One of the best ways for children to learn is though play and exploration, using as many senses as possible. When children are able to manipulate items and see the results of their actions, their understanding is greater, and their ability to fully grasp a concept is better.
Play is a wonderful way to introduce abstract concepts such as light and shadows. Below is a drawing activity that allows children to explore how shadows are created. All you will need are markers, paper and a few favorite toys. This activity fun to do outside but can be done inside using a light source such as a lamp.
- Find a flat place to lay out some paper.
- Place toys at the edge of the paper, with their shadow falling onto the paper.
- Trace the shadows with markers.
- After you have finished tracing the shadows, pick up the paper and look at the shapes you’ve created. If you would like, you can stop here, color in your shapes and talk about light and shadows. A more advanced option is to label the shadows with the time, and repeat these steps later. You can then observe how the shadows have changed as the sun moved. (If you are doing this activity inside, shift the lamp a tiny bit.)
Continue reading “Shadow Drawing”
With technology constantly evolving, the juggling act of keeping up with the changes and helping your child navigate though them can be a challenge. To help you with this, the library has a whole page dedicated to internet safety. Each of these websites provide tips and resources to help manage your child’s online activity.
For younger kids, “Chicken Clicking” by Jeanne Willis is a great book to introduce the topic of internet safety. Considered the “Little Red Riding Hood for the iPad generation,” “Chicken Clicking” is about a chick that finds her way onto the farmer’s computer and discovers that the online world isn’t as safe as she thought it was. Read the book together, and then discuss with your child how handle an interaction if a stranger tries to communicate with them online.
Want to check out more items about internet safety? Click here for a list of books and DVDs that gives helpful tips and information!
Are you bored with turning pages? Are you tired of your arms falling asleep while you try to read a heavy tome? Then you should try listening to audiobooks!
Personally, I love audiobooks and prefer being read to than reading a book. Not only are they a great way to while away the hours, they are good for you too! Studies show that audiobooks increase reading accuracy by 52% and improve reading comprehension by 76%. Want to learn more about the benefits of listening to audiobooks? check out this infographic from the Audio Publishers Association.
Here are some activities for your family to do as you listen to audiobooks.
- Play “I Spy” using words from your book!
- Act out parts from the book or imitate your favorite characters and see if your family and friends can guess them!
- Ask questions and discuss as you go to enhance the reading experience. It’s a great way to make sure everyone is listening.
Continue reading “Audiobooks We Love: National Library Week Edition”
“The Little Prince,” is children’s chapter book full appeal for children and adults alike, and it also happens to be my favorite book of all time! It was originally written in French in 1943 by WWII pilot Antione de Saint-Exupéry. It’s revered as a classic and is the most translated French work, now in more than 250 languages and dialects.
The story revolves around a pilot who crash-lands in the middle of the desert only to mysteriously meet a strange little boy, a little prince. The boy tells the pilot about his journey getting to the desert; he explains why he left his home on a tiny asteroid, the planets he’s visited, the people he’s met along the way and the lessons he’s learned.
The little prince and the many other characters that inhabit the world are bursting with charm. There’s a king who thinks he rules the universe but has no subjects, a man who believes he is the richest and most handsome man on his planet and many other quirky characters.
Continue reading “Books We Love: The Little Prince”
Well, I did it! I started eating healthy–no more junk food for me. Changing my diet has been the hardest thing I have done in a long time. (I love my carbs!) As difficult as it is, I know it’s even more difficult to encourage your entire family to eat healthy. Especially if your kids are picky eaters.
Now that spring has arrived and fresh foods are becoming more available at the grocery stores and farmers markets, I thought I would sneak you some ideas for healthy snacks that are silly, simple and fun. I hope these quirky cuisines inspire your little ones to try some new healthy foods.
Caterpillar Kabobs
These cute little guys only require three ingredients: grapes, skewers and cute candy eyes (you can use frosting eyes if you choose). Continue reading “Food, Glorious Food!!!”
Spring is officially here! It’s time to put your winter mittens in storage and replace them with your gardening gloves. As you start stretching your green thumb after the winter season, take some time for you and your child to learn more about plants and gardening. Check out some library books on the subject, plant something together and sing the rhyme below.
Watch It Bloom
Here is a green leaf (hold out one palm)
And here is a green leaf (hold out other palm)
That, you see, makes two (hold up two fingers)
Here is a bud (cup hand together)
That makes it a flower (slowly open hands)
Watch it bloom for you (slowly open hands)
~Perry Public Library
Friends are such a gift! The best ones not only allow us to be ourselves but also lift us up when we are down. To quote former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, “Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends leave footprints in your heart.”
Learning to make friends is an important part of early childhood. Take it from Piglet in “Winnie the Pooh,” “It’s so much more friendly with two.” But for many children, stepping out of their comfort zones, interacting with others and forming these important relationships can be challenging.
Parents and guardians can help pave the way by providing ample social opportunities, such as play dates, which allow children to make friends at their own pace. Equally important is reading with your child about making and keeping friends. Here are just a few of the many friendship books we offer at DBRL to help you get started:
All DBRL libraries will be closed to the public on Friday, March 10 so that staff may have a day of training. However, this doesn’t mean your fun has to stop. Celebrate the day with a bit of history!
Did you know on March 10, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell made the first telephone call? He called Tomas Watson, his assistant. Mr. Alexander said “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you.” To find out more about this monumental moment, check out americaslibrary.gov.
Want to create your own telephone? You know, the ones with cups and string? If you have never tried them, they are pretty cool and really do transfer sound. All you need is two paper cups and a long piece of string. Simply poke a hole in the bottom on each cup. (You can use cans too, but it makes poking the holes more of a challenge.) Feed the string through, and then tie a knot on each end of the string. Make sure the knots are inside the cups. Now you’re done!
One person talks into their cup while the other listens. The key is to keep the string tight between the two cups, and don’t let it touch anything (like chairs or walls). The sound of your voice will cause vibrations in the cup, witch will transfer to the string and travel to the other cup. Once the vibrations hit the second cup, they will be converted back into sound waves for the listener.
Photo credit: Jeff_Werner Tin Can Phone – Knot via photopin (license)
We’re excited to announce that we’ve added a wonderful new digital resource that is just for kids–Sesame Street eBooks!
Sesame Street eBooks allows access to over 150 eBooks based on Sesame Street’s early childhood curriculum. Sesame Street eBooks are available in 4 formats: read along, audio, animated and interactive.
Check out Sesame Street eBooks to see and explore all of the great options!
Note to parents: The link above takes you to the “Kids mode” of Sesame Street eBooks. For more navigation options within this resource, click on the blue button in the upper right hand of the screen labeled “Switch to Parents mode” for more choices.
Happy Reading!
The Daniel Boone Regional Library has a wealth of resources available to the public. We have countless books, audiobooks, CDs and DVDs for patrons to check out and take home. We also have some wonderful Play as Learning and Little Red Reading Bags that offer puppets, toys, books, DVDs and CDs for children birth through age 5.
One of our lesser-known resources for children are our Learning Props Game Kits. These kits are small, portable bags that double as a game board. Each kit comes with 1 board/bag, 4 game playing pieces, 1 die and a book about the theme. Each bag has a different color and a different theme.
Here’s a full list of our Learning Props Game Kits, including the bag color and description. Continue reading “Get Your Game On!”
