THE ALPHABET A Building Block to Backpack Awareness Choose the right style as your children grow Reading and change through the years: Before children can begin to string letters together to form words, • Avoid the one-strapped crossbody style. they need to be able to recognize individual letters and their sounds. Two straps split the weight of the backpack It is also important to point out to your child that the same letter can across the shoulders, alleviating back, neck, look different depending on whether it is presented in uppercase or and shoulder pain. lowercase. Fortunately, there are many simple and fun ways to help your • Thicker shoulder pads prevent backpacks from child build a strong understanding of the alphabet. digging into children’s shoulders, backs, and necks. Make sure it is close to the body and not sagging. • Ask your child to find items on the store shelves that begin with the first letter in his name. • Distribute the weight in the provided pockets and • Write letters on pieces of paper and put them in a paper bag. encourage children to carry the heaviest items in Let your child reach into the bag and take them out. their hands. Ask her to say the sounds that match the letters. • A child’s backpack should not exceed 15–20 percent • Make a book that has a page for each letter of the alphabet. of his or her body weight. Have your child find or draw a picture that begins with each letter and paste it on the page. • Make magnetic letters available, and encourage your child to play with them on a surface such as a refrigerator or cookie sheet. BOOKS • Have your child spell his name using cooked spaghetti. Eating the Alphabet Then practice forming other letters. CONCEPT JE Ehlert, Lois Augie to Zebra: An Alphabet Book CONCEPT JE Endle, Kate

Bear Is Awake! CONCEPT JE Harrison, Hannah

Owls Are Good at Keeping Secrets CONCEPT JE O’Leary, Sara SEPTEMBER 2020 DEVELOP LARGE MUSCLES THROUGH PLAY Running, jumping, dancing, and climbing are some of the fun ways kids can develop their large muscles and improve coordination. Active play also provides opportunities for children to learn concepts and practice getting along with others. • Let your child “paint” the driveway using a paint roller, paint pan, and water. • Play an old-fashioned game such as Hopscotch or Duck, Duck, Goose. If you have forgotten how to play, check out a book that explains the rules. • Do the Hokey Pokey together. • Pretend to be an animal. There are some great songs on Greg and Steve’s music CD Kids in Motion to make pretending even more fun.

Monitor Screen Time BOOKS Controlling a child’s screen time is an ongoing challenge. Some screen time can be educational and How Do You support social development. However, it’s important Wokka-Wokka? to have rules and set limits, especially if screen time JE Bluemle, Elizabeth interferes with other activities. Consider these tips: Peanut & Fifi Have a Ball • Prioritize unplugged, unstructured playtime. JE de Seve, Randall • Create screen-free times during meals. Spunky Little Monkey • Set limits and curfews, such as no screen time an hour before bed. JE Martin, Bill

• Use apps that control the length of time I Got the Rhythm a child can use a device. JE Schofield-Morrison, • Require devices to be charged outside Connie of the bedroom at night. • Keep screens out of your child’s bedroom. SEPTEMBER 2020 SEPTEMBER 2020

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Work together Take a walk to make a card & count the to give for squirrels you see. Grandparents Day.

LIBRARY 6 LIBRARY 7 8 9 10 11 12 CLOSED CLOSED As you read a Before reading, look Check out a book Labor Day Labor Day rhyming book, at the book’s cover about squirrels Weekend pause to let your child and guess what the to find out how they fill in the next story will be about. get ready for winter. rhyming word.

Sing “Head, Grandparents 13 Shoulders, Knees, 14 15 16 17 18 19 Day and Toes” fast and then slow. Or have him Choose a recipe Look for things tell you body parts and to make together around the house actions to add to the and make a that begin song: “If you’re happy shopping list for with the same letter and you know it, point to your toes.” needed items. as your child’s name.

20 21 Fall Begins 22 23 24 25 26 Help your child learn Count the number Use an egg carton how to blow her nose, Make a fort with of school buses to sort beans, buttons, wash her hands, wipe pillows and blankets (or trucks, etc.) seen or beads by size. her bottom, and brush to play in. as you are traveling. her hair independently.

