Oh, Baby!

We’re taking registrations now for Babytime which begins in November. This will be the last Babytime of the year, with the next one happening sometime in late winter of 2019, so don’t forget to sign up.

We sing songs, do tickle rhymes, and get lots of parent-baby bonding time. It’s also a great session to meet other parents and get out of the house. Babytime runs about 20 minutes long, with lots of time to mingle and get books afterward.

You can call us now at 257-2702 to register. See you in November!

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Happy Labour Day!

We might be closed, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find out what’s going on this fall at the library! Check out our latest Fall calendar for kids, and the one for teens and adults. We have plenty of great things coming up—most require registration, so please make note of the dates to start signing up, as things will fill up quickly!

Babytime

We’re going to do it again in July! Babytime is coming back to the library this summer, with 6 weeks of fun songs, rhymes, and activities to help baby and parent bond.

Registration opens today for Babytime, which runs on Thursday mornings at 9:30am, from July 5 – August 16th.  We’ll have limited spaces, so please don’t hesitate to call and register. This program is SUPER popular, and will fill up fast!

Give us a call at 257-2702. We can’t wait for babies at the library!

Sing Out Loud!

When I first became a children’s librarian, I knew one of my biggest hurdles was going to be singing in front of people. I had this vision of myself at the front of the room, having to sing even something as simple as Itsy, Bitsy Spider, and my voice cracking because I started too high, or sang out of tune, or couldn’t remember the words. It was VERY intimidating to think people were going to listen to me. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t a performance–I still felt like I was going to be bad, and people would judge me for it.

10 years later, I sing in almost every single program I run. Sometimes, I’m the only one in the room singing. Sometimes, everyone joins in. But it still becomes obvious to me how nervous people get singing in front of others, especially when the program consists of not much more than songs.

Here’s why it’s good to sing in front of children (and anyone else, really), and why nobody really cares:

• Unless you’re doing karaoke, don’t worry about knowing all the words, singing out of tune, or finding the right rhythm. Just sing. It feels good, it’s fun, we used to do it fearlessly as children for both of those reasons.
• Singing to children is a form of early literacy. Children love to hear music. Singing songs with them as you do things (driving, cooking, cleaning the house), is helping them to learn the sounds of words, the way words are split apart into syllables, and it’s a good way to bond with your child.
• When you sing during a program at the library, nobody is listening to you. Trust me…everyone around you is thinking and worrying about the same things—how do I sound?
• Your child has no judgement toward how you sing. You could be an opera singer, or a woefully out of tune shower crooner…..they have no idea. Honestly. They’ll think you’re great. They just want to sing along…and they’ll learn to do it, but you have to try, too.
• Dads….if you’re in a room full of women and children for a program, and there is singing involved, do it anyway. Yes, we can hear you. Yes, you’re probably the one we’re all listening to. And yes, we’re aware of every single note you sing.  BUT…..it’s awesome to hear dads sing! That tenor or bass in a room full of female voices only makes us feel more confident. There’s no hiding your voice, so we can all sing a little louder. No one hears us. So, in the end, we all end up winning!

And a tip for singing with your child…..make sure you sing in a higher voice than you might normally. It’s going to sound funny to you, and maybe you won’t be able to reach all the notes, but children have naturally higher voices, and they don’t know how to sing the same notes in a lower pitch. They’ll try to match your notes, so sing up high and you’ll raise a reader!

Calling All Babies!

Babies…bring your moms along for our last Babytime Drop In session of the fall season. It’s a quick, painless version of our regular babytime session, and we still makes sure there is plenty of time for some socializing.

Join us at 1pm…and please use the side entrance (just up the ramp).

Babies, Babies, and more Babies

This fall, we’re running our usual Babytime session, which means we’re welcoming the babies back to the library! We sure missed them this summer! And to make it a little more exciting, we’re also going to have monthly Babytime Drop Ins….but more on that later.

First up, now is the time to register your baby aged 0 – 12 months for our Thursday morning session, which runs from Sept. 14 – Oct. 19. At 9:30am, we start our songs, tickle rhymes, and bonding, and each morning runs about 20 minutes—just the perfect time for a baby’s attention span. After, parents are welcome to stay and chat, take out books, museum passes, dvds and more. We like to encourage parents to chat, learn about other programs running in the area, and basically just get out of the house for a while. (We don’t even care if you come in your pajamas…..just come!)

Registration takes place now, and sign up early, because spaces are limited. (We only have enough room for about 15 babies and parents in the room when everyone has their gear all spread out.)

But……………………………………

What if you have to miss a session? Or what if you can’t register at all? Don’t worry—-we’re having a monthly Babytime Drop In!

Monday, September 25, October 30, and November 27th, join us for a babytime Drop in!  That’s right, just drop in with baby around 1pm and we’ll have a quick session before the library even opens to the public! This will be a slightly different version of babytime, but we’re hoping it might allow you to get out of the house a bit more, or come at a time when baby isn’t napping. Give it a try…it’ll be fun.

Babies, babies and more babies. We love them!

No Babytime Today

Just a reminder, there is no babytime today while we’re away at a conference in Toronto. But we’re looking forward to seeing those babies next week!