Throughout my childhood, my father and I traveled to the local library with a wagon. He insisted that I fill the wagon as high as we could with books. We went on hundreds of journeys with some of the most special characters in children’s literature.
The adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh and friends in The Hundred Acre Wood was and continues to offer exciting adventures.… more
“Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.”
(Ryunosuke Satoro)
Tis the season to be…
It is hard to sometimes understand how difficult the holiday season will be this year. Although this is difficult, technology has made it possible for us all to connect and participate in holiday fun. For my article this month, I’ve listed activities that you can provide for families to do together during the holiday breaks.… more
I live and work in a train community and often use trains as an analogy when I talk about storytime. Like a train, storytime offers an audience a chance to hop on board to experience a new world with characters. The characters of a story can help us understand some of the experiences the children listening to the story might be going through.… more
I am excited to start year two of Bookology! I contemplated doing themes around COVID-19 and then I thought why not write about the importance of being a purple person? Some of you might be asking yourself the following questions: Does this relate to science? Do you become purple by eating eggplants or beets? Do you paint yourself purple?… more
In early fall of 2019, I completed a grant application through our local early childhood board. I proposed a new early literacy program called Little Engines. Each month, we will have an early childhood professional provide a storytime program with activities. These include literacy, nutrition, childcare, school readiness, music/recreation, creativity/arts, and STEAM. The library provides families a tote bag that includes various activities and a book to enjoy at home together.… more
Although COVID-19 has been difficult, libraries continue their core mission to provide access to resources and services by improving and increasing their digital services. Storytime is a key service the public library provides to support early literacy, family engagement, and helping children find the joy of reading. Face-to-face interaction helps to improve the connection with families — however, librarians have had to transition storytime programming to a virtual platform.… more
As we move into the spring season, the lesson of hope from The Very Hungry Caterpillar,a book that employs paper collage for its illustrations, inspired these activities.
“Investing in early childhood nutrition is a surefire strategy. The returns are incredibly high.”
—Anne Mulcahy
I am the head of children’s services at Ericson Public Library in Boone, Iowa. According to Iowa Department of Education, Boone has 1,901 students and 877 of those students are in a free or reduced lunch program (Kids Count, 2017).… more
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
—Mahatma Gandhi
I went into the weekend prepared to take it easy from a long and busy week. I quickly shifted my focus to the horror happening in Australia. I was watching a video that showed a small fraction of the animals and humans faced with this disaster.… more
The New Year is upon on us and libraries are busy with holiday programs celebrating all things winter, providing make-and-take programs that inspire creativity, and having a warm place to read.
Wordless picture books are great for many reasons. They emphasize the importance of art, build on important literacy skills, help children become storytellers, and they are a reliable source for imagination.
“Exploration is really the Essence of the Human Spirit.”
—Frank Borman
’Tis the season for fall themes such as pumpkins, leaves, and turkeys. As I was planning programs for October and November, I decided it was time to go rogue and think of new themes. I started searching terms such as “funny fall celebrations” and “unusual holidays.”… more
For the past four years, my library has provided our community with a summer reading carnival to kickstart our summer reading program. For the first two years, we had a few bounce houses and cotton candy and 400 patrons attended. To plan our past carnival, I brainstormed ideas on how to continue by providing a carnival with more than bounces houses and cotton candy.… more
“We could never have loved the earth so well if we had no childhood in it.” —George Eliot
In the state of Iowa, where I live, the change from winter to spring is like an on and off switch. Yet, at the end of another vortex, Spring has finally come to Iowa. Spring is a perfect time to schedule your storytime programs outdoors.… more
