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Poland library hosts Baby Brilliant event
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Youth services librarian Vikki Peck led two boys named Thomas and Andrew in the song "Shake My Sillies Out" during the Baby Brilliant event at the Poland library.
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Youth services librarian Vikki Peck used a stuffed rooster to help her read the book "Cock-A-Moo-Moo" during the Baby Brilliant event.
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Poland library youth services librarian Vikki Peck added eggs under a chicken to illustrate a story during the Baby Brilliant event.
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Poland library youth services librarian Vikki Peck distributed the supplies the children needed to make their baby chicks during the craft portion of the Baby Brilliant event.
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Vikki Peck led Thomas and Andrew in the song "Where is Thumbkin?" during the Baby Brilliant event at the Poland library.
By TIM CLEVELAND
For several years, the Poland library has hosted Baby Brilliant, a program for children in different age groups that helps them learn literacy skills before they begin going to school.
The age groups for Baby Brilliant are 6-23 months, 2-3 years-old and 4-5 years-old. On Sept. 4, the Poland library hosted the 4s and 5s.
“We’re going to be having our Baby Brilliant story time for 4s and 5s,” said Poland library youth services librarian Vikki Peck, who oversaw the event. “They call it Fun Time for 4s and 5s. We have it, now that the school year is starting, every Thursday at one o’clock for 4- and 5-year-olds. We have one in the morning for toddlers.”
Each Baby Brilliant features a different theme, with stories and songs.
“We’re doing a farm theme today and we’re going to be doing age-appropriate songs, rhymes, some finger plays and things,” Peck said. “I think it’s a pretty typical thing libraries do, just a way to reach out to the community, they get kids into the library, kind of get them at an early age to realize that the library’s a fun place. It’s not a threatening or scary place. Books are fun, reading’s fun to help with the pre-literacy skills and getting them on the road to being readers.”
Peck read from several books, including “Cock-A-Moo-Moo,” “Clip-Clop,” “Old McDonald Had a Farm” and “Do Cows Meow?” She led the children in the songs “Shake My Sillies Out,” “Ten Fluffy Chickens,” “Over in the Barnyard” and “Where is Thumbkin?”
After the 30-minute program, the children made a baby chick out of paper plates, foam and tissue paper.
Peck said the children who participate in the Baby Brilliant program develop not only literacy skills but other skills as well.
“We always focus on a certain pre-literacy skill, so today we’re doing discovering stories, narrative skills,” she said. “One of the things that kids need to have in place in order to get them ready to learn to read is the ability to understand how stories work, put things in sequence, understand how events happen right after the other, be able to read a book and re-tell it to you or tell you about their day like in a narrative form.
“The focus is really on the literacy skills, learning books are fun, learning how to hold a book, how to turn the pages. Mainly, just developing a love of reading and to get them into the library.”