This adorable monthly read-along is part of an ongoing effort to get books in the hands of children – and make learning fun.
Marrington Elementary started a new initiative this year that is led by school librarian Shelley Hartle: once a month since October, the media center has opened its doors to a small group of rising kindergarteners for a quick story time session.
The program targets small children ages 3 and 4 who have not yet started school, but have older siblings that are already Marrington Elementary students. It has subsequently been named Sibling Storytime.
Hartle said the objective is threefold: the program introduces younger siblings to the school environment, increases library circulation and promotes reading in the community.
“For younger siblings, we wanted to get them comfortable with coming to school and meeting some faculty members too so they would see some familiar faces in the fall,” she said.
The first Sibling Storytime started with one visitor back in October but has since grown in popularity; the school now hosts no more than 10 visiting siblings at a time for each session.
April 16 was the last Sibling Storytime the school has planned for this school year – but Marrington plans to bring it back in the fall.
Usually the littles attend the event accompanied by their parents, but Tuesday’s get-together came with a special twist: the children’s older siblings were allowed to leave class for a few minutes to hang out with them in the media center.
All Sibling Storytime sessions include a song, a book and an arts and craft activity. On Tuesday, after a rousing edition of “Skinnamarinky Dinky Dink” – complete with the choreography – Hartle dove into a wordless picture book called “Fly!”, giving the visiting siblings the chance to figure out the story by examining all the pictures.
To piggyback off the book – which focused on a baby bird refusing to fly – Hartle then helped the children make their own birdfeeders to take home; students took toilet paper rolls and rolled them in peanut butter, then doused them with birdseed.
Best part: the parents can create a library account and check out books for the younger siblings to read, and continue to keep the littles excited about reading and learning before they enter kindergarten .
SHOP LOCAL. YOUR PENNY MAKES A DIFFERENCE!
Did you know that Berkeley County voters passed a resolution in 2022 that benefits our ability to build and maintain schools? Commonly known as a "penny tax," the measure enacts a one-percent sales tax for specific construction projects.