Story time not strictly about books at South Butler Community Library
SAXONBURG — You never know what you’re going to get at a South Butler Community Library story time.
In addition to picking a new book to read to children from infancy to 5 years old, Bridget Weleski, the library’s youth services leader, also incorporates several movement activities and crafts that get the children and adults in the room involved.
On Tuesday, Dec. 17, the name of the game was parachute, where adults held the edges and the toddlers hid under the cloth for a little game of peek-a-boo. For 2-year-old Everett Smith and his grandmother, Jamie Smith, this is their routine every Tuesday morning, before Everett starts preschool next year.
“We come every Tuesday,” said Smith, of Middlesex Township. “The kids have a good time, and (Everett) is getting old and ready to go to preschool soon.”
Weleski started leading story times at the library about five years ago, and continues to host them every Monday and Tuesday for infants up to 3-year-olds, and on Wednesdays and Thursdays for 3- to 5-year-olds.
While the children in the room yelled while playing the games and sang along to the songs Weleski played on ukulele, they also listened to Weleski read aloud from the Christmas book she chose for the day. She said this routine helps children have a positive association with reading.
“Just the enjoyment of reading, if I can pass that along to children, that’s my biggest goal,” Weleski said. “I try to really incorporate movement into story time, because it’s really hard for them to sit still at this age, and it’s not developmentally appropriate for them to sit still that long.”
Weleski previously taught preschool and first grade, where she got experience working with children of developmental ages.
While the library’s story times only last around an hour, Weleski said they are still good opportunities for parents and caregivers to introduce children to reading, and get them excited about and interested in books. Hearing the story in a book is only part of the reading experience, she explained.
“Exposure to books at an early age is critical for early literacy,” Weleski said. “Spending time reading with your child, showing them concepts of print, like how to hold a book, how to turn the pages — that’s all things they are learning here.”
As the clock neared 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, children began settling into their seats on a rug in the library’s youth section, as adult caregivers sat around the rug’s perimeter. There were about a dozen children crowding the mat Tuesday morning, but Weleski said she gets around 100 children among the four story time sessions she leads each week.
While some children excitedly spoke to “Miss Bridget” up until the start of the story time session, they followed her instructions exactly once she started demonstrating stretches. The activities Weleski brings to the story times also incorporate elements of storytelling.
“We’ll do parachute, we’ll do bean bags, shaker eggs, scarves at the end to do some more movement,” Weleski said. “We usually alternate movement, stories, sometimes I will do finger plays or flannel board stories. You do have to go with the flow, but they are a lot of fun.”
The infant story times are appropriate for children up to around 3 years old, and Weleski said the Wednesday and Thursday story times for children up to 5 years old are similar, but introduce more elaborate books and themed activities.
“Once they get into the preschool group, I do a letter a week, too,” Weleski said. “We incorporate letter recognition, letter sounds, so I usually theme everything to go with that letter.”
The story times will be on a holiday hiatus at the South Butler Community Library until the week of Jan. 6. But Weleski said some of the repeat attenders may get together outside the library until then. Weleski, said the children and caregivers who regularly attend story times often become friends, which can be helpful to people raising a young family.
“They develop relationships because they will consistently come week to week,” Weleski said. “What’s also nice is the caregivers develop relationships too, which is nice. So they might socialize here, but they might get together outside of the library and develop friendships there.”
Weleski said the social aspect of the story times and other library activities for youth are good for social exposure, and especially getting children ready to go to school or day care. The story times normally end with some kind of crafting activity, which also engages the children’s artistic and creative skills.
“The other thing about story time is it’s a great time for them to socialize, learn language skills,” Weleski said. “And after story time, we incorporate either a craft or science activity, a STEM activity afterward.”
Elaine Waldenville, of Butler, frequently brings her granddaughter, 2-year-old Elaina Renfrew, to the story times at the library. Waldenville was one of the adults singing along to Weleski’s songs as she taught them to the children, and said the weekly activity always is fun for her and her young granddaughter, who was particularly fond of the parachute game.
“This gets her with other kids, so this is a good starter for getting ready to go to preschool,” Waldenville said. “And Miss Bridget does such an awesome job.”
Story times for children up to 3 years old take place at 10:30 a.m. Mondays and Tuesdays; and for children up to 5 years old at 10:30 a.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays at the South Butler Community Library. Weleski said anyone is able to attend, free of charge.
