Early Bird Learning Activities

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 …

By Shelley Harris, Children’s Librarian Have you ever explored the little side yard of the Maze Branch Library (pictured above)? It’s not exactly quiet, because it’s right next to the …

By Shelley Harris, Children’s Librarian At the library, we often hear from parents, teachers, and other caregivers that social-emotional learning (SEL) is important to you. What exactly is SEL? Let’s …

By Shelley Harris, Children’s Librarian Play is how kids learn. We say this so often because it’s one of the most important things for adults who raise or work with kids …

Jenny and I are huge fans of nature programming at the library. We’ve offered nature classes for babies, toddlers, preschoolers, elementary-aged kids, and kids of all ages with disabilities, for …

How young is too young to introduce kids to history? There’s no such thing as too young! There are so many delightful and age-appropriate ways to share information on fascinating …

By Shelley Harris, Children’s Librarian Scary things are back in the news. Even when we try to insulate children from the news, we often underestimate how much they can overhear …

By Shelley Harris, Children’s Librarian Who else is watching the Winter Olympics? I love my regular dive back into curling, which always feels like such a fun, accessible and possible …

By Eileen Saam, Children’s Librarian As families wrap up their holiday shopping, parents and caregivers of preschool-aged children may be thinking about purchasing a tablet for their child. Some may …

By Shelley Harris, Children’s Librarian It’s been a week since Halloween: is your kid still wearing their costumes? Dress-up imaginative play is such an important part of childhood! You know …

October is the month especially set aside to celebrate and recognize various disabilities, including Augmentative and Alternative Communication Awareness Month, something dear to my heart as my brother uses a …

This week, I shared a video on using breathing to regulate your body when you’re feeling stressed or getting too excited on a fun day. A lot of the songs …

What do you think of when you see a book? Are books something stressful? Boring? Magical? Exciting? Something in between? It’s okay to not always feel excited about books or …

This week, the Fred Rogers Center shared an article from Zero to Three about the power of music for infants and toddlers. It ties music to key early development skills: …

Marvelous! Splendiferous! Sensational! There are so many delightful and fun words that exist. The more words that kids know, the easier it will be for them to decode and read …

By Shelley Harris, Children’s Librarian What kind of things do you hear during the winter? When there’s a lot of snow on the ground, it can actually be very quiet! …

By Shelley Harris, Children’s Librarian Well, 2021 has certainly begun right where 2020 left off: with a lot of tough topics. Even our youngest kids know when big or upsetting …

By Shelley Harris, Children’s Librarian Every year, our final Early Bird Reader tip we send via text (Want weekly early learning tips from the Oak Park Public Library? Sign up …

By Shelley Harris, Children’s Librarian Songs are powerful! When we plan our storytime classes, we organize them to build energy and then calm kids down before we send them back …

By Shelley Harris, Children’s Librarian I’m one of those odd ducks who loves winter and snow and is excited to get this season started. I know—my co-workers shake their head …