Kids Blog

Verb: It's an Action! Moving with Your Books

What is more fun than reading a book? Reading a book and working on building other skills at the same time! Reading books aloud is a crucial early literacy activity that stimulates the brain of both the reader and the listener. (Yes, you are working your brain too, grown person!) Reading is what libraries across the world promote to help build literacy skills. But what if I told you, you could super charge and cross train your mind to build multiple skills at one time?

Learning & Celebrating Black History!

Goldilocks Isn’t Always Right: Pleasure, Positive Attitudes, & Why You Should Sometimes Ignore Reading Levels

Schools often put books into different levels to help kids find “just right” books that aren’t too hard or too easy for students’ reading abilities. If a child checks out a book from their school, chances are that the book will have some sort of color or letter (A-Z), to help find appropriate books.

Singing, Singing Little Stars!

“It’s the same song!” a family member says to the room as she starts singing the ageless lullaby Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star much to the joy of the only 2-year-old in the room. “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” they sing together. “H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P” my family member finishes to prove her point. (Go ahead, try it yourself!)

Forget the Flashcards! Try Homework Help Now

Flashcards are a tried and true method for learning facts. Flipping over cards to confirm your knowledge is great study tool, but how much more engaging and fun would learning be if you could practice the facts you’ve learned with interactive games? The Homework Help Now database offers the opportunity to memorize what you’ve learned with fun activities:  

Graphic Novels ARE "Real" Books!

I see it nearly every day at my branch. A child approaches me to request the latest Big Nate or Zelda and their grownup says “No, I want you to read a real book.” Cue disappointed wah wah sound effect and sometimes tears.  Despite what might have been presented in the past to parents, studies repeatedly demonstrate that Comics (or Graphic Novels if you prefer) have great benefits to children, including but not limited to the following:

Santa Through the Ages

Have you ever wondered about the origins of Santa Claus? Father Winter? St. Nick? How about how Santa is portrayed now vs. how he was portrayed in the 1800s? Feel free to take a gander at the Pop Culture Database, which is available through the TCCL website: tulsalibrary.org under the Research tab.

FREE Play! (Good for the Brain, Good for Your Wallet!)

Toys with lights and sounds can draw your little one’s attention quickly, but if you want the most bang for your buck, you need a toy promotes open-ended play (play that allows your child to make the rules). The best toys for those are found around your home and they are free of cost! 

Why is Phonics Important? Simple Ways to Boost Phonics in Young Readers

I don’t remember the minutiae of learning to read, but the word phonics instantly transports me back to my first grade classroom in the early eighties and many mornings working in those red phonics workbooks.

Let's Eat (and Read) Around the World for Thanksgiving!

Armies may run on their stomachs, but so do kids getting ready to read! Connecting literacy and language with food is a tried and true way to make kids happy while teaching them valuable literacy lessons.