Literacy is not just about learning to read. An equally important piece is the social and emotional development of children. Children who have a chance to play every day will learn many life skills that will help them later, including when they start learning to read. When parents become a part of play time, a strong bond develops between parents and the child. Through play children will learn skills such as sharing, taking turns, and following directions. They will practice fine and gross motor skills and exercise their imagination.
Cuyahoga County Public Library made supporting parent-and-child play a focus for youth staff in 2017. Staff were trained to interact with families and model how to play with a child. The goal was not to tell caregivers what they were doing wrong. Rather staff were asked to offer more opportunities for play to happen at the library. This can involve getting down on the floor to play with kids using floor toys in the Children’s Room as not all caregivers are comfortable doing this. If their parents did not play with them in this way, they may not realize they should be doing it with their own kids. Our interaction can be as simple as talking with parents about how doll houses and train tables inspire imaginative play. We can also help caregivers realize the importance of letting their kids take the lead on how play happens rather than direct it—but that they should still be a part of it.
Some other, nonthreatening ways to bring play into the library is to offer toys for play at the end of your storytimes. Having special toys that you bring out each week will give parents a reason to hang out a little longer at the library. When I have done this, play usually lasts about half an hour. Parents see other parents playing with their kids, and kids have a chance to practice sharing and taking turns with their peers.
Cuyahoga County Public Library’s Toy Library celebrated 25 years of making toys available to library customers in 2018. The original Toy Library was housed in the Brooklyn Branch, and customers had to come directly to the branch to check out and return toys. In the late 2000s, Cuyahoga County made the decision to expand the Toy Library to all branches and close the service point at the Brooklyn Branch. The toys are now housed at the library’s Administrative Offices, and families can request the toys for pickup at the branch of their choice. When toys are returned, they are always cleaned and sanitized at the Administrative Offices before another family can check them out.
As of 2018, there are over 1,000 toys circulating for ages zero through eight. Sue Kirschner, the literacy and outreach manager, is responsible for selecting these toys for customer use. She also selects toys for branch programming and floor toys for play in the library. The types of toys that Kirschner looks for fall into 12 categories.
From these categories, she orders toys such as soft dolls and puppets as well as play food and musical instruments to support imaginative play. Toys that support literacy as well as play include items such as alphabet-sequencing puzzles. Pull toys encourage movement and nesting cups involve basic problem-solving skills. When selecting toys for the toy library and branch use, Kirschner tends to stay away from toys that need batteries to function.
If you are looking to add toys to your branch for using after storytime, for Children’s Room play, or for circulating, you will want to purchase toys from companies and manufactures that make high-quality toys. Kirschner has about two dozen sources that she likes to order toys from. Her top companies include Becker’s School Supplies, Constructive Playthings, Fat Brain Toys, Kaplan, and Lakeshore. Manufactures that she trusts are Battat, HABA, Learning Resources, Petit Collage, and WePlay. The toys purchased from these sources hold up to heavy use from lots of kids and families playing.
Technology in libraries is not something new. Libraries have had computers for decades. They have offered VHS tapes and DVDs for customers to enjoy in the comfort of their own home. Some libraries even offer video games for play inside the library or at home. Nothing is wrong with expanding services beyond the book. In fact, libraries offering the most current forms of technology help narrow the digital divide and provide access to families that would otherwise not have it. However, there is also a responsibility for libraries to have a basic understanding of how these forms of technology can be used most effectively with kids and when it is best to not use or severely limit use. Specific areas that librarians can focus on are the amount of screen time that is recommended for kids and the best materials to view during that limited viewing time.
How much time children, especially kids who have not started kindergarten, spend viewing screens has been called into question for a long time. It used to be more focused on television watching and usually amounted to cartoons like Sesame Street or Care Bears. In the past decade, that conversation has shifted to include digital content. In October 2016, the Academy of American Pediatrics updated its recommendations for using technology with children. Not surprising to youth librarians, the recommendations stated that human interactions were the best ways to support children below two years (Media and Young Minds 2016). It translates to mean that playing with toys and listening to physical books read by caregivers will make greater connections in the brain and keep them on target developmentally. After age two, a limited amount of screen time with kids is recommended and that time is still best spent with parents experiencing the technology alongside their child.
