Posted on Thursday, November 12, 2020 by Kristy
For the next five weeks (skipping Thanksgiving), we will be reviewing all ten Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award nominees for 2020! These award nominees encourage reading aloud to children and are selected annually by a group of children’s librarians from Missouri. The books nominated for this award make for exciting and engaging story times for any group of kids. Continue reading “Awesome Read-Alouds: Piranhas Don’t Eat Bananas & Octopants”
Posted on Monday, November 9, 2020 by Aimee
Little felt birds are fun to sew and decorate. For this project, you’ll learn how to sew a simple bird out of plain and patterned felt. Birds can be decorated with buttons, beads, feathers and simple embroidery stitches. Add a ribbon to make a hanging or wire it to a grapevine wreath for a fun winter decoration. I recommend this for kids (and kids at heart) ages 7 and up. Younger children may need help from a grownup.
You will need:
Posted on Thursday, November 5, 2020 by Adam
November is National Novel Writing Month, during which people are challenged to write 50,000 words of a novel in 30 days. NaNoWriMo (as it’s abbreviated) is mostly done by adults, but kids can also take the challenge by writing their own stories. (They don’t have to be 50,000 words — just a few pages is enough to tell a great story). But what kind of story do you want to tell? Something personal, fantastic, mysterious, romantic, funny, scary or all of the above? And what’s the best way to tell your story? In prose or poetry? With illustrations? Maybe as a graphic novel? And how do you even know where to start? The books below will hopefully provide some helpful and inspiring tips for writing unique and captivating stories.
Every story is made of words, and Jerome, from “The Word Collector,”by Peter H. Reynolds, and Rocket, the dog in Tad Hills‘ “Rocket Writes A Story,” love to collect them. Jerome uses the words he collects to write poems and songs to share with his friends, and Rocket, who loves to read books, uses his to write a story about an owl he sees in a tree, who soon becomes his friend. Continue reading “NaNoWriMo for Kids: Telling Your Own Story”
Posted on Monday, November 2, 2020 by Jessica S
Here’s my current list of pandemic problems:
Books seem to be the only thing keeping me together. That, and also that my adult responsibilities never seem to go away. To help you and your kids cope at home, here are some of my favorite picture books that have great lessons to be learned in the pandemic.
Need to talk about personal space, taking breaks and too much time together?
Goat may have some guidance for you!
Goat is done with the zoo. There are too many children with too many hands in a small space. He decides to leave forever. When he gets lonely, however, he realizes he just needed some space and to take a break. Doesn’t goat sound like parents and zoo sound like home? I know I’m sick of the people I live with, but I still love them. Continue reading “Picture Book Lessons From the Pandemic”
Posted on Tuesday, October 27, 2020 by Amy
Jumpstart’s “Read for the Record” brings together millions of adults and children around the world each year to read the same book on the same day in order to raise awareness of the critical importance of early literacy and access to high-quality books. This year’s “Read for the Record” will take place on October 29, 2020.
The book that everyone gets to read together is “Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away” written by Meg Medina and illustrated by
Evelyn Del Rey is Daniela’s best friend. They do everything together and even live in twin apartments across the street from each other: Daniela with her mami and hamster, and Evelyn with her mami, papi and cat. But not after today—not after Evelyn moves away. Until then, the girls play amid the moving boxes until it’s time to say goodbye, making promises to keep in touch, because they know that their friendship will always be special. The tenderness of Meg Medina’s beautifully written story about friendship and change is balanced by Sonia Sánchez’s colorful and vibrant depictions of the girls’ urban neighborhood.
Can’t get a copy of the library book? No problem! Jumpstart has provided English and Spanish versions of the eBook free online here!
Click here to view and print the family activity guide to extend your learning.
Posted on Monday, October 26, 2020 by Kristy
While we are doing lots of virtual story times, which are pretty awesome, I do miss in person story times! One of my favorite things to do during story time is to sing “Zoom Zoom Zoom” with our babies and toddlers. They absolutely love it! Usually we blast off to the moon in our rocket ships after this rhyme, but my awesome coworker has created new lyrics for our patrons who celebrate spooky season.
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom—Boo!
Zoom, zoom, zoom,
Climb onto my broom.
Zoom, zoom, zoom,
Climb onto my broom.
If you want to ride around,
to spook the people in the town.
Zoom, zoom, zoom,
Climb onto my broom.
In 5, 4, 3, 2, 1,
BOO!
~By Erin (and inspired by Jbrary!)
Want to read some not-so-spooky books with your kids? Try out these eBooks on Hoopla! Continue reading “Not-So-Spooky Songs and Stories”
Posted on Thursday, October 22, 2020 by Megan
Since it’s that spooky time of year, I’ve decided to show you how to make some kawaii (cute!) monsters. I think I could doodle monsters all day long, but I’ve just included some of my favorites.
All you need to get started is a pen and some paper. I did my doodles in black and white, but feel free to color your little critters.
Start with the cute little face, and then add a half circle shape on top. Add two little arms and a scalloped bottom like a cloud, and he’s ready to take flight.
Posted on Monday, October 19, 2020 by Tess
October is my favorite time of year to go out and search for spiders! After feeding on pesky bugs all summer long, spiders are at their biggest and easiest to spot in late fall before the season changes. Spiders are arachnids and are found in virtually every type of environment. You can find them in and around your house in rarely disturbed places, in trees, in fields and some even burrow in the ground! Missouri is home to more than 300 types of spiders, so you’re sure to find a variety.
When going on a spider hunt, it’s best to go in the early morning or the late evening. As the sun is nearing the horizon, the rays slant at just the right angle to see the twinkling of a spider’s delicate silk web.
Posted on Thursday, October 15, 2020 by Molly
Educating your children at home during the pandemic? Or, maybe you have been homeschooling for a while. Either way, it’s no secret that kids get bored, especially when it comes to learning and understanding math concepts. At the same time, many children experience math anxiety. Feeling incapable of doing or understanding math can undermine confidence, which can lead to the assumption that failure is inevitable, so why try?
Yet, a solid mathematics foundation is essential, for we use math every day: from managing money to preparing meals, from playing sports to playing music, and so on. According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children, “Math is part of children’s everyday lives. Taking advantage of each of these math moments develops math learning. When parents and teachers get excited about math, then children get excited about math.”
Here are some creative ways to keeping math fresh and fun! Continue reading “Get Creative With Math”
Posted on Monday, October 12, 2020 by Brianna
There are some great books coming out this fall! Let’s not waste any time on small talk—we’ll go straight to the good stuff.
“I Am Darn Tough” written by Licia Morelli and illustrated by Maine Diaz
This gorgeous book is about a girl running in a cross-country race. The watercolor illustrations and poetic first-person narration place the reader alongside the protagonist. The girl persists through weariness, self-doubt and a painful skinned knee, to cross the finish line with a realization that, “I am darn tough.” I spent about five years in martial arts as a kid, so this book really calls to me. It’s wonderful to see determination, discipline and perseverance celebrated like this. Continue reading “Brianna’s Books: October Favorites 2020”
