Three and four-year old children, along with a parent, grandparent, or guardian, gathered together on a colorful mat listening to Ms. Vanessa read several picture books to them on Monday, September 16. This half-hour Fall Preschool Storytime held at the Huntingdon Valley Library will continue through Monday, November 18.
Storytime began with an opening hello song during which time Ms. Vanessa demonstrated basic sign language for the children to imitate. She interspersed fall stories with rhymes and songs, encouraging the kiddos to get up, dance, and sing along with the songs.
Some favorite songs of the day were “I’m a Little Pumpkin” (to the tune of “I’m a Little Teapot”) and “Flutter, Flutter Little Bat” (to the tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”). The session ended with a goodbye song.
Ms. Vanessa, known to adults at the library as Vanessa Nelson, Head of Youth Services, runs all the children’s programs at the library. She explained that the purpose of the storytimes is for kids to gain skills in pre-reading by listening. “It can also help them become better readers when they get to school because the more you read to kids, the better they learn to read.”
Ms. Vanessa added, “We always ask parents and guardians to help model the activities that we do during Storytime because that helps the kids see what they should be doing in a social situation. So, in addition to building reading skills, these storytimes also help children build their social skills. The hope is that this socialization at an early age will help them better adapt when they get to school.”
In addition to Preschool Storytime, Ms. Vanessa also teaches Toddler Storytime for one and two-year olds, held weekly at the library on Tuesdays at 10:30 am. Since these children obviously have shorter attention spans, Ms.Vanessa adds a few more songs and rhymes to these sessions. “The format is basically the same with the main difference being the length and complexity of the books.”
On Saturday, October 5, Ms. Vanessa will lead Family Storytime. Moms, dads, grandparents and siblings are all encouraged to attend these sessions. There are no age limit restrictions to this storytime.
“I often choose the books I read at these storytimes based on the different age groups of children attending each week,” explained Ms. Vanessa. “Saturday Storytime is held primarily for parents who work during the week who are unable to attend the weekday storytimes. However, everyone is welcome to come.
“Sometimes mixing ages is beneficial because the younger kids tend to look up to the older ones, resulting in the older ones taking on a leadership role during these storytimes,” said Ms. Vanessa.
Regardless of which Storytime you choose, your little ones are sure to enjoy some new stories and, most importantly, have fun while listening and learning.
For more information about the Huntingdon Valley Library’s Preschool Storytimes, visit https://hvlibrary.org/. The library is located at 625 Red Lion Rd in Huntingdon Valley.