| Early Literacy Make and Takes | |
Stop by the Kentwood, Sand Lake or Alto branch in July with your child and spend some quality time together making crafts that support each of the six early literacy skills. All materials are provided.
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| Nursery Nook | |
Two Little Blackbirds
Two little blackbirds,
Sitting on a hill.
One named Jack,
One named Jill.
Fly away, Jack,
Fly away, Jill.
Come back, Jack,
Come back, Jill.
Pretend your pointer fingers are the birds. When the "birds" fly away have them hide behind your back.
This would be a fun rhyme to try with finger puppets. You can also substitute "butterflies" for "blackbirds" depending on what puppets you have. |
| Take Katie L. on Vacation! | |
Kent District Library's very own mascot, Katie L. wants to go on vacation with you and your family. Find out all you need to know to get your very own traveling Katie here.
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Greetings!
The Kent District Library is here to provide you and your child with the skills needed to succeed in school and in life. KDL's Early Lit Bits newsletter is full of FUN and simple activities that will help foster that growth. For more information regarding the skills your child needs before he or she learns to read, visit the Play-Grow-Read section of the KDL website. You can also stop by any KDL branch in order to speak with one of our helpful youth librarians. We hope to see you soon!
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| Learning with Crafts |
There are many fun and easy ways for kids to work on prewriting skills and increase their letter knowledge. For indoor fun: take play-doh, or make your own, and shape it into long, snakelike rolls. Then use the rolls to shape letters or numbers. You can then talk about letters while your child is also building hand strength. You can also make a batch of pudding and put some into a large gallon size Ziploc bag. If you lay the bag flat and evenly smooth out the pudding, your child can then "write" in the pudding again and again. For outdoor fun: spread some sand in a tray and have your child write in the sand to make letters or shapes. You can also give them a bucket of water and a paint brush and let them "paint" letters, numbers and shapes on the driveway. Kids LOVE to learn how to spell their name, so starting with the first letter of their name is a great place to begin!
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| Book Review | |
Shout! Shout it Out! by Denise Fleming
Children are often told to settle down and be quiet. Here is a great picture book that encourages kids to shout and rejoice in their own knowledge. With bright colors and unique paper art, Denise Fleming creates page after page of happy, multicultural children exhibiting their knowledge of the alphabet, numbers, colors etc. Toddlers and preschoolers, whether or not they have mastered all these facts, will be able to join in the fun. This book is sure to bring smiles to adults and children alike. Be prepared for repeat readings! This is a great book to encourage the early literacy skill of print awareness. Print awareness is a child's realization that words are everywhere and that each word has meaning. Learning how a book is held and how to follow words on a page are all part of this early literacy skill.
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| KDLville Early Literacy Play Spaces | |
One of the first KDLville early literacy play spaces launched at the Walker Branch back in September, 2010. Since launching, it has become a go-to place for many families. The children love the dress-up station, puzzles, mini-kitchen and of course, the Thomas Train Table. The newest piece of furniture is an art cart where children can create craft pieces and take them home. Activities will rotate throughout the year so stop in often!
 | | Happy Crafters |
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