Enter to win STEM-themed prizes by sending us a photo of you doing one of these activities! Place the photo in the body of your email (no attachments) and send it to madisonlib.org@gmail.com. We’ll hold drawings at the end of the month!
This summer, we’ll be doing video crafting focusing on STEM activities. Our Kids’ Corner and Tween Scene web pages will have links to videos with the instructions and demonstrations for each craft activity.
You can come by and pick up a Grab-n-Go craft bag with all supplies needed for the activity. These bags will be available on the first Monday of each week. We only have a limited number of these, so once they’re gone, they’re gone! We’ve included the lists of supplies for each craft in case you don’t get one of the Grab-n-Go bags. That way, you may use your own supplies and follow along with our videos.
Enter to win STEM-themed prizes by sending us a photo of you doing one of these activities! Place the photo in the body of your email (no attachments) and send it to madisonlib.org@gmail.com. We’ll hold drawings at the end of the month!
Enter to win STEM-themed prizes by sending us a photo of you doing one of these activities! Place the photo in the body of your email (no attachments) and send it to madisonlib.org@gmail.com. We’ll hold drawings at the end of the month!
In our storytime trip around the world, Cody is lost in the city!
Or is he? Can you help us find him? Make sure you fill out your passport and come along to the city. What will you find in the city? Find out in the following books and activities below.
Parent tip: when watching a read-aloud video with your children, try muting the volume and reading the story with your child.
For the last few weeks in online storytime, we visited four different biomes around the world. Today is the final location we will visit. We have included a link to print off a passport so the children can keep a record of all the places we visited.
Helping children hear the smaller sounds in words, the syllables, by clapping them out is one way to develop the phonological awareness. Children can hear syllables more easily than each individual sound in words.
Play this model and mock game with your child’s name or with a word that might be new to them or a challenge to say.
1) Super duper 1, 2, 3. Can you say this word with me?
2) Super duper 1, 2, 3. Can you clap this word with me?
3) Super duper 1, 2, 3. Can you snap this word with me?
4) Super duper 1, 2, 3. Can you tap this word with me?
5) Now let’s say it!
The big city sure is a speedy, noisy place for a country truck like Blue. With everyone pushing to be first, soon there’s a giant traffic jam! But even a wrangle-tangle is no match for Little Blue Truck, who comes to the rescue in true Blue style.
This bus is in trouble―it won’t be going through the town without a good mechanic! Can everyone work together to get the bus moving again?
Come along for the ride as a little girl and her mother hop on the subway. From spinning turnstiles and musicians performing on the platforms to people hopping off and on and lights flashing past in the tunnels, the sights and sounds of the subway have an energy all their own.
Amid the hustle and bustle of the big city, the big crowds, and bigger buildings, Little Elliot, the polka-dotted elephant, leads a quiet life. In spite of the challenges he faces, Elliot finds many wonderful things to enjoy―like his friend Mouse.
Find it in our Catalog
Driving round in my little red car
Driving round in my little red car
Driving round in my little red car
Zoom zoom zoom zoom zoom!
-https://storytimekatie.com/2014/04/24/cities/
London Bridge is falling down
Falling down, falling down
London Bridge is falling down
My fair lady
Build it up with silver and gold
Silver and gold, silver and gold
Build it up with silver and gold
My fair lady
– Traditional
One little house all alone it stood
Then another was built
There grows the neighborhood.
Two little houses…
Three little houses…
Four little houses…
Five little houses
All together they stood
On a beautiful street in a happy neighborhood.
-Jbrary.com
A hip, a hip, a hippopotamus
Got on, got on, got on a city bus
And all, and all, and all the people said,
“You’re squishing us!” (hug baby)
A sheep, a sheep, a sheep got on a city bus
and all, and all, and all the people said,
“Baaaack up!”
A cow, a cow, a cow got on a bus
And all, and all, and all the people said,
“Mooooove over!”
– Jlibrary.com
– Kiddiestv
Oh the city is great and the city is grand
There’s a whole lot of people
on a little piece of land
And we live way up on the 57th floor
and this is what we do when we go out the door.
We take the elevator up and the elevator down,
take the elevator up, take the elevator down
Take the elevator up and the elevator down
and we turn around.
– Jbrary
Print out this Times Square coloring page or color online.
Look down the tracks… the animal train is rolling by again this week, and what is that in the forest car? It’s a bear, an owl, and a skunk.
Here we are together, together, together!
Oh, here we are together in our library.
There’s (sing names)…
Here we are together in our library!
Hello everybody let’s clap our hands*,
clap our hands,
clap our hands.
Hello everybody let’s clap our hands today!
*pat our head, stretch up high, wiggle our fingers, tickle our knees, kick our feet, bounce up high!
(Sing while pointing to each finger on your child’s hand.)
Sing, talk, read, write, play!
Sing, talk, read write, play!
Sing, talk, read, write, play!
Sing, talk, read, write, play each day!
A triangular board book may seem unusual, but Peek-A-Who?, with its cleverly shaped lift-the-flaps, garnered fans from across the children’s book world.