27 28 29 30 Put masking tape on Go to a farm and pick the floor in the shape apples. Count how of letters. Have your many you picked. child walk, crawl, or hop along the lines. MAKE READING FUN! • Take 20 minutes per day to read to your child. This will BOOKS help the child understand that text on a page has meaning, Just Read! develop listening and language skills, and learn new words. JE Degman, Lori • Make sure your child sees you reading for enjoyment. The Magician’s Hat Your own excitement about books will be contagious! JE Mitchell, Malcolm • Read all types of books. Our Children’s Nonfiction Collection is full of interesting books for four- and five-year-olds. Dreamers JE Morales, Yuyi • Read a story together and then act it out using stuffed animals, dolls, or puppets. The Book Hog JE Pizzoli, Greg • Set up a special reading nook for your child somewhere in your home. Add a comfy chair and a lamp.

• Ask a children’s librarian for a book recommendation. Have your child tell you a story about an event they can remember. How did they feel when it happened? Were they sad, excited, disappointed, surprised? Gun Safety Discussing emotions helps children learn and understand Remember these four important steps when teaching their own emotions and the feelings of those they read about, your kids about gun safety: which can help them with reading comprehension. • Stop. Encourage children to stop if they encounter a firearm. Stopping will give children time to think and remember all of the safety instructions that are vital to saving a life—including their own. • Don’t touch. A firearm that is left alone isn’t likely to be fired or otherwise endanger your child or others.

• Run away. Encourage your child, as well as anyone else with them, to leave the area of an unattended firearm, ensuring safety for everyone.

• Tell a grown-up. Instruct your child to notify you or a trusted adult if he or she encounters an unattended firearm. OCTOBER 2020 OCTOBER 2020

1 2 3 While walking around the Put a simple neighborhood, look puzzle together. for circles, squares, and rectangles.

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Write your child’s name on index cards, writing one letter per card. Count the number Play a game like Mix up the cards. of seeds in an apple Go Fish together. Can your child put them or a pumpkin. in the correct order to spell her name?

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Go for a walk Recite or sing Read a simple fairy Check out outside. Collect the days tale together a shape book leaves and sort them of the week. and then act it out. to read together. by size or color.

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 When reading, discuss the feelings Talk with your child of the characters. Count the stairs as about how to take Ask questions you walk up and down. care of books. such as, how would you feel if you were that character?

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Read a book about Point to the words Start a story. Stop animal hibernation, as you read your and let him make like Time to Sleep child a story today. up the ending. by Denise Fleming. BOOKS SONGS, WORD PLAY, Salsa Lullaby AND RHYMING JE Arena, Jen Singing helps children learn new words. Singing slows down Red House, Tree language so children can hear the different sounds and the syllables House, Little Bitty in words. Singing is a fun bonding experience you can share with Brown Mouse your child and helps develop listening and memory skills. JE Godwin, Jane • Talk and play with rhymes. Match rhyming pictures. Motor Goose: • Sing the Alphabet Song. Sing it fast, and then sing it slowly. Rhymes That Go! • Sing nursery rhymes. JE NURSERY RHYMES • Read stories that rhyme, like Silly Sally by Audrey Wood. Nighttime Symphony • Check out music CDs or downloadable music from the JE Timbaland library. Allow your child to listen to music in the car or at home. • Clap out the syllables in words with your child. This will help your child understand how words are broken up into parts. Avoiding Poison As you start cleaning your home in preparation for the holidays and guests, remember that young children are curious and may find everyday cleaning products attractive. Here are some tips to avoid accidental poisoning: • Keep chemical products in their original bottles or containers. Do not use food containers such as cups, bottles, or jars to store chemical products like cleaning solutions or beauty products.

• Never mix household products together. • Turn on the fan and open windows when using chemical products such as household cleaners. • Post the poison control number, 1.800.222.1222, near every home phone and save it in your cell phone. It is open 24 hours a day. NOVEMBER 2020 NOVEMBER 2020

Daylight 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Saving Make a pile Add rice or beans Time Ends to a container to Winter is almost of leaves and jump make a shaker. here. Sing seasonal on them. Talk about Tap out the syllables songs today. how they feel, in the names of sound, and smell. family and friends.

