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By Ryan Pfeil February 05. 2016 3:47PM New Medford library storytime event is all about senses Five-year-olds Isaak Oliva, left, Tally Raye and Maximus Dodd join in a rainbow dance Wednesday with Rhianna Ullom, rear, during a new activty-based storytime at the Medford library. Mail Tribune / Denise Baratta It's story time at the Medford library, but Janet Chose isn't opening a book. Not yet, anyway. On Wednesday afternoon, the children's library associate leads six children attending the event in a song.  "Good day, good day. How are you? How are you?" sings Chose, as five children join in. "Very well, I thank you. Very well, I thank you. How about you? How about you?" It doesn't stop there. There is actual designated time for stories, but the library's new Sensory Story Time sessions are intended to be more; story time 2.0, if you will. Children are encouraged to participate in the stories through movement, and there are songs, dances, games and other fun — including bubbles — in between. Any preschool-age child is welcome, but program officials say the event is also meant to be more accessible to children with autism or other heightened sensory concerns.  "The public library is a public place for all people," says Ellie Hilton, Medford library children's librarian. "We're doing a lot of work to start new programs that will reach areas where we feel there might be some under-served populations in our community, and one of those areas we really wanted to get started on was children who may not feel comfortable in an average, typical story time."  Activities are designed to keep preschoolers at every developmental stage engaged and entertained, library officials say. While reading a book about a hopping penguin Wednesday, for example, children are encouraged on every page to mimic the bird's hops. On another yarn about shapes in spilled milk, they are encouraged to match felt cutouts to shapes in the book and attach them to a board. There's other movement apart from stories, too, dances that involve balancing bean bags on their heads or fun with rainbow streamers.  "There's a lot of moving, a lot of tactile activities and participation for them, so that it's not just the sitting and the story," says Sensory Story Time volunteer Rhianna Ullom. "The story is a part of it, and they participate in the telling of it, but it kind of engages all of their senses." Several parents say they are already fond of the program's interactive approach. "I love it," says parent Danielle Oliva, whose two children attended the most recent story time. "I think it's a great idea. I probably will do it at home now, get them involved with the story. I like that idea. It's pretty neat." "He raved about it," parent Yolanda Dodd says of her son, Maximus. "Especially the whole interactive (element), the listening and singing." The story times are held from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Wednesdays in the Medford library's children's department, 205 S. Central Ave. It's intended to serve smaller groups, limited to 15 participants, Hilton says. Preregistration is encouraged, either by calling 541-774-8678 or by email at [email protected] . The program is still in its infancy, not yet a month old, but library officials are already encouraged by what they've seen.  "We're very excited," Hilton says. "It's been very successful so far." Reach reporter Ryan Pfeil at 541-776-4468 or [email protected] . Follow him at www.twitter.com/ryanpfeil . http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20160205/NEWS/160209756 © 2016 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->