Storytimes

Storytime builds early literacy skills, like print awareness, narrative skills, letter knowledge, and more.

Mother Goose on the Loose – Mondays at 10:00 a.m. This program meets in the Cavallaro program room (2nd floor). (Ages 0-3)

Sensory Sensitive Storytime – Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. This program meets in the Cavallaro program room (2nd floor) and is designed for neurodiverse children and children requiring a quieter setting. (Ages 1-6)

Pre-K Storytimers – Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. This program meets in the Cavallaro program room (2nd floor). (Ages 3-5)

Check our Event Page for up-to-date programming details and to register. Programming may not occur during holidays or other circumstances. See you at storytime!

Tips for Sharing Books With Your Child

  1. Set aside a special time each day and read, even if it is for 5 or 10 minutes
  2. Share books when both you and your child are in a good mood
  3. Hold the book so that your child can see the pictures
  4. Encourage your child to interact with the pictures
  5. Reread a favorite story over and over again
  6. Read stories in the language that you are most comfortable speaking

Parent-Teacher Collection

The Library maintains an extensive collection of resources for parents and teachers as part of our parent-teacher collection. The Parent-Teacher collection includes resources for serving youth with special needs, curriculum development, Common Core Standards, and much much more. It also includes a variety of different types of kits available for parents and teachers.

Resources

Haverhill Public Schools – English Language Arts Resources Page

The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds, based at Massachusetts General Hospital, is a free on-line educational resource to empower adults to support the mental, emotional and behavioral well-being of the young people in their lives. Itss innovative multimedia platform offers engaging content with blogs (articles, Q+A, practical tips), videos (short films, PSAs, webinars) and a podcast, all regularly updated by new research, current events and user feedback.  Topics include anxiety, stress, depression, learning, trauma, suicide, and societal issues like digital media, cyber bullying, plus self-care and resilience building to manage through uncertainty and promote endurance.  Many of these resources are available in Spanish.

The Clay Center’s Back-to-School During COVID-19 page addresses key topics  – in English and Spanish – that can be helpful to school leaders (teachers, nurses, psychologists, counseling teams, athletic coaches, SPED colleagues and Parent Advisory Councils) and Youth and Family Serving organizations.  It includes guidance on fostering resilience and endurance during the pandemic as well as resources on ever-important mental health topics like anxiety, stress, and depression, among others.

Brain Building in Progress (Multiple languages)

Reading Rockets

PBS – For Parents

1-2-3 Grow! (Multiple languages)

Colorín Colorado (English / Spanish)

Resources for Early Learning

StoryBlocks (Multiple languages)

U.S. Department of Education- Help My Child Read Reading Resources

NCTE Guideline- Read Together: Parents and Educators Working Together for Literacy

Storytime Guidelines

Our primary goal is to foster a love of books and reading in children. To make storytime a positive experience for your family as well as others, we request that parents and caregivers follow these guidelines. We appreciate your cooperation, support, and participation!

  • Promptness is greatly appreciated. Interruptions by late arrivals can be distracting to the storytime presenter and other participants. Please plan for extra time for parking, to use the restroom, and to allow your child to get settled. If you do arrive late, please wait for a break between songs or stories to join the group.
  • Toys, food, and drinks are not allowed at storytime.
  • Parents should model good audience behavior by sitting with their child and being attentive and participating. Parents are encouraged to participate and show by example how much fun singing, dancing, and being silly can be! There will be time to visit with other adults after the program.
  • If your child is not feeling well, please keep them home so as not to share germs with the rest of the group.
  • Extend the reading experience by checking out books to share with your child at home. Allow your child to select books before or after story time.

Research shows that children get ready to read years before they start school. You can help your baby and toddler learn important early literacy skills now to prepare them to learn to read and help develop a lifelong love of reading.