Baby times at the library
William Garrett, 21 months, of Canfield, carries the world in his hands at a Baby Brilliant early-literacy session at the Poland Branch of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County.
POLAND
At the local public libraries, the path to literacy begins at age 6 months in a program called Baby Brilliant.
“It’s a total baby-time experience toward early literacy and early learning,” said Linda Kucalaba, children’s librarian and assistant supervisor at the Poland Branch of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County.
Kucalaba recently led a Baby Brilliant session at that branch, which drew 20 babies and toddlers between age 6 and 23 months and their parents or grandparents.
After Kucalaba conducted the 15-minute group session consisting of nursery rhymes, songs and stories, the children engaged in a group play session featuring various educational toys.
The adults were encouraged to sing along with the rhymes and to take home song sheets to reinforce the library’s early-literacy lesson at home.
One of the tiniest participants was 71/2-month-old Jackson Rausch of Struthers, who sat on the lap of his grandmother, Judy Jones of Poland, while attending his fifth Baby Brilliant session.
“He likes to hear your voice. He likes the clapping. He’s very alert, and he loves watching all the kids,” Jones observed.
“I think he’s making a few friends. We know some of the children’s names, and we try to remember. He’s very sociable,” Jones said of her grandson.
“When she [Kucalaba] starts to read the book, he’ll quit moving around and just sit there and listen to her, which I think is really good,” Jones said.
Also participating was 20-month-old Makenna Killin of Girard, who attended the session with her grandfather, Dan Schultz of Poland.
“We have a lot of books at home, and we always get books out every week at the library,” Schultz said.
“The thing that I really like about this program is the socializing [among the children] and the fact that a librarian sits here and leads us in activities that we wouldn’t do in groups at home,” Schultz added.
Because Makenna is not in day care, she doesn’t get much opportunity to socialize with other children, and the library’s group program fills that void, Schultz observed.
Another participant was Will Garrett, 21 months, who attended with his mother, Katherine Garrett of Canfield.
“He loves to read, and he gets to interact with other children. The singing is great, and then, also, at the end, when all the kids just kind of have free time, it’s great,” Garrett said.
“Teaching them sharing and, I think, just interacting with other young children is very important,” said Garrett, who has been taking her son to the library programs since he was 6 months old.
Besides the Poland Branch, the program for 6- to 23-month-olds also is offered at the library’s Newport, Boardman, Canfield and Austintown branches.
The library system also offers Baby Brilliant sessions for 2- and 3-year-olds and for 4- and 5-year-olds.
Groups vary in size from five to 20 children; the sessions are free, and no reservations are needed.
Parents and grandparents may borrow from the libraries for up to 14 days take-home Baby Brilliant kits containing books, toys and music CDs.
The library system has offered baby story times for at least 15 years, and it adopted the Baby Brilliant name for its early literacy program in 2006.
“Research has shown that the optimal time for brain development in the area of language is between the ages of zero and 2,” said Josephine Nolfi, the library system’s manager of children’s services.
“There are studies that have shown that children who participate frequently in library programs and are read to are far advanced in their literacy skills,” Nolfi added.
“There’s a focus on singing, which helps children identify the sounds in words,” she said of Baby Brilliant.
“That goes directly to phonics, and when they sit down to read, they are able to break down the words,” Nolfi explained.
“Baby Brilliant is a program for kids primarily before they go to preschool, so that when they go to preschool, they are ready to learn,” Nolfi concluded.