Ugh, I know it’s painful to admit, but summer is almost over! If you love the freedom of long summer days of no school, the transition to fall can be a bit of a challenge. But I, for one, love the approach of crisp autumn nights and the beautiful yellows, oranges and browns of the changing leaves. What is your favorite part about fall — the first days of school, hay rides, corn mazes, apple cider, falling leaves, haunted houses, Halloween, Thanksgiving? It always seems like the autumn months are packed full of so many different things and new experiences, so here are some books, songs, videos and an activity to help celebrate all of the colorful change that autumn brings. Continue reading “Virtual Activity Bundle: Autumn”
What’s so great about boring old phonics? Well, it’s the reason you’re able to read this blog! Phonics are the building blocks upon which reading and writing are founded. If you want your kids to be able to “decode” new words, then they’re going to need to know all of the tricky nuances of the English language, and that’s where phonics comes in.
What exactly is phonics? Technically, it’s: “a method of teaching people to read by correlating sounds with letters or groups of letters in an alphabetic writing system.” But you know it as singing the ABC’s, identifying letters and rhyming words at home with your family. Maybe you remember sitting on a large rug in a kindergarten classroom and sounding out vowels and consonants. Perhaps you brought home tiny books that were 10 pages long with a few words on each page — “The fat cat sat on the mat.” Phonics are the hidden games we play to teach language and build a firm foundation for young readers.Continue reading “Fun With Phonics”
Below, I’ve highlighted four of my favorite online resources for kids that the library has to offer.
LOTE (Languages Other Than English) Online offers hundreds of animated stories in various languages. Listen to and read along with over 850 stories in more than 30 languages as well as English.
Brainfuse HelpNow provides live, online tutoring for elementary through college students in a variety of subjects, including writing and test prep.
TumbleBook Library has animated, talking picture books that add sound, music and narration to existing picture books in order to produce an electronic picture book which you can read, or have read to you.
TumbleMath encourages kids to explore a collection of electronic math picture books that add sound, music and narration to create animated, talking picture books that you can read or have read to you.
Glasses are a just a regular part of life. In 2016, the CDC estimated that between 30 to 40 percent of children age 6 to 17 wears glasses or contact lenses. Unfortunately, your child’s first time getting glasses (or contacts) is not always an easy transition.
Need help introducing tiny readers to the idea of glasses or other vision problems? Try out some of these fun reads!
Written by Devin Scillian, illlustrated by Lee White
Brewster the Rooster is good at his job. Every morning, Brewster crows at the sun to wake the farm. People four farms away can hear him do his job he’s so good at it! However, when Brewster starts crowing throughout the day, at random times of the day, he begins to startle members of his family and the community. What’s gotten into him? Is he sick? Or is this young rooster in need of some spectacles to know what time of day it is? Continue reading “Eye Troubles for Tiny Readers”
Full-time school is set to resume this fall. While this news may be exciting for some children, for others it’s a source of anxiety. Typical back to school jitters are compounded by unique uncertainties after a year of quarantines and social distancing. In fact, many children may be afraid to leave the safety of their homes.
According to Brandon Duft, child psychiatrist and head of Kaiser Permanente Northwest’s Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, transitions can be particularly challenging for young children, whose language skills and emotions are still developing. “You have to be patient and brave to reenter school and social circles. Social skills are skills like any other; people need to practice them or they can get rusty.” Continue reading “Transitioning Back to School”
YAAWWNN! Time for a nap! The hot weather, frequent rain and longer days that we’ve been having this summer have made many, including myself, long for some relaxing time in bed, on the couch or in a hammock dozing off or letting your mind wander. The month of August features two special days to celebrate taking a break and getting some shut-eye: National Lazy Day on August 10th and National Relaxation Day on August 15th. Here are some books focused on the world of sleep, naps, dreaming and lazy days.
Have you ever noticed that babies can fall asleep just about anytime and anywhere? In the aptly titled, “Babies Can Sleep Anywhere,” author Lisa Wheeler and illustrator Carolina Buzio compare the ways in which various animals get to sleep with all of the places in which babies can easily doze off. In Phyllis Gershator’s “Time for a Nap,” with illustrations by David Walker, a young bunny goes on various errands and adventures with his mother each day but knows that after all that excitement it’s always time for a nap! For more books about all the strange and cute ways that animals nap, check out “Snooze-o-Rama” by Maria Birmingham, illustrated by Kyle Reed, and “Animal Naps” by Catherine Ham. Continue reading “It’s Naptime!”
Just because it’s 90 days from Halloween doesn’t mean you can’t dress up! Today marks the first day of our annual Cosplay Con. Dress up as your favorite character, be it superhero, anime, sci-fi or your own original persona! Fill out the form on Cosplay Contest web page. Submit your photos online by the August 9 deadline, and the winners will be announced August 16. This contest is for all ages, and we’ll award prizes for the best costumes and characterization in different age categories, so be ready to show off your cosplay game!
Don’t worry if you are stumped for costume ideas—we’ve got you covered. With just a few things you have around the house, you can be a superhero in no time. Avengers assemble…your supplies!
When we talk about living sustainably, we can cover a wide range of topics, including food production, alternative energies, environmental needs, housing and transportation. It is never too early to discuss these issues with children. In fact, our future may depend on it! Check out some of the resources and activities below to get started.
On Friday, July 23, the Olympic flame will arrive in Tokyo, and the most anticipated sports event of the year will begin! The opening ceremony will be full of dancing, singing, art and an explosion of culture. Then, the events will begin. Regardless of age, we all discover new heroes, cheer until our voices grow faint and feel the chill of inspiration watching athletes overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
My favorite summer sport has always been gymnastics. The strength, grace and pure power it takes to defy gravity, spinning so fast you can barely track the rotations, and then sticking the landing—wow, it just blows my mind! While *I* am not a gymnast, my sister is a preschool gymnastics teacher in Tennessee, and she’s agreed to share some of her favorite exercises for you and your young athlete!
Babies:
Tummy time works the neck muscles and strengthens the core.Incline lifts: a.k.a, airplanes!
Full-time school is set to resume this fall. While this news may be exciting for some children, for others it’s a source of anxiety. Typical back to school jitters are compounded by unique uncertainties after a year of quarantines and social distancing. In fact, many children may be afraid to leave the safety of their homes.
When we talk about living sustainably, we can cover a wide range of topics, including food production, alternative energies, environmental needs, housing and transportation. It is never too early to discuss these issues with children. In fact, our future may depend on it! Check out some of the resources and activities below to get started.
