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!”
What happens when you ask a mischievous panda to help explain the rules of your book? Total, adorable mayhem! In “This Is My Book!” by Mark Pett, a gangly chap (who represents Pett himself) talks to the reader, explaining that he’s the author and illustrator of the book. He sets up some guidelines, instructing the reader that “My book needs to stay nice and clean. Look around at all these spotless white pages. Aren’t they lovely? Let’s keep them that way.” Unfortunately for him, things don’t go as planned. Not only does Spike the panda stealthily color on our protagonist’s pristine pages, he also draws some new characters who cause even more trouble. They add flaps, pull-tabs and even a pop-up to the book, nearly driving the poor author into hysterics.
This book is great fun, and I can’t wait to pull it out for a silly story time. “This is My Book!” would be ideal for preschoolers and kindergartners, and it’s perfect for kids who love interactive books like “Tap the Magic Tree” by Christie Matheson, “Count the Monkeys” by Mac Barnett and “Press Here” by Hervé Tullet.
Young children often struggle to be understood, especially in stressful situations. When this happens, frustration can quickly escalate to a full-blown tantrum.
As adults, we recognize the fact that developing the skill sets necessary to avoid going from zero to meltdown takes time and a lot of practice. One way today’s parents, guardians and educators are helping children cope with stress is by teaching children to meditate. However, equally important is the practice of mindfulness.
Psychology Today describes mindfulness as “a state of active, open attention on the present. … Instead of letting your life pass you by, mindfulness means living in the moment and awakening to experience.” Continue reading “Meditation and Mindfulness for Children”
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Did you know that Canada, Mexico, France, Australia and the United Kingdom also celebrate Valentine’s Day? According to the History Channel, the United Kingdom is where the oldest known valentine still exists. It was a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife.
It wasn’t until later that greeting cards became popular. In America during the 1840s, the “mother of the valentine,” Esther A. Howland, began selling the first mass-produced valentines. Now over one billion cards are sent each year for Valentine’s Day!
I love being able to tell friends and family they are special to me, and nothing makes me happier than giving cards that perfectly express how I feel. However, there are more ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day than just sending cards. You can also celebrate by reading books about love and kindness. Continue reading “Will You Be Mine, Valentine?”
On Friday, January 20 we hosted our grossest program EVER at the Columbia Public Library. I’m not sure if there is a scale to measure such things, but believe me, it was nasty! We had everything from boogers to roaches.
Just because we love the sickening and adore the nauseating doesn’t mean we don’t have a refined palate. We had our special guests, the world-famous hissing cockroach duo Leonardo da Stinki and Georgia Roach’Keefe, on hand to make one-of-a-kind art.
But don’t feel bad if you missed it–you can still do some of our stomach-churning experiments at home! Check out “Repulsive Recipes to Try at Home” for some of our favorite gross activities.
The children across Missouri have spoken, and the winner of the 2016 Missouri Building Block Award goes to “Bunnies!!!” written and illustrated by Kevan Atteberry.
Over 18,000 preschoolers and kindergartners participated, choosing “Bunnies!!!” as their favorite. It’s been a heated battle to the end. In fact, we believe this may have been one of the tightest races in Missouri Building Block Award history! At the final hour, “Bunnies!!!” snuck past “Little Penguin Gets the Hiccups” by Tadgh Bentley and “Rex Wrecks It!” by Ben Clanton. Continue reading “Winner of the 2016 Missouri Building Block Award – Bunnies!!!”
The holidays are over, and your children are back at school. Everything should be perfect…until a snowstorm hits, and you are blanketed in the fluffy white stuff. Snow days are great (I love making snow men, having snowball fights and drinking hot chocolate!), but after days of being cooped up, the fun can wear off. As the weather outside turns for the worse, so can your moods. Here are some surefire ways for you and your children to beat cabin fever this winter.
Read stories together.
One thing you can do on a cold day is stay in with your children and read stories. The story “38 Ways to Entertain Your Grandparents” is a fun family read and shows many other activities you can do together.
Continue reading “Beat Cabin Fever!”
