As I type, we’re preparing for the Helensville Show. It’s our best chance to get out and meet our community in a different environment.
Our Kids Time sessions have begun for the year. Currently, our sessions are 10.30am to 11am, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. They are aimed at under-6s and their whanau and include songs, rhymes, stories and sensory experiences/crafts which aid in childhood development and early literacy skills.
It would be great to see more people attending our sessions on a more consistent basis. Attendance is erratic and we know there are other groups aimed at that age group, running on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. If you have any under-6s and are wondering why you’d bring them along to the library preschool session – there are so many reasons.
These sessions are great for developing relationships between children and their adults, between adults, between children and library staff and between children. They also help with developing school readiness skills, including taking turns and sitting and listening. We usually add in surreptitious early literacy skills to our sessions.
We will continue as is this term but, because Kids time has had a stuttering start, we will look at making changes after the April school holidays.
Anne Coppell
Senior Librarian, Children and Youth
Helensville Library
