Headstart Classes Visit Library

Two classes from the Tawas Headstart Center visited the East Tawas Library this past week.

This is the sixth year that Tawas Headstart has brought their classes to visit the library. In the past the children have all been 4 years old. This year the classes also included some 3 year olds.

In the morning 14 children and 6 adults visited the library. The afternoon group consisted of 12 children and 4 adults. The hard work of the teaching staff is always apparent, as the children were once again enthusiastic and lively but still well behaved.

Each class visited the library for about an hour. The visit started with a discussion of what a library is: "a place where you borrow things like books, magazines, movies, and puzzles (rather than buying them, like in a store) and then return them for someone else to use." They saw what a real library card looks like and were encouraged to return to the library with a parent (or legal guardian) to receive their own library card.

After showing the kids some of the wide variety of books that a library has, I read them a story or two. The kids had already learned in Headstart what an author was, and were very proud to correctly come up with the word when asked to demonstrate their knowledge, by their teacher, Miss Ellen. The morning class opted for just one story while the afternoon class listened to two stories.

The kids then enjoyed some free time. They looked at books, and had books read to them. They played with the many puppets and the puppet theater. They put together puzzles and played with the farmyard set and the Legos ®.

After getting their winter gear back on, the kids each received a bookmark about the proper care of books. This year the bookmarks were either a kangaroo with a pouch full of books, as well as her joey, talking about returning books on time, or a dog stating, "Dog-eared pages feel awful to me."

Prior to re-boarding the school bus, each child was able to use a rubber stamp and an ink pad to stamp a dinosaur on the back of their bookmark. As always, this seemed to be the highlight of their library visit.

Why not visit the East Tawas Library yourself? The Headstart classes and I recommend the following two books:

The Bravest of the Brave by Shutta Crum and illustrated by Tim Bowers. This book lead to a discussion of skunks and how they are gentle creatures unless provoked. The Headstart kids enjoyed counting along with the story as the little skunk ventured through the scary (to him) woods until being safely reunited with his family and tucked into bed.

Straight to the Pole by Kevin O'Malley. This story, which I always find reminiscent of arctic and Antarctic explorers, reminded the Headstart kids of the snow day they had enjoyed the day before their library visit.