In Baby Bear’s quest to find his mother, he discovers many other forest creatures along the way. Try singing the text of this adorable book the melody of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”
Find it in our Catalog
Animals have fathers, just like you. Fathers that play with them, care for them, and love them. All the fathers are looking after their children in this fun and playful story by Margaret Wise Brown.
Find it in our Catalog
Little Owl wants to be strong, smart, brave, fearsome and NOT cute. Luckily his wise mother comes through and lets her little one know that he is everything he wants to be, and just a little bit adorable too.
Find it in our Catalog
Young children will love lacing up their hiking boots and joining Bird, Mouse, and Rabbit as they take a walk through a North American evergreen forest to meet some truly amazing animals!
Find it in our Catalog
Zoom! Chug, chug! HONK! Babies and toddlers will delight in repeating the sounds of popular vehicles and animals in our board book series. Well-composed photographs highlight the real things little ones see in their world, providing a beautiful first nonfiction experience.
(Tune: Row, Row Your Boat)
Ride, ride, ride the train
Up and down the track.
Clickety, clickety, clickety clack
When will you be back?
Ride, ride, ride the train
Slowly down the track.
Clickety, clickety, clickety clack
When will you be back?
Ride, ride, ride the train
Quickly down the track.
Clickety, clickety, clickety clack
When will you be back?
-Traditional
If You’re Ever in the Forest
(Tune: Did You Ever See a Lassie?)
If you’re ever in the forest,
The forest, the forest,
If you’re ever in the forest,
You might see some deer—
A young one and an old one,
And some that can quickly run. (Run in place.)
If you’re ever in the forest,
You might see some deer.
If you’re ever in the forest,
The forest, the forest,
If you’re ever in the forest,
You might see some rabbits.—
They hop here, and they hop there, (Jump like rabbits.)
they hop, hop, hop everywhere.
If you’re ever in the forest,
You might see some rabbits.
…
You might hear some birds.
A tweet here, and a tweet there,
they are flying around everywhere. (Fly like bird.)
If you’re ever in the forest.
You might hear some birds.
…
You might see some squirrels.
They are high up, and over there,
they climb up the trees everywhere. (Pretend to climb up a tree.)
If you’re ever in the forest.
You might see some squirrels.
…
You’ll surely see lots of trees.
There are tall ones and short ones, (Stretch high, and then get low.)
and young ones and old ones.
If you’re ever in the forest.
You surely see lots of tree.
~ Adapted by Jolanda Garcia, KidsSoup Inc.
2 Little black bears sitting on a hill.
One named Jack, the other named Jill.
Run away Jack, run away Jill.
Come back Jack, come back Jill.
Two little black bears digging in the snow.
One name Quick, the other named Slow.
Run away Quick, Run away Slow.
Come back Quick, come back Slow.
Two little black bears feeling very proud.
One named Soft, the other named Loud.
Run away Soft, run away Loud.
Come back Soft, come back Loud.
-Jbrary.com
1. There’s an animal train coming down the track,
Hear those wheels go clickety clack.
Chorus: And the train wheels are rolling, Rolling rolling rolling,
And the train wheels are rolling, rolling right along.
2. There’s a forest car where the animals ride,
There’s an owl, deer, and a skunk inside.
3. In the forest car where the animals ride,
There’s a fox, turkey and a bear inside.
4. Now the animal train’s going down the track,
Hear those wheels go clickety clack.
– Kathy Reid-Naiman
DIY Lift the Flap Post-It book
Toddlers love lift-the-flap books. You can create your own with your toddler’s favorite board book. Place Post-It notes on strategic places in the book, perhaps over the face of an animal, and talk with your toddler about who or what is hiding under the flap. Then they can pull it off themselves and see the surprise!
Bottle Roll
Coax your crawler a little more with this fun activity. Just fill a clear bottle partially with beans or grains and roll it across the floor in front of your baby. Make sure the top is tightly secured. Then show him how to roll it back and forth himself. This “play” helps develop eye-hand coordination, fine motor skills, and gross motor skills.
– Baby Play
(tune “The Farmer in Dell)
We ask for MILK like this,
we ask for MILK like this.
(squeeze fingers together to make a fist)
When we’re thirsty and want a drink,
we ask for MILK like this.
(tune “The Farmer in Dell)
We ask for food like this,
we ask for food like this.
(Bring fingers together & up to mouth)
When we’re hungry and need a snack,
we ask for food like this.
Between the ages of 1-3, children make big leaps in vocabulary and learn about letters, shapes, colors, weather, animals, seasons. This can be strengthened through books. Choose books with many pictures your child can point to and name.
– www.kidshealth.com
Let your child choose a book. Talk about the pictures. Point to items and name them. Then ask your child to name them with you and praise your child for their response.
One afternoon, Mama is teaching her three Little Bears how to fish. But in a forest full of surprises, the cubs are too curious to stay in one place for very long! Every rock and tree offers a new, exciting discovery, drawing Little Bears further and further away from the river. Yet no matter where they wander, Little Bears are never too far from their Mama’s watchful eye.
Find it in our Catalog
This week, we had fun with our family!
