Storytime Teacher Helps Dacula Children Establish a Love for Reading

Establishing a love of reading at an early age is a great way to lay a solid foundation for our children’s future. Nicole Wilson is dedicated to helping families in Dacula develop a love for literature through her interactive, engaging and totally fun storytime at the

“I feel my role and job is to instill that love of books and literature,” Wilson said. “I think of myself as a role model for the kids. I think it is important for the kids to learn at a young age that the library is a great place to be and that there are great people here.”

Wilson herself developed a lifelong love for reading at a young age, and has followed her passion for literature throughout her career.

“I have worked for this library system (Gwinnett) for five years,” Wilson said. “Before that, I worked for a library system in Maryland and before that I worked for the library in the state house of Maryland. I think it is very important to establish a love of reading. It is a building block for education and there is nothing like sitting down on a lazy day with a great book. There are so many adventures and so many doorways that open up if you love to read.”

Wilson said that the most rewarding part of her job is the kids themselves.

“When I first see the kids in the morning coming in for storytime, their little faces just light up,” Wilson said. “They run in so excited and give me a great big hug. That just makes my day.”

In addition to her main goal of introducing children to literature and reading, Wilson also works to prepare youngsters for preschool.

“Storytime helps get kids ready for preschool so they know how to sit, they can count and know their ABCs, and they learn a few words too,” Wilson explains. “It helps them know a little bit about what is expected of them at school.”

There is a lot of hard work and preparation that goes in to preparing for storytime at the library. It is much more than just sitting down and reading a few books to the children. Wilson and two other teachers work together to prepare an educational and age appropriate lesson for children.

“The three of us in the office sit down and talk about what our themes are going to be,” Wilson explained. “Once we have decided what the theme is, we go into the library catalogue and we look at children’s books, we call them all in, and read them. There are a lot of things that we are looking for in a picture book, it can’t be too long, it can’t be too short, and it has to have great pictures. When we decide what we are going to read, we then decide what sort of activities we are going to do. We do finger plays, we do songs, and we do a lot of searching for the perfect activities. We have a whole file full of great stuff that we have done over the years. We then put all of it into the bin. We also make up a storytime sheet listing the books that we read and songs that we are going to sing, so that the parents can continue the storytime experience at home with their children.”

Wilson teaches storytime at the Hamilton Mill branch, but there are also storytimes at other Gwinnett County Library branches as well. In addition to storytime, the library holds lots of special events for children including puppet shows, doggie tales and the widely popular summer reading program.

“All of our events are great incentives to get kids to come into the library and read as much as they can, have a great time, and see that the library is a fantastic place to be,” Wilson said.

Wilson and the Gwinnet County Library are a great resource for helping the parents of Dacula ensure that their children build a strong education foundation with reading.

“I encourage parents to bring your child to storytime to instill in them a lifelong love of learning and reading books.  I believe that this is so important in developing early literacy skills,” Wilson said.

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