Fizz, Boom, Read @ the Library!

Encourage your budding scientist. We have science activities every day all day, along with many events for all ages every week. Check it out at the library's Events Calendar.

We started the summer reading fun with a Science Festival. Kids experimented with rain, wind, sound, colors, water, & more. Since then each event has focused on one or more science activities. Check out some of the pictures:

     

     

   

  

  

  

 

 Read for prizes, too!!

Summer, Science, & Helping Your Child Get Ready to Read @ the Library!

Sing, rhyme, read, play, & color with your child. You are helping him get ready to learn to read. You are teaching her important early literacy skills: Phonological Awareness, which is hearing the small sounds in words, Vocabulary, Print Motivation, which is enjoying reading together, and Narrative Skills, which is being able to understand,  remember and tell a story.

Waves at the Beach Sung To: " Wheels on the bus"

The waves at the beach go up and down…

The waves at the beach go up and down, all day long.

- also- 

The crabs at the beach, crawl back and forth

The lobsters at the beach go, snap, snap, snap

The clams at the beach will open and shut

The jelly fish go wibble, wobble, wibble

  

Baby Fish

Baby fish, do-do, do-do-do-do, (Open and shut index

Baby fish, do-do, do-do-do-do. fingers to the beat.)

(Sing twice.)

Momma fish… (Open and shut hands.)

Daddy fish… (Open and shut arms.)

Giant whale… (Extend arm and leg to make whale’s mouth.)

Activities: Make up other verses, such as one about uncle fish, grandma fish, etc. Have

the children suggest arm movements to do for the different fish.

Five Little Fish

(Tune: “Down in the Meadow by the Itty Bitty Pool”)

No little fishies swimming in the sea, (Make a zero with thumb and index finger.)

Splishing and a splashing (Pretend to swim.)

And a rocking to the beat. (Snap fingers.)

Here comes a little fishie,

Oh, say, “hello.” (Wave.)

One little fishie swimming in a row. (Hold up one finger.)

One little fishie… (Hold up one finger.)

Two little fishies… (Hold up two fingers.)

Three little fishies… (Hold up three fingers.)

Four little fishies… (Hold up four fingers.)

Five little fishies… (Hold up five fingers.)

Everybody wave cause don’t you know,

Five little fishies have got to go.

Ooh, Aah, away they go.

Jellyfish

Jellyfish, Jellyfish, Jellyfish, JELLY!!!
Wiggle a body part while saying the rhyme. Add an additional body part each time and keep building the number of active body parts!

1.       Fingers

2.       Wrists

3.       Elbows

4.       Knees

5.       Feet

6.       Hips

7.       Tongue

Fun Facts about Jellyfish

Did you know ...

... some jellyfish are bigger than a human and others are as small as a pinhead?
... people in some countries eat jellyfish?
... that jellyfish have been on Earth for millions of years, even before dinosaurs?
... jellyfish have no brain but some kinds have eyes?
... that jellyfish are mainly made up of water and protein?
... a group of jellyfish is called a smack?

Source:  http://www.jellywatch.org/blooms/facts

The body of a jellyfish is 99% water. About 200 species of true jellyfish are known, ranging in size from 0.06 in (1.5 mm) to 6.5 ft (2 m). 

There are over 200 different kinds of jellyfish

Source: Gale Encycopedia of Science,

Most jellyfish have tentacles—the number varies. All jellyfish have 10-12 oral arms—to pass food into the mouth. The arms look like tentacles, but are a little chunkier.

Source:  http://marinelife.about.com/od/invertebrates/p/Jellyfish-profile.htm

Three Jellyfish

Three jellyfish, three jellyfish, three jellyfish sitting on a rock.

One fell off.

Two jellyfish (repeat to no jellyfish)

Source: Maple Leaf Learning, https://www.youtube.com/user/MapleLeafHashima

Here's one last look at Summer Reading 2013! We had such a great summer!

We're starting up with our regular programming this week!

Friday, August 16 @ 10:30 or 11:30am - Mother Goose on the Loose for children birth through 3 years old and a caregiver

Tuesday, August 20 @ 10:30am or 1pm - Preschool Story Hour for children ages 3-5. Children attend the first half on their own and are joined by the caregivers for a short video and craft.

Thursday, August 22 @ 10:30am - Toddler Time for children ages 2-3 years and their caregiver.

Thursday, August 22 @ 4:30pm - Cool It! for children in grades K-5. We're making ice cream and having other "cool" fun!

Summer is Flying By!

We've been busy the last 6 weeks! Take a look at this slide show to see some of the fun we've had:

We've had programs about dinosaurs, ancient Egypt, troublesome critters and water programs. The 4-5 year olds haven't had their water program yet, because of all the storms that were threatening that day. We're hoping for this week!

We still have several programs over the next two weeks and there's still plenty of time to get those books turned in for prizes!

Summer Reading is Here!

