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Austintown library hosts Gotta Move Story Time
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Austintown's Danielle Fedor (left) held her nearly 2-year-old son Levi, who was a little shy to participate during the Gotta Move Story Time at the Austintown library.
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Youth services librarian Ashley Potopovich got the children up and clapping to the song "Can't Wait to Celebrate" during the Gotta Move Story Time at the Austintown library.
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Austintown library youth services librarian Ashley Potopovich welcomed each child by name by singing "The Name Song" during the Gotta Move Story Time event.
By TIM CLEVELAND
One of the more popular programs the Austintown library does for younger children is its Gotta Move Story Time program for children ages 2-5.
The event is hosted every Thursday at 10 a.m., with approximately two-dozen adults and children in attendance. The most recent one was on Oct. 2. It featured movement activities, stories and rhymes designed to get the children up and moving around.
“It helps with their gross motor skills and playing with others,” Austintown library youth services librarian Ashley Potopovich said.
Potopovich started the program by leading the children in singing the “Name Song,” in which she welcomed each child by name. She moved on to the song “Can’t Wait to Celebrate” and then “Head Shoulders Knees and Toes.” She then read the book “When the Leaf Blew In,” sticking with the Autumn theme.
After that it was on to the movement activity “Jump Up, Around!” then the songs “The Leaves of the Trees,” which was sung to the tune of “The Wheels on the Bus.” Potopovich finished up the 30-minute program with “Scarecrow, Scarecrow,” sung to the tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle,” and “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” followed by parachute play.
One of the attendees was Danielle Fedor of Austintown, who brought her son Levi.
“It gives him something to do, let him make some friends, things for toddlers, something exciting, different,” Danielle said when asked why she and Levi attended the event.
Danielle said it was her first time bringing Levi to the Gotta Move program. She was asked if she feels coming to the library programs will help Levi’s reading skills.
“Yes, very much so,” she said. “The library does a lot of programs for toddlers. This is my first time at this one.”
Potopovich said coming to the Gotta Move Story Time event can have other benefits for children.
“They can interact with other children, get exposed to books, act out,” she said.