[blparent] lessons learned when taking my daughter to the library

[Jennifer Jackson]

Hi Jennifer, this is the other Jennifer with all the boys. :)

Libraries usually have some toys and puzzles for the little ones to enjoy.
Different libraries have less or more depending on things like space,
budget, and librarian interest.  Some even have fish tanks and other
aquarium or caged animals. Your two year old will probably love it if you
just oh  and ah along with her. :) As she gets older she will enjoy telling
you about the pictures on the books and puzzles.

You may want to find out if your library does a story time in the evening.
Ours does one called pajama time once a month. Your daughter is not old
enough for this yet, but a new popular thing at libraries is reading to
dogs. Therapy dogs come in and the kids are invited to read to them. The
person accompanying the dog is available to help the kids with unfamiliar
words and the like too. It is good exposure for the dogs, and the kids love
it.

So far 2 of my 3 boys love to read even with learning disabilities. I tell
myself that it was all the exposure to the love of books and rading I give
them. :)


Jennifer

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Jennifer Bose
Sent: Friday, January 06, 2012 5:04 PM
To: blparent
Subject: [blparent] lessons learned when taking my daughter to the library

Hi, everyone.

I feel lucky this list is here. It's a very supportive community and a
good place to share tips.

I'm not usually home with my two-year-old daughter Abigail in the
morning, but today I was, so I thought I'd take her to our town
library. It's a beautiful place that I've only been in once or twice;
usually her babysitter, who takes care of her while I'm at work
full-time, takes her and my neighbor's kids there so she's a bit of a
regular. I'm kind of a spontaneous person by nature, so I don't always
do the careful thinking I should do before I go somewhere or do
something. If things don't work out so well, I try to turn the
experience into a list of things to do differently next time. What I
got from this trip was: Everyone who works at the library is very
sweet and interested in our being able to use the library, but of
course it's a very print-heavy environment; I couldn't read any of the
picture books to her. So I'll have to find some scheduled story times
to take her to, rather than trying to wing it. Next, it's best not to
go close to lunchtime, when there are fewer staff around to ask for
help.

The trip wasn't a complete bust. She got to look at many pictures and
see some children she knows. But it leaves me wondering what the rest
of you do about the library. Do you like to go with your children,
especially if they're very young? How do you handle an environment
where all the books and other media are geared toward the
"light-dependent", as Robert calls them? Do you forget about it
altogether and let someone else take your children there? The thing
is, I love libraries and books and I love reading to kids, especially
to my daughter, so I couldn't resist trying this. What other advice do
you have for me and other blind parents who might benefit?

Thanks a lot. Happy 2012 to all.

Jen

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