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Together, make Put flour on Practice saying up a story a cookie sheet and your phone about turkeys, use fingers to draw number together. trumpets, and toast. shapes and letters.

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Create cards for friends. Talk about While playing what good friends are like, emphasizing together, pretend positive characteristics you are birds, bears, such as kindness and bouncy balls. and inclusiveness.

22 23 24 LIBRARY 25 LIBRARY 26 27 28 CLOSES CLOSED Work together @ 5:00 p.m. Thanksgiving Celebrate Saturday to make a by turning on some Thanksgiving card At dinner tonight, music. Clap, stomp, for someone special. talk about things and sway to the beat. you’re thankful for.

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While baking, explain the recipe directions and let your child help. BOOKS I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More! JE Beaumont, Karen

The Day the Crayons Quit JE Daywalt, Drew

Blue Chicken JE Freedman, Deborah

Niko Draws a Feeling JE Raczka, Bob

Decorate Safely Lines That Wiggle Decorating is a fun way to get in a holiday mood. Follow JE Whitman, Candace these safe decorating tips from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission:

• If using an artificial tree, check that it is labeled “fire resistant.” • If using a live tree, cut off about 2 inches of the trunk ART to expose fresh wood for better water absorption. Scribbling and drawing are forms Remember to water it and remove it from your home of writing, an important early literacy when it is dry. skill. Scribbling and drawing help children develop the eye-hand • Place your tree at least 3 feet away from fireplaces, coordination and fine motor control radiators, and other heat sources, making certain not to they need to hold a pencil. block doorways.

• Play with clay or play dough. • Avoid placing breakable ornaments or ones with small, detachable parts on lower tree branches where small • Crinkle up newspaper to help children can reach them. strengthen finger muscles. • Only use indoor lights indoors and outdoor lights • Finger paint together. outdoors, and choose the right ladder for the task when hanging lights. • Put sticky foamy shapes on a rolling pin and roll in paint • Replace light sets that have broken or cracked sockets, and then on paper. frayed or bare wires, or loose connections.

• Turn off all lights and decorations when you go to bed or leave the house. DECEMBER 2020 DECEMBER 2020

1 2 3 4 5 Read a book about emotions, such as Countdown! Play I Spy as you run The Feelings Book by Count backwards errands today. Todd Parr. Talk about from 10 and 20. a time when you were happy, sad, angry, etc.

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Make snowflakes. Sing a favorite Read a winter holiday song Talk about how story together. each one is different together. Clap to the Ask, “What was your beat of the music. and count them. favorite part?”

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Follow a recipe Have your child Play a board game to make a simple practice writing like Candy Land gingerbread house his first name. as a family. or cookies together.

20 Winter 21 22 23 LIBRARY 24 LIBRARY 25 26 Begins CLOSED CLOSED Christmas Eve Christmas Make thank- you cards.

27 28 29 30 LIBRARY 31 Using the cards CLOSED Check out a book made last week, New Year’s Eve about New Year’s help your child write to read together. a thank-you note to someone special. WRITING Kids and Germs Kids naturally explore things with their hands and AND READING mouths. Germs typically inhabit areas common to kids, including pets, yards, floors, and places such as Writing and reading go together. Both are ways to door handles, grocery stores, playgrounds, and water represent spoken words and ways to communicate fountains. Once in contact with germs, it may only be a information. As children write, they become aware that matter of time before an infection starts. the printed letters and words have meaning. The best line of defense is to wash those hands! Teach • Trace letters in sand, rice, or flour. kids to use warm water and soap and to work up a good, soapy lather. Scrub the tops and backs of hands for 20 • Write the alphabet on lined paper with a yellow seconds, and don’t forget to scrub in between fingers. highlighter. Encourage your child to trace Then rinse and dry well. the letters with a pencil. Hand washing keeps everyone safe from common colds • Encourage your child to write the letters in her name. and even more serious infections. Everyone should wash This is the most meaningful printed word for a child. their hands before handling food and after using the • Have your child sign his name on his drawings. bathroom or touching their mouth or nose areas. Write captions for his drawings.