Parents are challenged with choosing appropriate apps to share with their children and how much time they should let their children spend with a device or computer. Libraries do not want to shame parents or caregivers when it comes to using digital technology with their children at any age. Instead, we can mention reports like “Media and Youth Minds” in storytime as a form of guidance.
Taking it a step further, Stephanie C. Prato, the head of children’s services at Simsbury Public Library in Simsbury, Connecticut, leads a team of youth staff who are adding app advisory to their normal readers advisory repertoire. The hope is that parents will come to think of the staff as technology experts like they are considered book experts.
Prato believes this is a natural extension of the services the library has offered in the past. Simsbury Public Library provides custom reading lists and suggestions for parents, and now they do the same thing for apps. With a little information from caregivers like the age of the child and the knowledge of a few areas of interest, an apps list is customized for the family. This type of transaction usually takes place at the service desk in the Children’s Room but could also be a library service offered through e-mail.
Providing app recommendations is a great way to connect with and remove some stress for overwhelmed parents. Not only is it a challenge to search and find good apps, but it can be expensive to buy apps without being able to try them first. Having a literacy expert review apps can make parents feel confident that the time they spend playing an app with their child will not be marred by unexpected ads or poor app design. This is more common in free apps but can also happen with apps that families have purchased.
Librarians help their caregiver customers become content selectors of digital media just like they do with books and DVDs. When training her staff to provide app advisory, Prato reminds them that they recommend books and movies they might not have read or watched but they may have read reviews or heard about from a colleague. Websites that Prato uses to find reviews on apps include the following:
She also recommends that if you are going to use an app in a program, it is always best to try it out yourself first. Just like with books, what a review says and what your experience is can be different. Try first so there are no surprises later.
Personalized recommendations for caregivers are wonderful, but depending on how crunched for time a family is or how busy the service desk might be, the one-on-one experience is not possible every time. In these cases, it is important to have printed handouts or bookmarks that list apps you think are the best of the best. It ensures that they will not leave empty-handed.
Another way for caregivers to test out new apps before buying can be found in the Children’s Department at Simsbury. A group of eight locked-down iPads are available for families to use in the library. The settings are designed so that kids cannot access the Internet unless it is an approved website like Disney. Children and adults cannot add or delete content.
Simsbury Public Library does not set a limit for how long a child can use an iPad but instead leaves it up to the individual adult. This seems to work well with customers. Prato has witnessed caregivers letting kids play for five minutes and then they need to choose a book to read. Other caregivers set some kind of time limit up front, and some do not limit their child’s play.
When you start to build your app collection, you will want to set aside a budget for purchasing new apps. Prato spends about $100 a year on apps, but this will depend on the number of iPads you are purchasing apps for. She assesses and updates the apps quarterly, or if it is a busy year, it might happen only twice a year. Along with the eight used in the Children’s Department, an additional six iPads are used for library programs.
If your budget is tight already, especially if you just funded getting iPads in your library, you may have to rely on free apps for a while. This is okay but it is limiting in the long run. To find some extra dollars you can take a look at how other alternate formats in your library are performing. If one format, for example, music CDs, is not circulating as strongly as it used to, you could reallocate some funds to create an app budget. This is a good tip for any time you are adding a new format to the collection that does not come with grant money or additional funding attached.
When you’re suggesting apps to families, the same logic applies of not limiting all the apps to free ones. Throwing in a few that require spending a dollar or three still keeps the cost down but might enhance the quality of the app experience at home.
Recommending books that encourage movement and interaction to caregivers will make family reading time lots of fun. Consider putting up a display of play-related books near the space you place your toys. It can lead to natural recommendations from library staff as you witness imaginative play.
Play titles, especially ones that have flaps, tabs, or other moveable parts, will show their wear pretty quickly, so make sure you look inside before you add to your display. Beware of small pieces and parts in these books. I had to recall a Pat the Bunny version that had a rattle piece between the pages that could cause choking if the pages were torn. A similar instance also happened with The Pout-Pout Fish Halloween Faces. This time there were google eyes on the last page that poked through each dye-cut page. The books were removed because if the eyes got loose they could also be choking hazards for little ones. Play should be fun but also safe. If you’re not sure about the size of a piece in a book, you can try a choke tube or a paper-towel tube in a pinch. No matter what, error on the side of caution.
