This summer has flown by! How is it already August? But have no fear, there’s still some time before the kids head back to school. If you’re planning a family vacation or staycation to wrap up your summer, then check out these books to prepare your kids and build excitement for the upcoming adventure!
“Hattie and Hudson
” by Chris Van Dusen
Hattie enjoys a day at the lake and makes an unexpected friend. Next time you’re at the lake, you might just wonder what magic lay beneath the surface.
“Chu’s Day at the Beach” by Neil Gaiman and Adam Rex
Follow Chu and his family on their trip to the beach! All goes awry when Chu has a big sneeze and breaks the sea. Will he and the other beachgoers be able to fix it?
“Fergus Barnaby Goes on Vacation
” by David Barrow
Packing is my least favorite part of vacation. I always forget something. Fergus also has a hard time and must run around his apartment building gathering the items he needs for his trip.
“Harry and Clare’s Amazing Staycation” by Ted Staunton
Staying home can sometimes take you the farthest distance. Harry and Clare use their imaginations to travel to Mars and fight pirates, all while navigating sibling dynamics.
“Arthur’s Family Vacation” by Marc Brown
Sometimes things don’t go as planned, and that’s ok! See how Arthur learns to make the best of a bad situation.
You can check out these and the following titles about vacation at your local DBRL branch:
Enjoy the rest of your summer!
We all know the truth in the old adage, “It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.” The great triumph isn’t in arriving at the park with your child; it is in smelling the flowers in the neighbor’s garden, seeing a bluebird’s nest and hearing the wind rustling in the trees. The same principle applies whenever we make art with children. This is called process art! The Museum of Contemporary Art says that “in process art, the means count for more than the ends.” Children learn more through play and experimentation than coloring inside the lines and making cookie-cutter crafts. Below are some fun ideas you can try at home to begin incorporating process art into your child’s play time!
Infants:
Squeeze two paint colors inside of a ziplock bag, gently roll out the extra air, and seal it tight. Duct Tape the top, and then let your little one explore the bag. Your infant will enjoy watching the colors combine as they squish the bag with their hands and feet. (Realistically, they’ll also explore them with their little mouths, so keep a close eye on them!)
Older Infants:
When your little one begins to cruise and walk, take the ziplock painting and tape it to a low window! They’ll use their legs and core to hold themselves up as they combine colors with the light pouring in behind the ziplock bag.
Toddlers:
There’s lots of nontoxic and washable paint on the market, but one of my favorite art activities with toddlers is yogurt painting! Lay out a tarp outside in the shade, put a variety of flavors in small cups, and let your little artists have fun! They’ll explore color, texture and scents. (And let’s be honest, they’ll take a taste too.)
Preschoolers:
Let your preschooler create with a tried and true classic—bathtub paint. They can spread it on their feet, hands, the bathtub, rubber ducky and the walls, and then scrub it all off at the end of bathtime. This is a great incentive to get reluctant bathers in the tub, and the cleanup is so easy!
Want to extend the fun? Come join us at our upcoming program “Painting Without Brushes” at the Columbia Public Library where toddlers and preschoolers will be using an assortment of non-traditional mediums to create open ended art. To register, please call 573-817-7160.
Painting Without Brushes
New shoes? Check! Fresh pack of crayons? Check! Books to help your future preschooler or kindergartener transition into school…? Fear not! Your local library has you covered. We have done the work for you and compiled a list of books perfect for your new student-to-be. (Here’s a PDF if you want to print it!) Below I have highlighted a few of my personal favorite back to school books to share with your kiddos.
“Kindergarten is COOL!” by Linda Elovitz Marshall
Whether it’s early-morning jitters or becoming familiar with new classroom routines, this sweet and bouncy story will have expectant kindergarteners saying, “Kindergarten is cool!”`
“K is for Kindergarten” by Erin Dealey
Here comes kindergarten! Whether your little reader is gearing up for the first day of school or making their way through the school year, “K is for Kindergarten” will help guide them with silly rhymes and fun activities from A to Z.
“Pete the Kitty’s First Day of Preschool” by Kimberly & James Dean
It’s a big day for Pete the Kitty; it’s his first day of preschool! He meets his cool teacher, sings a few fun songs and even 
gets to paint. Who knew preschool could be so much fun?
“It’s the First Day of Preschool, Chloe Zoe!” by Jane Smith
Chloe Zoe is starting preschool today, but she’s a little nervous. What if she doesn’t like it? Mommy tells her that she will get to do lots of cool activities, but Chloe Zoe isn’t so sure. She’d rather stay at home and play with her little sister. Will Chloe Zoe discover how fun preschool is before the day is over?
