Peek a Boo helps toddlers learn

Anyone stopping by the Sweetwater County Library Monday morning would have seen a small group of toddlers and their parents playing Peek a Boo.

According to Becky Iwen, the youth services manager at the library, the game can give infants and toddlers the opportunity to learn about their bodies. She said the game can be played with babies that are a few weeks old and can incorporate other activities which allow for learning. Monday's Toddler Time did just that and gave parents additional information about how they can build on the activity at home.

Toddler Time is a weekly library activity taking place Monday at 10:30 a.m. Library staff ready stories and sing songs to the children, while incorporating some child developmental goals to the programing. Afterwards, the children get a chance to color pictures using large disk-shaped crayons Iwen said are designed to not be a choking hazard. Iwen said young children often bang the crayons against the coloring sheets, learning about how the crayons mark the paper. Iwen said children also enjoy sorting the crayons by color or in other activities as well.

"A lot of kids use them to build towers, which is also developmentally on track," Iwen said.

The activities change every week. She said other activities the library has offered toddlers include allowing toddlers to search for animals in small sand boxes and playing with a small wind tunnel, which she said fosters cooperation and discovery.