BOOKS Chicken Story Time JE Asher, Sandy

It Came in the Mail JE Clanton, Ben

Give Me Back My Book JE Foster, Travis

Perfect Square JE Hall, Michael

Little Red Writing JE Holub, Joan JANUARY 2021 JANUARY 2021

LIBRARY 1 2 CLOSED New Year’s Day

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Talk about words Play I Spy by that are made describing things up of 2 words in your home. (snowman, snowplow, snowfall, snowball).

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Fill a baking sheet Encourage your Check out books to Help your child with rice or salt. Help child to use a picture explore a topic your write a letter to a your child trace the book to tell a story child is interested grandparent or friend. letters of her name in his own words. in together. with her fingers.

17 18 19 20 21 22 23 With your child, cut out pictures of food and Count how many Clap and stomp paste them on sheets books are in your to songs and nursery of paper to make a child’s room. rhymes together. menu. Have your child “read” the menu.

24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Visit the library Using play dough, Choose a letter together to check help your child mold of the day. Look for out magazines the letters of his that letter where 31 of interest to first name. ever you go. your child. LET’S TALK ABOUT IT BOOKS Daniel’s Good Day (TALKING) JE Archer, Micha Grandma’s Purse Children learn about language by listening to parents and caregivers JE Brantley-Newton, Vanessa talk and by joining in conversation. Talking to your child about many different events, ideas, and stories helps them develop the general The Rabbit Listened knowledge they need to understand the content of what they will JE Doerrfeld, Cori read in books when they are older. Parent/Teacher 155.41 • When you read with your child, ask questions about what Doerrfeld, Cori will happen next. This helps your child develop language and Where’s Mommy? vocabulary skills. JE Donofrio, Beverly • Play games like “I Spy” (one person describes what is seen Do You Know Which and the other person has to guess what it is). This game requires descriptive vocabulary, visual, and listening skills. Ones Will Grow? JE Shea, Susan A. • Introduce new words to your child. Good readers have a large vocabulary. Is 2 a Lot? JE Watson, Annie 911 Emergency Having a child who knows the difference between an emergency and a non-emergency and how to call 911 could make all the difference in the world. Most areas now have enhanced 911, which enables a trace on where the call originated. If unavailable, children should know: • How to use a cell phone or call from a landline • Where they are calling from (address, name of the building, or nearby landmarks) • What type of emergency it is • Who needs help • If someone is awake and/or breathing. They may be frightened, but it is important to teach your child to be calm, speak slowly and clearly to the operator, and to stay on the line until told to hang up. If old enough to understand, the operator may also give first aid instructions until EMS personnel arrive on the scene. FEBRUARY 2021 FEBRUARY 2021

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Play with blocks See how many At bedtime, ask, today. Count them, foods you can think “What was the best stack them, and make of that begin with and worst part color patterns. the letter P. of your day?”

Happy National 7 8 9 10 11 Chinese 12 Children’s Dental 13 New Year Health Month! Help your child Help your child sort Play “I love you make a Valentine’s things in your pantry more than…” Day card for according to which someone special. items are good or bad for your teeth.

Valentine’s 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Day Play some loud, Scavenger Hunt! Read a story to your lively music that Look around the child and then let her allows for stomping, house for retell it to you by jumping, marching, everything red. “reading” the pictures. and moving.

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Help your child Ask, “How many Ask your child to practice holding words can you think draw a picture of a pencil and writing of that start with the his favorite book his name, but same letter as your character. keep it fun! first name?”

