Orville’s Adventure: a slumber party at the library!

Are you looking for a fun library activity to engage youngsters at your library or media center? Last week, CMLE’s own Office Bear Orville was able to participate in a fantastic event at the St. Cloud Public Library – the Stuffed Animal Sleepover!

There is Orville, surrounded by furry friends! (They are wearing superhero capes, just one of the event’s activities!)

Mary was able to represent CMLE at the event, and accompanied Orville as he got to meet the other stuffed friends and their chaperones, heard a story, then had some fun with crafting superhero capes and necklaces. Then it was time to say goodnight to the stuffed animals and leave them for the night, with instructions to “be good!” Library staff then got to work documenting all the mischief the stuffed animals created in the library!

Orville enjoyed playing with legos!

While we have several fun pictures to share with you here, we also have some exciting printed ones at CMLE HQ. Some of these include Orville riding Wally, the huge book sorting machine that is behind the scenes at the library, and also a picture of Orville and assorted friends working together to break into the Executive Director’s office! The printed photos of library shenanigans were distributed to each child when they arrived the next morning to pick up their stuffed friend. The kids got to enjoy a snack while they heard all about the adventures of the previous night, while admiring the picture display set up in the Children’s Department of all the stuffed animals and their troublemaking!

Orville had fun exploring!

 

He got to make new friends, too!

For the past four years, Dezra Rittmann has brought this awesome event to life, and works very hard to make sure kids and stuffed animals enjoy themselves! She describes it as a very popular program, and it’s easy to see why. In fact, it is so popular that registration is required!

CMLE had so much fun taking part in this event, and we think that it could be a great program for your library, too! Especially with school libraries or media centers – kids would love to see what mischief their stuffed animals get into after the school is closed! Let us know if you need more information, and we can connect you with the right people!

A huge thank-you to Dezra and everyone at the St. Cloud Public Library for letting us participate in your program!

Kids are using tech even earlier

A recent study in Pediatrics highlighted the seemingly universal acceptance of mobile device use by children. USA Today’s coverage of the study spoke about some of the statistics from the study. One shocking stat: “Nearly 97% of parents said their children used mobile devices of some sort. Most started before their first birthday.” What are parents and educators to do?

“Parents don’t need a guilt trip — parents need guidance and support and better-quality stuff that is more intentionally educational, more culturally resonant and relevant, and which they can discover easily with their children.” – Michael Levine, co-author of the recent book Tap, Click, Read: Growing Readers in a World of Screens.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) even modified its recommendations for parents, saying that face-to-face interactions with adults are preferred, “devices such as smartphones and tablets could be educational, even for toddlers, if a caregiver reads or plays along to guide the learning.”

Among other findings, according to their parents:
• 20% of 1-year-olds own a tablet computer.
• 28% of 2-year-olds can navigate a mobile device with no help.
• 21% of 4-year-olds own a gaming console.
• 28% of parents said they use a mobile device to put their children to sleep.

 

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Children’s Book-A-Day Almanac

Do you know about author Anita Silvey’s Children’s Book-A-Day Almanac? I heard Silvey speak at a conference a few years back, and the love she puts into this work is heartwarming. She is a master at her craft, and brings to life the details behind the classics, which can be even more fascinating than the books themselves. According to her site, you can find:

• Daily children’s book recommendations and events from Anita Silvey.

• Discover the stories behind the children’s book classics . . .

• The new books on their way to becoming classics . . .

• And events from the world of children’s books—and the world at large.

Tip 1: Subscribe on the site to all of Silvey’s social media channels too.

Tip 2: Search the Silvey archives by: author/illustrator, age group, book type and subject!

The Power of Reading for Children!

Aiden with his Captain Underpants. Photo by Matt Ryall and retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons license.

During the summer a child’s day tends to be less structured than during a typical academic year. This may be an ideal time to reinforce the benefits of reading, especially while they have additional time to linger at the library.  Dav Pilkey, best known as the author and illustrator of the Captain Underpants book series, created two fun and quick videos that draw unexpected outcomes that occur when children read.

1. Reading Gives You Super Powers-link!
2. Reading Makes Cats Jealous-link!

Play Boxes Deconstructed!

Some rights reserved by Mags20_eb

Recently the Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC), in keeping with their target audience (children), blogged about play-spaces in libraries. But with limited space and the possibility of heavy usage, some libraries may need to look for another alternative. The solution, mini play boxes.  A “play box” is a themed collection of play objects and various manipulatives that are chosen specifically to highlight and enhance early learning. Learn more at ALSC.

According to Deborah J. Leong, PhD and Elena Bodrova, PhD there is a growing body of research that shows a link between play and the development of cognitive and social skills, enhanced social development, improved literacy skills and increases in other areas of academic learning.