'Lapsit' Session Gives Babies a Lesson in Reading

Scotch Plains and Fanwood’s youngest residents may not be able to read yet, but they’re already learning to love the art of a good story.

The Scotch Plains Public Library’s summer “Lapsit” Storytime kicked off on Monday with a half-hour of stories, rhymes, songs, and finger plays. Intended for children under the age of 2, the program gives parents an opportunity to help build their children’s developmental skills.

“Do I see some smiles today?” Head Children’s Librarian Michelle Willis asked as the nearly 20 babies in attendance squealed and bounced around in their parents' laps.

As the Scotch Plains and Fanwood libraries continue to expand their offerings for local residents, they’re learning that programs for infants are one of the most popular attractions.

“We’re finding that we have to accommodate an entirely new audience,” said Scotch Plains’ Library Director Meg Kolaya.

The “Lapsit” storytime, which is open to residents in both towns, is held regularly throughout the year, but the summer program accommodates about twice as many children as usual.

Even still, the summer storytime is already full to capacity. Willis said advanced registration was awarded to parents through a lottery system and is now closed.

“Lapsit” isn’t the only offering for babies at the library. Infants and toddlers can even get their own library cards.

“It used to be you had to wait until you were old enough to sign your name, but not anymore,” Kolaya said.

During Monday morning’s “Lapsit” session, parents sat in a large circle in the library’s community room as their babies anxiously looked around, studying the other young ones in the room.

“We’re ok with movers,” Willis told the parents as one little boy waddled to the center of the room.

Every “Lapsit” begins with a sing-along time. As Willis guided the group through the “Hello Song,” parents helped their babies wave and clap along.

After singing came storytime. Willis first used laminated cutouts of animals to tell a story on a red flannel board, then read to the children out of a large book called The Napping House.

As her voice changed pitch for emphasis, the infants squealed and giggled.

“Depending on the size of the group, I may also do a smaller story,” Willis said. “But I think children react much better to the flannel board because it engages them.”

While a few of the children were attentive during storytime, the favorite activity of the day seemed to be “Jingle Bells.” Each child was given a set of bells to shake through a few final songs.

“We’re going to pretend our bells are tiny little stars,” Willis told the infants as she began singing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”

While each “Lapsit” session incorporates different stories and songs, Willis said she does try to keep some elements the same. The structure is usually consistent, she said, as are the songs that are used at the beginning and end of each program.

For Laura Frederico, who brought her 20-month-old Celia to “Lapsit” on Monday, the session was a chance to spend quality time with her young daughter.

“This is one of the few things I can do with her in town,” Frederico said. “I have an older daughter, and one on the way, and this is convenient because it lets me engage solely with Celia for half an hour.”