Book-a-Bye Baby

Here's how to raise a reader

• Read to your child from birth onwards every day for at least 15 minutes. It develops language skills and gives your child a positive association with reading. 
• Sing songs together. Singing naturally breaks words into syllables which is a critical early literacy skill. Feel like you can't sing? Check out a CD of children's music from the library or find children's music videos on YouTube. (Hint: check out our video list below or check out our channel on YouTube)
• Point out that words are everywhere in books, on signs, on cereal boxes, and more. Recognizing print is a necessary skill to learn.
• Talk to your child about what they see in books, in the house, in the store, on a walk. It's the natural way to build vocabulary and encourages questions and and an interest in learning. You can also tell stories about everything you see and do, and encourage your child to tell stories to you!
• Find letters everywhere you go! Words are all around us but concentrate on pointing out a specific letter, perhaps the first letter of your child's name. Once they know that letter, you can make a game of it whenever they can find it!
• Six early literacy skills have been identified that are necessary for your child to have in place before they reach formal schooling age and begin to learn to read. To find out more about it, visit the excellent 6 by 6 site put together by the Johnson County Library System.

Here at the Tewksbury Public Library, we are here to get you and your babies, toddlers and preschoolers on the right track with our story times where you and your children will be introduced to age appropriate books and songs and fingerplays that introduce early concepts in math, science and language and will form the base of the learning process in school.  Separate story times for the different age groups help build on skills learned in the younger classes.

Check out our Events Calendar to find out when our story times are, or watch our video library below to practice songs, fingerplays and knee bounces. (More videos coming soon!)

Videos Produced by the TPL Children's Staff

Knee Bounces

• 1, 2, 3, Baby's On My Knee and Mother, Father and Uncle John

Fingerplays and Action Rhymes

• Head & Body Rhymes: Tom Tinker & Tony Chestnut
• Action Rhyme: Roll Your Hands
• Fingerplay: Two Little Hummingbirds
• Animal Rhymes: Little Turtle & Little Bunny
• Looking For a Rainbow

Counting Rhymes

• 3 Green & Speckled Frogs and 3 Monkeys Swinging in a Tree
• 5 Little Ducks
• Three Little Witches

Songs

• Riding in My Car