Did you know that every YPRL branch offers Baby Storytime sessions?
Early Literacy Begins Here: Baby Storytime at the Library
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reading with children from a young age increases brain development and strengthens parent-child relationships. There is evidence that a child’s oral language, vocabulary and phonological awareness will benefit from these regular shared reading experiences.
The importance of talking, reading and singing to and with your baby is vital in their development and by coming along to Baby Storytime each week, we can help you to achieve these goals!
Rhymes, Songs and Fingerplay!
Baby Storytime at YPRL consists of simple rhymes, songs, and fingerplay, it is never too early or too late to begin bringing your baby along, to gain the benefits of one of our Storytime sessions!
Pick up some tips to kick-start your child’s development and meet other local families. Foster a love for learning and reading that will help your child as they grow and benefit them for the rest of their life. Beginner skills start here!
Benefits of bringing your child to Baby Storytime:
- Developing early literacy skills by exposing your child to a wide range of vocabulary
- Promotes reading and books as something that is fun and enjoyable, setting the foundation for lifelong reading
- Exposing your child to new words and language
- Provides your baby with multi-sensory stimulation combining visual, sounds, movement and touch
- Encourages actions like clapping, bouncing and pointing, which improves coordination!
- Strengthens the bond with your baby as you will be reading, singing and cuddling together
- Creates a comforting routine that can help babies to feel more secure and safe in social settings
- Baby Storytime is a free and cost-effective activity for families!
Continue at home…
Read, Sing and Talk with your baby every day!
READ:
- Flick through a book and just talk about the pictures.
- Try and keep books next to your baby so they can look and play with them.
- Read together daily, therefore developing your child’s pre-reading skills.
SING:
Remember you can sing anywhere! Sing to your baby while they are in the bath, doing tummy time, settling for sleep, walking or even while you are driving in the car!
Your baby just loves to hear the sound of your voice, it doesn’t matter if the words are wrong, or you are singing out of tune.
TALK:
- Talk to your baby at every opportunity. Your child will be watching your face and mouth.
- Chat to your baby every day, changing a nappy or changing clothes is always a great time to be doing this!
Baby Storytime @ YPRL
Recommended Books to get you started at home:
Reading to Baby
When Dora was born, her brothers were very excited. 'I'm going to cuddle her,' said Alex. 'I'm going to rock her to sleep,' said Liam. 'I'm going to make her laugh,' said Bruno. 'I'm going to read to her,' said Peter. Dora has doting big brothers who play with her, look after her, and guide her as she grows. But Peter reads to her, which turns out to be the greatest gift of all.
Sing with your Baby Everyday
The sound of their parents' voices helps babies make sense of the world and feel comfortable with new people and places and this book brings loved nursery rhymes and songs in one handsome volume, including: Five Little Ducks; Once I Caught A Fish Alive; Round and Round the Garden; The ABC Song; Teddy Bears Picnic; She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain; If You're Happy and You Know It; Head Shoulders, Knees and Toes and I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.
Round and Round the Garden- A First Book of Nursery Rhymes
This classic collection features 60 beautifully illustrated nursery rhymes from the author's childhood to inspire a new generation to discover their own favourite rhymes -- and sing them wherever they go. Parents and children can enjoy these rhymes all through the day: from walking to the park on a cold and frosty morning with “Here we go round the mulberry bush”, splashing about in a tub singing “Rub-a-dub-dub” or going to bed with “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”.
Do you know about Board Books?
All of the YPRL branches have a fantastic collection of Board Books. These are books with thick, sturdy pages made from cardboard or heavy paperboard, designed for young children and babies. These books are built to withstand a baby or toddlers, shall we say, ‘rough handling’ and repeated page-turning. They are great to have out on the mat for your children to look at and flick through. You will be amazed how quickly they learn how to handle a book once you have exposed your baby to them!
Don't forget...
Don’t forget Baby Storytime is a FREE event offered by all our branches. Our lovely storytellers love a crowd to sing along with them, so please come along and enjoy a morning or afternoon in the library with us!