Have you signed up for summer reading yet? Do it now! It’s all online, so you can sign up, record your reading, and select your prize beads (kids up to age 12) or raffle tickets (teens and adults) right from your device!
Once you’re logged in, check out all fun extras! Follow your reading progress on the game board, play mini-games, enter codes to earn fun badges (you’ll find those with some program links), and look for your personal secret missions!
Kwame Alexander is a multi-award-winning poet/author known for his middle-grade books about basketball, and more recently for the Caldecott Award winning book The Undefeated, but these are just two examples of his many works spanning from picture books to YA novels.
Writing…the most difficult to understand of the pre-literacy skills. How can I work on writing when my baby can’t even hold her own bottle? Writing definitely comes later when preschoolers have refined their motor skills and strengthened their muscles – but pre-writing skills are anything that can build those fine motor skills and muscles.
Although our summer events look different this year, we are still hosting a variety of family and children’s activities and events. The Family Fun events that are usually held in our garden will instead be held in YOUR garden (or living room)! Our traditional season opener, Mr. Wayne Potash, will host a Zoom concert tonight, Monday, June 22 at 6:00 PM. If you miss the live event, you can watch the recording for two weeks following the event (through Monday, July 6).
If you’ve ever played Pictionary or Telestrations, you’ll probably love this family activity! If you haven’t played those games, this is a good substitute (it’s basically a homemade, simplified version of Telestrations).
Lazy days of summer are perfect for spreading out a blanket in the shade and sharing some books with your baby. Picture books – even those written for very young children – are perfect for building your little one’s vocabulary, which in turn expands their entire world view. You might not use the word gigantic in everyday speech – but it’s in that story you just read about a dragon! Your little ones are hearing words from books that they won’t hear anyplace else at this age.
School’s out!! This year did not exactly shape up the way anyone was expecting when we started last fall, but here we are. Whether you (parent or student!) limped across the finish line or sprinted – you did it. Take a deep breath, pat yourself on the back, and take a few days to just take a break.
Ever thought about writing a book? Maybe a really short one? Literally… short…
Do you find yourself tapping your toe to the beat? Dancing in the car? Just “can’t stop the feelin’?” Well, little ones do too! Besides supporting language growth, music is great for working on large and fine motor skills, among other things. From the first time they’re rocked to a lullaby, to standing and dancing on their own, babies and toddlers are experiencing language and movement together.
Babies being rocked and sung to are hearing words, strengthening the loving and secure connection with their caregiver, and feeling the movement of his or her own body.
It might be a while before we can host our once-a-month Lego Club again, but you can use whatever you’ve got at home to recreate some of the fun! Sometimes the fun of Legos is building whatever it is that your set makes - but once you’ve done a few of those, it can be fun to go rogue! If you’ve got sets lying around that haven't been touched since they were built, think about breaking them apart (don't lose the pieces! Try using an old pencil case to keep tabs on all the parts) and using your imagination to create something entirely new.
