Posted in kids, News, Parents and Teachers on May 28, 2019 at 6:00 am
By Gwendolyn Haley I’ve observed an interesting phenomenon around my house lately while reading Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin, aloud with my youngest daughter. The rest of the family, two teenaged daughters and one middle-aged husband have gravitated to the living room to listen. The story of Minli’s epic journey to […]
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Tags: aloud, author, author visit, Beanstack, booklist, books, celebration, Grace Lin, grandparents, kids, online reading tracker, parents, preschool, reading, reading certificate, Summer reading, summer slide, teachers, together, tweens
Posted in Explore and Discover, kids, Parents and Teachers on January 24, 2019 at 10:00 am
By Gwendolyn Haley The library is a great place to visit in the winter! No really, it’s true! Every week, we have Play & Learn Storytimes for families with children ages 0–5. For older kids, we have regularly scheduled LEGO Clubs, STEM programs, and other activities. And even when we don’t have a formal program […]
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Tags: activities, blocks, building blocks, creativity, imagination, Imagination Playground, indoor play, kids, learning, LEGO, library, parents, play, play games, puzzles, scavenger hunt, STEM, storytime
Posted in kids, News, Parents and Teachers on April 12, 2018 at 6:00 am
By Gwendolyn Haley For Christmas, my youngest daughter received a doll that looked like her. This seems like a small thing, but I watched her study the doll’s face very closely and then beam up at the gathered family to announce, “Her eyes look like mine!” Our older daughters are blond and blue-eyed, like their […]
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Tags: books, Children's Day, cultures, Dia, diverse books, diverse languages, early literacy, El día de los libros, El día de los niños, family, kids, languages, Library Day, literacy, parents, reading, teachers, young learners
Posted in kids, Parents and Teachers on October 31, 2017 at 6:00 am
by Gwendolyn Haley I hear my grandfather’s voice when I read The Tale of Peter Rabbit. He did not read to me regularly. We lived very far away from him and only saw those grandparents once or twice a year. But when he read that story to me, it was magical. I have read the […]
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Tags: authors, Beverly Cleary, books, Charlotte's Web, children's books, E. B. White, family, kids, Ludwig Bemelmans, parents, Peter Rabit, Ramona, reading, reading together, young learners
Posted in Explore and Discover on August 8, 2017 at 6:00 am
by Gwendolyn Haley My eyes are bigger than my freezer and pantry. Every year, I plant a little garden, only to be overwhelmed when everything starts to ripen at once. My family starts to groan and say, “No more… beans, tomatoes, squash” and so on. Each spring, I underestimate just how much produce will come […]
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Tags: backyard bounty, bounty, community, food, fruit, garden, gardening, produce, produce swap, vegetables, veggies
Posted in Explore and Discover on March 21, 2017 at 6:00 am
By Gwendolyn Haley It was like a scene from a horror movie. I was alone in the house when a loud banging and clanging started from the depths of the basement—as if something were trying to break free. I walked down the stairs to investigate. As I looked into the laundry room, all I could […]
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Tags: appliances, buying, buying guide, consumer reports, digital library, DIY, parents, price comparison, research, reviews, technology, teens
Posted in Explore and Discover, kids, Parents and Teachers on January 3, 2017 at 6:00 am
By Gwendolyn Haley Do you have a kid who is a reluctant reader? When kids complain that reading is boring, they are probably just reading the wrong book. . . for them. Reluctant readers often will try books about things that they already love. If you have a Minecrafter in your house, you may have checked […]
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Tags: booklists, books, events, fiction, gaming, hobbies, kids, medieval, minecraft, nonfiction, overworld, parenting, parents, reading, reluctant readers, STEM, technology, teens, tweens, zombies
Posted in Explore and Discover, For You, News on December 14, 2016 at 9:30 am
By Gwendolyn Haley UPDATED FROM PREVIOUS POST 3D printing pops up in my newsfeed with increased regularity. Maybe you’ve seen some of the coverage too? Museums are using 3D printing to create replicas of priceless ancient artifacts for study and to allow people with visual impairments to experience masterpieces firsthand. Individuals and other o […]
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Tags: 3D, 3D printer, 3D printing, hobbies, services, technology
Posted in Parents and Teachers on November 1, 2016 at 6:00 am
By Gwendolyn Haley STEM is a hot topic right now. STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields are the fastest growing sector of the economy, and businesses in Washington state are among the leading employers in these fields. As a parent, I want to make sure that my daughters are aware of all the opportunities […]
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Tags: early learning, engineering, kids, Kindergarten, math, parents, Pre-K, preschool, science, STEM, STEM kits, technology, young learners
Posted in Explore and Discover, kids, Teens on September 1, 2016 at 6:00 am
By Gwendolyn Haley Both my husband and I grew up living hours away from our grandparents, and consequently only saw them once or twice a year at most. When we started our family, we lived five hours away from our own parents, so our children were also on track to only see their grandparents a […]
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Tags: books, community, crafts, family history, generational, generations, grandchildren, grandkids, grandparenting, grandparents, Grandparents Day, hobbies, home, Lego club, Legos, reading, stories, storytime
