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Booklist for kids: Reading for the Earth
Posted in Parents and Teachers on March 4, 2020 at 6:00 am
By Sheri Boggs Although Earth Day isn’t until April 22, the blue skies, longer days, chirping birds, and tiny green spears of germinating bulbs are enough to remind us of the everyday beauty of our planet—and the increasingly alarming need for wise stewardship of it. While it can be tricky to talk to kids about […]
Tags: booklist, books, Earth, Earth Day, environmental, recycling, waste
A post-Valentine’s Day booklist
Posted in Explore and Discover on February 26, 2020 at 6:00 am
By Rachel Underwood Another Valentine’s Day has come and gone. Like me, you’ve probably been inundated with images of fresh, happy, young couples and the candy they gleefully devour together. Maybe you were single this Valentine’s Day and had a fun night with friends; maybe your cat decided that a mid-dinner-date hairball expulsion was a […]
Tags: adults, booklist, books, love, nature, owl, reading, vampires
Kindergarten registration, plus games & activities to get ready
Posted in News, Parents and Teachers on February 25, 2020 at 6:00 am
By Mary Ellen Braks It’s hard to believe that it is already time for parents to register their children for kindergarten. March 1 is the first day to register for most school districts in Spokane County. Even though school doesn’t start until September, this early registration allows for school districts to plan ahead to have […]
Tags: caregivers, cognitive, emotional, fine motor, gross motor, kids, Kindergarten, language, literacy, mathematics, parents, physical movement, pre-kindergarten, pre-school, ready for kindergarten, registration, skills, social, social-emotional
Bright shining sounds (Part 1): A social justice playlist
Posted in Explore and Discover on February 19, 2020 at 6:00 am
By Susan Goertz I don’t remember when I first fell in love with music. Maybe while being soothed by my mother’s susurrations as she gently rocked me into the world. Or maybe it was the chickadees and blackbirds trilling from the meadow adjacent to our back yard. It could have been the first time the […]
Tags: catalog, CDs, civil rights, equality, equity, human rights, inequality, music, musicians, playlist, racial justice, social justice, songs
Playing games, practicing math!
Posted in Parents and Teachers on February 12, 2020 at 6:00 am
By Rachel Edmondson I have always been a fan of games. When my kids were younger, I could hardly wait for them to be old enough to move on from Candy Land to more interesting games—ones that I could actually enjoy too! When thinking about games, we often think about reasoning and strategy, which are […]
Tags: addition, board games, cards, counting, dice, Families, games, kids, learning, math, multiplication, parents, playing, subtraction
Glowforge 3D laser printer offers a different way to create
Posted in Explore and Discover on February 5, 2020 at 6:00 am
By Abra Cole If you’ve visited the North Spokane Library in 2019, you may have noticed the scent of burning wood. Or, maybe you noticed machine that is over 3 feet wide and 1 1/2 feet deep back in The Lab doing… something. That’s the District’s Glowforge 3D laser printer. And it is one of […]
Tags: 3D printer, adults, creating, cutting, engraving, glowforge, inkscape, laser, laser printer, scoring, teens, The Lab
Answering the question: “What does it take to be a librarian?”
Posted in Explore and Discover on January 29, 2020 at 6:00 am
By Dana Mannino As I have shared before, being a librarian is pretty awesome. So it’s no wonder that I am often asked, “What does it take to be a librarian?” Of course, I treat this as a serious reference question and immediately launch into a technical description of the degrees and experience that we […]
Tags: career, job, librarian, librarians, library life
New community topics at Civic Lab pose questions and invite discussion
Posted in News on January 28, 2020 at 6:00 am
Each month, you can find information, activities, and discussion on an issue facing our community at the Civic Lab. Take a look at thought-provoking materials and activities for teens and adults that allow us to engage in open conversation and grow together as a community. CIVIC LAB NORTH SPOKANEFeb–May 2020 February: Envisioning Our Future Durin […]
Tags: #metoo, adults, black history month, civic, civic lab, community, Discussion, opposing viewpoints in context, questions, strike, teachers, teens, women's history month
Creative spaces for you: The Lab & The Studio
Posted in News on January 17, 2020 at 6:00 am
For the past three years, The Lab at North Spokane and The Studio at Spokane Valley have been creative places for you to explore and express your creative side. The Lab is host to art programs, STEM workshops, and a large variety of hands-on activities. With the addition of the Glowforge 3D laser printer, there […]
Tags: audio, film, glowforge, lab, photography, pi day, pie, STEM, studio, video
Mindfulness picture books for your little ones (and you!)
Posted in Parents and Teachers on January 15, 2020 at 6:00 am
By Melissa Rhoades Definitions of mindfulness can sound mystifying and impossible to achieve. Take, for example, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition: “the practice of maintaining a nonjudgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one’s thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basis.” Luckily, there is a muc […]
Tags: mindfulness, picture books
