Storytime is resuming at the Kinston-Lenoir County Public Library! We began rolling out a few programs in September and are expanding our programming in October to include weekly preschool programs. It has been more than six months since we were all together, and with safety protocols in place, we feel now is the time to welcome back our youngest patrons and their families.

Although Storytime will look a little different at first, it will still be filled with stories, finger-plays, crafts, and activities that will engage and entertain. Storytime takes place every Tuesday morning at 10:00 a.m. at the Kinston-Lenoir County Public Library. In October, our programs will feature Pete the Cat, spiders, pumpkins, and Halloween stories and activities. Join us to hear stories, play games, and make an erupting pumpkin.

In addition to Storytime, we will also restart Countdown to Kindergarten. Countdown to Kindergarten is an early literacy program geared towards three- to five-year old children that takes place each Tuesday morning at the Kinston-Lenoir County Public Library at 10:45 a.m. Through stories, songs, and crafts, young children will learn some of the skills they will need to be successful in school. They will also get much needed interaction with other children. While this program does not teach your child everything that they will need to know before they start school, it is an excellent foundation for early literacy skills. In October, we will be learning our letters staring with Z and working backwards through the alphabet.

Storytime programs will also take place on Saturday mornings at 10:00 a.m., followed by Fun for Families, an art and activities-based program at 3:00 p.m. at the Kinston-Lenoir County Public Library.

In order to attend Story-time or any of our children’s programs, everyone is asked to wear a mask or one will be provided. The program will take place in the auditorium so that we are able to space out appropriately. Caregivers and children will have their temperatures taken when they enter the room, be given hand-sanitizer, and will sit on brightly colored cushions spread throughout the room. All crafts and activities will be done individually and will be cleaned after each use. We feel with these measures in place, we can safely provide quality programming in a safe and healthy way for our community.

We will continue to offer online Storytime on Monday mornings at 10:00 a.m. on Facebook. We post one story each week and keep it up for 24-hours so families can watch it on their own schedule. If you haven’t already done so, be sure to Like the Neuse Regional Library Facebook page to see our weekly Storytime post and keep up-to-date on other programming information.

For older children, the Kinston-Lenoir County Public Library is offering Try It! @ Your Library on Wednesday afternoons at 4:00 p.m. These 45-minute programs are geared toward elementary students and includes weekly themes. We will Slime It!, Make It!, Play It!, Build It!, and Cook It! The Neuse Regional Libraries is also offering weekly Homework Help programs at most of its locations. Call your local library for more information.

This is a slow roll-out of Storytime programs which will start exclusively at the Kinston-Lenoir County Public Library. We hope to be able to expand to our other locations soon. Please call the Youth Services Department at 252-527-7066 ext. 133 for more information about Story-time or any of our programs.