Wee Rhymes (Ages 0 – 3 Years)
Return to the classics with this course filled with songs and nursery rhymes! The purpose of this course is to inspire interactive, early literacy engagement between parent and infant, teaching songs and classic rhymes in a fun way to help build vocabulary. We also model how to best enjoy books with your baby.
Baby Bookworm (Ages 3 Months – 12 Months)
Have fun with your baby with this hands-on course. Watch your little one’s eyes widen with excitement as we sing songs and use fun props. The purpose of this course is to inspire active play with your little one. We model how to best enjoy books with your baby and provide an atmosphere for parent and child socialization.
Toddler Boot Camp (Ages 1-3 Years Old)
For the more active toddler, we have selected high-energy songs and movement to inspire a healthy model of physical exercise in a fun and engaging way. The purpose of this course is to foster physical activity from the get-go that your toddler will love, focusing on the development of gross motor skills, listening skills, following directions, stretching, and being active.
Little Artists (0-5 Years)
Join us as we create fun, and sometimes messy, art projects that will inspire your little artists. Work with your little one to guide their creativity in creating a project together or let them steal the show with their own personal artistic style! The purpose of this course is to cultivate creativity in your little one as well as promote positive parent and child interaction. This course focuses on the development stages of socialization, gross motor skills, fine motor skills, and vocabulary.
Tiny Hoppers (Ages 1-3 Years Old)
Bring your little ones as we sing and move with fun songs, props, and finger plays. Then wind down as we enjoy our favorite stories. The purpose of this course is to inspire interaction between the parent and their toddler through participatory songs and wonderful books. This course focuses on the development of gross motor skills, following directions, body awareness, and a sense of rhythm.
Preschool Storytime (Ages 3-5 Years Old)
Join us for this wonderfully fun and engaging storytime where amazing books meet songs, rhymes, puppets, and more. Featuring a letter each week, your child will not only enjoy this course but will become familiar with the letters of the alphabet and the sounds they make. The purpose of this course is to promote a love of reading in your child as well as provide an opportunity for socialization. The developmental skills this course focuses on are letter recognition, print motivation, listening skills, and narrative skills.
Kids on the Move (Ages 0-5 Years Old)
Join us as we jump, clap, shake, and dance our way through this class. Through fun songs and active stories, we strive to model a fun and healthy exercise routine for your little ones. And remember: parents are encouraged to participate too! The purpose of this course is to inspire a healthy model of physical activity in a fun and engaging way, focusing on stretching, body awareness, listening skills, following directions, and fine motor skills.
Little Builders (Ages 0-5 Years Old)
Bring your little ones to this fun science-based course where we will explore a new topic each week. This course mixes a little bit of songs and a story with a short discussion about a new topic each week, followed by a project related to the topic. WARNING: some projects may be a little messy! The purpose of this course is to inspire a sense of wonder for nature and science through books and tactile projects.
Totally Toddlers (Ages 1-3 Years Old)
Your toddler will love this course as we use fun and interactive songs, stories, and an engaging activity or craft. The purpose of this course is to inspire positive parent and toddler interactions and promote socialization among parents and children alike. This course will focus on the development of gross motor skills and letter knowledge.
Movers and Shakers (Ages 3-5 Years Old)
Bring your preschooler to this fun and exciting program filled with active songs, props, the letter of the day, and a story. Join us as we move and shake our way through this course! The purpose of this program is to promote being active and the developmental skills of print motivation, letter awareness, gross motor skills, a sense of rhythm, body awareness, following directions, and listening skills.
Preparing Your Child for Reading
Establish a Reading Routine: Set aside a special reading time every day with your child. If possible, establish a reading spot for you to enjoy books with your child. Creating a reading space and regular reading routine will help your child develop a love for reading and books. Remember: if you read to your child every day one day they will read to you, the best reward a parent could ask for!
Model good reading habits: Make time to read for yourself! Whether it’s the newspaper in the morning or a book in the afternoon, make sure your child catches you reading just for fun. If your child sees you enjoying reading, they will be more interested in doing it themselves.
Beginning Literacy skills: From when your child is able to hear (yes, that’s still in the womb), you can start some of these beginning literacy skills. From singing to reading, getting your child used to hearing sounds and words is the best thing you can do for your baby. There are 6 early literacy skills you can practice with your child that have been proven to produce better readers.
Vocabulary Building: Build your child’s vocabulary by reading many books to them as there are many more words in the books than what you would regularly use on a daily basis. By reading to your child you are building their vocabulary far greater than during regular day to day conversation. Also, name things you see. Everywhere you go, be it the grocery store, at home, on a walk, or at the park, point out objects and say the name of them. By hearing the variety of words, your child will have a much wider vocabulary to use when talking to you and others.
