Rugrats in the reading room: Promoting early literacy at the Humboldt County Library

Eureka, Ca., (KIEM)- In the Children’s wing of the Humboldt County Main Library, parents bounced tots on their laps, sang songs, shook mini-maracas, and promoted cognitive development. On the first and third Friday of every month “Baby Read & Grow” classes are hosted at the library. Free to parents because of the support of groups like First Five Humboldt and the Henderson Center Kiwanis, librarians say its a great way to encourage a love of language, even before children are able to talk.

“What parents are really doing when they come to play and sing and talk and read with their children at the library or at home is establishing a strong relationship with their child and using that relationship then to jump start the child’s relationship with language and stories.” Jeanine Lancaster, a youth services librarian explains. She leads the parents and tiny tikes in song, “So it’s really like a magic triangle of the adult, the child, the book… together, it all develops.”

 

-Paid Advertisement-