Miss Shelley shares books, activities, videos, and resources to help children on the path to reading.
Browse the latest activities for early learners

Visiting the Main Library Children’s Services: A virtual tutorial for kids & families
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 …

Happy Autism Acceptance Month! Videos & activities for early learners & caregivers
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 …

Make practicing early literacy skills a habit: Videos & activities for early learners
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 …

Share sounds: Videos & books for early learners
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 …

Learning through gardening: Videos & activities for early learners
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 …

Exploring social-emotional learning: A new virtual tutorial for caregivers & early learners
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 …

Spring sensory play: Videos & activities for early learners
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 …

Nature fun: Videos & activities for early learners
By Shelley Harris, Children’s Librarian 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 …