Hampton Community Library storytime offers fun, flexibility

For parents, mornings can be kind of hit or miss, as staff members at Hampton Community Library are well aware.

“If your kid wakes up tired or grouchy,” Annie Avondolio said, “you can still make it to storytime.”

She is the children and youth librarian, and she’s excited about a new program that provides quite a bit of flexibility if circumstances are less than optimal.

From 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. each Tuesday and Thursday is It’s a Wonderful World! Drop-in Storytime, during which youngsters and caregivers are free to come and go as they please.

“We’re doing this as kind of a lifeline to families, so there’s a place to go and meet other people, and get some of the skills that kids need,” Avondolio said.

The initiative developed from the recognition of constraints caused by the covid-19 pandemic, especially regarding children’s ability to interact.

“It’s very difficult because they learn through touching and being with other people,” Avondolio said.

“We have a big space where we have different toys and manipulatives and puzzles and games, and then we have a different craft activity every week. The point of the craft is to work on some of those fine motor skills that will get them ready for preschool or kindergarten.”

During a recent Tuesday storytime, youngsters worked on making faces resembling spring lambs, using glue, plastic eyes and various kinds of paper.

“And crayons, of course,” Avondolio said. “You can’t forget crayons.

“Markers don’t press hard. With crayons, you actually have to use your whole body to make them work. Kids need that experience of pressing and pressure. The whole point of this is that they’re using their fine motor skills.”

As far as scheduling, stories and songs open the program’s proceedings at 10, with repeats at 10:45 and 11:30. Special activities take place between, and the day concludes with a freeform “stay and play” period.

The program is inclusive, with families invited with or without having library cards.

“We try to embed some elements of bilingual, Spanish, making sure that everybody is feeling welcome,” Avondolio said. “It’s very important to me to make sure that our new families are welcomed into the group by the families who keep coming all the time. So we have a great community here.”

While serving as a family’s nanny, Jess Berman attended storytime and came away so impressed that she now serves as a volunteer for the sessions.

“I’ve been working with children off and on for over 20 years,” she said. “I started volunteering when I was 12, and my love for early childhood education has just grown ever since.”

She’s found that a key element in planning activities is to imagine what the youngsters would like to do and go from there.

“And I try to make things fun, but also make sure they’re trying to learn,” Berman said. “I think that’s the best way for kids.”

Storytime has drawn about 20 to 40 children for each session, plus their just-as-enthusiastic caregivers.

“They get to take a little break,” Avondolio said about the adults. “I always tell them, ‘Don’t clean up. You clean up at home. You can play here.’”

Also for the benefit of families, Hampton is among the libraries offering backpacks full of educational goodies to borrow. An example is the STEAM Kit, providing hands-on learning activities pertaining to the subjects of science, technology, engineering, arts and/or mathematics.

In April, the library is launching Music and Culture kits, featuring an assortment of languages through which youngsters can expand their global vocabulary.

During the pandemic, Hampton Community Library joined many an institution in developing a selection of online programming. That will continue, Avondolio said, while the library welcomes patrons in person once more.

“Our staff has been really, really good about saying, ‘Come in. Come back. We miss you!’” she said. “But we are still trying to keep one foot in the virtual world, too.”

Hampton Community Library is located at the Hampton Community Center, 3103 McCully Road. For more information, visit www.hamptoncommunitylibrary.org or call 412-684-1098.