Alberton kids enjoy story time
Anders Lindstrom sits with his mom, Amanda, and Rainer Acker sits near her mom, Laura, during storytime last week.
Connie Acker reads to Micah Acker, Anders Lindstrom and Summer Drey during storytime, which is held on Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m.
Connie Acker's grandson Micah follows her allow as she tells them a ryhme.
Books on bears and stuffed teddy bears to compliment them were set out on a table last week in Alberton’s senior center. Connie Acker waited patiently for moms to arrive with their young children in tow so the first story time of the New Year could get underway. As you might have guessed, bears were the theme and books featuring bears were on tap to be read.
Acker said that narrowing down what books to use is always a task as there are so many neat children’s books out there.
“Most of the time, kids don’t want to sit for an hour and listen to me read,” Acker said. “I start with a whole stack and have to narrow them down.”
The group tends to be fairly small and last week three moms attended. Acker had a total of five children to read to. Acker started out with a fun activity in which the kids shook noise makers to a saying. From there, they read different books, breaking in between each one to sing a song or play a short game.
Laura Acker, who brought her two children, said that the group is a neat way to meet other moms in the area who have young children.
“Afterwards, we end up meeting with them later for a play time,” Laura said. “Plus, it’s a good opportunity to check out the new books that the library has for the kids.”
Summer Drey, who brought her daughter, said she was grateful that they have it in Alberton.
“It’s fun for Madeline,” Drey said. “Connie is so animated and really keeps the kids’ attention. I also love that there are crafts. I actually home school so this is also a way for Madeline to learn from someone that’s not necessarily me all the time.”
From a book that had the kids making snoring sounds to copy the snoring sound of a sleeping bear, to getting them moving around and being active as they went on a bear hunt, Acker gets the kids to participate. She even subbed in her granddaughter’s name in one book where a little girl goes picking blueberries and ends up mistaking the baby bear’s mom as her own.
“It’s awesome having this in Alberton,” said Amanda Lindstrom, who brought her son and daughter. “Anders really loves the stories and its fun.” Her daughter Claire, who is still a baby, could probably care less, but Amanda brings her along as well.
Acker said that she believes reading is very important for children who are young though they may not be able to yet read themselves.
“I think reading is extremely important for young children because their brain is like a sponge,” Acker said. “There’s so much to absorb. Language is so vital and reading is the sound of words. From the years I’ve done it, I can tell kids that have been read too because they pick up on what might happen next in the story.”
Acker said that the kids are at an age that is a prime development time and story time is a building block leading up to when the kids will start to learn to read on their own.
“We have nursery rhymes and sometimes we get them moving as well. They are also learning to sit in a group, which will help get them ready to go to school,” Acker said.
All of the kids were interested in the stories last Wednesday. Acker tried to relate the stories to things they might experience in their own lives as well and really engaged them with the pictures and text.
Story time is held at the Alberton library every Wednesday morning beginning at 9:30 a.m. On January 26, the theme will focus on dinosaurs and is titled, “Stomp, Stomp, Roar Dinosaur.”