To the Library, We Go

"Early Learning Resources: Every Child Ready to Read and Rock!" with musician Nancy Stewart at the Mukilteo Library 

Today was the first time since summer started that the kids and I attended a library event. I remember what it was like before summer--having to bring snacks just to appease the kids, who were antsy about being in such a busy room with so many busy kids. Aislin was often disinterested in the stories and Des felt overwhelmed by all the noise and movement. Sometimes we'd have to leave early and just hang out in the kids' area of the library, and that was only if I hadn't brought enough snacks to last through the story/singing time portion before the toys were brought out.
So today, I was a little nervous about bringing them to this event. I was expecting to have a reluctant 4-year-old to deal with before even leaving the house. I was expecting whining at the library or even fighting between the siblings.
Nope!
It turned out to be an awesome morning! I told Aislin there would be a library event today where there would be singing and stories, and she got excited. Getting her dressed and brushing her teeth was a cinch! I brought a couple fruit snacks for the kids, which I of course ended up using, but they were sufficient. No whining for more and no cries of disbelief when I said there were no more in my purse.

Aislin participated in the singing and dancing, especially when the group was asked questions she had answers to, like:

"What do you do in the morning after you wake up?" 

Aislin's answer: "Eat lots and lots of food!"

Des was pretty shy up until the last five minutes of the event. He hardly left my lap and preferred not to participate in even the smallest actions, like clapping his hands. But he wasn't upset. In fact, he had a little grin on his face the whole time :) I could tell he was enjoying the music and the excitement in the room. He was just shy ;)

Afterwards, the library attendant brought out a few toy bins with blocks, foam letters and other things. My kids happily played with the blocks until I said it was time to head into the main library and into the kids' area.

 He wanted to make a car out of the blocks (???) but I convinced him to make a house instead. He was more than happy to make a very tall house :)

Aislin spelled her name with the foam letters, and then tried to spell Des'; but since there wasn't an extra "s" the library attendant gave her different letters to try. Aislin thought it was hysterical to botch her brother's name :-P Her favorite version of his name was "Deb" :)

Once we were in the kids' area of the library, Aislin had fun playing with the other preschool-aged children. Des enjoyed sitting at a little table, un-harassed by his sister, and playing with those great Melissa & Doug handcrafted puzzles. They each had their separate activities, their space, and were perfectly content. Rather than leaving early because someone was whining or they had started fighting, we left when I decided to! (And I wanted to make sure we left before we pushed our luck!) 

With the kids back on the preschool wagon and our first library event checked off, I'd say we've completed our transition into a new home preschool year :)

And a special thank you to the Sno-Isle Library System for providing these awesome and ongoing events!