Print Motivation: Motivate your child to the printed word by making sure they have many books readily available to them. This can be accomplished by visiting the library regularly or stocking your own home library. Make reading a habit for yourself as well. If your child sees that you enjoy reading, they are going to show more interest in reading as well.
Print Awareness: Help your child become aware of the written word and basic writing rules. You can accomplish this by pointing out words everywhere you go. For example, read labels on items at the store or signs anywhere you go. These things will raise your child’s awareness of words everywhere you go! You can model basic writing skills by using your finger to guide you as you read, so your child learns reading occurs left to right, top to bottom. Another way to help with basic writing knowledge is by tracing letters with your finger to model how letters are written.
Narrative Skills: Build your child’s narrative ability through questions. After you read a book, ask them follow-up questions about the book. Have them retell what happened in the story or their favorite part. This will also help to build their reading comprehension skills. Additional ways to build narrative skills are to have them make up a story or tell you about their day, in the order that the events occured.
Letter Knowledge: Practice letter knowledge with your child through pointing out letters on signs or in books, name the letter and say the sound it makes. Another exciting way to practice letter knowledge is by creating letters in fun ways. For example, writing in the dirt, use leaves, string, or clay to make a letter, walking, hopping, or skipping in the shape of a letter, or writing letters with chalk on the sidewalk.
Phonological Awareness: The best way to practice this is through rhyming. Read rhymes to your child, say rhyming words, or make up silly words to rhyme with a word you read. Another way to build this skill is by saying a word, but pausing in between syllables and having your child try to put the sounds together to create the word. For example, “wa” and “ter” makes water.
My Child’s First Visit to the Library
We are so very happy you are preparing to bring your little one to the library! To make the experience enjoyable for all, here are some helpful tips to guide you in preparing your little one for the library.
Make sure your child has eaten and had their nap prior to your visit. Your little one will enjoy the library much more if they are ready to absorb all the wonderful books and other exciting things they will experience at the library.
Check online to see what programs will be going on at your library. You may want to bring your child to a storytime to experience the excitement of books with our staff. Depending on how your little one feels about crowds, you may also choose to bring your child at a time when there are no programs as there would be less of a crowd.
What is expected of you at the library: In order for the library to maintain a fun and positive environment, we encourage you to read the library rules and abide by them. We ask that if your little one makes a mess of any sort, you bring it to the staff’s attention and help to clean it up. We expect you to keep your little one with you at all times for the safety of everybody.
What you can expect from us: Library staff will welcome you with a smile and are willing to help you find books. If it is your first visit, we are happy to show you around (upon availability of extra staff). Ask us about our programs, we are eager to explain our program selections to you. We are always willing to answer your questions.
Library cards for the little ones
If you would like to get a library card for your little one, there is some information you should know first. Each library card is to be used by the card holder only, we highly discourage using someone else’s card to checkout materials, use the computer or purchase items at the library. With that said, it IS acceptable for a parent to check out books for their little one with their card, as the parent is responsible for the books they are reading to their child. If you want your child to have their own library card, you will need to provide us with the same information you provided to get your library card: both a photo ID that has your current address printed on it or a photo ID and a piece of mail with your name and current address on it. If you have these items and are ready to sign up for your card, please ask library staff and we will assist you in registering your card online.
Library Rules
Food and Drink (other than a bottle of water with a lid) are not allowed into our libraries. We know little ones like to munch, so we ask that if your child needs a snack, please take them outside to let them eat and drink and bring them back in when they are ready to return.
Lowered voices are expected in the library. It never fails when you come to the library, your little one may be really excited and want to shout about all the excited things they see or they may be ready for a nap and therefore cranky and irritable. In these instances, please help us keep the library’s noise level down by helping your child to speak in a low voice while in the library. If they are crying and screaming, please take them outside until they are able to calm down, as do not want to disturb others who may be studying, reading or taking tests in the library.
Shoes and shirts are to be worn at all times in the library. The library rule of thumb is if they are able to walk (even if they are currently being carried) they need to have their shoes on. This rule is not only one that is applied to all patrons coming to the library, but is also to protect the feet of your little one as we don’t want them to drop a book on their toes by mistake.
Little ones need to remain with their adults at all times. If you choose to use a computer while at the library, your little one will need to remain near you during the whole time you are at that computer. This is important as the library is a public place and we want to ensure the safety of your child but need your help.