Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library Toddlers Story Time

My daughter, Emma, has been attending the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library Toddlers Story-time almost since birth. Each Tuesday morning her babysitter would take Emma along with her grandson to the Oaklyn Branch for the under 2 year old story time. The older she got the more she enjoyed it. The class is free to the public and lasts a half hour.

Taking her to "library school", as we call it, was one of the activities that I was looking forward to the most when I became a stay at home mommy. I was amazed and in awe that my one year old knew so many classic nursery rhymes, not to mention her way around the library from this weekly class!

Despite its name, there is more music and motion than reading. Each class is pretty much the same which follows the philosophy that babies learn from repetition. We start with a hello song to each child, sing several classic songs with hand movements or bouncing, read one book chosen by our child and end the class with a good-bye song. The class usually has about 20-30 kids in attendance and I watched my daughter become more outgoing as she saw the same kids each week.

The classes are on a month long break to end the summer reading programs and to get ready for the school year. We miss going so much! I have taken her there to check out books and play in the children's section but she always runs to her classroom. Very soon she will be 2 years old and will be able to attend up to 4 classes that range from story-time to music to crafts. I know social interaction is important to her development and I am planning on taking her to these classes to help her meet new friends, have fun and of course, continue to support her love of reading. I thank the local public libraries for providing a wonderful, safe program for children to enhance their learning process.