"Stepping Up Storytime" at the Library

I knew they had "Storytime" programs at the library, but I haven't really taken the initiative to actually go with Michael...shame on me. My mom brought home a flyer yesterday and I decided it was time for me to be a better mother and test this out. Michael loves books--particularly "The Nose Book" (thank you Auntie Diana)--and I figured this would be a good introductory experience to the library.

The storytime program they have for children 12-24 months is on Tuesdays at 11am. Michael is still adjusting to the time change and he almost fell asleep on the way over today, so I feared for the worst--a grumpy Michael who would be screaming and running around the library. When we walked in, he thought the fish tank was pretty cool. I think he would have stood and stared at that for a while had I not nudged him along to the next room. We took our seats on the rug and within a few minutes there were a good 25+ kids in there with their parents. Michael seemed to be immediately intimidated by the sudden rush of people and therefore DID NOT want to sit on the carpet or in my lap for that matter. So this is what we got...

Everyone else...



Michael...






I finally convinced him to come back to the rug (and when I say convinced, I mean I carried him back against his will) and he enjoyed himself for about 30 seconds and clapped along with the group as they sang a song.

But then...



...the cars going by on the street caught his attention.

And then...





He didn't even care if I was with him! He just wanted to sit on the cool little chairs and play by himself.

They later brought out a bucket of balls to play with and that's when he decided it was time to participate. He loves balls. And then for the last 15 minutes they played music and let the kids play with a bunch of toys. Michael kept going back to the bucket of balls of course.

So...the thing he enjoyed most about the library was playing with the balls. ;) I was a little surprised that in the 45 minutes we were there they only read 1 book to them. I guess it makes sense that they would spend more time with songs and rhymes considering it was geared towards 12-24 month old children, but I was surprised nonetheless.

In Michael's defense, being surrounded by all those kids and parents was quite intimidating--and chaotic once the toys came out. He's used to being around a much older and smaller crowd at the Peterson home. But being around other kids his age will be good for him...we're going to try it out again next Tuesday...wish us luck!