By Colleen Weinkam
SmartHealthToday
At the Erlanger branch of the Kenton County Public Library, Lise Tewes – coordinator of children’s services – oversees children’s activities for the busiest single building of a branch library in the state of Kentucky.
“More people come in and out of our doors than any other single building of a branch library anywhere in the state,” she said.
Luckily, Tewes is ready for all of those kids.
At the Erlanger branch library, she oversees 12 programs each week for children ages 0 to 6, and another four to six programs each week for children ages 6 to 12.
The goal?
“We try to provide a lot of interesting, fun things to do based around literacy so kids develop a really intense interest in books and a love of learning,” Tewes said.
And that doesn’t mean just reading or listening to books.
“Children learn in many modalities, as we all do,” Tewes said, “but children haven’t figured that out yet, so we have to appeal to all their senses. During our programs at the library, we engage kids’ visual and auditory senses through crafts and games and activities. We engage them in movement, too – usually dancing – because movement is so important.
“The more senses you engage, the more areas of the brain that are going to be firing and the more ways that learning can occur,” she said.
Engage senses, get kids reading
Also, beyond the programs offered by the library, Tewes recommends books to parents that will help engage kids’ senses and get them interested in reading.
For babies, Tewes encourages parents to choose books with nursery rhymes because of their strong rhythm to encourage movement. She also recommends books that encourage children to make sounds, or have different textures kids can touch.
For preschool-aged kids, Tewes directs parents to books with characters, a setting and action so they can discuss the book with their child and help him or her begin to understand story and narrative skills – a precursor to literacy.
For kids in kindergarten and first grade, Tewes recommends “We Both Read” books, in which the parent and the child take turns reading pages.
Tewes also suggests parents help make reading fun for their child by giving them books to read on topics that interest them, such as cooking or Star Wars, or places they’re going on vacation, such as the Rocky Mountains or the beach.
“The more connections the child makes, and the more you make reading fun and engaging for him or her, the more motivated the child is going to be to read,” she said.
SmartHealthToday is a service of St. Elizabeth Healthcare.
