Salem Public Library Holding a regular story time for children younger than two seemed like an overwhelming task. Our program is scheduled on the same morning every week to make it easy for parents to remember. We gear the lapsit for children up to 24 months, but don't keep out older siblings who come along for the fun. Each program lasts from 20 to 30 minutes, but some parents remain in the story room to network with other parents. Stories that work well can be used again and again, because the babies enjoy hearing their favorites retold.
Music is an essential part of infant lapsit story time.
At the beginning of story time and between each book, we sing or perform a large motor activity. We have recorded the songs we use each week to help parents and babies learn the songs and motions. We also add one or two other songs or activities during each lapsit to add variety and broaden the babies and parents repertoire. Our gorilla tends to wander from infant to infant during the stories, but he manages to return to us for the musical portions of the program. We use two storytellers for infant lapsit story time, alternating every other week, because we fought over who was going to be the lucky one to do the program.