The more books that are shared with a child, the better the child’s vocabulary will be, but also the better developed the creativity of the child will be. Incorporating books and reading into play time and relaxation time helps to reinforce that reading is fun family time. Here are some great books to use for library program planning and to share with parents for at-home reading time.
In a library program, we model asking kids questions about what is happening and will even offer activities to extend books. Both the questions and activities are best if they are ones that parents can re-create at home. These books tend to be the type used in storytime. They get kids shouting out the reframe or curious about what the texture of a page will feel like.
Brantley-Newton, Vanessa. Grandma’s Purse. New York, NY: Alfred Al Knopf, 2018. unpaged. $17.99. 9781524714314.
A purse is a wonderful treasure trove of trinkets to be discovered by little ones. Read this one and then explore a purse together talking about what you find. (Picture Book)
Joosse, Barbara M., and Anneke Lisberg. Better Together: A Book of Family. Illustrated by Jared Andrew Schorr. New York, NY: Abrams Appleseed, 2017. unpaged. $14.95. 9781419725388.
Foldout pages and die cuts make the telling of the story a little more fun. (Picture Book)
Laden, Nina. Peek-a Moo! San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books LLC, 2017. unpaged. $6.99. 978145214749.
The die cuts hint at what is going to happen on the next page. An added bonus is that it also encourages a game of peek-a-boo between the parent and the child. (Board Book)
Lin, Grace. A Big Mooncake for Little Star. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company, 2018. unpaged. $17.99. 9780316404488.
Little Star just can’t leave the yummy mooncake alone. Cooking is an active hobby that adults and children can enjoy together. (Picture Book)
Little Bee Books. Animal Shapes: A Touch-and-Feel Book. New York, NY: Little Bee Books, 2015. unpaged. $6.99. 9781499800395.
A great choice for kids who like a tactile book to help keep them involved in the story. A fun extension for parents would be to gather items up around the house and then have their child touch to see how different things feel. (Board Book)
Litwin, Eric. If You’re Groovy and You Know It, Hug a Friend. Illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld. New York, NY: Orchard Books, 2018. unpaged. (Groovy Joe). $9.99. 9780545883801.
Sing and act out this twist on the traditional “If You’re Happy and You Know It” song. (Picture Book)
Matheson, Christie. Plant the Tiny Seed. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books, 2017. unpaged. $15.99. 9780062393395.
By following the instructions provided by the text, kids will help to plant and grow a seed. This book helps develop a natural back and forth between the adult and the child. Parents can then have their child plant seeds in a small pot or help in the flower beds or garden at home. (Picture Book)
Mitton, Tony. Dinosaurumpus! Illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees. New York, NY: Cartwheel Books, 2017 (2002). unpaged. (Story Play). $5.99. 9781338115369.
After reading about the dinosaurs finding their dancing groove, caregivers are given tips for extension activities like creating their own memory game or dance. Each book in the Story Play series offers similar opportunities. (Picture Book)
Sirett, Dawn. Baby Dinosaurs. Illustrated by Peter Minister and Charlotte Milner. New York, NY: DK Publishing, 2017. unpaged. (Follow the Trail). $9.99. 9781465456694.
The Follow the Trail series helps kids practice tracing with their finger. This fine motor skill is a precursor to tracing letters before learning to write them. Kids can practice their scribbling with a crayon on a piece of white paper. (Board Book)
Thompkins-Bigelow, Jamilah. Mommy’s Khimar. Illustrated by Ebony Glenn. New York, NY: Salaam Reads, 2018. unpaged. $17.99. 9781534400597.
Dress-up is an activity that all children like to play. In this story, a Muslim girl plays dress-up with her mom’s head scarves. (Picture Book)
Wright, Kenneth. Lola Dutch. Illustrated by Sarah Jane Wright. New York, NY: Bloomsbury, 2018. unpaged. $17.99. (Lola Dutch). 9781681195513.
