We love our local library! Each month they host family story hour on a Saturday morning. The librarian reads 2 books and leads 2 songs The kids also get to do a related craft and 1-2 games based on the theme. Then we spend another hour playing in the Discovery Room and picking out books to take home.
Another one of Emma's big interests this summer was cars and trucks. We read many books and I found several activities based on her current favorite movie (the only real movie she's ever seen) Cars. Visit 1 + 1 + 1 = 1 and Our Little Monkeys for the resources.
Ronald McDonald put on an interactive magic show at the BPL one summer afternoon. All of his illusions revolved around the summer reading program theme, "A Mid-Summer Night's Read." He posed for pictures following the performance.
Emma became interested in dinosaurs this summer after visiting the Indy Children's Museum. When we went to the gift shop, she really wanted a stuffed Brachiosaurs. She named him Dino. In the days after we got home, we picked out some good books at the library and I planned some fun learning activities. Here are a few that we did the first week.
One of our favorite summer activities (free, local, and educational) is visiting the Normal Public Library. They have a new discovery play room and frequently host special children's events . . . not to mention the books! On a hot July day, we spent the afternoon putting together puzzles, exploring the new hands-on room, reading stories as a family, and picking out books to borrow. Just as we were leaving, I noticed a photo display and spotted a picture of Emma and me at a recent story hour doing a craft.
Our local library hosts great events and we were lucky enough to attend yet another. The ventriloquist, Lisa Laird, presented her "Stories are Magic" program. Her company is called Pockets Full of Fun, and the audience certainly enjoyed all of her puppets and voices. After the performance, the children were able to make their own TP tube hand puppets. Emma chose the red paper, curling ribbon, googly eyes, a foam star, and buttons. Her friend, Natalia, was also there, so the girls had a nice time crafting together.
The theme of Saturday story hour at the public library was "What's Cooking?" We read Walter the Baker by Eric Carle, ate pretzels, sang songs, and made chef hats. For those of you who don't know the story of Walter the baker, Walter was challenged by the Duke to create a pastry from one piece of dough that the sun could shine through three times. Thus, Walter invented the pretzel. Here Chef Emma is whipping us up some grub in her playroom kitchen.
I took Emma to a summer reading event at the local library. They read a Spot book and the real pup performed the parts of the story. Afterward, the children could play a game, eat a treat, and take a photo with the guest of honor. We also wandered around the set to explore the scenery and peek out of Spot's hiding place in the basket.
