Kent District Library
Early Bit Lits

April,  2014
Issue No . 47
KDL Blue
 
In This Issue
Fine Motor Skills
Music Minute
Learning with Crafts
Book Review
App Review
Fine Motor Skills

Counting Cards

 

Visit our Play Grow Read page and print off our Counting Cards. Have your child cut out the cards and place them in numerical order. This helps your child develop their fine motor skills as they cut the pages and also helps them get ready to read as they practice their numbers. Clap the numbers as you count with your child. 

 

For additional Fine Motor practice while having a snack, give your child  some dry cereal and make piles for each number they count. Enjoy snacking, counting and having fun all at the same time!

 

 

-Chris S.

Englehardt Branch

Music Minute

April is a great month to celebrate rhythm and music. Save all those left-over plastic Easter eggs and put them to good use as maracas and shaker instruments. Choose some interesting ingredients for filler, like dried rice, pasta, beans, gravel, metal pop can tabs or even sand. Fill each egg with a different substance to make a unique sound, then seal with hot glue or clear adhesive tape.  For older children, try filling two eggs with each substance to create a matching game! See if your child can identify which eggs sound the same. Eggs can easily be stored in an egg carton.

 

Have your child copy your movements as you sing this fun shaker egg song:

Can you shake along with me?

(To the tune of London Bridge is Falling Down)
Can you shake your eggs with me,
Eggs with me, Eggs with me?
Can you shake your eggs with me?

It's so easy!

Place your shaker on your knee,

On your knee, on your knee.

Place your shaker on your knee,

It's so easy!

(Add as many verses as you like, using the same pattern.)

 

For even more fun, try a selection of children's music to add to your shaker egg activities:

Alabama Mississippi by Jim Gill

Jim Gill Sings the Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes

I Know a Chicken by Laurie Berkner

Whaddaya Think of That? 


 


-Sara M. 
Sand Lake Branch
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!

Learning With Crafts

Recycled Planters and Watering Can:

Spring is just around the corner. It's time to garden. Gardening teaches patience, nurturing skills and even builds vocabulary as children learn the names of different vegetables and plants. Repurpose containers from around the house to make fun planters and a simple watering can.

 

Materials:

  • Seeds (fast growing seeds such as beans or grass work well)
  • Potting soil
  • Yogurt cups, coffee pods, old baby shoes, empty eggshells or stale ice cream cones
  • A one gallon milk jug
  • Drill with small drill bit (adult use only)

To Make:

Look around the house for fun containers to use for planting. Any small plastic container will do. Stale flat bottomed ice cream cones make excellent seedling planters and are completely biodegradable. Simply start a seed by sowing it in a cone filled with soil and plant the whole cone in the ground once the seedling is established. Outgrown shoes and boots also make fun outdoor planters too. Fill a planter with soil and sow the seeds according to the directions on the package. Water gently and set in a sunny window.

 

Make a simple watering can by drilling several small holes in the cap of a milk jug. Partially fill the jug with water so that it's not too heavy for children to lift and screw the top on.  Encourage children to water the plants and observe the seeds as they sprout and grow.

 

To Use:

As the seeds sprout, talk about the different parts of the plant: the root, stem and leaves. Use a ruler to measure the plant every day or take a picture of the plant every day to record its growth. 
 
 -Anjie G.

Walker Branch

Book Review

Nest by Jorey Hurley

  

Robins are a welcome sign of spring, and this simple picture book is a wonderful way to explore these birds with your child. Hurley writes just one word per two-page illustration, taking the reader from nest, to egg, to flight, then back to nest again. Talk with your child about what robins do each season as you read together. What things do you like to do in spring, summer, fall and winter? Identify the letters you see on each page and talk about the season each picture portrays. Look out your window and see if you spy a robin. Talking together is a great way to increase vocabulary and gets your child ready to read!

 

 

  

  -Liz W.  

 Plainfield Branch

App Review

My Little Town: Toddler Seek & Find is an app that lets kids explore. It is also a great opportunity to talk with your child as you play and interact with the detailed scenes. Using colorful and expressive hand drawn animations, the app opens into a town where each tap makes entertaining actions unfold. Make the clouds rain, open windows, ring the alarm, ride the bus, etc. As you play, talk to your child about what they see and hear. Check out the free lite version of this app on the Apple App Store. The full version is available for $2.99. 

 

 
 -Julie R. 
Caledonia Township Branch