Posts Tagged ‘family’
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Happy International Literacy Day!
Although, here at the library, every day is a Literacy Day!
This Wednesday at 6pm will be our Families Reading Together event! We will have a special reading of I Love Our Earth by Bill Martin Jr. and a composting program for kids!
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In celebration of the Earth and Literacy, here are a few selections from the book, Earth Songs by Myra Cohn Livingston
Little O, small earth, spinning in space,
face covered with dizzy clouds, racing,
chasing sunlight through the Milky Way,
say your secr3ets, small earth, little O,
know where you lead, I follow. I go.
Patched together
With land and sea,
I am earth,
Great earth.
Come with me!
Tundra covers me; swamps sodden, dank,
Banked with moss, a soft, spongy morass.
Grassy bogs blanket my soaked crust here.
sere, barren plains slush through marshed found
mounded with sedge on wet, withered ground.
Ready…Set…READ!
Posted on: October 6, 2010
- In: authors | books | book_awards | crafts | family_fun | kids events | Literacy | preschool | Read for the Record | reading | storytime | toddler | Uncategorized | west palm beach | west palm beach public library
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Join us tomorrow as we Read for the Record, Jumpstart’s annual campaign to bring together children and adults to read the same book on the same day all over the country!
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This year’s book: Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
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Come in for a special reading by Mayor Lois Frankel at 10:30!
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Come in all day to log your reading and make snowy crafts!
Kids and Gulf Oil Spill
Posted on: July 7, 2010
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The continuing tragedy of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is, as we speak, devistating ecosystems and economies alike. Even as adults, it seems almost overwhelming and so far out of our control, so how do we talk to children about it? We may not have control over the flow, but we can teach our children to learn from our mistakes and make better choices for the future. This is a chance to show children how we are all connected to our environment and that the choices we make regarding our earth will have consequences in our lives.
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Whether you are a parent, educator, or friend of a child…
Have the discussion Ask the questions Engage the learning experience
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Oil Spill Resources for Children and Teens
GOSIC—Gulf Oil Spill Information Center: USF Libraries
Resources, experiments, discussions, and handouts for teachers and students. Make sure you check out the Ranger Rick link: How to talk to kids about the Gulf oil spill
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NOAA: Inspiring Students and Teachers
Information and games teaching about the harms of oil
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Other environmental sites for children
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Family Report – Kids Online
Posted on: June 30, 2010
I recently posted links to quality websites for kids. Like I said in that posting, information and digital literacy are more important now than ever before. Adults and children alike have a need for skills in sorting, selecting, and interpreting information we find online. However, children are especially vulnerable and are in need of guidence from parents and educators. Here are some suprizing statistics from the Norton Online Family Report:
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62% of children worldwide have had a negative online experience.
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Only 45% of parents realize this.
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These experiences can range from recieving spam to cyber bullying and beyond. Unfortunatley, for every positive opportunity online there is opportunity for the negative. The Norton report discusses how much time kids spend online, what they do, and what emotional and intellectual impacts can occur. It also explores parental involvement and has many tips for parents.
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What you can do:
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Sign on with your kids! The more parental invovlement, the better and safer experience your kids will have. Approach it as a learning and exploring experience for both of you.
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Make up rules. Just like other aspects of life, kids need rules to guide them in their online activities. Work with your kids to come up with some rules like telling a parent or adult when something questionable happnes or not passing on photographs.
What we can do:
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Class: Tech Savvy Kids, where elementary age kids create their own awesome invitations while learning computer and Internet basics!
Monday, July 26 2:00pm Computer Lab 2nd Floor -
Resources: See what we have on Internet and Children
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To read the report follow the link: Norton Online Family Report
Websites for kids
Posted on: June 24, 2010
The Internet is a part of daily life for a lot of children. With so much information out there, it is hard for parents and kids to sort through and find what is appropriate. Part of a librarian’s job nowadays is to help select resources and guide users. Information literacy and technology literacy are becoming essential skills for children to have. Whether it is homework help, games, or current events, it is so important to find the best quality available. We have a few tricks up our sleeves; read on to find out!
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Great Websites For Kids
ala.org/greatsites
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Part of the American Library Association, the Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC) puts together this website packed full of carefully selected and reviewed links for children. Sites are divided by subject with an option to search as well as a featured site each month. Links are provided along with a short description of the site. They just added dozens of new sites, so check it out!
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Internet Public Library For Kids
ipl.org/kidspace
Much like ALSC, this site has hundreds of websites divided by category. It is a user friendly site great for kids, teens, and adults. Go ahead, explore!
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Palm Beach County School District
palmbeachschools.org/learning_tools/4kids
The Palm Beach County School District has a great site for PreK-12th grade. Educational games, databases, and more appear in a colorful layout. Some of the resources will require you to log in, but there are plenty that don’t and some nice web links. My favorite tool on this page is TumbleBooks. Kids can read along, listen, and see the pages on these eBooks. Play around!
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KidSpace!
Wpbpl.com/kids
Don’t forget about us! Our KidSpace page has lots of links for Homework Help, Fun & Games, Parent and Teacher resources, events, and Books!
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COMING SOON!!!
Tech Savvy Kids
Kids create their own awesome invitations while learning computer and Internet basics!
Computer Lab 2nd Floor
Elementary
Monday, July 26
2:00pm
Television VS. Family
Posted on: August 20, 2009
For years we have listened and read studies on how television affects the family unit, primarily children. Such reports recognize that nutrition, time, learning, and physical activities are greatly influenced through television viewing.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) suggest that children 2 and under should not be exposed to television as there is lack of research in the area of TV and toddlers. We do know the first 2 years of life are crucial in the growth and development of a child’s brain. Healthy brain development is parallel with positive exposure/interaction with the world around them.
Many of us are aware that some parents and caregivers must work and/or do not have the ability to monitor children at all times. If you decide to allow television to be viewed by your children, AAP lists 10 things parents can do to “help your child develop positive viewing habits:”
- Set Limits
- Plan your child’s viewing
- Watch TV with your child
- Find the right message
- Help your child resist commercials
- Look for quality children’s videos
- Give other options
- Set a good example
- Express your views
- Get more information
Here are some resources you can find at the West Palm Beach Public Library:
Child Development: the first two years by Special Interest Productions
The Plug-In Drug: Television, Children, and the Family by Marie Winn
Childhood and Society by Erik H. Erikson
Wonderplay by Fretta Reitzes
Into the Minds of Babes: how screen time affects children from birth to age five by Lisa Guernsey
Until we meet again,
~Remember, Reading is Awesome!
CC photo on left from flickr user TW Collins
Dear Santa…
Posted on: December 19, 2008
It is Friday and I am still trying to figure out my list. Yes, I know its crunch time and I should have had my list to you at least two weeks ago to give you some time to fit it inside your sleigh, but my mind has changed so many times (does that happen to you sometimes?). Well today, after months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds of pondering, I finally know what I want. All I want is one thing and I don’t even think you can fit it in your sleigh, but here it goes anyway. I will like my family to be all together for Christmas because I miss the fun we have when we all get together (especially my goofy cousins). So Santa, if it is not too late to get this huge gift, please deliver it (I’d really prefer them not to go down the chimney since my Uncle suffers for sever asthma).
Thanks Santa,
Sincerely,
P.S. I promise to be early next year.
KidSpace Blog 