<p>Our library welcomes families by providing a nurturing environment for early literacy development. We desire to enlighten, inform, and support our parents by recognizing their significant role as their child’s first teacher. Our Family Place Library features:<br />
o A children’s area designed for active parent/child engagement as they explore board books, picture books, blocks, toys, and manipulatives. We provide these “tools” to foster purposeful play, exploration, and creativity.<br />
o A parenting collection of books and other materials with easy accessibility, located close to our children’s area.<br />
o Programming designed to inspire our children and to ensure that they enter school ready and able to learn.<br />
o “1,2,3 Come Play with Me,” a Five Week Parent/Child Workshop Series, which is offered in the Spring and Fall, for children ages one through three and their parents or caregivers. This program provides a setting of developmentally appropriate toys, books, and hands-on activities, in an open-ended venue where the children are free to choose what appeals to them. The program promotes the importance of play in childhood development. This climate encourages families to spend time together and assists them in cultivating friendships with other families. These workshops feature different early childhood topics each week, highlighted by Community Resource Professionals who share their expertise with the families. The workshops also provide families with valuable community support, since they are given the opportunity to visit one-on-one with early childhood specialists in a relaxed and inviting atmosphere.<br />
We are so excited about our newest addition of musical instruments to our outside children's area. Thanks to our "Friends of the Hewitt Public Library" group, the children of our community are creating beautiful music!