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<\/a>The library I work for, St. Mary\u2019s County Library, has an established partnership with our local Head Start programs. In my branch\u2019s service area there are 2 (soon to be 3) Head Start centers. St. Mary\u2019s County Library is devoted to fostering literacy in our community, particularly to our less financially empowered families, so we make it a priority to visit the Head Start centers, and have the Head Start children visit the library, on a monthly basis. We also sign all Head Start children enrolled in a summer session up for our library\u2019s Summer Reading program, to encourage them to read with their families, and visit the library during the summer. As my library\u2019s Early Childhood Community Liaison, I provide outreach service to Head Start.<\/p>\nWhen I visit the Head Start centers, I do a story time for them, with books, music, and usually an interactive activity. When they visit the library they get the same story time experience. If I get to visit them during the summer, I do a story time, and then spend time looking at their Summer Reading game boards, rewarding them their Summer Reading prizes, and encouraging them to come to the library.<\/p>\n
Doing story time for Head Start children is always an immensely rewarding experience. The children are usually very engaged in the books we read together, gasping in suspense, laughing out loud, and participating in call and response. They love dancing and singing. And they tend to be very affectionate, shouting compliments as I arrive, like \u201cHi Ms. Tess! I like your hair today! Your scarf is pretty!\u201d\u009d and asking for hugs and high fives as I\u2019m packing up to leave. I\u2019ve even been told by a teacher at one center that the children initially call anyone who visits them \u201cMs. Tess.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n One of my favorite things to hear the Head Start children say though is \u201cRead it again!\u201d\u009d I love it when they\u2019re so excited about a book that they immediately want to hear it read again. I hope the positive experience with books that they get through library visits makes them excited about reading a little more, and helps them be more prepared to read when they hit kindergarten.<\/p>\n I thought I\u2019d share some of my Head Start \u201cGreatest Hits\u201d\u009d with you all:<\/p>\n <\/em>This is an oldie but goodie, about a very noisy farm and a very annoyed farmer. I have all the kids make the sounds of the animals VERY LOUDLY! And then, after the farmer tells us to be quiet, I have them whisper the sounds of all the animals. The kids have a lot of fun making the noises, especially the LOUD ones, and predicting the emotion of the farmer as the noise level goes up and down.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/em>I was really surprised by the kids\u2019 reaction to this one. I thought it was a cute story, about a pig and a rabbit who think so highly of one another they go to humorous lengths to resemble each other. But the kids thought it was a non-stop laugh riot. A pig and a rabbit as friends! What could be more hilarious? Maybe they were just in a silly mood the day I brought it in, but this got a resounding \u201cRead It Again\u201d\u009d reception.<\/p>\n In general, the kids love books with call and response or singing. When you put those two things together, you have an\u00a0\u00a0unbeatably entertaining combination apparently. After I read this book, twice, the kids were still not finished singing about different colored shoes. As I tried to move on to an activity, they continued to chant \u201cI love my red shoes! I love my brown shoes! I love my blue shoes! I love my white shoes!\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n <\/em>A pop up book is almost always a guaranteed \u201cRead It Again\u201d\u009d but this one in particular really resonated with the kids. It\u2019s about a baby bear who hears a noise in his house, and gets progressively more and more frightened as he imagines what terrible things could be lurking in his house making that noise. (Spoiler Alert: It\u2019s just his dad, snoring!) I think the kids can probably relate to the subject matter. Who hasn\u2019t heard a strange noise at night and wondered what it might be?<\/p>\n <\/em>Everybody\u2019s favorite story about a cannibalistic dog! George is a puppy who meows, quacks, oinks, and moos instead of saying \u201cArf!\u201d\u009d until a veterinarian pulls animals out of George\u2019s belly that George has evidently swallowed alive. I personally thought this story was slightly disturbing when I first read it, but the kids predictably thought it was the greatest thing ever, shouting \u201cRead it again, Ms. Tess! That dog is silly!\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I\u2019m so grateful to have the opportunity to work with these children, through St. Mary\u2019s County Library\u2019s partnership with Head Start. Please leave comments if your library has a good partnership with your local Head Start! I\u2019d love to hear what others have to say, especially your \u201cRead It Again\u201d\u009d moments.<\/p>\n **********************************************************<\/p>\n<\/a>Around the holiday season each year, the library donates books to the Head Start centers, enough for every child to take home one of their choosing. Books in the house is unfortunately a luxury many low-income families cannot afford, so St. Mary\u2019s County Library does our best to help them out, donating books, and also handing out children\u2019s books at various other outreach events.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>Our guest blogger today is Tess Goldwasser, the Youth Services Librarian and Early Childhood Community Liaison at St. Mary’s County Library, Lexington Park, MD. Tess can be reached at\u00a0 tgoldwasser@stmalib.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n