Blog: Children’s Program

The category for Children’s programs that will be featured on the Children’s Collection page.

Watercolor Craft

Posted on by Rebecca Smith

The watercolor bags have all been claimed. Links with instructions for some of the projects that we did appear below:

Raised Salt Painting

Watercolor Techniques for Beginners

 

The Watercolor Craft bag, with paints and paper for children ages 6-10, is now available for pick-up at the library. On Friday, August 7, we’ll get together on Zoom at 11:00 a.m. to share some creative ways to use these materials. The Zoom link will appear in the online calendar 5-10 minutes before the program begins.

Call the Library at 781-324-0218 to arrange to pick up your bag:  M-F, 10:15 am – 5:30 pm.

Outdoor Scavenger Hunt

Posted on by Rebecca Smith

Suffering from cabin fever? Longing for adventure? Get yourself outdoors and explore! Nature is a soothing balm in these stressful times. This lovely body of water is the South Reservoir, located in the Middlesex Fells Reservation, just about three miles from Malden.

For a fun activity, take yourself (or your family) on a scavenger hunt! This special Nature Scavenger Hunt is based on things actually seen in the Lawrence Woods, the southwestern-most section of the Fells. Parking is available near Victory Park on Winthrop Street in Medford. A gravel-stepped trail entrance is located on the far side of the playing field. You can bring along nature guide books (available from our library!) to help identify and learn more about what you discover.

To keep your bearings, here is a map of the Middlesex Fells Reservation

And if you’d prefer a scavenger hunt closer to home, try this Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt

Have fun out there! (And don’t forget to bring a mask and practice social distancing. The Lawrence Woods is fairly unpopulated though.)

Urban Ecology Workshop Series for Grades 3-8

Posted on by Jean Slavkovsky

Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/94882144614?pwd=QUExVFdqYTV5RloxTEZCUTNxRlkxUT09

Love the environment? Join Librarian Jean for a series of Urban Ecology Workshops designed by the MIT Public Library Innovation Exchange (PLIX) team (Learn more here).

Pick up activity bags beginning Monday, August 3rd 10-6PM.

Call 781-324-0218 or email jslavkovsky@maldenpubliclibrary.org to reserve a bag. Programs will be conducted over Zoom; a link will be added here.

Wednesday, August 5th 3-4PM Sensory Nature Walk: Cultivate a keen eye—and nose, ear, and hand—when evaluating the qualities of our living world. Then use these observational skills to explore your local urban or suburban environment.

Wednesday, August 12th 3-4PM Tangible Ecosystem: Learn how to highlight abiotic (nonliving) and biotic (living) factors as the key actors in the urban environment. Examine how these environmental components interact, as well as how they are related, to form unique ecologies associated with your local community.

Wednesday, August 19th 3-4PM Understanding Urban Soils: Explore the diverse functions and roles of soils—the foundation of all terrestrial ecosystems—and the types of life they support. Learn to categorize various soils and the species contained therein, and begin to unravel how urban environments shape soil structure and function.

Generously sponsored by Preotle, Lane, & Associates.

 

Virtual Story Times for ages 4-6+

Posted on by Rebecca Smith

Join us as we share some special fairy tales and some of our favorite picture books on Zoom at the following times:

Fantasy Story Time:  Thursday, July 30, 11:00-11:30 a.m.

Favorite Picture Books:  Tuesday, August 4 and 18, 11:00-11:30 a.m.

A Zoom invitation link will appear in the library calendar entry for this program, 5-10 minutes before story time begins.

Wonder Knitting (ages 6-10) – Monday, August 10, 11 a.m.

Posted on by Rebecca Smith

Children ages 6-10 are invited to get crafty with their own Wonder Knitter and samples of yarn. You can pick up a bag containing a Wonder Knitter and yarn from the Malden Public Library (while supplies last) and start making knitted cords at home! Call the library at 781-324-0218 (between 10:15 am and 5:30pm, M-F) to arrange to get a bag via curbside pickup. On Monday, August 10, we will gather in a Zoom meeting at 11 a.m. to knit and chat and give support to anyone needing instructional help.

To get started, you can also watch this video tutorial.

(To join the program, click on the Zoom link in the listing on our library’s website calendar, about 5-10 minutes before the start of the program, and click on the invitation link to be admitted.)

Summer Reading 2020

Posted on by Caron Guigli

Please visit our Summer Reading 2020 page to find links to lists of resources and summer reading lists by grade for Malden students. We will continue to update this page as more classes release their information. The theme for this year’s summer reading is Imagine Your Story—themes of fairytales, mythology, and fantasy.

And soon we will be announcing our Summer Reading Kickoff Event (and yes, we will have ice cream this year too!) and links to sign up for Summer Reading.

Song & Rhyme Time: At-Home

Posted on by Rebecca Smith

For those young children and caregivers who have been missing Song & Rhyme Time programs at our library, our Children’s Librarian, Ms. Rebecca, has made several short videos to help families enjoy a bit of the program at home. We miss you and look forward to being able to offer these programs again in person at the library! Stay healthy and safe.

Song & Rhyme Time – Part 1

Song & Rhyme Time – Part 2

Song & Rhyme Time – Part 3

 

For those who would like a bit more variety, here are some similar kinds of at-home Mother Goose videos being offered by other libraries.

Universal Class offers 500 Courses – including Parenting Skills

Posted on by Dora St. Martin

Good parenting skills are something we learn, not something we are born with. Universal Class offers over 500 online continuing education courses, including parenting skills such as basic parenting, behavior management, positive parenting techniques, early childhood development, and many more.  Check out Universal Class at https://maldenpubliclibrary.org/elibrary/page/4/

Harry Potter at Home

Posted on by Lily Mysona

Are you wondering how to fill the hours at home with your children while still engaging them? Well we would suggest reading of course and we’re not the only ones! The Wizarding World has assembled a superstar team with J.K. Rowling, Audible, Bloomsbury, OverDrive, Pottermore Publishing, and Scholastic to bring you Harry Potter at Home, a hub that provides access to Harry Potter books and related activities. It’s as easy as 1-2-3: just add magic and subtract boredom. 

What does this all mean? Well for starters you will be able to access the first Harry Potter book through Overdrive in ebook and audiobook format until the end of April. No waitlists, just instant magical gratification! Teachers have been given an open license to read any and all seven Harry Potter books to their students online. There’s plenty more as well, from arts and crafts to articles and puzzles. You can sign up to have a newsletter delivered to your email weekly which will update you on the latest activities or you can just check the website. Registration is required but it’s FREE! With Harry Potter at Home, there’s something for everyone! 

The Malden Public Library and The Wizarding World know that reading, drawing, doing word searches, and other activities are more than just fun distractions. Reading can transport you to another world when you need a break from this one. It teaches you to think critically and empathize. It improves your language and listening skills and can lengthen short attention spans. It helps expand your imagination which is something to nurture rather than grow out of. You get these same benefits from listening to a book as you do from reading one. When parents read or listen to a book with their children they are helping to engage and prepare their children for the world while creating a shared experience that bonds them. So add a little magic to your home today and remember that with books you can go anywhere you want

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