Last year I started taking Cakes to the library for story time to get her used to socializing with other kids. When we started going, she was around fifteen months and in the baby (0-2) category. We were going a couple of times a month until she hit the throwing books phase. She’d stand in front of shelf and just start chucking books
When we got inside, I started wondering if I got the age group confused as most of the kids looked to be at least 3 and several had to be 4. I checked the calendar that was on display and sure enough, I was in the right place and this was story time for 2 and 3 year olds
The librarian started with a song and then would alternate between reading (longish) books and singing other songs. In total, she read four books and we sang countless songs. She had a hard time staying seated for the songs and stories and I had to battle with her the entire time and try to give her her own little story time to keep her seated. After trying for so long, I finally let her go exploring the rest of the children’s section since it was sectioned off and she couldn’t escape. Just when I thought the session was over, craft time began. I was able to call her over to color for a few minutes before she wanted to start running and exploring. I’d guess our time at the library was twice as long as it used to be and the kids were way more mature than Cakes.
I recognized one other little girl from our baby story time and her mom and I got to talking afterwards. She commented on how different it was than baby story time and I, of course, agreed. She told me that her daughter had a hard time focusing for the entire period, so she often would show up half way through to make things easier on her. I think I might take her suggestion and ease Cakes back into the library with half sessions a couple of times a month. She desperately needs the socialization and to start learning how to follow directions.