A unique packaging for a picture book. The inside cover is a doll house and paper dolls are on the flap. This book can be enjoyed simply as a story but it is also a wonderful opportunity to do a show and tell with parents who might want to buy a copy for their home library. There are great chances for imaginative play to be found in this book. (Picture Book)
Gayle Schreiber was an educator for over 30 years. She has practiced yoga for over 40 years and tai chi for 7 years. Her experience in teaching made her aware of the importance of helping kids feel calm and in control. In 2018, she became certified by Angel Bear Yoga and Tai Chi for Kids so that she could share the benefits of these practices in schools. She does recommend that you be familiar with yoga or tai chi before taking an online course.
To help kids play their tai chi, yoga, and mindfulness, here are some excellent resources for both librarians and caregivers to introduce them to the practices.
Bersma, Danielle, and Marjoke Visscher. Yoga Games for Children: Fun and Fitness with Postures, Movements, and Breath. Translated Amina Marix Evans. Illustrated by Alex Kooistra. Alameda, CA: A Hunter House SmartFun Book, 2003 (1994). 146p. $14.95pa. 9780897933896pa.
With over 60 games to choose from, there is something for all fitness and age levels. Two great activities are 42 and 43. They help kids recognize how anger and happiness feel and how to deal with these emotions. (Reference Book)
Chopra, Mallika. Just Breathe: Meditation, Mindfulness, Movement, and More. Illustrated by Brenna Vaughan. Philadelphia, PA: RP Kids, 2018. 128p. $12.99pa. 9780762491582pa.
Teaches caregivers ways to help their children learn to calm themselves in their everyday environment and when they are stressed out. (Reference Book)
Gates, Mariam. Good Night Yoga: A Pose-by-Pose Bedtime Story. Illustrated by Sarah Jane Hinder. Boulder, CO: Sounds True, 2015. unpaged. $17.95. 9781622034666.
The simple story takes kids through easy breathing and yoga poses to quiet them before going to bed. The author and illustrator also have a morning version and one for kids to do with a friend. (Picture Book, Nonfiction)
Gates, Mariam. Meditate with Me: A Step-by-Step Mindfulness Journey. Illustrated by Margarita Surnaite. New York, NY: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2017. unpaged. $17.99. 9780399186615.
It breaks down how to meditate for young kids wanting to try. There is also a very simple craft project that helps demonstrate relaxed breathing. (Picture Book, Nonfiction)
Hinder, Sarah Jane. Yoga Bear: Simple Animal Poses for Little Ones. Boulder, CO: Sounds True, Inc., 2008. unpaged. $9.95. 9781683640752.
A board book that incorporates diverse children and animals to teach simple yoga poses to toddlers. (Board Book)
Sileo, Frank J. PhD. Bee Still: An Invitation to Meditation. Illustrated by Claire Keay. Washington, DC: Magination Press, 2018. unpaged. $16.99. 9781433828706.
A story explains to children what meditation is. The back matter offers parents additional tips for doing meditation with their children. (Picture Book)
Willey, Kira. Breathe Like a Bear: 30 Mindful Moments for Kids to Feel Calm and Focused Anytime, Anywhere. Illustrated by Anni Betts. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Kids, 2017. 84p. $14.99pa. 9781623368838pa.
Interactive text walks listeners through ways to imagine, energize, and focus. (Reference Book)
Yoo, Taeeun. You Are a Lion!: And Other Fun Yoga Poses. New York, NY: Nancy Paulsen Books, 2012. unpaged. $17.99. 9780399256028.
Follow the text, make a pose, and then turn the page to see what animal you are. (Picture Book)
Books and play can go hand and hand at the library. The two programs that follow merge literacy and play to provide families with unique program experiences.
If you are looking to do a splashy event that ties into books, play, and STEAM, then you need look no further. This program joins all these components together for a memorable, staff-led program that will bring in the community or unite the staff of a school.
In 2017, Jennifer M. Winkler and the staff at the Berea Branch decided to host a grand storybook adventure program during the summer. The goal was to include STEAM and play into each station and center the stations around nursery rhymes, fairy tales, or folklore characters. This stemmed from Winkler noticing that many younger parents were not familiar with these characters or even sharing nursery rhymes with their children.
The program was hosted outdoors so it did involve working with the city to get permission to use the gazebo, pavilion, and woods that are adjacent to the library’s parking lot. From there, the staff had to decide what the stations would be and how many volunteers would be needed to operate each one. Winkler felt strongly that it should be library staff who led each craft and who would be dressed up as the storybook characters. Teen volunteers could be extra character props like Little Bo Peep’s sheep and volunteers could help with setup. The branch manager reached out to other branch managers for staff volunteers because the Berea Branch could not run the program and help other customers with just their own branch’s staff.
