BKLYN Kids
Fun books and activities for kids from our children's librarians.
How to Answer (Some) of Your Child’s Questions About Coronavirus
Adults across the city have been placed in a role few of us were prepared for: stay at home parent, remote worker, and homeschool coordinator for children across the full pre-K through 12th grade education spectrum. Presented with an unprecedented crisis, many grown-ups are left searching for answers to questions from housebound school-aged kids. I reached out to parents and caregivers for some examples of questions they had been facing at home. Many children had questions that adults in the highest offices of government are struggling with:
Kids Create: Ramadan Crafts
During Ramadan, Muslims around the world fast from sunrise to sunset. Muslims follow a lunar calendar, a calendar that follows the phases of the moon. Every year Ramadan’s dates change. Ramadan may be 29 or 30 days and the dates change every year, moving ahead by approximately 11 days.
Earth Day is inside your Refrigerator
Earth Day is right around the corner and with the necessity to shelter in place, it is even more important for children to celebrate our beautiful world from home this year. But how? I felt stuck. Many of the Earth Day traditions I would recommend to families are not possible this year, especially for children living in Brooklyn. Any other year, I'd encourage families to join a park clean-up, plant a tree, or walk or bike to a nearby park for time outside. These are not options during the pandemic.
Tech Play Recipe: Digital Feelings Book
Introducing our first Tech Play Recipe blog post! This is a series of simple, easy to follow ways to use technology you have at home to creatively build on young children’s learning. As with everything we create, each activity includes one or more of the 5 early childhood skills young children need to engage in everyday to learn and explore the world around them: Reading, Playing, Talking, Writing, and Singing.
Kids Explore: Brooklyn Birds
While most families are stuck indoors amidst this global pandemic and leaving the house or apartment seems less and less likely we, as public librarians, aim to make this time easier for you and your child. Having been quarantined for the last three weeks I found ways to entertain myself and learn a new skill all at the same time and while exploring my own urban backyard. You do not need to live near a park to participate in this activity. The only thing you need is a sense of exploration, curiosity, and the Merlin Bird ID app.
Kids Explore: Wildlife
Kids Create: Fairy Homes
Although we may be stuck inside, we can't forget to leave room for magic! There is no better way to foster a sense of wonder than by making tiny homes for some of the forest’s most enchanted creatures- fairies! For this simple, open-ended craft, kids can use their imaginations to construct their own tiny fairy home with simple materials and miscellaneous craft items. What you’ll need:
BKLYN Kids Presents: National Wildlife Week
National Wildlife Week starts today, April 6th. We know that it may not be easy right now to find ways to get outside and explore nature and wildlife. With these crafts, books, and other resources, you will be able to bring the wildlife exploration closer to home! Kids Create New York Zoos and Aquarium: Build Your Wild Self (Based on an Activity from the Bronx Zoo) You can choose to do this on paper or on the computer.
BKLYN Kids Presents: We Count!
The 2020 Census is here! Visit the Census website and get counted today! The decennial census determines New York's fair share of more than $650 billion of federal funds every year for critical programs and services, including public education, public housing, roads and bridges, social services, and much more. It also determines the number of representatives we have fighting for us in Congress.
BKLYN Kids Presents: National Physicians Week
Doctors, nurses, and medical professionals are working tirelessly around the clock to keep us all healthy, especially now. To celebrate National Physicians Week from March 25-31, 2020 we have come up with a booklist, crafts, and activities to inspire you. Here is a list of books you can read with your kids, including some they can read independently, to help answer questions about what doctors do, and what a child can expect at a doctor visit.
Kids Explore: Virtual Farm Tours
To wrap up National Agriculture Week, we're sharing a few ways to explore and enjoy farm life from home!
Library Lab: Be a Home Botanist
In honor of National Agriculture Week, we're showing you how to Grow your Own Green Onions! Depending on who you ask, green onions are called scallions or spring onions. They are sold at various markets with the roots intact. Normally, you use everything but the roots. To save money, save time, reduce waste, upcycle and show off your green thumb you can easily regrow green onions!
BKLYN Kids Presents: Staying Connected
Kids - we want to hear from you! Brooklyn Public Library is looking for your journal entries, poems, and other writing about your experience of staying home during the coronavirus. You can tell us what it's been like to learn from home, share advice with other kids about how to get along with your siblings, or write about how you feel. Fill in the form below to participate!
