Brrr! Can you feel the chill in the air? It’s almost wintertime again! Time to pull out our wool socks, heavy coats and gloves. Time to turn up the heat in our homes and maybe dust off our sleds and inner tubes in preparation for the first snow day of the school year! And time to perhaps prepare gifts and/or decorations for the upcoming holidays. Whatever your favorite part of the season, these wonderful books, catchy songs, informative videos and fun craft projects can hopefully serve as a complement to your winter fun.
Listed below are the Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award nominees for 2021! These books encourage reading aloud to children and are selected annually by a group of librarians from Missouri.
Hand-me-downs, pre-owned, second-hand and well-loved: there’s something uniquely special about giving something a second life. Perhaps it’s as inconsequential as passing along a soccer ball, repurposing a pair of old jeans into a tote bag or sharing a well-loved recipe with a friend. Other times the significance is greater, such as inheriting your grandmother’s necklace, adopting a senior pet or being gifted a plant so old no one remembers where it came from. There is a sense of pricelessness that comes with a long history of many caring, loving homes.
In the spirit of “well-loved” things “living on,” I began pondering what first experiences young children might have with this concept. Today, I present to you a collection of stories that will touch your heart and inspire you and your littles to live a life of conscious generosity and kindness.
Thanksgiving is just a few short days away! Below are some fun last minute ideas to make the kids’ table extra special this year.
Decorations
Use butcher paper to cover the whole table or make a runner down the middle. Set out some cute jars of crayons and markers, and let the fun begin!
Sprinkle candy corn around the table for a festive vibe.
Help the kids create a thankfulness pumpkin. Have everyone share several things they are thankful for. Using permanent markers, write everyone’s answers on a pumpkin.
National Princess Day was created after the 1994 animated film “The Swan Princess” was released. The production studio wanted people of all ages to have a day to celebrate royalty, embodying the kindness and grace associated with princesses of the ’90s. Continue reading “National Princess Day”
As the days get shorter and colder, now is the perfect time to cuddle up with a blanket, pop some popcorn and watch some of your favorite YouTube videos! Here at the library, we have been creating fantastic content just for you. No matter how young or how old you are, we have something for everyone.
Music & Movement — Ages birth-5.
There’s no shhhing us, because we love to sing and dance at the library! In these videos, we’ll teach you some of our favorite songs and rhymes.
Posted on Thursday, November 11, 2021 by Jessica S
A picture is worth a thousand words, right?
Wordless picture books open up all sorts of opportunities for children to engage with what they are reading and have more control over the story. Books without words allow readers the opportunity to lead — children can tell the story the way they want, and the story can change up during each read.
Below are some of my absolute favorite wordless picture books for kiddos. Enjoy!
This wordless book features window views to the outside and inside. Cutouts take readers from one season to the next, from inside the house to outside the house. Continue reading “Wordless Picture Books”
November 9 is National Young Readers Day, founded in 1989 as a special day to recognize the joys and benefits of reading and encourage parents and their young children to read together. To commemorate, I want to take a trip back to my childhood and explore the books that made a positive impact on me as a young reader, from the very first book I ever read by myself to the Newbery winners and book series that I escaped into in my grade school years, in the hope that kids and their parents will find something new here to read or something old to return to.
I started reading by memorizing, then connecting the words I knew by heart to the words that were on the page. The first book that I memorized was an illustrated edition of “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” more commonly known as “The Night Before Christmas,” by Clement Clarke Moore, which famously tells the story of Saint Nicholas and his eight reindeer bringing gifts and merriment to a family’s house on Christmas Eve. Continue reading “Young Readers Day”
A crisp chill in the air, crunchy leaves underfoot, chattering squirrels gathering nuts for the long winter ahead…
There’s no better time to enjoy a hike or a nature walk than fall! Months of blistering hot Missouri summer kept me inside with a good book and a cold drink, but this cooler weather beckons me back to the great outdoors.
Photo via Pexels.
My partner and I have been exploring all of the amazing green spaces and hiking trails the Columbia area has to offer. On this particular hiking trip, we explored the Shooting Star Trail at Rock Bridge Memorial State Park. Even a visit to your local playground, a stroll around the neighborhood or a quiet afternoon in the backyard can provide great ways to share the joys of autumn with your child.
Having a mission in mind before you venture out can help keep reluctant kiddos engaged in your outdoor excursion. Look high in the trees and low on the ground to appreciate even the smallest members of the ecosystem. Slowing down and taking in the world around you is an easy way to practice mindfulness, too! Continue reading “Autumn Scavenger Hunt”
This fun and easy project encourages small children to use their fine motor skills and creativity to make a small hanging to celebrate autumn. Small children can sort the leaves by color, shape or texture before attaching them to the paper wreath form. You may enjoy adding colorful leaves you find on a nature walk or tracing your child’s hand onto a piece of paper and adding it to your wreath. Finish your wreath off with a bow and enjoy the results!
Brrr! Can you feel the chill in the air? It’s almost wintertime again! Time to pull out our wool socks, heavy coats and gloves. Time to turn up the heat in our homes and maybe dust off our sleds and inner tubes in preparation for the first snow day of the school year! And time to perhaps prepare gifts and/or decorations for the upcoming holidays. Whatever your favorite part of the season, these wonderful books, catchy songs, informative videos and fun craft projects can hopefully serve as a complement to your winter fun.
Finding a reason to celebrate each day can be a simple as a quick internet search. Today, November 18, we celebrate 
This fun and easy project encourages small children to use their fine motor skills and creativity to make a small hanging to celebrate autumn. Small children can sort the leaves by color, shape or texture before attaching them to the paper wreath form. You may enjoy adding colorful leaves you find on a nature walk or tracing your child’s hand onto a piece of paper and adding it to your wreath. Finish your wreath off with a bow and enjoy the results!