richard, to join them with her 2-year-old daughter, Sylvia.
“They love the routine and the songs are a staple in our homes,” Uzarski said.
Both mothers said the friendships they have developed with other parents at story time have helped them to feel part of a supportive community where families share advice and experiences.
They agreed first-time moms are all in the same boat.
On mornings at Cranberry Public Library, the pre-literacy journey for children and their caregivers always begins the same way — gathered on carpet squares, waiting for Miss Melissa to open a book and spark a lifelong love of stories.
