Key Concepts

Key Hatchlings Concepts

Hatchlings follows the Mother Goose on the Loose Format and Philosophy

Builds upon a foundation of ritual, repetition, music, movement learning by doing, joy, non-judgmental atmosphere, and play
Enthusiasm breeds enthusiasm
Starts each session with warm-up activities to nurture comfort amongst participants before moving into more interactive activities
Uses props to engage attention
Teaches lullabies to slow things down

Both Hatchlings programs’ (“Ready to Hatch” - before baby is born) and (“In the Nest” - after baby arrives) are designed to:

Empower parents as their babies’ first and most important teacher
Plant the roots of early literacy development for expectant and new families through in-person and outreach programming so that ALL families can learn the importance of daily early reading (sharing books), singing, and bonding with their babies
Inform families that literacy begins before birth and continues in the earliest months of life
Help parents discover how librarians and library early literacy programs can support and engage expectant families and families with newborns through their preschool years

Hatchlings integrates the following Health and Child Development Information:

After birth, babies can see objects 8 to 10 inches from their face (Newborns like to focus on simple, high contrast black and white images that are easy for them to see and hold their attention while allowing their minds to rest)
Tummy time is important (i.e. it strengthens head, neck, and upper body muscles, helping babies develop the strength and coordination needed for rolling over, crawling, reaching, and playing)
Peek-a-boo helps babies focus attention and develop coping skills
Babies need their sleep for health and growth
Babies hear words while they are still in the womb and can remember some of what they heard even after birth

Hatchlings highlights Early Literacy information and Practices:

Children with positive feelings about books from infancy find it easier to learn to read
Becoming aware of syllables and the sounds in words is essential for learning how to read
It’s never too early to start showing your baby the meaning of words; parents learn to talk to their babies throughout the day by verbalizing their babies’ experiences
Hearing and making animal sounds helps babies hear the smaller sounds in words
Changing the words to songs and rhymes keeps them fun and can make them more relevant