Success at Story Time!

This morning we woke up and went to Story Time at the Library. We had done this about 6-8 months ago, but for some strange reason, I thought little old me could handle (at that time) a 2 1/2 and 1 1/2 year old all by myself WITHOUT a stroller! That was not the smartest thing I have ever done. First off, I went to the later one so when the story time was over, it was actually lunch and naptime. So then I had two cranky toddlers who DID NOT want to leave, running in two different directions and crying. I was so embarrassed and to top it all off, when I went to run for the youngest, my oldest ran into the parking lot where a driver was LUCKILY watching our every move and decided to stop and not hit said child. It was not my best mommy moment, let me tell you!

I guess I don't have to tell you that I have been scared to go back ever since! We go to the library at least once a week to pick up books, but only through the handy dandy drive through window.... that is, until today!

Story Time began at 9:30, so I was smart and got there at 8:45 so we could attempt to get all the wigglies out. When we got into the room, they had carpet squares for you to get to sit on, which my girls weren't used to and thought were a bit odd, but it was cool... and I have really big pillows at home that I have been thinking of using in a similar way, so I will start doing that to reinforce it a bit. Maybe during a bible story or something.

Anyway, the lady was wonderful and she told us the theme for the day would be Cows. She held out the letters to spell the word to see if anyone knew them and of course both of my girls screamed out "C" "O" "W"! I think that was the first odd stare I got, considering that they were both so confident and one of them just turned 2 and looks a little younger than that! Then she read 3 books on cows, all books that we hadn't read before, so that was really fun! It was also AWESOME for the girls to see all these other children enjoying the books and to hear someone other than mommy or daddy read to them.

Well, when she started reading the books, Cali (my youngest) did not want to sit still. She is my little Wiggly Willie and I am learning how to teach to her learning style, but this was different. However, I felt confident this time in knowing that is her personality and not that she was a "bad kid" or I was a "bad parent", so I let her play in the back of the room while Jordan and I sat and listened to the story. Jordan was awesome.... she sat down where she was supposed to, was quiet when she was supposed to and was always the first one to call out an answer! In fact, at one point I had to go to the bathroom so I grabbed Cali and asked another mom if she could keep an eye on Jordan. When I came back in the room, I heard the lady ask "Do you know what a baby cow is called?" And Jordan screamed out, "A Calf!" The lady was shocked, and said "That's right!" I was so proud of her!!! To be fair, we did a cow unit about a month and a half ago, but she remembered!!! If the rest of the time hadn't gone well, I think that moment would have made my day, but overall I would have to say it was a very successful outing!! They also had a craft at the end where we made cow puppets and both girls loved that!

I really am going to make it a priority to go to this every week, as I think it will really help instill the love of the written word, being surrounded by the books and seeing other children loving them!

If you have any hints, tips or suggestions on what to do with a Wiggly Willie during events like Story Time, please leave a comment!