TAG: family
Let’s dance, let’s play: The genius of Jim Gill
Posted in News, Parents and Teachers on August 2, 2018 at 6:00 am
By Erin Dodge If you’re a parent or caregiver of a young child, then you may already know the joyful, playful music and stories of Jim Gill. If you haven’t yet heard his music or attended an interactive performance, then you are in for a treat! Get ready to jump, dance, sing, clap, and even […]
Tags: babies, caregivers, childcare, clap, dance, early learning, family, jump, kids, learning, music, music play, parents, play, playing, preschoolers, q&a, sing, STARS Training, toddlers, young learners
The art of saving seeds
Posted in Explore and Discover on July 31, 2018 at 6:00 am
by Abra Cole In a remote vault located halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole, nearly one million seed varieties are stored. The purpose of this immense storage facility is to ensure the genetic future of these seed varieties, should any of the gene banks located around the world suffer catastrophic disaster. One hundred […]
Tags: adults, books, DIY, family, food, garden, gardening, health, hobbies, kale, kale seeds, library hacks, onion seeds, onions, parents, saving seeds, seed library, seed saving, seeds, sunflower seeds, sunflowers, teens, tweens, urban farming
Road trip! The quintessential American vacation
Posted in Explore and Discover on July 3, 2018 at 6:00 am
by Melissa Rhoades Have you heard of Horatio Nelson Jackson? This under-celebrated trailblazer was the first person to drive an automobile across the U.S. In 1903, ten years before Ford Motor Company began mass producing cars, Jackson left San Francisco in a two-cylinder Winton with a mechanic as his travel companion and a $50 bet […]
Tags: adults, advice, automobiles, booklists, books, family, hoopla, National Parks, nonfiction, parks and recreation, reading, road trip, road trip games, road trip tips, themed vacations, travel, travel guides, vacation
Preschoolers get ready for school with STEM kits from the library
Posted in News, Parents and Teachers on June 20, 2018 at 6:00 am
By Mary Ellen Braks Keep your preschoolers busy this summer with hands-on activities that encourage playful learning while exploring STEM concepts and reading. Preschoolers will find lots to discover with their parents and caregivers, using our new Ready for School with STEM kits. Spokane County Library District in partnership with the Inland North […]
Tags: animals, blocks, boxes, bugs, counting, designing, dinosaurs, dirt, education, family, gears, kids, learn, LEGO bricks, magnets, magnifying glasses, measuring cups, nature, numbers, parenting, parents, patterns, planning, play, preschooler, problem solving, pulleys, ready for kindergarten, Ready for School, rulers, scales, science, shapes, sorting, STEM, STEM kits, teachers, water, weather, weights, wheels, young learners
The dog days of summer
Posted in kids, Parents and Teachers on June 19, 2018 at 6:00 am
By Sheri Boggs The hot, sticky afternoons of late July through August are typically called “the dog days of summer.” It’s that time when the only thing that sounds good for dinner is gazpacho, and even grownups without kids consider a visit to the neighborhood swimming pool. To the ancient Greeks and Egyptians, the dog […]
Tags: booklists, books, companion, dog, dogs, early readers, family, fiction, kids, nonfiction, parents, pets, picture books, puppies, puppy, reading, teachers, young learners
Children’s booklist for Pride Month
Posted in Explore and Discover, kids, Parents and Teachers on May 29, 2018 at 6:00 am
by Caitlin Wheeler June is LGBT Pride Month in the U.S. Originally a week-long festivity, it honors the 1969 Stonewall Riots that culminated in a 51-block parade march from the Stonewall Inn to Central Park in Manhattan, New York. As it has evolved and taken many forms, Pride Month continues to commemorate the men and […]
Tags: bisexual, booklists, books, family, fiction, gay, gender, kids, lesbian, LGBT Pride Month, LGBTQ, parents, Pride Month, queer, reading, transgender, young learners
What’s cooking in the mud kitchen?
Posted in Explore and Discover, kids, Parents and Teachers on May 22, 2018 at 6:00 am
By Abra Cole In the last month, my garden has gone from looking like the dark side of the moon after the zombie apocalypse to a lush green jungle of happiness. Many plants I forgot I had planted last fall have popped up to greet the sun. I already know that I want to plant […]
Tags: books, butterflies, butterfly, butterfly garden, early learning, fairies, fairy, fairy garden, family, gardening, grandparents, hobbies, kids, mud, mud kitchen, outdoor play, outdoors, parents, play, science, teens, young learners
Screen time for small kids: education or entertainment?
Posted in kids, Parents and Teachers on May 8, 2018 at 6:00 am
by Rachel Edmondson I want to start this post with a promise and a disclaimer. First, I promise I am not going to tell you to never ever let your kids watch TV, play a video game, or use a tablet. Second, I’m also not going to give you concrete answers on how you should […]
Tags: 3 Cs of media use, babies, baby, Child, Content, Context, early learning, education, educational, entertainment, family, kids, media, media use, parenting, parents, preschooler, preschoolers, screen time, tablet, toddler, toddlers, tv, video game, young learners
Anticipation and inspiration: Getting ready for spring gardening
Posted in Explore and Discover on February 27, 2018 at 6:00 am
by Abra Cole It’s nearly Go Time, my gardening friends! We’ve almost made it through the winter, through the snow and the ice, through the below-freezing temperatures. We have watched last summer’s plants freeze and die back, disappear under a blanket of snow, and get stomped on (along with other indecencies) by neighborhood cats. We […]
Tags: adults, composting, composting with worms, DIY, events, family, food, garden, gardening, health, hobbies, kids, Master Gardeners, plant sales, plant starter, plant starter exchange, plant starts, pruning, seed libraries, seeds, teens, tweens, urban farming, weeding, worms, youth
Beat cabin fever with these creative and (mostly) free activities
Posted in kids, Parents and Teachers on February 20, 2018 at 6:00 am
By Rachel Edmondson If your family is like mine, then February is peak cabin fever season. While we still bundle up and go outside occasionally, we don’t last long when the weather is so chilly. This leaves a lot of time spent inside trying to keep ourselves entertained. While we love reading books, watching movies, […]
Tags: activities, baking, blanket fort, cabin fever, cookbooks, cooking, crafts, dance, decorate eggs, family, flashlight tag, food, hobbies, hoopla, indoor, indoor fort, kids, library, movies, music, parents, recycling, STEM, tag, teens, tweens, upcycling, young learners
