Greetings!
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 to speak with one of our helpful youth librarians. We hope to see you soon!
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| Learning with Crafts |
Popsicle Stick Puzzles
Summer is the time for popsicles! Rinse off those wooden popsicle sticks (or buy wooden craft sticks) to create your own picture puzzles. Puzzles can be stored in sandwich bags to take along on summer vacations. Solving puzzles allows children to develop fine motor skills and concentration skills such as matching and sorting. It also helps develop language skills as children listen, follow instructions and talk about what they are doing.
Materials:
Wooden Popsicle Sticks (or craft sticks)
Glue
Pictures cut from a magazine or printed from a computer
Scissors
To Make:
Cut the picture into narrow strips the width of Popsicle sticks and glue a section of the picture onto each stick. Store dried sticks in a baggie or plastic container.
To Use:
Put the sticks together to reform the picture.
Other Ideas:
Print off large letters from a computer and make letter puzzles. Make puzzles for items of differing colors and scramble the puzzle pieces together so that children need to sort colors apart and then complete each color puzzle. Try writing the name of a color on the end of several wooden sticks. Make sleeves out of felt in corresponding colors. Have children "put the popsicle on the stick" and match the color of each sleeve with the color name written on each stick.
-Anjie G.
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| Book Review |
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Flora and the Flamingo by Molly Idle
Flora and her pink flamingo friend learn to dance off the pages in this wordless picture book. Though the illustrations are drawn in muted pastels, they are full of animation and excitement. Adding to the story are fun flaps and fold-outs, which allow for plenty of participation as you tell the story together. Practice your flamingo pose and see how long you can balance on one foot. Remember, there is no right or wrong way to "read" a wordless book, so just enjoy the process of turning pages and lifting flaps with your child. Ask questions as you peruse and let your child guide the storytelling, then reread the book while you narrate the pictures. Reading together and talking about the story are both wonderful ways to get your child ready to read!
-Liz W.
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| App Review |
One way to develop early writing skills and fine motor ability is through scribbling. The app Squiggles is an entertaining way to encourage scribbling by bringing a child's drawings to life. Using different scenes, four drawing mediums and a variety of colors, sounds and animations, it allows you to watch your drawing become something special. When you choose a scene you simply make a squiggle, tap "GO" and let the fun begin. The app also includes the option of adding "stickers" to the created picture, as well as sharing, saving or printing it. Try asking your child to draw circular shapes, zig-zags and lines, which will help them in learning to form the parts of letters and numbers. This app is available free for iPad and iPhone.
-Julie R.
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