Every Tuesday, Youth Services hosts an interactive kids’ program on Zoom. We’re featuring STEM activities, crafts, and a few movement programs too! Find out more about each program on the Kids’ Events page. Each program requires registration ahead of time (click here), after which you will receive a confirmation email with directions for joining the meeting. Some programs will require basic materials from home.
Kitchen exploration is a fun way to spend time with your kids!
They might try new foods.
They will learn lifelong skills.
They can practice reading by reading recipes.
They can work on math (fractions, anyone?!). Try doubling or halving a recipe!
Many of us native English speakers don’t think twice about the language we use with our children – but if your native language is anything other than English, use it! Encourage grandparents, caregivers, or anyone else Baby interacts with on a regular basis to use the language with which they are most fluent. Contrary to some concerns, this does not confuse babies or delay their speech; it simply gives them more words to express themselves when they are ready to talk.
Watch DinoMan’s DINOSAURS show on Zoom tonight, Monday, July 6, at 6:00 PM!
Fossils, magic, and science are blended into a fun 35- to 40-minute program. You’ll be taken on a trip through the Mesozoic era to learn about which dinosaurs lived at that time, and what kind of fossil record they left behind. What is a fossil anyway, and how were they made? This is a fun and informative program for all ages.
Looking for a different kind of family activity? Check out our virtual quizzes and escape rooms based on our summer Imagine Your Story theme!
Every other Monday, there will be a new quiz focused on some imaginative theme, and the following week there will be a virtual escape room to explore based on the same subject. Throughout the summer, you’ll explore space, gain superpowers, conjure up some magic, commandeer a pirate ship, and tame mythical creatures.
When a child is engaging in dramatic play, she is also learning how to tell a story. The older she gets, the more elaborate her stories become - but even toddlers who start to create make-believe with their toys are telling stories! When a stuffed animal gets tucked into bed - there’s a story behind it. When the truck rolls over a cardboard box - there’s a story behind it. When he tells you what happened first, what came next, and how it all ended, he’s just told a story!
Have you signed up for summer reading yet? Do it now! It’s all online, so you can sign up, record your reading, and select your prize beads (kids up to age 12) or raffle tickets (teens and adults) right from your device!
Once you’re logged in, check out all fun extras! Follow your reading progress on the game board, play mini-games, enter codes to earn fun badges (you’ll find those with some program links), and look for your personal secret missions!
Kwame Alexander is a multi-award-winning poet/author known for his middle-grade books about basketball, and more recently for the Caldecott Award winning book The Undefeated, but these are just two examples of his many works spanning from picture books to YA novels.
Writing…the most difficult to understand of the pre-literacy skills. How can I work on writing when my baby can’t even hold her own bottle? Writing definitely comes later when preschoolers have refined their motor skills and strengthened their muscles – but pre-writing skills are anything that can build those fine motor skills and muscles.
Although our summer events look different this year, we are still hosting a variety of family and children’s activities and events. The Family Fun events that are usually held in our garden will instead be held in YOUR garden (or living room)! Our traditional season opener, Mr. Wayne Potash, will host a Zoom concert tonight, Monday, June 22 at 6:00 PM. If you miss the live event, you can watch the recording for two weeks following the event (through Monday, July 6).
