TAG: kids
Banning books silences stories: Reading a banned book celebrates your intellectual freedom
Posted in Explore and Discover, Parents and Teachers on September 18, 2018 at 6:00 am
by Melissa Rhoades Banned Books Week is September 23–29 this year. Did you know that at least 23 of the 100 books on PBS’s 2018 Great American Read book list have been banned or threatened with a ban in the United States? That means almost one-fourth of America’s “most loved” novels (as determined by popular […]
Tags: adults, ALA, American Library Association, banned books, Banned Books Week, book challenge, books, censor, censorship, fiction, intellectual freedom, kids, nonfiction, parents, reading, teachers, teens, tweens, YA
Five early reader books for fall school jitters
Posted in kids, Parents and Teachers on August 28, 2018 at 6:00 am
By Sheri Boggs Most of us are not strangers to the first-day-of-school jitters—that delightful mix of excitement and mild apprehension as one contemplates what the new school year might bring. Such a feeling has as much to do with our need to connect and to be accepted as it does with our need to discover […]
Tags: back to school, book list, books, early literacy, early readers, getting along, kids, literacy, multicultural, parents, reading, young learners
Exploration: Kids tackle STEM at the library
Posted in News on August 23, 2018 at 6:00 am
Demystify technology. Create slime. Build your own video game using Bloxels. Check out these kids’ STEM programs at our libraries. Take It Apart Curious about how things work? Now you can take them apart and demystify technology! Using basic tools, gloves, and safety goggles, we’ll take apart electronics, small appliances, and other devices don […]
Tags: Bloxels, chemistry, digital, events, games, hobbies, kids, parents, science, STEM, technology, teens, tweens, video games, young learners
How to Identify a Dragon
Posted in Explore and Discover, kids, Parents and Teachers, Teens on August 21, 2018 at 6:00 am
by Caitlin Wheeler When I was young, I loved C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia. I especially loved The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, a book that, in my eight-year-old estimation, had everything a book ought to: quests, nightmares, magic spells, enchanted islands, warrior mermaids, anthropomorphized stars, and of course, dragons. Eustace Claren […]
Tags: adults, authors, booklists, books, dragon, dragons, fairy tale, fairy tales, fantastical, fantasy genre, kids, reading, speculative fiction, teens, tweens, YA
Check out Spokane Symphony Passes from the library, plus sage advice for first-timers
Posted in Explore and Discover, News on August 14, 2018 at 6:00 am
by Gwendolyn Haley My grandparents both played the bass (the largest and lowest pitched bowed string instrument, not to be confused with the bass guitar) in the symphony. I remember going to see at least one of their performances as a child. It was a pretty special event—we got all dressed up and traveled downtown […]
Tags: adults, Beethoven, Brahms, classical music, Classics series, Dvorak, Eckart Preu, events, family, kids, Mozart, music, parents, Sibelius, Spokane Symphony, symphony, symphony passes
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
Microadventure: Day trip to Stonerose for fossils
Posted in Explore and Discover, kids, Parents and Teachers on July 24, 2018 at 6:00 am
By Rachel Edmondson Even though I’ve lived in the Spokane area for over 15 years now, every once in a while I find out about something and wonder how I’ve never heard about it before. This past fall I learned about the Stonerose Interpretive Center. While it’s a bit of a drive from Spokane (about […]
Tags: adults, archeology, day trip, digging, fossils, kids, life sciences, microadventure, microadventures, parents, science, shale, STEM, Stonerose, teens, tweens
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
Kids tackle exciting challenges to stay active this summer
Posted in News on June 7, 2018 at 6:00 am
Play Unplugged in Spokane Valley With Play Unplugged, kids have 42 ways to stay active throughout the summer, without constantly saying, “I’m bored.” So this summer, get up and moving, and plan fun, exciting challenges to earn Brag Badges! Each badge has points called “brags.” Parents can create rewards that their kids […]
Tags: active, books, community, crafts, health, hobbies, kids, parents, Play Unplugged, reading, summer activities, tens, tweens, young learners