28 PLAYING Playing is a child’s work. It is through play and exploration Adjusting to that children learn the most about the world around them. It helps children practice putting their thoughts into words, which develops language skills. Daylight Saving Time Springing ahead with Daylight Saving Time can • Put sturdy books in the toy box so your child can make anyone groggy. Here’s how you can help find them while looking for toys to play with. little ones adjust easier. • Play fun games: Put 3–5 items on a tray and ask your • Take baby steps. Gradually adjust the bedtime child to look at the objects. Then cover them. schedule either in the spring or fall. Ask what was there. • Control the lighting. Dim the lights in your • Play school. Encourage your child to play the role house, close the shades, and turn off electronics of the teacher. This will help erase fears about starting 30 minutes to an hour prior to bed. This will school, while also providing an opportunity for learning. help the body’s internal circadian clock to adjust properly. • Bowling fun: Make a bowling alley for your child using empty plastic 2-liter bottles and a small ball. • Stick with a routine. Young children are dependent upon schedules—especially sleep schedules. • There’s an app for that. Use apps that control the length of time a child can use a device. Schedule devices to be shut off when it is time to start getting ready for bed. BOOKS • Be patient. Change is hard, especially on youngsters. It is normal for children to throw Unplugged temper tantrums to show their displeasure JE Antony, Steve or voice frustration when their schedule Box has been upset. JE Flyte, Min • Keep them active. Active play during the day helps children sleep better at night—and Who Has parents, too! Wiggle-Waggle Toes? JE Shiefman, Vicky

How to Two Concept JE Soman, David MARCH 2021 MARCH 2021

1 2 3 4 5 6 Start a word book. Think Green: Write down favorite Sing a song! Check Point out things words and have him out a children’s music today that start draw a picture CD and sing along. with the letter G. for each word.

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Check out Rhyming contest! At dinner tonight, a rhyming book Start with simple words like bed ask your child to and read it, pointing and cat and see talk about his day. out the rhyming how many words words. you can rhyme.

Daylight 14 15 16 St. Patrick’s 17 18 19 Spring 20 Saving Time Day Point out the letters Begins! Begins at the beginning of words today. Talk about the clock Wear green today. face & practice Talk about letters counting from 1–12. and their shapes.

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 As you read a Make a simple favorite story, stop grocery list with your Let your child and point out a word. child. At the store, read her word Talk about what match your list items book today. it means. with food labels.

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As you read a story, have your child point out words or letters he recognizes. WRITE ON! Controlling Allergies Writing doesn’t always have to be writing. It can be tracing in sand, playing with clay or play dough, or scribbling and drawing. Scribbling The weather, pollen, dust and dust mites, mold/ and drawing help children develop eye-hand coordination and fine mildew, foods, and pet dander are today’s most motor control needed to hold a pencil. Writing is an important way common allergy triggers. Finding the causes of to represent spoken words and communicate information. sneezing and wheezing in your child can be a challenge. • Make crayons and pencils available along with paper, Here are steps you and your physician can and allow your child to practice making letters, drawing pictures, take to identify the culprit: and making words. • Find the allergy trigger. Record your child’s • Give your child string and large beads, and let him practice stringing surroundings, mood, foods eaten, time of year the beads. This will help your child to develop fine motor skills and how the symptoms made you feel. needed for writing.

• Change your environment. Keep pets out of • Write letters, cards, and notes to family members, and encourage certain areas, restrict your child’s diet, stay indoors your child to sign her name to cards that you give to loved ones. more often, or run the air conditioner to prevent • Allow your child to help with the grocery list by drawing pictures of a allergies. few items and/or checking items off the list as you purchase them. • Ask about corticosteroid sprays. These low-dose nasal prescriptions may be helpful in relieving symptoms with very few side effects.

• Get the latest treatments. Make sure your child’s physician is well versed on the latest treatments BOOKS for his or her symptoms. The Thank You Letter • Be persistent. Ask for a referral to an ear, nose, JE Cabrera, Jane throat specialist or an allergist if your family doctor is not able to properly diagnose. Can I Be Your Dog? JE Cummings, Troy YHBA JE Cummings, Troy Little Plane Learns to Write JE Savage, Stephen A Quieter Story JE Woodruff, Liza

APRIL 2021 APRIL 2021

1 2 3 Read a Froggy book by Jonathan London. Look for the word Froggy. Point it out and say it together.

Easter 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Sunday Draw a spring picture Cut out pictures from Read Chrysanthemum and identify the old magazines. LIBRARY by Kevin Henkes. beginning letter of Describe each picture CLOSED Talk about different each object in using as many words flower names. the picture. as you can.

