Downstairs in the J-room, there is a small collection on a high shelf. Books in this section are marked with a little pink dot that stands for Care Center. Regular adult visitors to the children’s room know this collection and use it regularly. Others might browse here, if they knew about it, hence this article to alert all of you Sherburne News readers out there.
The Care Center contains books of unusual suggestions, useful advice, and specialized knowledge relevant to dealing with all kinds of children in various situations. Our Storytime regulars suggest titles and also ask questions without answers that send us looking for titles to put on the Care shelf. Topics covered in these books include issues as serious as explaining addiction, or the death of a pet, and activities as frivolous as creating fairy houses. We have Baby Signing for Dummies and a Guide to Toilet Training and the Babysitter’s Survival Guide. Many of the materials in this section feature games and activities for all ages of people to do together. Our goal is a fun collection with necessary tools that encourage three dimensional living. We want children growing up in Sherburne to spend their adult lives remembering how much they learned and how totally fun it was to be children here. We encourage caregivers to go outside and play with their kids!
We’re about to add a title called Free-Range Kids, Giving our Children the Freedom We Had Without Going Nuts with Worry by Lenore Skenazy, who advertises herself as ”America’s Worst Mom”. This label dates back to an earlier time when she gave her 9 year old son subway fare and a map and allowed him to solo-trip home from Manhattan to Brooklyn, and wrote about it for a city newspaper. She was then publicly condemned by morning television; she decided to write this book defending her parenting style.
A typical quotation:” Play turns out to be stunningly essential to childhood, it’s like love, sunshine, and broccoli all juiced together. It’s the key to all the things we dearly hope our schools are teaching our kids (but secretly fear they’re not), including basic math, communication skills, negotiation skills, leadership, a scientific outlook, fairness, flexibility, and physics. Yes, physics. You throw a baseball and learn about speed, force, and the physical properties of windows. Also sometimes the prices of windows, too, so let’s throw in economics.”
She goes on to quote the statistic that in the years between 1997 and 2002, the average time spent in creative play by North American 6 to 8 year olds declined by about 30%. Organized activities, fear of abduction, focus on school curriculum, and ease of electronic flat-screen entertainments all have contributed to the decline. Read this book and like Lenore, you may decide to issue cards to your children: “I’m not lost, I am a Range Free Kid! I have been taught how to cross streets safely. I know never to GO OFF with strangers, but I can talk to them. I like being outside and exploring the world. If you are a grown-up, you probably did the same things when you were a kid, so please do not be alarmed. The adults in my life know where I am, but if you want to talk to them, feel free to give them a call. The number is xxx-xxxx. Have a free-range day!”