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Canfield library hosts Gotta Move story time
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Neighbors| Alisa Manna.Canfield residents Melissa Hemrock (back) and daughter Lilly Hemrock (front) were one of many people who took advantage of the new Gotta Move story time at the Canfield library.
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Neighbors | Alisa Manna.Cleveland resident Meg Mitchell (left) and her granddaughter, Emma Petkosh (right), danced together to music and prompting that went along with the plot of a story read during the Canfield library's program.
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Neighbors | Alisa Manna.Austintown residents Elaine Burich (back) and her daugther, Jayden Burich (front), danced along to music at Canfield library's Gotta Move story time on Sept. 6.
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Neighbors | Alisa Manna.Stephanie Nau (back) and her daugther, Alaina Nau (front), travelled from Sharpsville, Pa. to come to the Canfield library. They learned about the program through Play Group Pals, which encourages young children to come together through various activities in order to socialize.
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Neighbors | Alisa Manna.Austintown resident M.K. Clark (left), Sharpsville resident Ella Nau (middle) and Austintown resident Alaina Alexander (right) played together during the Gotta Move event at the Canfield library on Sept. 6 as a part of Play Group Pals.
By ALISA MANNA
The Canfield library sponsored its first Gotta Move story time on Sept. 6 for kids ages 2 to 5. After the completion of the summer reading program, the library has planned to focus more on preschoolers and toddlers.
According to Children librarian Kelly Marafiot, story time programs offer parents a chance to bring children despite their temperament.
“We want to bring in parents who feel like their kids couldn’t necessarily sit through a story time for 30 minutes,” she said. “They should be able to come into the library and enjoy the programming even if their child is a little rowdier.”
Marafiot also said the program hopes to pull in parents who have more than one child under the age of 5 who feel like they can’t come to a preschool story time because they have a little one.
The librarian opened the program by playing sing-along songs that required the kids to move and dance. She then read “Jump, Frog, Jump!” by Robert Kalan and Jules Feiffer’s “Bark, George” to keep the children interested through participation.
Marafiot played music throughout the program from the album “Shake, Rattle & Rock” by Greg and Steve. She said the songs help the children pay attention and learn to take direction.
“Greg and Steve do a ton of different CDs where the kids have to move around,” the librarian said. “They’ll tell them what to do, and the kids seem to really love those songs.”
Some of the parents at the story time program were part of Play Group Pals, a group designed by mothers who partake in weekly activities with their children. Boardman resident Heather Alexander said the group plans activities at parks, malls, libraries and houses in Trumbull and Mahoning counties.
“There’s almost something to do every day and it’s great for kids of all ages,” Alexander said.
The Play Group Pals consists of almost 60 members and is for anyone in the area with children.