The Mandell School Early Childhood Library is a learning environment designed to foster literacy and a lifelong love of books. We strive to teach children the importance of borrowing and returning and borrowing again. The Preschool Division has weekly small group library periods outside of their classrooms beginning in the Threes program.
A typical period in the library always starts with a story time followed by a time for questions, comments, and related activities. Story time is a culmination of classic, modern, and curriculum related literature in various mediums including traditional books, felt board stories, songbooks, and oral storytelling.
The second half of the period is dedicated to the process of selecting then checking out library books. Preselected books are placed in browsing bins which allows the students to feel independent and confident in their book choices. Then one by one, the students hand their books to the librarian and get to see and hear the scanner register their books within our library system. The period then ends with a few minutes of quiet reading time before they are dismissed.
Children in the Twos program participate in story times within their classrooms, but may visit the library for special story times during the Spring.