Merriam Webster defines the term hobby as “a pursuit outside one’s regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation.” But when it comes to children, this definition seems too limited. This is because new and different experiences are fundamental to helping children learn about themselves and the world around them, whether they are collecting rocks or participating in sports.
According to the Child Development Institute, hobbies “teach children to set and achieve goals, solve problems and make decisions.” Hobbies open doors to meeting others with similar interests. Further, childhood hobbies can lead to future careers. For instance, a child is interested in the weather may become a meteorologist. A child who enjoys bird watching might pursue ornithology. Or, if they are fascinated by outer space, your child might become an astronaut!
If you and your child are looking for some new and exciting hobby options, DBRL offers a wide variety of books to get you started. Here are just a few, which are guaranteed to spark some interest.
Recently we had a sensory program at the library for little ones birth to three years old. To fit with Summer Reading, we made everything outer space themed! You can try recreating these at home, or go in your own direction.
Constellation Box
This station was very popular with some of our youngest participants! Babies loved laying on the soft blanket and looking up at the ‘stars.’ To make this, we found a large box and grabbed a string of Christmas lights. After reinforcing the edges of the box with duct tape, we poked holes in the cardboard so we could stick individual lights through. You could create specific constellations, or just fill the space with the lights like we did. Creating the box will take a little time, but it’s well worth the effort!
Asteroid Field Ball Pit
In Star Wars, Han Solo tells C-3PO to never tell him the odds of surviving an asteroid field. Our asteroid field is much more safe! Toss some balls of various sizes into a plastic pool to contain them, and with a little imagination, you’ve got your very own asteroid field. We threw in some pieces of foil blanket for some extra texture, and little ones were delighted. Not only are the asteroid balls fun to play with, they’re a great way to improve motor skills, as well as hand-eye coordination if you take turns rolling them to each other.
Hubble Telescope Light Board Art
For this station, we were inspired by images captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. We glued stars onto overhead transparencies, then placed them on a light board. Little ones put different colors of cellophane on the light board and had fun layering them to make new color combinations. The results were beautiful!
Galaxy Calming Bottles
We love sensory bottles, and these were no exception. We used Voss water bottles, but you can use whatever you like as long as it’s sturdy and you can seal it. To stick with our outer space theme, we made one night sky bottle, one inspired by the sun, and one glow in the dark. To make the night and sun ones, we used baby oil, candy coloring dye, lots of glitter and some star-shaped confetti. The glow in the dark bottle is just glow in the dark glue and hot water. Continue reading “Sensory Space Activities”
If you’ve read some of my previous blogs, you’ll know that I love “Anne of Green Gables” by L. M. Montgomery—the books, the movies, the graphic novels, I love them all! So you can understand why I was delighted when I discovered a new juvenile biography about Montgomery. “House of Dreams: The Life of L. M. Montgomery” by Liz Rosenberg is a comprehensive biography about Lucy Maud and is a book best suited for older readers who are already familiar with Anne.
Maud (without an “E”–sound familiar?) was an interesting character in her own right. As with many authors of her time, she kept copious notes and journals, which Rosenberg incorporates in her own text. Montgomery’s journals have been published and are out there for you to find if you have a mind to do it, but even the most ardent Anne fans might find them tedious (as I did). However, Rosenberg’s book does a wonderful job of condensing Montgomery’s life with the facts we know about her and what she chose to record.
On the surface, you can see a lot of Montgomery in her fictional character Anne, but in real life Montgomery was a very complex person that struggled with bouts of depression, ill-matched suitors, rejection and a loveless marriage. While these are tough topics for juvenile readers, Rosenberg doesn’t pull any punches and presents the facts as we know them, even in cases where Montgomery herself left the truth out of even her own private journals.
I recommend this book as a great companion piece for those readers who are interested in going beyond Green Gables to find an L. M. Montgomery was a flawed human being and was able to create an equally flawed character who has withstood the test of time. This book made me think of one of my favorite L. M. Montgomery quotes: “Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it yet.” Like Lucy Maud, we all have faults, but we just have to keep chasing those tomorrows.
Space has been the inspiration and setting for many fictional stages. Authors like Orson Scott Card, H. G. Wells, George Lucas, and Jason Fry have dazzled us with their out of this world narratives of aliens and space adventure. Each fictional world creates its own idea of the strange and interesting things that might be going on in our universe. However, sometimes the facts can be stranger than fiction!
