Sign up for Storytellers on the Move

Did you know that several times a year, children's librarians visit local daycares and preschools

to deliver boxes of great age-appropriate books and provide storytimes?  Well, they do!  

Call Children's Services at the Main Library -- 421-1220 -- and sign up for

Storytellers on the Move.  

Our next deliveries are being scheduled from September 19 - 30.  Call today!

Would YOU like a librarian to visit YOUR daycare/preschool?

Now is the time for daycare and preschool teachers to schedule a day and time for...

Storytellers on the Move!


Between April 25 and May 6, 2011, Children's Librarians will be visiting local preschools and daycares, sharing special storytimes with the children and delivering boxes of books for teachers and children to use until our next visit.

Call today -- 421-1220 -- and schedule a time for us to visit YOU!

New Seussville Website

Fans of Dr. Seuss may want to check out the recently updated Seussville site -- chock full of new games and activities for kids, as well as lesson ideas for teachers and tips for parents.

Magazines Galore!

We have magazines for children, magazines for parents and teachers, magazines, magazines, and more magazines!  

And now on our website you'll find handy lists and descriptions of all the magazines that are available in the Children's Services department.  Check out these lists, and then come in and check out a magazine!

Storyline Online

Storyline Online is a website that streams videos of famous actors reading children's picture books -- there are currently over 20 different stories offered, each read by a different actor. Discussion questions and downloadable activity guides are also available for each story.

Early Childhood Teachers - Take Note!

Summer is the perfect time to start planning your lessons and activities for the upcoming school year. As you plan, be sure to check out our newly-updated list of Early Childhood Curriculum Resources.

Parents of young children will also find this list useful. It's chock-full of developmentally appropriate crafts, stories, and songs for the young children in YOUR life!

Lesson Pathways

Are you looking for a great place to find free lesson plans? Check out Lesson Pathways. I just took the site tour and was amazed. It is FREE to use the site, but you do have to sign up for an account. If you try it, let us know what you think.

Very Busy Bees

From sunup to sundown, "extra busy" children have an endless supply of energy and remain on the move throughout the day. Ants in Their Pants offers successful and tested techniques to help caregivers, educators, and parents provide the best support to active learners so they can thrive in the classroom and at home. These ideas—from a teacher of both special and general education who is a parent of an extra busy child—provide information on how to help extra busy children use their energy to learn while helping teacher understand children who need to move.
Aerial Cross, MA, holds a master's degree in special education and has over ten years of experience as an educator in both general and special education classrooms.

Valerie Tutson - Storyteller Extraordinaire!

We are thrilled to present internationally renowned storyteller, Valerie Tutson!
Valerie will be performing Tales from Around the World Thursday, October 22.
The first performance will be at 10:30 am.
The second performance will be at 1:00 pm.
Do not miss this one of a kind opportunity!
Registration is required for this FREE event - contact Children's Services 421-1220.
Seating is limited - Call today!

Back to School -- for Teachers!

Teachers and Homeschooling Parents:

Plan now to attend our annual "Back to School for Teachers" program, and find out about the many resources available to you and your students here at the Main Library. We'll provide a brief presentation, an introduction to INSPIRE's Kids' Search, Indiana's online database for kids, a tour of the Main Library and Children's Department, and we'll answer any questions you may have.

All attendees will have the opportunity to enter door-prize drawings for gift cards to United Art and Education and other classroom resources.

It's all happening on Monday, August 3, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. in the Globe Room, at the entrance to Children's Services at the Main Library.

Leading to Reading and Reading Planet

Here are two great websites offered by R.I.F. (Reading is Fundamental):

Leading to Reading is geared toward younger children who aren't yet reading, and their grown-ups, and has games, crafts, fingerplays, rhymes, book suggestions, and much more.

Reading Planet, for kids who are reading and writing on their own, offers a story maker, book reviews written by kids, project ideas, clip art for stories...the list goes on and on and on!

