A Homeschooler's Dream

Around here we make sure to make it to storytime at the library every week. It fulfills many necessities for our schoolhouse. The first one is the obvious one - Storytime itself, the second necessity is the switching out of the prior week's books for a fresh set they always have waiting for me, also it gives Gabby the chance to explore and see a sea of books (she's always had a fascination with books), it also teaches her how to acted appropriately in different situations - being quiet while older patrons read, etc., next it provides needed socialization with other children her age, last and certainly not least we have a wonderful librarian who believe in "the process not the product" for all the follow up crafts.

Storytime is something special and unique around here, our librarian puts a lot of thought and effort in to her planning. She provides each attendee with a packet a the end of each session with finger plays, songs, crafts, science projects, art ideas and child friendly cooking recipes all relating back to the stories from storytime. She even plans special events for the children, within a few weeks we'll be having a princess tea party- all the girls are to go dressed in their princess outfits and the county's pageant winner will host a tea party. Not only is she thorough in her planning and in her choice of activity, she is diligent about learning each child's name and making them feel welcomed. But, the best part of storytime is the activities. Last week the children made tie-dyed butterflies and collage butterflies in celebration of spring. This week the children were all surprised to see their artwork from last week, beautifully and artfully on display in the library's entry hall. This week's activity was collage eggs - in honor of Easter, she supplied the children with an egg shaped cut out and plenty of feathers, crayons, buttons, foam shapes, yarn- you name it she had it. I have lived in other areas where storytime was just slapped together and they never had a decent turn out but to our library staff's credit we always have at least 20 children that show up regularly. Now if that isn't a homeschooler's dream library I don't know what is.








2 comments:

Garden State Kate said...

I am sorry to say that we miss out on most of our libraries programs..we just like to hang at home a lot
or the time doesn't work for us..lol.

Maddie, Mad Rambler said...

Let me tell you about the "need" to attend this program... the other day I woke up two babies, got them changed, dressed, pottied, hair done, diaper bag packed, "portable" breakfast made, bottle prepared, myself dressed, hair done (okay in a ponytail, but I did brush it), loaded in the car, drove to the library (fed breakfast on drive), unloaded, got out the stroller, loaded the stroller got into the library, made it to storytime- all in 20 minutes..... (it almost took me longer to type out this comment)- that's how much we like storytime!!! Other than that and our homeschool fieldtrips, we are HOMEBODIES!!! I love being at home A LOT!!!!!