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Canfield library teaches literacy skills to kids
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Neighbors | Alisa Manna.Children's Librarian Jane Adams read to children at the Canfield library's Baby Brilliant program. She chose books with an uplifting attitude so that the children would come away from the story being happy and in a good mood..
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Neighbors | Alisa Manna.Canfield resident Nelli Blumetti (left) watches as daughter, Gwen (middle), and son, Joe (right), play rhythm sticks to music that was selected to go along with the theme of the Canfield library's event.
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Neighbors | Alisa Manna.Canfield resident Sofia Castronova holds up her finished gingerbreak man craft that she made at the Canfield library's Baby Brilliant: Fun for 4's and 5's event.
By ALISA MANNA
The Canfield library offered its weekly program “Baby Brilliant: Fun Times for 4s and 5s” on Sept. 25 where children’s librarian Jane Adams chose tales and rhymes as the week’s theme.
She read old folk tales and famous rhymes she heard as a kid because it’s now an opportunity to share them as a reminder.
“There are so many to choose from,” Adams said. “I picked what appealed to me the most.”
The librarian began with rhymes from “Playtime Rhymes,” like “Hey Diddle Diddle” and “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”
She also read rhyming tales like “Old Mother Hubbard” and “Gingerbread Man” because they were silly and many kids recognized them.
“It’s great to share basic, old rhymes to see if they know them,” Adams said. “It’s also a fun way to sound out words and offer pre-literacy skills.”
Though she mostly read shorter tales and rhymes, Adams shared a few longer ones to test the childrens’ attention span.
She said some of the stories such as “Henny Penny” and “Fat Cat” were useful because they had a beginning, middle and end.
“There aren’t any serious messages in the stories I read,” she said. “They’re just simple and upbeat to make the kids happy.”
The librarian demonstrated some different ways to tell a story, like using visuals or finger play. While reading “Three Billy Goats Gruff,” Adams used magnetic illustrations to act out along with the story. She also showed how to spell out several words only using the letters in “tales.”
Adams ended the program by playing the song “It’s Raining, It’s Pouring” performed by Peter, Paul and Mary, giving the children rhythm sticks to sing and play along.
The children then participated in a gingerbread man craft to go along with the program’s theme.
“The whole point of the program is to remind parents they can still use basic rhymes to help teach their kids vocabulary and pre-literacy skills,” Adams said. “Just remember to have fun reading them and the kids will enjoy it.”
Parents from the community agreed and brought their children to the library for several reasons.
Canfield resident Amy Cuffle brought her two sons to the program to keep them involved and help them read on a daily basis.
Canfield residents Gwen Richards and Nellie Blumetti saw the program as a way to spend time with their children and grandchildren.
“My grandson loves the story hours here – and the crafts,” Richards said. “It’s also just a nice thing to do together.”