The Hidden Resource:
You may be familiar with many of the materials that you have access to at our library, such as books, CD's, audiobooks, magazines, and DVDs. But are you familiar with the array of resources that are available electronically? Do you know what an electronic resource is? For those of you who are willing to take a journey into the vast world of electronic resources, this blog series is for you.
During this surreal pandemic, Caldwell Public Library had to think quick on how we were going to continue on with our programming with everything closed. What better way to still get out to the public than by shifting online! We have been offering a variety of content on our YouTube channel. While we are all hoping that some day we will be able to once again have in person programming, in the meantime, check out the fun activities we have already highlighted over the last year!
Learn how to make puppets, create fun puzzle picture frames, and work on paper weaving skills with Miss Fiona! All three of these project themes featured in Kids Discover help children work on their skills with glue, scissors, and even writing. Work on the projects as a family and everyone can have a great time!
For those of you out there who love kitties, the Kitten Tales videos are for you! Miss Fiona shows off the kittens she had over the Fall of 2020 and reads some stories, sings some songs, and tells us a bit about fostering animals. Watch the kittens grow up right before your eyes with this fun video series!
Family Reading Week highlights the importance of reading at all levels of growth, such as reading to our young children and how that helps develop more important learning skills on the path to learning how to read. Enjoy hearing about some great reading recommendations, activities, and giveaways we had at the library, and watch a book reading from Miss Fiona!
With Rhythm and Rhyme we learn words that rhyme and then we learn how to create rhythms with homemade instruments! Bring your imaginations and your household items to this noisy party and have fun learning these songs with Miss Fiona. We make drums, kazoos, shakers, and more!
Screen printing, growing crystals, creating your own lip balm, creating string art, and creating your own magnets are all available from Teens and Tweens Videos to learn and explore! Ellie and Michael guide us through projects that are cool and interesting with (almost) no mistakes... or maybe just a few tiny mistakes! Hey, that's a part of the exploration, right? Check out their videos and get to creating some really cool designs!
Some of these activities were also created in a kit form that we had at the library! You can pick up a kit and then watch the Teen and Tween Kit videos at home for the instructions to go along with the activity. Do you love this idea and have more ideas for fun kits for teen and tweens? Let us know in the comments or the next time that you come into the library and maybe we can create something based off of your suggestions!
Ellie and Marina show off their knowledge making amazing crafts in our Virtual Crafts series. Learn how to make crocheted pouches, e-textile bookmarks, cross stitched adorable penguins and holiday ornaments. Somehow they make everything look easy!
Last but not least is my Virtual Reads Series that I created for our Homebound patrons and the patrons who are missing our outreach programs at the care centers in Caldwell. Tune in to my reading of three Sherlock Holmes stories, each one a fun and interesting mystery by the intriguing mind of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. There are plenty of other awesome Sherlock readings online, so have fun exploring more options for you and your family to enjoy!
The Future of Programming?
Things are looking more promising for us all as we head into the future and people are getting vaccinated around the world. While a lot of time, effort, and materials went into our virtual programs and companion kits, we are looking forward to more interesting ways to approach programming as we head into Summer and Fall. Stay tuned for future announcements!