First 5 Forever (children 0-5)
All regular programs are run during school terms only. Outdoor sessions are not run over Summer to avoid hot weather.
Baby Rhyme Time:
- Ayr Library, 10:30am, Thursdays (except last Thursday of the month)
Baby Rhyme Time is a fun, interactive program for children aged 0-2 and their families. Parents and carers can share simple songs and action rhymes with their baby to provide a strong foundation for their development and wellbeing now and for their whole life. The half-hour session is followed by an opportunity for social connection and play.
Toddler Time:
- Ayr Library, 10:30am, Wednesdays (except last Wednesday of the month)
Toddler Time is a fun, active program for toddlers aged 18 months and older. Join us to model songs and actions for your child as they become more active and continue to strengthen their development and wellbeing. Half an hour of songs, rhymes, and one story is followed by an opportunity for social connection and play.
Storytime:
- Ayr Library, 10:30am, Tuesdays
Storytime is a fun, engaging program for children aged 2 years and older. Join us for a half-hour session of stories and songs, followed by an opportunity for social connection, craft, and play. Storytime provides a strong foundation for your child’s development and wellbeing now and for their whole life.
Messy Play:
- Ayr Library, 10:30am, last Thursday of the month
Messy Play is for children aged 0-5 years and is all about messy, sensory fun! Messy Play fosters curiosity and imagination through hands-on play to strengthen your child’s development and wellbeing. Messy Play sessions are held outside, so please bring a hat, water bottle, and clothes to get messy in.
Play Time:
- Ayr Library, 10:30am, last Wednesday of the month
Play Time exposes children and parents to the world of open-ended, child-led play. Play is how children learn, so come along to our 1-hour play session and discover toys, songs, and books that support your child’s development and wellbeing now and for their whole life.
Play Time @ the Park:
- Arch Dunn Memorial Park Home Hill, 9:30am, last Saturday of the month
Play Time @ the Park exposes children and parents to the world of open-ended play in an outdoor setting. Play is how children learn, so come along to our 1-hour play session and discover toys, songs and activities that support your child’s development and wellbeing now and for their whole life.
First 5 Forever Program
First 5 Forever is a family literacy program delivered by public libraries and Indigenous Knowledge Centres (IKCs) with the primary aim of providing strong early literacy foundations for all Queensland children aged 0-5 years.
First 5 Forever connects families to the information, resources and support they need to build the best foundation for their child’s future language and literacy development.
While brain development continues through life, from birth to 5 years is the most rapid period of growth for a child’s brain with over a million new connections forming every second.
The everyday moments you spend with your child, talking, reading, singing and playing can help build a healthy brain and a healthy body, now and for their future.
Acknowledgement of Country
At the beginning of every First 5 Forever session, we start with an Acknowledgement of Country to pay our respects to the traditional owners of the land, the Birra Gubba nation peoples.
By participating in an acknowledgement of country you are showing your child that you value the rich history, diversity and ongoing contributions of our First Nations peoples, and you’re helping inspire them to do the same.
Remember it’s never too early to start building positive relationships and an understanding of First Nations culture and relationships with country with your little one!
Other resources for children
OverDrive for Kids
Like to read or listen to stories? We have lots of books to download to your computer, iPad, tablet or e-reader.
Click here to visit Overdrive for Kids
LOTE4Kids
LOTE4Kids allows children to enjoy the magic of over 3,000+ digital books in 65+ community languages, both in the library and at home. Each title comes with an English language translation to assist in story time adaptation for multilingual reading and listening skills. Download the LOTE4Kids App today!
StoryBox Hub
The best place to watch and enjoy celebrated stories read aloud by our favourite storytellers. With StoryBox, it’s storytime, anytime! Click here for instructions to access StoryBox Hub.