If you don’t have an outdoor space near your library, you could do this program inside. You will also need to plan for the possibility of rain and have an indoor option. You would just need to adjust the number of stations and activities to fit the space you have inside. If you work in a school, this would be a fantastic way to get the whole school involved or you could do it with a grade or two. What fun it would be to get teachers, parents, and even the principal to dress up, stay in character, and interact with the students.
The stations vary a little each year but here is what they looked like for 2018. Each one was a little different and touched on a different literacy or STEAM area but all encouraged play with everyday materials. The crafts were quick and easy for the kids to create.
Humpty Dumpty. Humpty Dumpty had been put back together but was now separated from “all the king’s horses and all the king’s men,” so he needed the kids to get him over the wall that was keeping them apart.
The activity here was a catapult that would toss a papier-mâché egg over the wall. The kids and the parents were encouraged to discuss what action would be needed to get the egg up high enough and with enough force to actually make it over the wall.
Little Red Riding Hood. At this station, Little Red Riding Hood was tired from all her trips through the forest to Grandma’s house and the Big Bad Wolf was on the loose again. So they had come up with a great way to beat the wolf and save Little Red some steps—a zipline.
There were two ziplines, one for the wolf and one for Little Red (aka the kids). This was done by stringing a clothesline at an angle. Then there were baskets and plastic play food that the kids could select from to build their baskets. They would run it along the zipline and see if it could outpace the Big Bad Wolf. Whether it did or not, it was a perfect chance for the staff to get the kids thinking about why they got the result they did. They could ask questions like: Was their basket too heavy or not heavy enough? Did the number of items in the basket or types of items factor in? This showed caregivers how to have critical thinking discussion with their kids when working with everyday materials.
A slight variation that was also used included cards that told the kids what types of items to place in the baskets. There were things like specific food so that they would be sending a balanced meal of all the food groups or simply adding something sweet to the rest of their choices. This was good for the older kids, but for younger, they might get a card that tells them to add a red-or purple-colored food to their basket.
Three Little Pigs. The premise for this station was that the oldest pig had kicked out pigs two and three because they were too messy. They now had to build their own houses, and they still needed to stand up to the breath of the Big Bad Wolf.
A spinner would determine if kids got straw, sticks, bricks, or a material of their choice. The straw was made from plastic straws (cut off the bendy part), sticks were popsicle sticks, and the bricks were foam bricks. Standing paper pigs were given to each child, and they had to build a home from their material that was taller than the pig. Once their structure was built, the Big Bad Wolf made an appearance. Two hairdryers were dressed up like wolves and used to blow the house down. If kids didn’t want to use the hairdryers, they could use their own breath.
Creating houses involved using engineering skills. It also modeled for the parents how to have a dialogic conversation with their child. They could talk about how they were using the building materials, what they thought would happen once the Big Bad Wolf did his thing, and possibly most important, what they could do to make their structure stronger in the future. As kids really got into the activity, staff also talked about doing the same activity at home but maybe trying it with items like Legos. Again, the idea was that these activities could be done outside of the library and likely would not cost the family any money to replicate.
Alice in Wonderland. Alice was just back from Wonderland and wanted the kids to know what the experience was like for her. The character talked a little bit about how she ended up in Wonderland and even asked the kids if they had ever seen a white rabbit.
Then to have the kids experience what it was like in Wonderland, they created kaleidoscopes from paper tubes. This craft was a little more involved, and the staff created 200 craft kits. They actually ran out and plan to have 300 craft projects for kids in 2019. While the kids were creating their kaleidoscopes, it gave Winkler (Alice) a chance to talk to them about how the device actually works, including why they will not see the same image twice.
Literary Stations . Mary Mary Quite Contrary was at the library, which was the starting point. The activity here was creating a magical memory foam frame.
The Pied Pieper picked up the families at the Mary Mary station and brought them outside to the start of the Storybook Adventure that was denoted by a large book sign created by the staff. It had Storybook Adventure on it as well as the library’s name. They wanted families to recognize the program was presented by the library and not the city.
