Storybook Festival

The Storybook Festival is a beloved event that promotes early literacy in Seneca County and provides fun for the whole family. The Tiffin-Seneca Public Library and the Tiffin-Seneca United Way collaborate to celebrate the love of reading and connect families with young children to helpful resources. The Storybook Festival will be on Saturday, March 2, from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM at Vanguard-Sentinel Career and Technology Center. To go along with Read Across America day and Dr. Seuss' birthday on March 2, our theme is Dr. Seuss. Thanks to several generous sponsors, each child will go home with a book and each attendee will get a free lunch. Lunch will include chicken sandwiches from Jolly's, apples from Molyet's Farm Market, chips from Tom Rodger's Flowers, cookies from Kendra's Cakes, and water from Hempy Water. Other major sponsors include the Friends of the Tiffin-Seneca Public Library and the Kiwanis Club of Tiffin Foundation. What can you expect when coming to the Storybook Festival? Organizations from around the community that offer resources beneficial to families with young children will have booths to share information about their services. Children can do literacy related activities at each station, providing fun ideas to replicate at home and reinforcing important early literacy skills. Local libraries will also offer short storytimes throughout the event. This is a great opportunity to see what a storytime at a library is like and for kids to enjoy stories, sing, dance, and more. We will also have a quiet sensory room if children get overwhelmed where children and adults can test sensory items to see if they might be helpful for their child. Early literacy isn't just learning how to read, it's how children learn to understand and interact with the world around them. Being able to communicate and think critically are vitally important for a child's future success, and that all begins with learning how to read. There are six important early literacy concepts that can help children along on their reading journey. Vocabulary is knowing the names of things, which can be accomplished by introducing a child to a variety of different words. Print awareness involves being able to notice print, how to hold a book, and how to follow the words on a page. Reading with your child frequently will naturally increase print awareness. This goes along with print motivation, which is being interested and enjoying books. Reading a book in front of your child is a great way to get them interested in reading, as they always want to emulate the adults in their lives. Letter knowledge is being able to recognize and differentiate between letters, along with knowing the names of letters and the sounds that each letter makes. Pointing out letter and print throughout the day to your child is an easy way to integrate letter knowledge into your daily routine. Phonological awareness is being able to sound out words and recognize the smaller sounds within words. Singing with your child is a great way to slow down language, making it easier to hear the beats and sounds within words. Narrative skills involve being able to describe events and tell a chronological story. Asking your child questions and waiting for them to respond is a great way to build communication skills, especially if you ask them to tell you a story. The Storybook Festival aims to bring these concepts to life, along with providing a safe and fun environment for the whole family. We hope to see you there!