The Yelm Timberland Library will start to offer early learning programs in September for kids, which feature a wide variety of activities.
A number of library staff will facilitate the programs, which will include the involvement of the library’s youth services librarian and public services specialist.
“Early learning is known to help social-emotional, physical, cognitive, language, literacy, and mathematical development through the practices of talking, reading, singing, writing and playing,” Yelm Library Manager Erica McCaleb said. “Programs like these are great for modeling all sorts of early learning practices like fingerplays or how to engage a child in reading a story with you. They’re also a great chance to socialize with other parents and caregivers in the community.”
The library currently offers family storytime events that feature music, movement, books and activities for the whole family at 10:30 a.m. on Thursdays. All ages are welcome but children must be accompanied by an adult.
At 2 p.m. on Sept. 9, Sept. 23, Oct. 7, Oct. 21, Nov. 4 and Nov. 18, the library will host “creative playtime” for children who are 6 years old or younger and are accompanied by an adult. The arrival and departure times are flexible.
The library will also host “music and movement,” a program that features singing, dancing and fingerplays, at 2 p.m. on Sept. 16 and Oct. 14.
Then at 2 p.m. on Sept. 30 and Oct. 28, the library will host a dance party.
“A great deal of care and thought goes into selecting stories, fingerplays, music, and activities for the programs,” McCaleb said. “This is one of the reasons that we begin our planning during the summer.”
The experience that kids can have will vary from program to program but the goal is to promote early literacy. The programs will provide parents and caregivers examples of activities they can do at home to encourage early learning.
“It’s a collaborative process with a number of library staff contributing and looking at the needs of the local community,” McCaleb said. “We are guided by one of the main focuses of Timberland Regional Library’s strategic direction: Children from birth to 6.”
The Yelm Timberland Library is located at 210 Prairie Park St. NE in Yelm.
More information can be found online at www.trl.org/locations/yelm.