Little Bo Beep was also near the entrance, and she would encourage families to move about the stations based on how busy they were rather than going in a particular order. She also told the kids to be on the lookout for her missing sheep and to call out “sheep go home” if they found them.
The Sing a Song of Sixpence Maid and Mother Goose shared nursery rhymes. The Maid played the nursery rhyme songs on the ukulele. Mother Goose gave out feathers to kids who could recite a nursery rhyme. For those who did not know one, she had a cube with rhyme images. Kids could roll the cube and then practice the rhyme they landed on with Mother Goose.
A pirate station had games for kids to play that helped with gross and fine motor skills as well as critical thinking. One example was a walk-the-plank activity.
In the woods, they also did additional vignettes from the various nursery rhymes. They did not identify which nursery rhyme they were from but, instead, allowed the families to discuss among themselves and decide. The staff were looking to foster conversation among the family members. Winkler said the families did not always guess the rhyme the library had picked, but they always had logical reasons for their choices.
Some examples of the vignettes included: at the bottom of a small hill there was a pail and a first-aid kit (Jack and Jill), a moon up in a tree (Hey Diddle Diddle), and spilled curds and whey with tiny footprints walking away (Little Miss Muffet).
Books were on display at the library and families did journey back to check books out. Winkler would love to have a tent with books on display for check out as part of the Storybook Adventure outdoor space next year as she felt they would get even more families to take books home.
They did include the program in the library’s print guide as well as online. Other avenues for promoting the program came during storytimes and other library programs throughout the summer. They also asked the schools and preschools to share in their monthly newsletters. Finally, the library’s marketing department mentioned it on Facebook the day before the program and then they posted short videos of the actual program while it was happening.
The first year saw 275 people attend and in 2018 there were over 500. Many had planned to attend because they had heard about the program in advance. They also found families that were either driving by or had come to the library for other reasons were joining in.
A couple of memorable comments were made by attendees including those who missed the witch from Hansel and Gretel who performed the year before. The other was when people would ask where they got their presenters because they wanted to book them for their child’s birthday party. The caregivers were surprised to learn that the staff were all library workers.
Parents and other caring adults were part of each activity and discussion. Mostly they saw families but a daycare also attended. The library did require that kids be accompanied by a caring adult. The staff members incorporated ideas for modifying at home and shared these tips with parents at each station as the kids worked on the project. They wanted to show the parents that having fun and learning did not have to mirror school. It should be “early literacy entertainment” and playful in nature (Winkler 2018).
Public Library . An exciting piece of offering this program is that it brings in people who are not regular library users. These families who had such a fun time would then ask about other library storytimes and programs because they were planning to come back. A huge win for getting foot traffic into your building.
School Library. The win here would be getting teachers and parents involved so they can see all the great things you offer in the library space. You show your value as a partner and resource for other lessons the teachers in the building might be looking to try out.
Using knowledge from a personal hobby can enrich the work that you do at your library and provide unique play and learning opportunities for families. Kimberly Alberts and Anne-Marie Savoie, children’s librarians, did just that when they started offering yoga programs at the library. Both have been practicing yoga for about 15 years and have offered programs in a library setting for three years.
When Alberts joined the Main Library staff at Akron Summit County Public Library, she had already done some yoga programming at her previous library. Savoie had an established Yoga Play program at Main Library but her co-presenter had just retired. The two staff members joined together to create a Yoga Play program that meshes both of their experiences.
Yoga Play is offered once a quarter as a month-long series. The Main Library offers yoga on Monday mornings for ages three to five and caregivers. They have found that day and time works best for their community. Each week has a theme and they plan the program around it. The week I observed, they did a Park theme. The program is a mix of traditional yoga poses and creative movement that is modified for a preschool audience. Each child gets a yoga mat and caregivers are encouraged to take a mat and participate too.
Alberts and Savoie set the room up in a circle. They are seated as part of the circle, and the yoga mats fan out around them to form the rest of the circle. Savoie likes to use found items from around the house, library, and nature to set the stage for the day’s theme. Cardboard was used to create a tree for a park setting. Stuffed animals and flowers helped authenticate the space the week I attended.
