Benefits of Traditional Storytimes

All Positive!

Libraries around the world offer storytime for their young patrons. Storytime provides many benefits to children:

• Stories help develop a child's imagination.

• Stories help a child discover new ideas.

• Stories help nurture a child's listening abilities.

• Stories help children comprehend the world around them.

• Stories expose children to a larger vocabulary than the spoken word.

• Stories introduce and reinforce concepts such as colors, shapes, letters, etc.

• Stories encourage a love of reading.

• Storytime encourages families to come to the library and check out materials.

• Storytime introduces authors and illustrators to families in a fun way.

• Storytime models good oral reading skills for parents and caregivers to follow.

• Storytime can help children become successful readers and learners.

• Storytime introduces songs, finger plays and nursery rhymes to parents that can be enjoyed at home.

• Story time creates a social opportunity for parents and caregivers.

More Positives!

Traditional storytimes almost always incorporate fingerplays and songs as well as books. Benefits of these components include:

• Songs can add fun, variety and movement to storytime.

• Song help break up words into syllables for children to hear.

• Songs allow children the opportunity to get up and move.

• Songs help children stay focused.

• Listening skills are sharpened.
• Fingerplays help children learn about concepts such as numbers, size, shapes, direction, and color.

• Fingerplays teach sequencing.

• Fingerplays build coordination and strength in small and large muscle groups.

• Fingerplays help create a positive self-image for children. Children learn that their minds and bodies contain a whole world of possibilities.

• Fingerplays help children socialize with one another. They are a way of doing something "separately together".

• Fingerplays are multicultural and have been passed down from generation to generation.

• Fingerplays can be adapted to other activities such as flannel board stories, puppet shows, and music.