Ms Lisa is the children's librarian at our local branch and while she is quite nice, she needs a little more training in corralling the preschool audience. She does a great job with her format ....Mr. Perfect knows all of the verses of "Shake my sillies out" and "The more we get together" and will sing them at any moment.....at any moment that DOES NOT occur at the library. He's not much of a joiner in the actual story time setting. The books that she picks out are just too long for a group setting ... She loses her audience before we get to the middle of the story. And the crafts are not always age appropriate (toddlers and beads are not a good combination.)
But in her defense she has a tough job. There is no age limit at this story time so she has children from 18 months to 5 years old. I've been there and done that...a toddler usually won't sit still for a book that a 5 year old will love and understand. Story time is held in the multi-purpose room in the library....cold tile floor and absolutely no decorations. She has no equipment..no easel, no technology and no props. The parents stay with their children during story time which, for Ms Lisa, is a good thing. The majority of the moms participate with their children but there is a group of young moms who seem to think this is their time to chat. While they are busy discussing the events in the neighborhood, Ms Lisa is trying to read a story. The moms aren't listening so their children don't either. These moms finally notice that their darlings are not paying attention so they break out the snacks and continue their conversations. So then the room becomes over-run with toddlers roaming the area clutching that new invention...squeezable tubes of fruit and vegetables. I am not sure how I would handle this in Ms Lisa's place but I probably wouldn't have the job long!
There are a few grandparent types in attendance but these chatty moms look at us like we must be nannies. (In our neighborhood? Not likely!) My favorite parents at story time are the young moms who have a limited command of the English language. They absolutely love story time and do their best to keep their children attentive and respectful. Mr, Perfect has become friendly with Alex, a very lively bilingual 3 year old. Today Alex told Mr. Perfect that he needed to take his fingers out of his mouth. Adults have mentioned this before but never a peer... Mr. Perfect didn't know how to take this advice and seemed shocked that a short person would mention it. (He didn't remove said fingers from his mouth but the idea registered!). When story time was over and we had picked out this week's library books, Mr. Perfect and I stopped at the puzzle center. They have a very nice collection of wooden puzzles spread out in the children's area. We sat down to work on the insect one when Alex came running over. I'm not sure how to describe how he squirmed onto my lap and slid Mr. Perfect off but no one was hurt in the process and MP didn't seem to mind. Alex's mother was mortified but he just looked up at her with a sweet smile and said "Abuela" . That pretty much confirmed it for me...Ms Lisa can keep her job...I'll just be happy being Nonie ... Or Abuela.
