Storytime - Toddlers

Storytime - Toddlers is back at the Franklin Road Branch on Wednesday, November 18, from 10:30 to 11:00 AM. It's a half-hour session geared toward the youngest crowd—toddlers from 18 months to 3 years—so it's a good fit if you've got a little one in that range and are looking for a mid-morning activity.

The format is exactly what you'd expect from a toddler storytime: a mix of stories and songs woven together with early literacy activities. It's not just sitting and listening; the songs and activities are there to get the kids moving and interacting, which is usually the only way to keep a two-year-old engaged for thirty minutes. If you've never been to one, the songs are often the part the kids remember most, and the literacy activities are designed to help them start recognizing sounds and words in a way that feels like play rather than a lesson.

As for the venue, the Franklin Road Branch is an 18,000-square-foot facility that serves Franklin Township. It replaced the Wanamaker Branch in 2000, which had opened in 1969 on Southeastern Avenue after years of volunteer-staffed service in an empty church building. That's a bit of local history to keep in mind—the library has been a part of the community long before this current building went up.

It's a short session, so you can get in and out without it taking over your whole morning. The Storytime - Toddlers session runs from 10:30 to 11:00 AM on Wednesday, November 18, at the Franklin Road Branch of the Indianapolis Public Library, 5550 South Franklin Road, Indianapolis, IN 46239.