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Boardman library hosts weekly Night Owl Story Time
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Boardman library assistant supervisor of children's works Karen Saunders has a child put a picture on the board during the Night Owl Story Time event.
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Boardman library assistant supervisor of children's works Karen Saunders read the book "One Bear, One Dog," during the Night Owl Story Time event.
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Boardman library assistant supervisor of children's works Karen Saunders got some help while she read a story during the Night Owl Story Time event.
By TIM CLEVELAND
After bringing back its Night Owl Story Time event in September for the first time in 10 years, the Boardman library hosted monthly programs in October and November.
After not doing one in December, the program will be done every Tuesday at 6 p.m., with the first one taking place on Jan. 6.
The story time on Jan. 6 attracted six adults and children for the 30-minute program geared toward children ages 3-5.
“It’s designed for the working parent to have an alternative to come to story time in the evening,” Boardman library assistant supervisor of children’s works Karen Saunders said. “We had requests from working parents that they’d like an evening program. All the other branches were offering an evening story time, so we thought we would try something on a regular basis.”
The theme for the story time was All About Me, giving the children a chance to feel good about themselves.
Saunders read the books “One Bear, One Dog,” “ABC I Like Me!” and “Incredible Me!” There was also a craft where the children made a booklet in which they filled in how many family members they have, drew a picture of themselves, listed their favorite things and their address.
In addition to the children listening to Saunders read and having fun doing the activities, the story time is also a chance for them to learn skills they will need when they start school.
“We work on the literacy skills to help them get ready for school,” Saunders said. “Everything we do at the library on the preschool end is designed to get the children ready for school.”
Saunders said parents can help their children learn those skills as well at home.
“When parents read with their child, it helps them develop literacy skills,” she said. “Whenever they talk about books and they ask what happened in a story, that’s another way of getting them to understand the narrative part of literacy.
“Parents may get tired of the same book, but it’s very beneficial to the child because it increases their vocabulary.”