Kids

Spring Tea Party... at home

We’re all missing our annual April break library tea party, but you can host your own tea party at home! There are usually three parts to our tea party: games, snacks with tea, and planting a seed.

First, dress up in your best tea party clothes! Find your fancy necklace, bowtie, gloves, or hat, and a fun outfit. Half the fun of the party is getting fancy with friends, so maybe this year you can host a video chat tea party with a few of your closest friends to show off your finery!

Family Fun: Build a Story

Using these really fun cards from Barefoot Books, take the following elements to write a story of your own! Work on your writing skills by creating a story (make sure it has a beginning, a middle, and an end!), or share a story out loud with the whole family as a bedtime story!

Early Literacy Activities: WRITE

Writing is part of early literacy – but it takes a lot of coordination, fine motor skills, and even shape recognition to write! None of those skills are possible until children are older, so let’s focus on the pre-writing skills… all babies have to start somewhere, and scribbling is the first step toward learning how to use a writing utensil!

Pokémon Club

Have you been curious about the library’s Pokémon Club? Always wanted to come, but aren’t sure how to play? Check out the Pokémon Trading Card Game online! You can create a login and jump right in to playing, but if you need help getting started, you’ll also find a series of YouTube videos introducing you to the card decks and game play.

Family Fun: Spring Thumbprint Craft

Spring is here! Take a deep breath and enjoy the fresher air and fleeting moments of sunlight… and notice the little bugs that have come out of hiding! We can’t bring you a Take & Make kit, but we can suggest this fun buggy craft that the whole family can get in on!

Early Literacy Activities: READ

Of course literacy has everything to do with reading… but your child can do a whole lot of literacy learning before they can actually read! The best pre-reading activity you can do with your baby or toddler is to enjoy a book together, whether you read all the words or not. Making books and reading a cozy experience with a loved one will help kids associate reading with happiness and fun.

1,000 Books Before Kindergarten

Are you working on 1000 Books Before Kindergarten? Keep going! This program is still running even if the library is closed, and you can count absolutely everything anyone read with your child – even ebooks!

Richardson Olmsted Battle of the Books

The battle is on! Just because you’re not in school right now doesn’t mean the Richardson-Olmsted Battle of the Books can’t continue! In collaboration with your 4^th grade teachers, we are presenting the RO Battle of the Books online.

This year, due to our special circumstances, the Battle is open for voting by all RO students in grades 3, 4, or 5! Click here to find out more!

Contact kids@amesfreelibrary.org with any questions.

Family Fun: Family Game Night

Bored yet? Try board games! Playing board games is a great way to spend time with kids… and work on literacy, math, and social skills in the process! Reading cards or spaces, counting die pips or spaces moved, and taking turns are all useful skills. Take a break from the screens and spend some quiet time together (or not-so-quiet, depending on the game!).

Early Literacy Activities: SING

As we introduced last week, Early Literacy is what a child knows about reading or writing long before he or she can actually read or write. One part of this knowledge is simply hearing and learning spoken language. Singing is such an excellent way to share new words with babies, toddlers, and even preschoolers!

Ames Free Library

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