Early Bird Learning Activities

There is so much to do and explore during the summer! Together with the Collaboration for Early Childhood, we’ve put together a collection of activities and free, fun, local community …

Happy Autism Acceptance Month! In the past, we’ve shared information about: Celebrating autism pride. Neuro-affirming resources for autistic people and their caregivers. Why many autistic people prefer to celebrate autistic …

Longer, lighter days this season make it easier to fit more into each and every one. Your public library, in partnership with the Collaboration for Early Childhood, has put together …

Did you know that children’s staff have created more than 400 early learning videos since March 2020?! You can watch them all in a YouTube playlist and find them organized …

With hoopla’s new BingePass and your Oak Park library card, you can get unlimited streaming for seven days with a single borrow! Let’s get started… How do I use hoopla’s …

Fall family fun is in full swing here in Oak Park! Explore free activities—curated by your public library and the Collaboration for Early Childhood—specially designed for families with young children …

By Children’s Librarian Shelley Harris The sun is setting earlier, and nights are lasting longer. This is the time of year when our “Chills and Thrills” bin of picture books …

By Shelley Harris, Children’s Librarian Welcome to the -ber months: September, October, November, and December! Most people celebrate the start of a new year in January. Not me. I graduated …

By Shelley Harris, Children’s Librarian Most people look at summer as a time to relax and have fun. For Children’s Services Librarians, it’s our busy season! We’ve spent the past …

By Shelley Harris, Children’s Librarian Happy Autism Acceptance Month! To understand why we’re celebrating… Let’s start at the beginning: What is autism & why acceptance? There are two brain types: …

Library staff love to talk about the importance of language and play for kids: It helps them explore their world, learn about themselves and the people around them, get ready …

By Shelley Harris, Children’s Librarian We often come back to the topic of emotions and social-emotional learning with our kids. Sometimes it may feel like we’re repeating ourselves! But we …

October is a big month! Many kids are excited for Halloween, of course. We finally enter an autumn that will last a while; that’s usually pretty great. Sometimes we even …

“You’ve made this day a special day, by just your being you. There’s no person in the whole world like you, and I like you just the way you are.” …

By Children’s Librarian Shelley Harris It’s never too early to talk about emotions with children, even babies and toddlers. The end of summer and start of new autumn routines is …

July is Disability Pride Month! It’s been celebrated since 1990, when President HW Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on July 26, though many non-disabled people have not …

By Children’s Librarian Shelley Harris Sometimes kids and adults get nervous about visiting a new place for the first time. We get it! It can be useful to know what to …

April can be a challenging month for many autistic people. Many organizations that aren’t run with or by autistic leaders have campaigns about “lighting it up blue”—furthering stereotypes that autism …

By Shelley Harris, Children’s Librarian How are you doing? We’re a quarter of the way through the year. It’s a little warmer, a little sunnier. Sometimes things feel a little …

By Shelley Harris, Children’s Librarian The grasshopper chirpeth, the lamb bleateth, the owl hooteth. Animal sounds are found in so many books and songs for children, including the first-known picture …