Reading nonfiction with your child can be just as fun as reading fiction, and it’s a good way to introduce young minds to the world around them. It’s never too early to share nonfiction books with young readers! You can get started with some great nonfiction based on this year’s Summer’s Reading program “A Universe of Stories.” Below is just a suggested list. If the text seems too complex, read what you’d like from it and just talk about the pictures with your child. In this way, nonfiction books for all ages can be shared as a family.
Books for babies and toddlers
Continue reading “Stranger Than Fiction: A Universe of Facts”
They say a person loses over 1000 socks in their lifetime. What happens to all those socks? Did they disappear in the wash? Did they unexpectedly make a vacation without us when we were packing to go to Grandma’s? The animals in our households suddenly look a little too innocent. Did the dog take one of them and use it as a chew toy? Has the cat stowed away a collection of them in a nest under someone’s bed?
No matter how they disappear, losing a sock is a hard thing for a family. In order to help our community cope, I want to celebrate with some sock-themed literature. It’s time to hold your favorite socks close—the fuzziest of the fuzzy socks, the softest of the cotton socks, the brightest neon-colored socks you have—and enjoy some of these fun reads:
“
I Lost My Sock!” – P. J. Roberts
A cute story focusing on animal characters. Fox has lost one of his blue socks. He asks Mr. Ox to help him find it. They find all sorts of different socks in different patterns and sizes.
“Have You Seen My Blue Socks?” – Eve Bunting
A small duck has lost his brand new pair of blue socks. He sets off on a journey to ask all of his close friends if they have seen where they might have disappeared to.
“Where’s my Sock?” – Joyce Dunbar
Pippin is having a bad day. He lost the match to his sock. Tog tries to help him find it, but as their journey progresses, they can’t seem to find the match to Pippin’s yellow sock with red clocks.
“A Pair of Socks” – Stuart Murphy
A fun story told in the perspective of a sock. The sock cannot find their match anywhere!
“
Fox in Socks” – Seuss
A book by Dr. Seuss that includes fun words and wordplay as Mr. Socks Fox tries to teach Mr. Knox a tongue twister.
“Ducks Don’t Wear Socks” – John Nedwidek
Emily finds herself being a little too serious. This changes after she meets Duck. Duck decides that he needs to wear socks, despite Emily’s discomfort that, “Ducks don’t wear socks!” This continues with other articles of clothing until he changes Emily’s serious and self-conscious mood. Continue reading “So Long, Stray Socks!”
As America celebrates independence, it’s important to remember the families of those still fighting for our country. Holidays like Independence Day can be rough for children with deployed parents, but these picture books should offer some comfort.
“Sometimes We Were Brave” by Pat Brisson
This sweet book demonstrates how to keep going, even when you’re a little bit afraid. Jerome’s mother is in the Navy, and when she’s gone he worries about her. The description of daily life while waiting for her, along with the comforting illustrations, should help children find their own bravery despite anxieties.
“Papa’s Backpack” by James Christopher Carroll
This beautifully illustrated book describes a bear cub’s desire to travel with his soldier papa bear, even though he knows he cannot. Animals march to do battle in a stylized landscape that evokes modern military conflict without being too alarming. The bear cub speculates about traveling with his papa, but ultimately gives him a doll to take instead. A visually intriguing story that explores the feelings of children who must be left behind.
“Tuesday Tucks Me In: The Loyal Bond Between a Soldier and His Service Dog” by Luis Carlos Montalván
This book doesn’t deal with deployment so much as life after coming home. Through touching photographs, Tuesday the service dog narrates his relationship with a healing army veteran. Children will fall in love with Tuesday and gain a better understanding of how service dogs can help veterans.
For more books on this subject, check out our military deployment book list.
Looking for some 4th of July fun with your little ones that doesn’t involve loud noises and fire? Try making some colorful water-works, a simple experiment that shows the interaction between oil, water and food coloring.
What you’ll need:
- Water
- Vegetable oil
- Food coloring (Any color will work, but blue and red are fun if you want to be patriotic!)
- Glass container (Large jars work great!)
- Bowl
- Fork
What you’ll do:
- Put 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil into a bowl.
- Add 3 drops of 3 different food coloring colors. (Don’t mix them, or it might look muddy!)
- Use the fork to comb through the food coloring droplets, making them into multiple smaller droplets.
- Fill your glass container with water.
- Pour the contents of the bowl into the container of water. If you pour it quickly, you get a fast firework show with lots of pizzaz! If you pour slowly, you can extend the fun.
- Watch as the oil goes to the top and the food coloring falls through the oil, into the water. This will create beautiful “fireworks” sure to amaze your kiddos!