Book Talk: National Agriculture Week
Signs of spring are starting to show: the days are brighter and warmer. Green shoots are popping up in gardens, on sidewalks and windowsills. Take part in National Agriculture week from your own backyard, windowsill or kitchen. March 22 through 28 marks National Agriculture Week 2020, a time to celebrate the essential role of the farmers and growers of the nation.
Kids Create: Modern Collage for The Culture
February is black history month, and today, on Valentine's Day, kids can celebrate their love of black culture while honoring artists who made beautiful impacts on the world of modern art. At Paerdegat Library we chose to honor three black modern artists whose names/surnames begin with the letter B: Romare Bearden, Betye Saar and Jean Michel Basquiat.
Read & Play: Things That Go
Every Friday at Cortelyou Library we have Choo Choo Train Play Time at 10:30 a.m. This popular program is a “lifesaver” in the winter when playgrounds are too cold to visit, according to Jared Roberts, whose son, Ozzie, is seen below playing with the train set. “As soon as the library opens the children run to the area to play with the train sets,” says Antonia Bramble, Neighborhood Library Supervisor of Cortelyou Library.
Kids Create: 2020 Desk Calendar
As we begin the new year, kids can have fun keeping track of the passing days with this cute desk calendar! Materials Construction paper Regular paper Cardstock or cardboard Glue Tape (optional) Scissors Markers Below is a tutorial for a 2019 desk calendar. We made one for this year at Paerdegat, below.
Author Spotlight: Ruth Chan
Recently, a group of lucky 2nd graders from PS 86, PS/IS 30, and Macademy visited Central Library for a presentation by children's book author and illustrator, Ruth Chan!
Library Lab: Winter STEM Activity
Did you ever wonder about how salt can melt ice? First, check out this COOL YouTube video on Ice and Salt. Then, try out this Winter STEM activity by STEAM Powered Family, you will be pleasantly surprised!
Kids Create: Gratitude Holiday Coloring Pages
This time of year is often when we reflect on what we are grateful for. It's a fun season for some kids, but it can also be a tough time for others.
Read & Play: Thank You, Omu!
Like many libraries in Brooklyn and across the U.S., Cortelyou Library recently participated in Read for the Record, a shared reading event that highlights the importance of early literacy. This year's book was a 2019 Caldecott Honor winner called
Library Lab: Halloween Slime
Happy Halloween! Ghouls and Goblins! Here is your favorite library lab experiment that everyone enjoys--SLIME! Check out some of these books on your favorite library lab experiment:
Kids Create: Fun Fall Crafts
As the fall season brings festive holidays, kids can make decorations and keep organized with these crafts at the library. Pipe Cleaner Spiders During this decorative time of year, kids will enjoy creating these easy-to-make itsy bitsy spiders. Hang them in a window, wear them as rings, or place them somewhere frightening fun! What you'll need:
Read & Play: Ready for Kindergarten!
There are so many things that young children need to be ready for Kindergarten!
BKLYN Kids Presents: Hispanic Heritage Month 2019
Here at Sunset Park Library we have a very diverse community which includes a lot of Hispanic residents. On Friday, September 20, in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month (which runs from September 15 to October 15) we had a big event at the library.
Read & Play: New Read Along Books
With a fresh batch of Vox Read Along books hitting the shelves at your local library, families can spice up storytime with some great new titles.
Summer Reading Highlight: Books for Grades 4-5
Although Summer is coming to an end, you can still explore A Universe of Stories at the Library! Here are some of the books that young explorers can check out! Kids, don't forget to sign up for our Summer Reading 2019 Challenge and be entered in the raffle for the chance to win an iPad. You can also receive two tickets to an event at the Barclay's Center when you complete your challenge!
Summer Reading Highlight: Books for Grades K-1
The new school year may be just around the corner, but at the Library our Summer Reading mission to space is still underway! If you've got a young one about to enter Kindergarten or First Grade in the fall, we've got a great selection of books to help them practice and engender a love of reading. Rocket into your local branch to pick up the great suggested books bellow, or other great titles from our Universe of Stories and beyond!
