How stuffed animal sleepovers help children read
Did you know that by encouraging your child’s stuffed animal to spend the night at the library helps your child become a stronger reader?
Public libraries throughout the country invite children and their stuffed animals to the library for a storytime, then the children go home. The stuffed animals and the librarians continue the adventures with snacks, games, puppet shows, and storytime before going to bed. During the sleepover, the stuffed animals often explore different parts of the library with the library staff that are normally off limits to the public like break rooms. Sometimes the stuffed animals have their own storytime and snacktime after their children leave. When the children return the next morning, the librarians provide pictures of the previous night’s adventures, providing the children and the stuffed animals memories of the overnight.
Researchers from Japan found that encouraging these types of sleepovers benefit children’s reading habits. Upon seeing the photographs from the sleepovers, children often seek out the books that their stuffed animals enjoyed at the sleepover. They also are more likely to read to their stuffed animals. This might not seem like a big deal, but this transforms a child from a passive reader who listens into an active reader who shares with others.
If your child has a favorite stuffed animal that would make your home bedtime routine too difficult, then have your child select another stuffed animal that you know wouldn’t cause an evening hardship for everyone.
Take a look at some of the adventures and hijinks that happened at the Delafield Public Library Stuffed Animal Sleepover that took place March 2017. Do you see the bears, ahem, sitting on the photocopier? Imagine the giggles and questions seeing pictures like these your child may begin to ask.
To learn more about stuffed animal sleepovers, contact your public library.