Access to a sound system is needed for playing songs. Other props might include bean bags for a breathing buddy or homemade stars like Akron uses. The stars are about 8 inches in diameter. Made from cardboard, they have a bean bag attached to the center of the star and then the cardboard and bean bag are covered in shiny silver wrap.
Additional set up is done for the free play that happens after the program. This will depend on the crafts you choose to do. Alberts and Savoie recommend creating play from things found around the house. They want to hear caregivers saying, “We could do this at home.”
As families come in and gather on the yoga mats, they are encouraged to remove their shoes and socks. Albert and Savoie do the same. Soft, instrumental music is playing in the background to help set the mood. The area right behind the leaders is set for the theme but everything used can be touched and moved by the kids who like to wander and explore.
They start with an opening hello song “Namaste” and the use of a chime with a hammer. Everyone sings: “Namaste KID’S NAME, Namaste KID’S NAME, Namaste KID’S NAME, it’s time to do yoga.” After their name is sung, the child gets to tap the chime and then everyone listens until the sound stops. Savoie lets the families know they are waking up their ears with this exercise. Next, they move into breathing and proper posture that is led by Alberts. She uses an expanding and contracting ball to highlight how to breathe in and out as you move through yoga poses. She also demonstrates how to sit up straight for good posture.
Alberts and Savoie will then alternate explaining 6 to 10 yoga poses and movements for kids to try. Parents can do them alongside or help their child if they need it. Poses like tree, dog, and table will be interspersed with creative movements like cricket and flower. For the Park theme, the table pose was used to pretend they were having a picnic and Albert and Savoie placed plastic food on the kids backs. They had to keep their backs flat in order to keep the food from falling off.
A story is read and a song is sung related to the theme. Then they will move to rest time. Here each child gets a shiny star, bean bag, or even a beanie baby to act as their breathing buddy. The kids and adults lie down on their yoga mats with their breathing buddy on their stomach. A towel or blanket is also given to the kids to make it cozy. Savoie demonstrates for the families, while Alberts turns on and off the soft instrumental music. Alberts tries to get the kids to be still for two to two and half minutes. Some weeks this works better than others but Alberts stresses not giving up. Kids have good and bad weeks, but it is good for kids to practice calming themselves and a great exercise for caregivers to incorporate at home. The formal program ends with an affirmation. Kids say, “I am Smart,” and touch their heads; then say, “I am Loved,” and touch their hearts; and then say, “I am Wonderful” and reach their arms out to their sides. This is repeated a couple of times.
Free play and activities come next. The activities are set up by Albert and Savoie as the kids put their shoes and socks back on, help roll up the yoga mats, and enjoy a small bottle of water provided by the library. As the children play, Albert and Savoie model interactive play between adults and children. They help parents engage in a dialogue with their children while they play.
Activity: Paint the Branch. A large branch from Alberts’s yard is placed on a tarp. Kids are given foam brushes and their choice of paint. They then add color to the branch in their own artistic way.
Activity: Garden Soup. A couple of large bowls of water, some plastic ladles or spoons, fresh flowers, and scissors are placed on a low table. Kids have the chance to practice holding scissors and cutting as they select flowers for the garden soup.
Activity: Potting Soil. A sensory experience is created with plastic tubs full of potting soil. Kids can dig and touch the soil using sand box tools and plastic spoons.
Activity: Outdoor Play Inside. Hula hoops and a kid’s basketball hoop round out the activities. These activities help with coordination skills.
If you do not already practice yoga, you will need to do a little homework before diving in. Alberts suggests taking some basic yoga classes. By doing this you will observe how a yoga class flows from start to finish. You will learn more about the importance of breathing and how to move with the breath.
Yoga Training . Savoie also recommends looking for a training class like she took from Childlight Yoga. It was a weekend long class that focused on yoga poses and games for a child audience.
Professional Resources. When Alberts was researching yoga programs, she came across these three resources. They are great for learning poses that are simplified for using with children as well as ideas for using them in a library setting.
Flynn, Lisa. Yoga for Children: 200+ Yoga Poses, Breathing Exercises, and Meditations for Healthier, Happier, More Resilient Children. Avon, MA: Adams Media, 2013. 319p. $17.95pa. 9781440554636pa.
