Thursday mornings at the Mason Public Library are filled with lots of singing, dancing, reading and smiling faces. This is where Capital Area District Libraries hosts its Movers and Readers Playtime, one of many storytimes hosted by the organization geared toward all age groups and skill levels.
The Movers and Readers program is focused on ages 0-3 and its goal is to provide children with the skills they will need to begin preschool or kindergarten. Youth services librarian Lindsey Anderson has run the program at the Mason library for about two years, following a librarian who ran the program for nearly eight years. Anderson is passionate about educating young children and showing them that learning is fun.
“I try to infuse [storytime with] the five literacy elements which are reading, writing, playing, talking and singing,” said Anderson. “Those are basically the building blocks for learning how to read, so those are all the habits and skills you want in place before your child starts preschool or kindergarten.”
The curriculum for each hour-long storytime includes sign language, singing, reading, coloring and playing with toys.
Mary Douglass of Mason said she loves taking her granddaughter to Movers and Readers Playtime.
“I have seen her grow so much from where she just sat and watched to playing with toys and now she’s playing with other kids,” said Douglass. “She loves it and it’s great Grandma time for me, too.”
Zach Teachout grew up in Mason and recently started taking his son to storytime.
“We like that it gives him a chance to hang out with other kids,” said Teachout.
“What I love about my storytimes here is that the people are so great,” said Anderson. “The people who come and bring their kids are very interactive and hands-on and do a great job of modeling the behaviors I’m trying to teach. It’s a great community and just a really fun time.”