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Babies learn counting, sounds at library
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Rachel Cairns (right) bounced her 13-month-old son Ben Cairns on her knee during a playful song at a Poland story time.
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Curiousity got the better of the babies during the story time, and most traveled closer to librarian Anette Ahrens (left) as she read a book called "Who's Under the Hat?"
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .Betty Hrina held her grandaughter Madison Madvick as she learned sounds with songs and rhymes during a Dec. 29 Poland library story time.
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During "The Noble Duke of York," a favorite library rhyme that has parents lifting their babies up and down, the children were laughing and the parents were getting a workout.
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Sammy Moritz (left), at 18 months old, showed his mom Kelly Moritz (right) that he could follow sounds by clapping along.
By SARAH FOOR
According to librarian Annette Ahrens, a successful Baby Brilliant story time at the Poland library is when the babies are having so much fun that they forget they’re learning.
To keep her event lively and entertaining, Ahrens focused on discovering sounds with songs and rhymes for her guests. With her own “baby” — a plush teddy bear — in her lap, Ahrens led the group of moms, dads, grandparents and their babies through rhymes like “The Noble Duke of York,” which had the adults raising and lowering their little ones through the air. A favorite of the babies was the tickle rhyme that mimed critters crawling up their bodies, making most giggle with the touch.
Mom Farrah Simerlink brought 13-month-old Colin to the story time.
“With Colin just learning some pre-reading skills, and another on the way,” Simerlink said, “we come to Poland to interact and socialize. And it’s never too early for early literacy.”