Thursday, July 29, 2010

Reading Tips for Parents

Read early and read often. The early years are critical to developing a lifelong love of reading. It's never too early to begin reading to your child!
Read together every day

Read to your child every day. Make this a warm and loving time when the two of you can cuddle close.

Give everything a name
Build your child's vocabulary by talking about interesting words and objects.

Say how much you enjoy reading
Tell your child how much you enjoy reading with him or her.

Read with fun in your voice
Read to your child with humor and expression.

Use different voices. Ham it up!

Know when to stop
Put the book away for awhile if your child loses interest or is having trouble paying attention.

Be interactive
Discuss what's happening in the book, point out things on the page, and ask questions.

Read it again and again
Go ahead and read your child's favorite book for the 100th time!

Talk about writing, too
Mention to your child how we read from left to right and how words are separated by spaces.

Point out print everywhere
Talk about the written words you see in the world around you. Ask your child to find a new word on each outing.

Get your child evaluated
Be sure to see your child's pediatrician you have concerns about hearing, sight, or language development.

From readingrockets.org

Friday, July 23, 2010

National Day of the Cowboy, July 24

It was a tough and lonely job, but the historic American
cowboy endured it with courage and a song. Using and
modifying traditions passed on from Mexican vaqueros and
the Spanish before them, the cowboys became a basic part
of American Western heritage and legend.

On the National Day of the Cowboy, we celebrate their
contributions to the pioneering spirit of America.

As the cities of the American East and Midwest grew
in the mid-to-late 1800s, the need for food, especially for
meat, grew along with it. Then the great roundups and cattle
drives became a part of our Western heritage. The cowboys
worked long days and nights tending their herds despite
dangers from terrain they had to cross, unhappy Indians
and fierce outlaws whose goal was to steal the herds.

As the railroads developed, the need for long cattle drives
decreased. Over time, the cowboy techniques of riding and
cattle-handling became the focus of today's rodeos.

Take a look at Cracker westerns: books about the 'cowboys' on Florida's frontier. A few titles by Lee Gramling: Ghosts of the green swap, Ninety mile prairie, Riders of the Suwannee. You'll find them in the Florida section.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Childhood Favorites

What is your favorite book that you remember reading from your childhood? What book comes to mind?

There are many of course, and when asking staff about their favorites, many were listed, and not one duplicate.

Some favorites mentioned:
Cat in the hat
Dick and Jane series
Ramona Quimby, age 8
Napping house
Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day
Hobbit
Black Beauty
Harriet the spy
Nancy Drew series
Encyclopedia Brown series
Little Women
Betty and Veronica comic books
Dorrie the witch
Heidi
Five little Peppers and how they grew

Quite a variety. Share your favorites with your family and remember to ask in twenty years what favorites are
remembered!

Monday, July 12, 2010

What's happening?

Take a look at this calendar...almost everyday there is a program scheduled at one of the libraries. Click on a day and see what programs are offered.




Library Events

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Summer Porgrams for Children

   Summer programs for children continue into July.  We want to keep children reading during the summer and we have nifty ways to do that.

   Programs feature books, stories, crafts, performers, and general fun as we share our love of books and reading with children.

   Check your library for a schedule or view it online here.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

July 4

   July 4, Independence Day in the United States, is the day we commemorate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in which we declared independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776. 

   It's a day that we celebrate with parades, picnics, barbecues, fairs, baseball games, concerts,  and fireworks at dark. 
   
    If you'd like to read more about U.S. history, look in the 973 non fiction section of the library.