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Program aimed at helping youngsters become better readers
Photo
Children attending a Tales and Tots literacy program at the Newport branch of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County show their smiles in the recent session that focused on repetitious use of the letter “D.” From left are Brazil Moore, 3; Halo Fellows, 4 1⁄2; and Nina Hudock, 4. Selena Phillips, a children’s librarian, said the program used music, movements and stories to enhance an appreciation for reading.
By Sean Barron
YOUNGSTOWN
The letter “D” may be for dinosaur, but you also could say it’s for developing a greater appreciation for reading and literacy.
“I put their artwork up in their bedrooms and playroom, so they have a lot of art hanging up,” said Nettie Harris of Youngstown, referring to her three children, Braydon, Brandon and Braylin Walker, who are 2, 4 and 5, respectively.
Harris watched her three sons busily glue small pieces of colored paper to a large capital D to make dinosaurs, an activity that was part of a recent “Tales and Tots” literacy program at the Newport branch of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County, 3900 Market St. on the South Side.
The one-hour gathering, which focused on the repetitious use of the letter “D” and incorporated music, movements and stories, was to enhance an appreciation for reading, noted Selena Phillips, a children’s librarian who conducted the program.
“We [also] try to work on literacy with the parents, showing them different ways to emphasize literacy when reading to their kids,” Phillips explained.
Harris, who works at Summer Garden Food Manufacturing in Boardman, said she learned about the morning program shortly beforehand. Accompanying the group was 3-year-old Brazil Moore, another family member, and Francine Boone of Youngstown.
Also adding her creative touches to a dinosaur was 4-year-old Halo Fellows of Boardman, who told her mother, Tracie Fellows, that she would name the artwork “Halo.”
Adding a lot of color to her project was Kennedy Carpenter, who decided to name her dinosaur “Philecia,” after her mother. Accompanying the 4-year-old Youngstown girl was her father, Jamie Carpenter.
Phillips kicked things off with a dinosaur song that encouraged her young audience to engage in various movements before reading “Suppose You Meet a Dinosaur,” a fantasy story by Judy Sierra about knowing how to respond to a dinosaur in a grocery store. The tale stresses the importance of good manners.
Next it was “Hilda Must Be Dancing,” the Karma Wilson story about a hippopotamus that performs pirouettes and other dance moves, along with the humorous, unintended consequences and futile efforts to distract the animal from dancing.
The youngsters’ amusement continued as they heard “Dinosaur vs. the Library,” a Bob Shea tale that contrasted a dinosaur’s loud roar with the softer sounds of a turtle, owl and other animals. Finally, the dinosaur ends up in a library, where it has to use its “inside voice.”
Before starting the children on their dinosaur projects, Phillips read a story from which she drew shapes and had her young audience guess the object, which started with a “D.”
“Can you guess what it is?” she asked.
“Dog!” came the excited reply.
In addition, she played a variety of marches and songs, including the popular 1987 hit “Walk the Dinosaur” by Was (Not Was).
Also on hand was a display of several books on dinosaurs.