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Poland library hosts Halloween Gotta Move
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Librarian Annette Ahrens led the children in the song "Once There Was a Pumpkin" during the Halloween Gotta Move Story Time event at the Poland library.
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.A young boy dressed as Bam Bam from the "Flintstones" got up and moving during the Halloween Gotta Move Story Time event at the Poland library.
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Poland library librarian Annette Ahrens dressed as a princess for the occasion during the Halloween Gotta Move Story Time event.
By TIM CLEVELAND
For the second time, the Poland library hosted its monthly Gotta Move Story Time event for children ages 2-5 on Oct. 27. With Halloween being right around the corner, children were encouraged to dress up for the occasion.
Youth services librarian Annette Ahrens got into the spirit by dressing up as a princess. There were 15 adults and 15 children at the event, with nearly half of the children dressing up. There were four princesses, plus a dinosaur, a lady bug, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and a young boy dressed as Bam Bam from “The Flintstones.”
Gotta Move story time differs from most story time events because it gets the children up and moving around as opposed to sitting still.
“We were looking for a different kind of program for kids who are a little more active, maybe are not able to sit through a traditional story time and listen to a lot of books, and maybe parents who are afraid to bring their more rambunctious kids to regular story times,” Ahrens said. “This is a lot of moving, a lot of music, a lot of action rhymes and dancing.”
Ahrens led the children in several songs and rhymes, including “If You Listen and You Hear Me,” “Once There Was a Pumpkin,” “If You’re a Ghost and You Know It,” “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes,” “Peas Porridge Hot,” “Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear,” “Halloweeny Spider” and a song on CD, “Shake Your Sillies Out.”
Ahrens said doing the story time in song and rhyme form helps the children better acquire the skills they’ll need to learn how to read.
“They’re still going to hear books, they’re going to hear rhymes and rhymes are a part of the early literacy skills that kids need to get ready to learn to read,” she said. “Anytime you do a song or a rhyme it helps kids break words down into smaller parts. Anything that’s going to get a kid into the library and hear a book is just as good as one of the other story times.”