Now that the weather's thinking about getting a little cooler (OK, so it's not yet, but the weatherman is promising soon!), we're starting to think about activities that we can do with our little ones indoors. Plus, since my older son is in preschool, I want to find some places I can take my younger son to have his own sort of classroom fun.
So we're starting to head back to our favorite Durham County Library Storytimes. They're fun, they're free and since they're at the library you can combine a storytime with a visit to check out some books of your own.
Here are a few of our favorite area storytimes. There are countless more great opportunities on the Durham Public Library's calendar - please let us know if you've been to any other Durham storytimes we should check out!
Rhymetime - This storytime at South Regional Library has got to be our favorite storytime of all! South Library is brand new and it's located at the intersection of Alston Avenue and Hwy. 54. Rhymetime is a short, half-hour on Mondays at both 9:30am and 10:30am. Miss Lauren leads the kids through rhymes, stories, songs and, of course, the traditional bubbles at the end of the storytime. She has a great pace that keeps the kids' attention, and everyone always has a wonderful time!
Terrific Tales Storytime - This storytime takes place Tuesdays at 10:30am at Southwest Regional Library. This is also a beautiful library that was very newly renovated. During Terrific Tales, Miss Amy enthusiastically reads several stories to the kids who listen raptly. I would say that this storytime is geared toward children who are a little older or who have better attention spans, like the 2-plus crowd.
Music and Movement - We just discovered Music and Movement at Southwest library this year. It's also on Tuesdays, except this one starts at 9:30am. It's geared more toward the Rhymetime crowd, kids 0-5 years old. However, most of the kids there are probably between 1 and a half and 3. The kids sing songs, do rhymes, dance, listen to stories and play with toys like scarves and shakers, all led by Miss Christine. The great thing about Southwest Library on Tuesday mornings is that they have Music and Movement at 9:30am, Terrific Tales at 10:30am and another craft or bilingual storytime at 11:15am, so you can spend the whole morning there having fun.
Lapsit Storytime - We've also headed up to Lapsit Storytime at the Main Library led by Tom on Monday mornings at 10:30. This one is also a really good time. The kids sit on their own mat, sometimes with shakers, and I think they've also had their own stuffed animals to sit with. Tom is enthusiastic with his stories and songs, and the kids have a lot of fun. They especially enjoy when he does visuals of his stories and rhymes on a storyboard.
