Regardless of whether today’s kids will learn to print, write cursive, or type on a keyboard or screen – they’ll need to have strong fine motor skills. There are so many fun ways to build your child’s hand strength and coordination! At the library, we use Busy Boxes after storytimes with preschool-aged children; you can recreate these activities at home. Some of our boxes include:
Lacing Cards
It’s hard to imagine, but we are now halfway through our summer reading program – Imagine Your Story! (If you haven’t joined the Read & Bead program or want to know more about it, check here!)
All summer we’ve been retelling Folk and Fairy Tales in our storytimes.* We also have a whole collection of Folk Tales in our picture book area, with retellings of folk and fairy tales from around the world – from the most popular to the most obscure. In fact, they’re being moved to a more prominent location, so when you are able to come visit us in Youth Services again, they’ll be easy to find!
Reading and vocabulary go hand in hand – one can improve the other, and vice versa. How fortunate that reading and talking to your baby is so easy! Little ones learn words at an amazing rate. The more words he learns now, the more he will be able to express and understand (spoken and written) later in life.
Watch Ed the Wizard’s Reading is Magic! show on Zoom tonight, Monday, July 20, at 6:00 PM!
Ed the Wizard will present a fun, energetic magic program - with a focus on reading! Ed ot into magic in part by using books to learn some tricks! For this show, he’ll join us live and share with you some of the wonder he has found in magic. This is an entertaining program for all ages.
A few months ago, we featured these Build-A-Story cards from Barefoot Books. They’re a fun way to Imagine Your Story - write or tell a story of your own! This time, we’ve got more cards with new characters, settings, and ideas for you to use.
Nursery rhymes are perfect little songs for encouraging language development. Although they aren’t always sung, nursery rhymes do have a rhythmic lilt, encouraging that sing-song cadence that helps ingrain things into little brains. They are short, sweet, and easy to remember, and, as their name suggests, the words usually rhyme.
Every Tuesday, Youth Services hosts an interactive kids’ program on Zoom. We’re featuring STEM activities, crafts, and a few movement programs too! Find out more about each program on the Kids’ Events page. Each program requires registration ahead of time (click here), after which you will receive a confirmation email with directions for joining the meeting. Some programs will require basic materials from home.
Kitchen exploration is a fun way to spend time with your kids!
They might try new foods.
They will learn lifelong skills.
They can practice reading by reading recipes.
They can work on math (fractions, anyone?!). Try doubling or halving a recipe!
Many of us native English speakers don’t think twice about the language we use with our children – but if your native language is anything other than English, use it! Encourage grandparents, caregivers, or anyone else Baby interacts with on a regular basis to use the language with which they are most fluent. Contrary to some concerns, this does not confuse babies or delay their speech; it simply gives them more words to express themselves when they are ready to talk.