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Practice self-control. Allow your child Play Red Light, Green Make up a story to use sidewalk Light together. about what happens chalk to practice when it rains. writing her name and the numbers 1–10.

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Visit the park. Help your child At bedtime, let Push your child on practice saying her your child read to the swing and take phone number one of his favorite turns saying words and birthday today. stuffed animals. that rhyme with cat.

25 26 27 28 29 30 Place several small Choose a favorite objects in a paper story. Find props bag. Take out an or costumes and item and make up act it out together. a story about it. FINE MOTOR SKILLS Get Those Fingers Moving! Developing fine motor skills is a critical step in preparing children for writing. Children starting kindergarten typically can hold a pencil between their thumb and forefinger, manipulate clay, and build a 10-cube tower. Develop fine motor skills by offering your child opportunities to: • Color, cut, and paste simple shapes or pictures. • Put simple puzzles together. • String large beads onto string or build Lego or block structures. • Practice tracing simple shapes and writing letters and numbers. Storm Safety If a storm is coming or has begun, stay indoors. Lightning can travel through wires and pipes, so keep away from windows, wiring, and plumbing. Stay indoors for 30 minutes or more BOOKS after you hear the last thunder. Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes and Other Action Rhymes If you are outside when a storm comes, go indoors. You are safest in an enclosed building. JE Nursery Rhymes If you can’t get indoors: Miss Mary Mack: A Hand Clapping Rhyme • Get into a hardtop car, not an open vehicle. JE Nursery Rhymes Close the windows. • Avoid trees, tall objects, and anything metal, This Little Piggy: Lap Songs, such as flagpoles, metal bleachers, Finger Plays, Clapping Games, golf clubs, tall light poles, etc. and Pantomime Rhymes JE Nursery Rhymes • Avoid rivers, lakes, and swimming pools. BOOK AND CD JE This If you are boating, head to shore.

Everyday Play: Fun Games to • Avoid wide-open areas, including sports fields. Develop Fine Motor Skills Your Child Needs for School Parent/Teacher 155.41 Isbell, Christy MAY 2021 MAY 2021

1 Visit the library’s website to have reading fun with TumbleBooks or BookFlix today.

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Help your child At the grocery Help your child practice saying her store, walk through count how many the produce area phone number, stuffed animals are pointing out the first name, and in his room. names of specific last name. fruits and vegetables.

Mother’s 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Day Check out a book Keep a calendar Sing the ABC song to read at in your child’s together. Look for bedtime tonight. room. Write special letters everywhere. events on it.

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Keep paper, crayons, Make a Mother’s Let your child and pencils handy. Practice buttoning Day card for use seeds, beans, and Encourage your child or zipping a jacket. someone special. glue to make art. to write & draw.

23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Roll play dough Check out an LIBRARY into “snakes.” Use 30 LIBRARY 31 alphabet book. the snakes to form CLOSED Point out the letters CLOSED letters, numbers, Memorial Day and say them together. Weekend Memorial Day and shapes. NUMBERS, SHAPES, BOOKS Stack the Cats AND PATTERNS Concept JE Ghahremani, Susie Building Blocks Pattern Fish J152.1 Harris, Trudy to Early Literacy Sam Sorts Recognizing numbers, shapes, and patterns is a common JE Jocelyn, Marthe math readiness expectation for young children. These skills also support early literacy development. One Fox: A Counting Book Thriller • Read counting and shape books together and look Concept JE Read, Kate for numbers and shapes in your community. Round Is a Mooncake • Play Simon Says using numbers (ex. take 2 steps Concept JE Thong, Roseanne or jump 3 times). • Use toothpicks or string to make basic shapes (square, rectangle, triangle, circle). • Look for patterns in clothing and everyday household objects. Sun Protection • Use household objects to begin patterns Exposure to sunlight directly impacts future risk of for your child to copy (fork, spoon, fork, spoon…). melanoma. Beat the sun with these tips: • Apply sunscreen often. Sunscreens with an SPF of 15 or more can reduce the intensity of UVRs that cause sunburn. Apply liberally 15 to 30 minutes before sun exposure so it can fully absorb into the skin. • Cover up. Dress in protective clothing and hats, and keep babies younger than six months out of direct sunlight. • Plan activities early in the morning. Try to avoid peak-sun hours (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) as much as possible. • Beware of the shade. Shade can provide relief from the heat but does not prevent sunburn. JUNE 2021 JUNE 2021

1 2 3 4 5 Ask who, what, Look for and name Check out a when, and where the different shapes counting book. questions as you of signs when you Read it together. are reading your are in the car. child a story today.