Rawlinson, Adrienne. Creative Yoga for Children: Inspiring the Whole Child Through Yoga, Songs, Literature, and Games: Forty Fun, Ready-to-Teach Lessons for Ages Four through Twelve. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2013. 208p. $16.95pa. 9781583945544pa.
Scherrer, Katie. Stories, Songs, and Stretches!: Creating Playful Storytimes with Yoga and Movement. Chicago, IL: ALA Editions, 2017. 100p. $48.00pa. 9780838915448pa.
Yoga Play is the perfect opportunity to teach caregivers how to play, be silly, and have fun with their children if it does not come naturally. It also shows both the parent and the child how to relax through quiet breathing periods. You do not have to be an expert to offer a yoga program in your library. In fact, Alberts feels that it is actually less intimidating for parents if you are a novice as well.
Yoga programs can work at both school and public libraries. The program that Akron does is structured for about 45 minutes of yoga poses and breathing and 30 minutes for play. It is led by two staff members who plan and present together. The entire program is like a conversation between librarians and kids, with caregivers listening in.
Usually it also includes about 30 minutes before and after to set up and clean up. Depending on your room size and the amount of time you can devote, you could shorten the time to 30 minutes of yoga and 30 minutes of play. The other option would just be yoga poses and breathing for 30 minutes. This would cut down on your setup and cleanup time too.
Public Library . If you would like to offer a yoga program, you will need to find a person or two who has experience or is willing to go through training. A Childlight Yoga weekend session can run around $450 for the class. Then you will need to take the steps to determine a good day and time and how long the program will last. You will also need to decide whether you will include play. While Akron focuses on the preschool age group, yoga programs and play can work with any age group.
School Library. If you have yoga experience or are willing to get some training, you can offer yoga programs at your school. It might be as simple as teaching kids some breathing techniques to calm themselves before or during a test. You can also carry books in the library on yoga, meditation, and breathing for kids to check out. Taking care of mind and body helps kids be better able to learn.
Start adding books and media that are playful, silly, and promote mindfulness to your cache.
“Media and Young Minds.” Pediatrics 138, no. 5 (2016). doi:10.1542/peds .2016-2591.
Diesen, Deborah. The Pout-Pout Fish Halloween Faces. Illustrated by Dan Hanna. New York, NY: Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers, 2018. $9.99. 9780374304508.
Kunhardt, Dorothy. Pat the Bunny. New York, NY: Golden Books, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, 2011 (1940). unpaged. $14.99. 978030 7200471.
Alberts, Kimberly, and Anne-Marie Savoie. In interview with the author. September 5, 2018.
Prato, Stephanie C. In phone interview with the author. August 3, 2018.
Schreiber, Gayle. In interview with the author. September 25, 2018.
Winkler, Jennifer M. In interview with the author. August 3, 2018.
ALA Best Apps for Teaching and Learning. Accessed September 18, 2018. http://www.ala.org/aasl/standards/best/apps.
Angel Bear Yoga. Accessed September 30, 2018. http://www.angelbearyoga.com.
Battat. Accessed September 30, 2018. http://www.battatco.com/collections/mybtoys.
Becker’s School Supplies. Accessed September 30, 2018. https://www.shopbecker.com.
Childlight Yoga. Accessed September 5, 2018. http://childlightyoga.com.
Constructive Playthings. Accessed September 30, 2018. https://constructiveplaythings.com.
Fat Brain Toys. Accessed September 30, 2018. https://constructiveplaythings.com.
HABA. Accessed September 30, 2018. https://www.habausa.com.
Kaplan. Accessed September 30, 2018. https://www.kaplanco.com.
Lakeshore. Accessed September 30, 2018. https://www.lakeshorelearning.com.
Learning Resources. Accessed September 30, 2018. https://www.learningresources.com.
Petit Collage. Accessed September 30, 2018. https://petitcollage.com.
Tai Chi for Kids. Accessed September 30, 2018. https://www.taichiforkids.com.
Teachers with Apps. Accessed September 18, 2018. https://www.teacherswithapps.com.
“Toys and Bookable Kits.” Cuyahoga County Public Library. Accessed September 30, 2018. https://www.cuyahogalibrary.org/Borrow/Toys-and-Bookable-Kits.aspx.
WePlay. Accessed September 30, 2018. http://www.weplay.com.tw.