“The more that you read, the more places you’ll go. The more that you learn, the more things that you’ll know.” -Dr.Seuss
Unfortunately, my children have never been the ones that get lost in books. We have bookcases filled with the most memorable children books some even from my own childhood. But nonetheless they have never really desired to sit still and read and/or listen to mommy or daddy read. It’s been an ongoing struggle in our home. Recently while researching local toddler activities I came across some great toddler programs at our local library.
Everything from story time to arts and crafts all geared to the toddler age. BRILLIANT!!! Since my kids have never been to school or even in a daycare type environment I thought this would be a perfect way to further their social skills with other children while allowing them to pick and choose their own books and participate in some fun arts and crafts. Another huge perk is it’s local and free!! I remember multiple weekly visits to my local library as a child. How did I forget about the wonders and imagination you create in a library?
This past week was out first visit to our local library and let me start off saying it was everything I could imagine and more. The kids were so excited to be apart of the group of kids sitting and listening to the librarian read. They looked around with eyes of wonder at all the toys and books in the children’s nook. After story time they participated in arts & crafts. It was a fun coloring, pasting and cutting activity. The kids loved it. One thing I also noticed was how I need to start focusing on having them color in the lines. Nothing too serious but taking them here allowed me to also see where as a mama I need to focus on as far as their learning and growth. It was a win/win for all of us. Lastly, after arts and crafts I took the kids back to the children’s nook and allowed them to pick two books each. Wow was I amazed at their excitement. Just by allowing them to pick their own books in a new environment it totally opened them up to the idea of having fun reading. Since then we have read at least 4 books a day. It’s been awesome and I’m stoked for our newest weekly activity, our local library visits.
