GREEN BAY (NBC26) — After a year of being stuck at home, many children's summer events are making a comeback this year. One of those events is the Family Storytime program at Brown County Libraries.
"We're really excited to bring back storytime this year. Because of the pandemic, we weren't able to offer storytime last year," said Bobbie Kuehn, the manager of the Brown County Library East and Denmark branches.
By monitoring the number of participants through registration and social distancing in the storytime area, Brown County Libraries were able to safely bring the program back this year. The program is geared toward mixed-age groups, particularly children aged 2-6.
Rachel Vite, a service coordinator with Brown County's Birth to 3program, says getting that socialization is important for the development of young children.
"What we know about overall childhood development is that socialization is a huge component for every single domain," Vite said.
While she says it ultimately comes down to the comfort level of the parents, getting young children around others their age helps them develop social skills and build relationships.
"Really the foundation of building meaningful relationships with other people is one of the biggest and most important pieces of that socialization," Vite said. "When we think about how our brains are ready to learn, oftentimes that comes from learning from those around us."
Bobbie Kuehn says she can feel the excitement of children and their parents to be back at the library after a year of separation.
"We're really excited to have the kids back in the library, families are excited, it's really great to see the high energy back in the library," Kuehn said. "It's just something we've all been missing in the last year."
The Family Storytime program takes place at Brown County Libraries Monday through Friday. Times are subject to change. You can visit the library's calendar of eventsfor an up-to-date schedule.
