It's That Time Again...Storytime!

The wait is almost over! Our Fall Storytime registration (for baby and toddler storytimes ONLY) begins next Monday, September 8th at 10:00 AM, and all of our storytimes will begin the week of September 15th. You can register online, by phone, or in person at either of our libraries. See our storytime page for details about day, time, and location of each of our storytimes.

Also, we’re starting our monthly sensory storytimes again. The next one will be this Saturday, September 6th, from 11:00-11:30 AM in Centerville Library’s program room. This storytime engages children through movement, body awareness, and other sensory activities. It serves children with autism, language delay, sensory processing disorder, and children with disabilities. Parents, caregivers, siblings, and therapists are welcome, and no registration is required.

We look forward to seeing you soon for some storytime fun!

What Time is It?

I know that this break between summer and fall storytime sessions has been too long for some of you. Fortunately, though, the wait is almost over! Our storytime registration (required for baby and toddler storytimes ONLY) begins next Monday, September 9th at 10:00 AM. You can register online, by phone, or in person at either of our libraries. Storytimes will begin the week of September 16th. See our storytime page for details about the day, time, and location of each of our storytimes.

In addition to our regular baby, toddler, and preschool storytimes, we have a few other ones that I’m excited to tell you about. This fall, we’ll be offering a family storytime on Wednesday evenings at the Centerville Library from 6:30-7:00 PM. We had this one over the summer, and it was such a hit that we decided to keep it as part of our regular storytime schedule! This storytime is for the whole family and does not require registration.

We’re also adding kindergarten storytimes to the lineup this fall! This will be a fun-filled storytime that will be sure to get your kindergartener excited about reading. We’ll be offering two different kindergarten sessions so that both AM and PM kindergarteners will be able to participate—Wednesdays at 12:30 PM at Centerville and Thursdays at 10:30 AM at Woodbourne. This storytime does not require registration.

Finally, we’re starting our monthly sensory storytimes again! The next one will be this Saturday, September 7th from 11:00-11:30 AM in Centerville Library’s program room. This storytime engages children through movement, body awareness, and other sensory activities. It serves children with autism, language delay, sensory processing disorder, and children with disabilities. Parents, caregivers, siblings, and therapists are welcome, and no registration is required.

We look forward to seeing you soon for some storytime fun!

Learn a "Secret Language"

You’ve probably noticed lots of alphabet books in the Children’s Room, but a new one came in this month that I’d like to take a moment to talk about. Sign Language ABC by Lora Heller will not only teach your child the alphabet letters and words that start with each letter, but also teach them the sign language alphabet through small illustrations on each page. As the book points out in the introduction, using sign language is a fun way to communicate with your friends and siblings in a “secret language”!

Sign language is a fun skill to have and just takes a bit of practice and patience. It’s a great way to communicate with babies and young children who are still developing their verbal skills, or with children who have language delays. We also have a variety of board books that show how to use basic sign language to communicate with your baby, like What Do You See? by Michelle Anthony.

On December 1 from 11:00-11:30 a.m. we’ll be having a special storytime at Centerville Library for children with autism, language delays, sensory processing disorders, etc., and their caregivers.  This storytime will engage them in movement, body awareness, and sensory activities combined with books. Learn more about the Sensory Storytime on the Events Calendar here. Guest post by Heidi T.