 Summer Reading has gotten started with a roaring rush of craziness! We thought we'd share a few pictures of what's happened so far.

Our Tuesday Preschool programs got us off to a great start. We did a storytime about seeds and plants. Instead of our usual craft, we made an edible garden, planting jellybean seeds in dirt pudding and growing some butter cookie flowers! Delicious!

Our second week with the preschoolers featured stories about machines that dig and move dirt, such as backhoes and bulldozers. The children made their own construction scene after we watched the film version of I stink! by Kate & Jim McMullan, which brought lots of giggles!

In spite of the nasty storms that were forecasted for last Wednesday, children had a good time at our Dig Into Reading Fair. We had crafts and games throughout the library, including an opportunity to have pictures taken as a dinosaur! The very talented Miss Melissa (seen above) created our dino picture cutout. She also painted our Pin the Tail on Tyrannosaurus Rex game. Thanks, Melissa!

This week the preschoolers had stories about worms and snakes and made their own twirly snake.

And, as always, we've had activities and crafts available in the children's area. Children seem to enjoy doing those while they're waiting for their programs or just sitting and enjoying that great atmosphere of the library!

And I can't forget... our volunteers are always hugely important for making Summer Reading work! So if you see one of the teens doing a great job at a program or at the prize table, please let them know that they're appreciated!

Coming up: CLIFFORD! The big red dog is coming to visit us TODAY! We're having a little birthday celebration because he's 50!!! Come at 2:00 for a chance to take a picture with Clifford and join in the rest of the birthday fun!

It's Almost here!

Summer Reading is coming soon!

This weekend we'll be getting the prize table set up. We're planning all the programs. And we're getting ready for YOU!

The 2013 Summer Reading Program starts on Monday, June 3 and will run through Saturday, July 27. For those 8 weeks, we'll have tons of programs for children of all ages. Look here for our calendar: June Programs at the Cedar Lake Branch Library.

For every 10 library books that your child reads or you read to your child,  they will receive a prize. If your child reads chapter books, we count every 50 pages as a book. Graphic novels and magazines count as 1 book, as do eBooks and audio books.

There are prizes and programs for teens and adults, too! So remember us this summer! Research shows, and teachers will confirm, that children who are reading over their summer break retain far more of their skills than those who take the summer off. And remember... we don't worry about what kind of books the children are reading for prizes... we just want them to find library books that they will enjoy!

One last thing... we found out after we had our volunteer meeting scheduled that one of the elementary schools had a program for the 5th graders. If you know an 11-17 year old who wants to volunteer this summer but couldn't make the meeting, have them come in and talk to Miss Holly or Miss Linda. We will make sure they have the information they need and get them signed up!

Summer Wrap Up!

The kids are all headed back to school, so it's time to say goodbye to summer!

We had a very successful Summer Reading Program this year!

411 children read at least one book at the Cedar Lake Branch Library!

Altogether, those 411 children read a total of 14,351 books!

WOW!!!!

That's our second largest number of readers ever and our highest ever number of books!

GREAT JOB!!!!

 

In August, we held the Summer Olympics Library-Style!

Children compete in the shot put, discuss, high jump and water sports. When the games were over, the athletes made torches, received gold medals and paraded through the library.

 

Now, it's time to look forward to our fall programming! Coming up soon:

Thursday, August 23 @ 10:30am: Toddler Time for ages 2-3 and a caregiver

Thursday, August 23 @ 4:30pm: Back to School Bash for children in grades K to 5

Monday, August 27 @ 6:30pm: Bubblemania Family Fun for children of all ages and their parents

Dream Big, Read! Week 3

Summer Reading is off to a great start! We've had about 200 children come through in the first 2 weeks! Here's a look at what's been happening!

 On June 13, the school age children went To the Moon... and Beyond! We made rockets, hunted for fallen stars and heard stories about outer space.

Join us this week as we travel to the stars and make an edible constellation!

Reader Leader

Children had the opportunity to read to a trained therapy dog. The dogs enjoyed many stories and all the extra attention... and they never interrupted the readers.

The dogs will be back this week, so join us!

Children also have time to read with one of our teen volunteers and play reading games and make crafts related to their stories.

Mark's Ark!

On Thursday, June 14, we enjoyed the animals from Mark's Ark. Mark brought so many animals for the children to enjoy. There were baby turkeys, a snake-neck turtle, a possum, and chinchillas. Rosie the tarantula drew lots of attention.

LeRoy the pot belly pig enjoyed the attention and tried to let Mark know that he would like dancing lessons by pulling a book from the shelf.

And Candy Cane the snake was a hit!

This Week's Programs:

All Week: Play the Match the Monster Game!

Tuesday, June 19, 10:30am or 1:00pm - Preschool Story Hour, ages 4-5

Wednesday, June 20, 1:00 - The Night Sky, School age children who have completed K-5

Wednesday, June 20, 2:00 - Reader Leader, School age children who have completed K-5