Children dance their way to development in Burbank library’s Rhythm and Reading program
Under the leadership of children’s librarian Jenny Darwent, young children dance in the Rhythm and Reading program at the Buena Vista Branch Library in Burbank on Thursday, March 24, 2016. The activity started last year and returns to the library every two weeks.
About a dozen toddlers and preschoolers jumped, shook, danced and yelled their hearts out on Thursday during the Rhythm and Reading program at the Buena Vista Branch Library in Burbank.
The free event, held at the library twice a month, is more than just a 30-minute activity to tire out the children. It is a way to help develop rhythm with words and teach them how to follow directions, said Tina Sahadi, a children’s librarian at the Buena Vista branch who started the program last fall.
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During about the first 15 minutes of class, Sahadi or another children’s librarian will lead the children in various dances where they have to follow the directions in the song. The kids are told to dance however they want, tiptoe around the room, dance at different paces and yell out loud.
“We work with rhythm sticks and egg shakers and do a lot of dancing so that [the children] understand the movement of words rather than just how [they sound],” Sahadi said.
Corbin Holtzapsel, 4, of Glendale, smiles at his little brother Caleb, 2, as they dance and swing their arms during the Rhythm and Reading program at the Buena Vista Branch Library in Burbank on Thursday, March 24, 2016.
After dancing for a while, the librarian will slow things down and read a picture book to the children before dancing again until the end of class.
Jenny Darwent, a children’s librarian from the Burbank Central Library, filled in for Sahadi in leading the class this past Thursday. She said the program is a “great way for [children] to be comfortable in their bodies” and teaches them about coordination.
Resident Christina Norton was at the Buena Vista branch with her daughters Sophia, 4, and Hannah, 6, for the class. They have gone to Rhythm and Reading since its inception.
Norton said the program has helped her youngest daughter remember a lot of the songs and dances they do during the class.
“It’s helping her memorize things,” Norton said.
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Anthony Clark Carpio, anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com
Twitter: @acocarpio
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