By Children’s Librarian Shelley Harris Welcome back and happy autumn! Recently, Miss Jenny shared a book about a day that should have been exciting and wonderful turning into a big disappointment. Those days feel pretty common right now. Our kids want to go to school and learn and play with their friends—but right now, it … Read more
While so much has changed this year, our priority to support early childhood learning remains strong. “We work with educators, children, and caregivers to develop young minds,” says Early Childhood Community Engagement Specialist Jenny Jackson. “We set a foundation in social and emotional learning, and through that foundation we focus on literacy and connectedness.” Connectedness … Read more
By Shelley Harris, Children’s Librarian Miss Jenny and I have been sharing a lot of words this week—big ones like “disappointed” and fancy ones like “scarlet.” The more words kids hear and know, the easier it is to read and keep learning new words: They can guess what a new word means when they know … Read more
By Shelley Harris, Children’s Librarian Rhyming is a key skill for kids on the path to reading. When kids can easily hear parts of words, it helps them understand how to decode them when they are ready to read. Nursery rhymes are great to share, because they often include words kids won’t hear in everyday … Read more
“In a time when a lot has changed for kids, the fact that summer reading is for fun has not.” —Nora Flynn, parent of a 9-year-old summer reading champ To keep everyone safe and reading for fun, we’ve gone virtual with this year’s summer reading program. And while it looks different this year, kids and … Read more
By Children’s Librarians Shelley Harris and Genevieve Grove 5,100 challenges completed. 2,000 books read, in 285,000 minutes. 975 readers. 11,000 beads earned. AND COUNTING! Six weeks into our new virtual summer reading program, kids are blowing us away with their enthusiasm and determination. Adults know that kids who read at least 20 minutes a day … Read more
Searching for good picture books online? Here are some of our favorite digital resources! Your digital library Babybug & Cricket on Flipster: Find stories just for kids in two award-winning magazines. Hoopla: Easy to navigate and use, the app offers educational and fun options for young readers of all ages. Media on Demand & Libby: From … Read more
By Shelley Harris and Genevieve Grove, Children’s Librarians Can you imagine a year without your library’s summer reading program? Neither can we! That’s why we’ve put together a safe, convenient, and fun new way to participate in our classic program online, starting June 1. This summer’s virtual version is super flexible, makes it easy to … Read more
Hello, Early Bird Readers! Miss Jenny and Miss Shelley share some favorite tunes and songs. Can you sing your ABCs to new and different tunes? It’s really hard, but helps kids master their letters. Let us know what songs you’ve used successfully! See Melissa Z-D’s handout (PDF) » Watch Touch the Brightest Star on YouTube … Read more
Here’s a list of a wide range of resources for parents and teachers, many who are helping young kids with elearning during this time. Thanks to Niles-Maine District Library‘s Preschool and Daycare Liaison April Lee for compiling this list! Kodo Kids: Ten free online workshops (2-3 hours each) on topics such as: Infant Toddler Engineering, … Read more