Children's Literature Resources

Looking for extension activities, discussion questions, or supporting information for your classroom, literature circle, or book club? Take a look at these two websites, graciously provided to us by a homeschooling mom:

Reading Units lists dozens of children's titles with links to questions and activities.

Literature Websites is a source for study guides, literature units, author websites, and lesson plans that extend children's literature.

Happy Reading!

Learn about the Star Spangled Banner!

The Smithsonian Museum of American History has published a COOL website about the Star Spangled Banner. You can:

• Explore the original flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write our national anthem using an interactive tool...
• Take a quiz to test your knowledge...
• Enter a Star Spangled Banner singing contest...
• and more!

Teachers and Homeschoolers -- clicking on the Resources button at the top of the site will give you access to a great many lesson plans, book lists and other resources for your classroom!

Click here to check it out!

Blog Event!


Click the above picture to attend a blogging event this week and tour several Children's Literature Blogs. Topics covered each day are Raising Readers, Selecting Reading Material, Reading Aloud--It's Fun, It's Easy, A Visit to the Library, and Technology and Reading--What the Future Holds.


Economy Sites for Kids

Are you looking for a way to explain all of the current economic news to your children? Check out Economy for Kids - A Scholastic News Special Report for articles, activities and games. It even includes a few lesson plans for teachers, check out How the Economy Works for Grades 3 to 5.

If you would like access to more lesson plans than you could ever use, check out the Council for Economic Education website.

These links were in the January 2009 issue of School Library Journal, check out the entire column by Gail Junion-Metz here.

Presenting the Past: Natural heritage in the classroom

On Friday, February 27, 2009 the Indiana Council for History Education will be holding the conference Presenting the Past: Natural Heritage in the Classroom here at the Main branch of the Allen County Public Library. Don't miss this exciting opportunity to spend a day immersed in the natural and human history of Indiana. For more information about this, click here.

Remnant Trust at IPFW

Don't miss the Remnant Trust at IPFW, now through April 2009! The Remnant Trust is a collection of manuscripts and early editions of works. Included are Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, the Magna Charta, the Emancipation Proclamation, Frederick Douglass' Life of Frederick Douglass, and Plato's Plato, His Apology of Socrates to name only a few of the 50 items available to see, to read and, quite unbelievably, to touch.

The exhibit is in the Helmke Library on the IPFW campus. It is open to the public:
Tuesday 5:30pm to 7:30pm
Wednesday 1pm to 3pm
Friday 9am to 1pm
Saturday 9am to 12pm

To arrange a class visit or to borrow a document for classroom use, contact the Helmke Library Services Desk at 481-6512. There are many interesting programs for adults too.

Class Visits

Yesterday morning we had 180 kids in our department! The kids were here with their classes to hear stories, to go on tours, to receive computer instruction and to conduct research. It is not too late to schedule YOUR class visit to the Library! Your visit can be tailored to meet the needs of your students.

We are available for tours on Wednesday afternoons or all day on Thursday. We are currently scheduling for March, April & May. If you would like to schedule your visit, please give us a call at 421-1220.

Don't Tell the Children: Homeschoolers' Best-Kept Secret

The article "Don't Tell the Children: Homeschoolers' Best-Kept Secret", which appears in the September/October 2008 issue of The Horn Book Magazine is a celebration of books and reading. The author, Sherry Early, shares how books are used (and loved) by her homeschooling family.

This issue is full of Stories Out of School including "Splinters" by Megan McDonald (the author of the Judy Moody books), "An Art School?" by David Wiesner (two time winner of the Caldecott Medal), and "Fortification" by Shannon Hale (winner of a Newbery Honor) to name just a few.

If you enjoy reading about books, visit our Parent Teacher collection where you will find a year's worth of The Horn Book Magazine to check out.

Student Success Magazines

This year the Indiana Department of Education has started a new publication for students. On Track: Your Guide to Success is a mini-magazine for students in grades K to 5. Check out the link to your grade here. The magazines include information on the ISTEP tests, "What You Need to Know in ___ Grade", ideas for planning for the future, a quiz, 10 tips for parents and more!