Baby Lapsits

I got the opportunity to observe a baby lapsit on Monday.  I was a half hour early because the library's website had the time posted as 10 am instead of 10:30.  The first thing I noticed was that kids with moms who had also come too early looked to me like toddlers.  [After the rest arrived, I noted there was a full range of baby ages with many being very ambulatory] Kathryn, the youth librarian, was very gracious and took the time to answer my questions.  She had a table display of board books ready for check out and a large colorful poster explaining the Early Literacy Goals along with handouts of the rhymes she uses.  She started with five minutes of blowing bubbles. The kids loved this.  She played music during the bubble blowing.  Kathryn then greeted the group and pointed out the board books, the kleenex and the sink area. Kathryn used a stuffed elephant for her baby. She said she changes which stuffed animal she uses each week. The opening song was the More we get together.  The song was shortened and the babies were rocked first forward and back and then side to side. Kathryn then read three board books, alternating with a rhyme.  The rhymes were repeated twice. She gave one literacy hint : that reading books would help the children develop narrative skills. She then turned the music back on and brought out a box of toys (rattles, teething toys, a phone)for the children to play with.  She pointed out that the toys are cleaned (with chlorox spray cleaner) between each session. The books and rhymes lasted eight minutes. The playtime went 20 minutes.  Kathryn stayed in the room the entire time.

Disclaimer:  The opinions expressed on this site are my own and do not necessarily represent the vies of Spokane Public Library.