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Read a repetitious story Check out a wordless like I Know an Old Lady Sort plant seeds picture book. Have Who Swallowed a Fly. or dried beans into your child use Say the repeated a muffin tin. the pictures to parts together. tell you the story.

13 Flag Day 14 15 16 17 18 19 Use shaving cream Help your child Have your child to practice writing practice saying her find the letter “F” Make a Father’s the numbers 1–10 phone number and as many times as Day card for & to draw circles, first and last name. he can today. someone special. squares, & triangles.

Father’s 20 Summer 21 22 23 24 25 26 Day Begins Work together to Practice counting Look for patterns complete a simple groups of things everywhere today. using items like large-piece puzzle. spoons or towels.

27 28 29 30 Let your child use a hole Use crayons or blocks punch to make “lines” to create a simple on pieces of paper. Then, using scissors, color pattern like have her cut along blue, green, those lines. blue, green… LOOK OUT KINDERGARTEN, Fireworks Safety HERE I COME! A professionally organized fireworks show is the safest way to enjoy July 4th, but Children have mixed emotions about starting kindergarten. if you prefer to light up the sky yourself, To ease their anxiety (and yours!), try the following activities to lay the follow these tips: groundwork for a great first day. • Keep a bucket of water nearby. • Read stories together about starting kindergarten and discuss. • Use a clear, flat area away from houses, • Attend your school’s Back to School event. Meet the teacher. Walk around spectators and flammable materials. finding important places like the office, lunchroom, playground, and your • Wear closed-toed shoes. child’s classroom. • The person igniting the fireworks should • Purchase school supplies early and let your child role-play using them. wear safety glasses. • Begin to practice going to bed earlier and getting up • Remember, sparklers can burn hotter and getting ready for school. than 1,000o F. • Help your child feel confident and independent. Encourage her to dress, • Hold sparklers at arm’s length, and don’t put on shoes, wash hands, and take care of basic needs on her own. run with or wave sparklers. • Review numbers important to your child, such as his birthday, • Stand six feet away from others while phone number, and address. using sparklers. • Don’t hold a child while holding a BOOKS sparkler or lighting other fireworks. Our Favorite Day of the Year JE Ali, A.E. King of Kindergarten JE Barnes, Derrick I'm Telling You, Dex, Kindergarten Rocks! JE Davis, Katie Kindergarten Countdown JE Hays, Anna Jane Clover Kitty Goes to Kittygarten JE Salas, Laura ABC Ready for School Parent/Teacher 372.21 Delaney, Celeste JULY 2021 JULY 2021

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Read books about Mail your child a going to kindergarten letter telling him today and throughout how special he is. the month.

LIBRARY 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 CLOSED Talk about going Make silly puppets Independence Day to school. Keep using paper bags Happy 4th of July! school supplies or old socks and act out handy and play school Talk about the reason a familiar story. for the holiday. with your child.

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Have your child Encourage your child Together, clap the use Scrabble to sign her artwork syllables (beats) or magnetic letters as a fun way to to your child’s name. to spell his name and practice writing Try the names of other other familiar words. her name. family members, too.

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Practice opening Practice self-control. When reading lunch items such as, While you blow bubbles, together, stop before have your child alternate yogurt pouches, juice the end and ask, between popping them boxes, string cheese, all and watching them “What do you think applesauce, etc. float to the ground. is going to happen?”

25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Practice following Have fun with jump Help your child put Sing and act out songs directions and taking rope rhymes today. together a small such as Itsy Bitsy turns. Play games If you need ideas, scrapbook from Spider and Twinkle, like Concentration check out a book a recent trip. & Simon Says Twinkle, Little featuring these rhymes. Talk about the trip. together. Star today.