Summer Reading Highlight: Books for Grades 2-3
As the summer begins to wind down, remember there's A Universe of Stories to explore. The library's Summer Reading Book List for grades 2-3 offers books that young readers can enjoy while they ride out the rest of the summer and also get into gear for the upcoming school year.
Award-Winning Illustrators Create New Youth Wing Mural
We’ve all had the experience of borrowing a book from our local library and being transported to another world in its pages. Seven children’s book illustrators have each contributed a panel to a joyous mural in Central Library’s Youth Wing, bringing that experience to life. Scroll through the slideshow above to see each panel. Check out the Illustrators:
Summer Reading Highlight: Books for Babies,Toddlers & Preschoolers
Celebrate A Universe of Stories with celestial favorites from our Babies, Toddlers and Pre-Schoolers summer reading booklist.
BKLYN Kids Presents: Immigrant Heritage Month
On June 24th, the Kensington branch celebrated Immigrant Heritage Month. Tweens and Teens gathered to learn how to draw manga characters from Misako Rocks!, a Japanese manga writer/illustrator who has written works including Rock and Roll Love, the manga about a Japanese foreign exchange student living in the midwest. "Who knows the word for cute in Japanese?" Misako asked the drawing participants. "Kawaii!" the manga readers among them knowingly said.
Library Lab: Bubbles Experiments
Looking to do something FUN this Summer? Do you love bubbles? Check out this YouTube video about simple bubbles experiments you can do at home! If you can't get enough about bubbles, here are some books to check out:
Read & Play: Laundromats and Literacy
"This is the way we wash our clothes so early in the morning..." Singing while doing chores not only makes them more fun, it can help children develop important early literacy skills that will help them learn to read. Now a laundromat in Brooklyn is offering families a chance to sing songs and read books while their wash is spinning.
Kids Create: What's Your Forecast?
Spring has lived up to its reputation for being a rain-filled season, but we’ve also had some wonderful days filled with sunshine. We’re able to easily recognize weather changes when we look outside, but what about some of the emotional weather changes we’re dealing with on the inside? Making connections between the weather and our emotions can give kids the opportunity to identify how they are feeling.
Exploring STEAM with "Brainy" Bill Louden
Late last fall, the Crown Heights Library hosted several STEAM programs presented by science edutainer “Brainy” Bill Louden. From exploring the states of matter, to digging for fossils to spooky science, Brainy Bill made the learning experience accessible and fun for all! We hope to see more of Brainy Bill this summer as we explore “A Universe of Stories”.
Kids Create: Flower Blossom Trees
When the days seem to last a little bit longer, and the flowers begin to poke out of the ground, we can finally start believing that spring is on its way. The sunshine and the warmer weather always inspire me to “think spring” in my arts and crafts programs. This week in Kids Create, we created Cherry Blossom trees with just a few, easy to find materials. This is a craft I’ve made every spring, since originally being inspired by an old boss of mine.
Read & Play: Read-Along Books
A few months ago, Brooklyn Public Library added a very special set of books called read-along books to our picture books collection. These are not your average books. Read-along books come complete with a charged VOX audio playback device that includes a headphone jack, external speaker, play/pause button, volume controls, page-turning controls, rechargeable battery, and removable AC adapter. These books can read to you! Check them out:
Bklyn Kids Presents: Comic Con 2019!
Scroll through the slideshow for more photos of this awesome event! This March, the Youth Wing hosted its fourth annual Comic Con with the theme AfroFuturism and the Celebration of Black Nerd Culture.
Kids Create: Cereal Box Bookmarks
We recently made bookmarks at Sunset Park Library. Here's where I got the inspiration. Using recycled cereal boxes, we cut out and hole-punched rectangles and used paint, markers, glitter, and lots of fun add-ons to decorate our bookmarks.
Kids Create: Snowplace Like Home
This winter at Sunset Park Library, we found out there’s Snowplace Like Home. Together, we read “Here Comes Jack Frost” by Kazuno Kohara, and then we made our very own paper villages—and got snowed in!
Bklyn Kids Presents: Storytime with Corduroy!
Scroll through the slideshow to see Corduroy fun at the library! On Thursday, February 7, 2019, the Sunset Park Library hosted their special Story Time with Corduroy event, sponsored by the Museum of the City of New York and supported by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Corduroy was a hit!