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
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”
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!”
This time of year, I can’t help but dream about all of my favorite summertime activities, especially camping. There’s nothing better than setting up a tent, sitting around a fire, and telling spooky (or not so spooky) stories with those you love. However, it’s not always ideal to camp outside with your little ones when it’s too hot or too rainy. The next best thing is to bring the fun inside and camp indoors!
Steps for a successful indoor camping trip:
- Set up camp
Grab the necessary supplies to build an epic indoor tent. This might include an actual tent, or you can simply use chairs and blankets. Not only is it exciting to transform your living room into a campsite, but it is a great way to encourage kids to practice their teamwork and communication skills.
No campsite is complete without a campfire, so there are several options for you. Either set up your tent in front of the fireplace, turn on one or two lamps or find a virtual fire on your preferred streaming service to supply you with the right lighting and magical crackling sound.
- Grab snacks
In the mood for s’mores? Being indoors doesn’t have to hold you back! Use your microwave, or roast marshmallows over the oven. For a healthier alternative, you can make ants on a log. Simply put peanut butter on a celery stick and top with raisins or chocolate chips. Continue reading “Indoor Camping Fun!”
Summer starts this Friday, June 21! Need something for your kiddos to do during the long, hot days of summer? Here’s a list of sunny reads, tunes and shows sure to delight all ages!
“Little Sunny Sunshine” by Susie Jaramillo
Sing, laugh and play along with this interactive, bilingual board book that’s inspired by a traditional Colombian folk song. Readers will learn the days of the week in English and Spanish, as well as activities for daytime and bedtime.
“Goldie the Sunshine Fairy” by Daisy Meadows
When Goldie the Sunshine Fairy’s magic feather disappears, Wetherbury becomes so hot and sunny that the cornfields turn into popcorn!
”Running on Sunshine” by Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano
The sun is a source of energy for living things, and energy that comes from sunshine is called solar energy. But how does solar energy work? And how can we use solar energy to stay on the cutting-edge of technology and help keep the environment healthy?
“You Are My Sunshine” by Jimmie Davis
Lovingly illustrated by Caroline Jayne Church, this book contains the lyrics to “You Are My Sunshine,” which you can read and sing with your child.
“Little Miss Sunshine Presents Fun in the Sun!” (DVD)
Little Miss Sunshine rings in the day with plenty of sunshine, her playful nature sure to brighten your kiddo’s days!
“You Are My Sunshine” by Elizabeth Mitchell (CD)
Vocalist Elizabeth Mitchell sings soothing yet playful children’s tunes in this lovely CD.
It’s never too early to introduce your child to the wonder of reading. Nursery rhymes and songs are an engaging way to help your little one develop their early literary skills like phonological awareness, the ability to hear and play with the smaller sounds in words. This skill will enable children to sound out the words in books when they begin reading on their own. Additionally, by reading with your child frequently, you are helping expand their vocabulary, letter knowledge and storytelling skills.
Board books are best for young readers because they teach children how to to handle books while withstanding the wear and tear of small hands (and teeth!). Try allowing your child to hold the book while you read the words aloud. Below are some suggested titles that compliment our Summer Reading theme, “A Universe of Stories.” We hope these titles provide plenty of inspiration for exploration and adventure.
Continue reading “Lift Off With Early Literacy Skills”
DBRL and the Stephens Lake Amphitheater Concert Series are pleased to present Jim Cosgrove & The Hiccups on Thursday, May 2 from 6-7 pm. The event, which will be held at the Stephens Lake Park Amphitheater at 100 Old Hwy 63, is for families and children of all ages.
Affectionately known as “Mr. Stinky Feet” by his fans, Cosgrove has performed over 3500 shows throughout both North America and Europe. Upbeat and interactive, Cosgrove’s shows are truly a family affair. His wife, Jeni, manages the business, while their two daughters serve as the road crew and sometimes appear with their father on stage.
An award-winning musician and performer, Cosgrove is also a motivational speaker and the author of “Everybody Gets Stinky Feet,” a collection of essays compiled from a parenting column he wrote for the Kansas City Star. Together, Jim and Jeni co-founded Jiggle Jam, once billed as the nation’s largest independent family music festival from 2007-2013.
Continue reading “Jim Cosgrove and The Hiccups Concert!”
Inspiring young readers to become future scientists is quite the feat to tackle. Science books come in all shapes and sizes, from books filled with science experiments to glossy images of the animal kingdom. However, these aren’t made with the youngest kids in mind. One of my favorite writers of science books, Chris Ferrie, writes books for babies that approach difficult subjects in bite-sized amounts.
Who is Chris Ferrie?
- A senior professor at the University of Technology Sydney and the Centre for Quantum Software and Information
- A PhD in Applied Mathematics from the Institute for Quantum Computing and University of Waterloo
- A father of four children
Ferrie knows that babies are naturally little scientists. Everything is new, everything must be studied and understood. That’s why Ferrie books are among my favorites—they take the imaginative, fun structure of the board book and bring in the expansive knowledge of the universe to make a cute, fun introduction material to the scientific world.
Continue reading “Author Feature: Chris Ferrie”
