‘Baby Karaoke’, ‘Baby Bounce’, ‘Baby Rhyme Time’, ‘Bouncing Babies’, ‘Giggle and Wiggle’, ‘Tiny Tots’, ‘Book Bugs’, ‘Kids’ Club’, ‘Book Club’. Whatever you want to call them, there is an enormous number of story-time sessions being offered to families all around Australia.
The best place to start is at your local library. They run a regular program, offer interactive activities and provide your child with exposure to a huge range of books. Best of all, they are FREE. Many children’s bookstores and family-friendly cafes also run weekly story-time sessions.
Most libraries offer different programs for children of all ages: babies (0-18 months), toddlers (18 months-3 years), pre-school children (3-5 years), school-aged children and teenagers. Many even run multicultural story-times where stories are told in languages other than English.
Do you attend story-time at your library? Feel free to share your experiences. I know there are some famous librarians around the nation.
BENEFITS OF STORY-TIME SESSIONS FOR PRE-SCHOOL CHILDREN
I think daily outings of any description are always beneficial to children, but here is a list of reasons why you should pencil in a date with your child to visit the local library for a story-time session.
A Story-time session:
- models a fun approach to reading and exposes children to different styles of storytelling (i.e. different voice, delivery, expression, body language)
- helps children understand the purpose of books
- exposes children to a wide variety of literature and encourages a love of reading
- allows children to interact with books through rhymes, singing, dancing and craft
- enables children to learn the use of rhythm and rhyme
- encourages imagination
- assists in the development of pre-reading skills (listening, communications, language, book concepts), developing a readiness to read and increases a child’s vocabulary
- provides an opportunity to meet other parents and children in the local area
- gets you out of the house
- provides parents with ideas for home
- AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, IT’S A LOT OF FUN FOR PARENT AND CHILD!
