Audio stories: my secret weapon

by  Brie There are times when I want to get something done. Okay, there are lots of times when I want to get stuff done. Most of the time I am unsuccessful for various reason, but the main reason is that I live with two kids four years old and under. Sure, I can steal some time if I put on a video but I don't always want to give them some (read: more). That is when I pull out my secret weapon. Audio stories.

I remember when I was a kid we used to listen to stories on records. So one day I went looking for some great stories for my kids to listen to. My recommendations are ones that I have bought, grandma has kindly bought or I have found online. Often you can buy the stories on CD with an accompanying book. I like that, but in our house the books get tossed aside quickly in favour of sitting on the couch reading other books while listening to the story play.

My favorites are:

- Free to be You and Me takes me back to the days of lying on the floor listening to a scratchy record. We have the CD and it plays the same great  stories, poems and songs that I remember. We also have the book, which I read almost every day for six months when the girl was two. Except for the fact that it is a very big and very long book I loved reading it to her. I would even sing the songs and I try to avoid singing. You can check out the CD, book and video and also download some of my favorite songs to your MP3 player on the website.

- We have a number of classic stories on CD from Puffin Storytime. These include Madeline, Corduroy and Curious George. All of these are books that I had read the kids already so they  knew the story before I put the CD on. Once the stories are done, there are songs and poems. I think the girl likes those just as much as the stories!

- Robert Munsch is one of my favorite storytellers. And lucky for us he shares his stories online! His fabulous website lets you choose a book to listen to online. Let's face it, he tells the stories much better then I do. The girl is enraptured when I put his stories on (we also own one of his CDs) and will happily sit for a record amount of time. Another reason to love Robert Munsch.

Do your kids listen to stories on records, tapes, CDs or online? Please share your favorite audio stories.

Brie is the mom of a 4 year old daughter “the girl” and 2 old son “the boy”. You can read her blog at Capital Mom.

Ottawa Public Library: Treasures for the Little Ones in Orleans

by Isabelle I still remember going to the library with my mom as a preschooler. I don't know how often we went, but I do know that every time we did, I took out a huge stash of books, often the same ones over and over again. Now that I have my own preschooler, I love our library trips. We are huge readers, and going to the library means that we're getting a little variety in terms of bedtime stories. With four books every night, we go through them pretty quickly.

My local branch of the Ottawa Public Library  is on Orleans Boulevard. It has a good selection of books for preschoolers in both English and French. There's also a smaller section of board books, again in both languages, for babies and toddlers. The children's section at the Orleans branch has kid-sized tables and chairs as well as a rocking chair for moms and dads.

This particular branch offers a number of different programs for kids of all ages. For instance, it offers several sessions of Babytime and Toddler Time each week, with stories, songs and games for the tiniest library aficionados. For preschoolers, the Orleans branch offers Storytime sessions on weekdays, and older kids (6-9) are invited to special events at the library, such as the Springfun program in April, where kids will hear a story, do a craft and participate in other activities. All of these programs are identified as "bilingual" on the library site, although it is unclear whether the stories and activities will be presented in English and French to the same group, or whether groups will be divided up according to language. For kids who need a little bit of help with schoolwork, the Orleans branch also offers a homework club on Saturday mornings for grades 1-10.

My little guy loves the library and I look forward to bringing my daughter to the baby programs when she's a little bit older. No matter the season, a Saturday-morning trip to the library is always a treat for our family!

Isabelle is the mom of 3.5 year old Jay and two-month old Rosie. You can also find her at Dr. Peach’s Blog.

The Ottawa Public Library: The Ruth E. Dickinson Branch

by Shawna For those of you that use it, this will be a “no duh” kind of post, but for those of you who haven’t discovered it yet, your library is waiting for you! The Ottawa Public Library is a fantastic resource for parents, no matter what age your kids are!

Almost every Thursday I take my 4 year old daughter to Evening Story Time at our local branch, Ruth E. Dickinson (and pretty soon my son will be old enough to push back his bedtime to allow him to go too).  There, starting at 6:30, they read story books to groups of youngsters - half of which are usually in their adorable pyjamas - for half an hour, and when that's done they do a craft.

The library has regular events for all ages, including Babytime for the youngest set, on up to Homework Club for older kids.  Sprinkled into this mix are special and themed events, as well as some regular features such as conversation groups for various different languages.

Even if there's nothing scheduled, the library is a great place to go on a rainy or cold day to get out of the house and pick through the bins and shelves of brightly-coloured books for some free entertainment for you and your kids. They even have DVDs, and you can reserve most material.

I often like to log on from the comfort of my home computer and browse through the kid movies and books (and maybe some grown-up ones too) and add the ones that pique my interest to my "hold" list.  When it comes in I get an email letting me know that I've got a week to pick it up (which I do when we go to Storytime).  How easy is that?  I can even do this to secure passes to the museums of Nature, Science and Technology, and Civilization, though the waiting list for them is hugely long, so you have to be patient.  And as soon as I've used one of the passes and returned it, I go right back onto that list.

The best part of all this?  It's free!  Free!  Free!  I am always amazed to arrive at Storytime and not find every kid in Barrhaven there!

Shawna is mom to 4 year old Sage and almost-2-year-old Harris.  She has  been writing online since 2003, and her latest project is a fledgling photography blog.  Like many parents, she has a computer stuffed with thousands of pics of her kids.