We listened to books, sang songs, learned a fingerplay about the members in our family, and saw how to make a My Hand Family Tree with things you might have at home! Below you will find not only the books presented, but links to other online books that you can share with each other. For the “read along” book videos, try muting the volume and reading the text with your child.
Also, if you haven’t already done so, now would be a good time to sit down with your child/ children and fill out the 2020 Census (we have included a link.) You might talk about how important the Census is for finding ancestors in your family tree. Have a happy family week!
This is a nest for Mr. Bluebird (cup hands together)
This is a hive for Mrs. Bee (make a fist)
This is a hole for bunny rabbit (make a circle with thumb and forefinger)
And this is a house for me (place fingertips together to form a roof peak over head).
-www.notimeforflashcards.com
(Sung to the tune of The Muffin Man)
Tell me what you like to do
Like to do, like to do.
Tell me what you like to do
With your family.
(Sally*) likes to (clap her hands**)
Clap her hands, clap her hands.
Sally likes to clap her hands
With her family.
* insert child’s name
** insert chosen activity
–www.notimeforflashcards.com
Recite first verse in a high pitched voice:
These are Grandma’s glasses (Make glasses over eyes with fingers)
This is Grandma’s hat (Place hands on top of head)
And this is the way she folds her hands (Clasp hands together)
And lays them in her lap (Place hands in lap).
Recite second verse in a deep voice:
These are Grandpa’s glasses (Make bigger glasses shapes over eyes with fingers)
This is Grandpa’s hat (Place hands over head to form a large hat)
And this is the way he folds his arms (Cross arms)
And takes a little nap (Place head on arms as if sleeping).
–www.notimeforflashcards.com
Three bouncing little bear siblings, wrapped tight in their winter clothes, can’t wait to tromp through the snow for Baking Day at Grandma’s!
Find it in our Catalog
“Bark, George,” says George’s mother, and George goes: “Meow,” which definitely isn’t right, because George is a dog. What’s going on with George?
Find it in our Catalog
Splat the Cat can’t wait to be a big brother. So when his mom brings home a special little guest, Splat races from his room, only to find his mom holding . . . a crocodile?!
Zuri’s hair has a mind of its own. When mommy does Zuri’s hair, she feels like a superhero. But when mommy is away, it’s up to daddy to step in!
Find it in our Catalog
Hally, the Tosis family dog, has such bad breath that Mr. and Mrs. Tosis plan to give her away, until she proves to be an invaluable watchdog.
Find it in our Catalog
A little girl discovers the beauty in herself–and the beauty of the world around her–not by looking in the mirror but by looking in her Nana’s eyes.
In this universal story, a child tests the limits of independence and comfortingly learns that a parent’s love is unconditional and everlasting.
Find it in our Catalog
With a simple clap of hands, an itty-bitty beboppin’ baby gets his whole family singing and dancing.
There’s nothing worse than a rotten redheaded older brother who can do everything you can do better!
Nicholas wants to be as brave as his dad, but he needs help. That’s why he needs a dinosaur.
Find it in our Catalog
A grandfather and his grandson enjoy sharing knock-knock jokes, playing games, hot chocolate, watching movies, reading books, playing baseball and just spending time together.
Find it in our Catalog
The results of the 2020 Census will help determine how hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding flow into communities every year for the next decade. That funding shapes many different aspects of every community, no matter the size, no matter the location.
Over the next decade, lawmakers, business owners, and many others will use 2020 Census data to make critical decisions. The results will show where communities need new schools, new clinics, new roads, and more services for families, older adults, and children. The results will also inform how hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding are allocated to more than 100 programs, including Medicaid, Head Start, block grants for community mental health services, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP. The results of this once-a-decade count determine the number of seats each state has in the House of Representatives. They are also used to draw congressional and state legislative districts.
During the first years of life, an important set of skills known as problem solving abilities are developed. Get into the habit of asking questions during your daily story time that develop higher-order thinking skills. Instead of just reading and your child passively listening, ask questions throughout, concentrating on solving problems.
Help your child find a favorite book in your collection, or an e-book or “read along” video, and ask him questions similar to these:
TEEN ACTION COUNCIL: Monday March 2nd from 4:30 to 5:30 pm
TEEN CRAFT: Thursday, March 5th at 4:30 pm – Secret Book Boxes
YOUNG LEAGUE OF WRITERS: Monday March 9th from 4:30 to 5:30 pm–Recipe for a Mystery!
TEEN CSI PARTY: March 13th from 7:00-9:00 pm-Crime Scene Investigator Party: Who Killed the Romance Novels?
TEEN ANIME CLUB: March 16th at 4:30 pm-Anime Art: Visiting Artist, “Mina Nina”
TEEN CRAFT: Thursday, March 19th at 4:30 pm – Time for Tech!
TEEN BOOK CLUB: Monday, March 23rd from 4:30 to 5:30 – Pick -n-Share! Spies, Mafia, & Mystery.
TEEN ANIME CLUB: March 30th at 4:30 pm -Assassination Classroom
For ages 12-17.
All Supplies provided.
