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Readers of all ages will explore all things underground this summer as the Willmar Public Library presents "Dig Into Reading" during their summer reading program. The 2013 Summer Reading Program is open to young people, preschool through 5th grade with programs, prize drawings, story hours, a reading club, and more. Registration for "Dig Into Reading" begins on June 10th and ends on August 23rd.
Kicking off the reading program at
the Seattle Public Library
Join Kandiyohi County 4-H at the library this summer! Our topic is going to be Let's Get Growing! and each week we will do an activity focused on making gardening fun. Learn about garden basics, play in the mud, make your own plant container, grow and give away a plant to someone else, and more! This program is for children K - 6 and is on Mondays, June 17 - July 15 from 10:30 - 11:30. Call the library to register at 235-3162 or register online.
Naturalists from Sibley State Park will present a program on burrowing animals. They will bring animal mounts/skins of animals that live in MN. This program is for children preschool through age 10 and no registration is necessary. This program is June 19 from 10:00 - 10:45.
Tea Time With the Princesses is this year's theme. Queen of Festivals - Marie Nilles-Melchert, Aqua Princess - Sarah Rodelius, and International Princess - Kaitlan Bloomquist will be reading "Tea Time With Sophia Grace and Rosie" along with other princess stories. Come dressed as a prince or princess and have fun doing a craft. This is for children preschool through age 10. Call the library at 235-3162 to register or register online. This program takes place June 20 from 9:00 - 10:00 and from 10:30 - 11:30.
Willmar Stingers and the Early Childhood Initiatives in Willmar & at BOLD present the 4th annual Books-n-Baseball. Free baseball event for children kindergarten age 5 and under with parent(s). Tickets are available at the Willmar Public Library. The maximum is 4 tickets per family. The game is on Saturday, June 22, 2013 from 2:00 - 5:15 p.m. Arrival time 2:00, on the field by 2:15 - reading will begin promptly at 2:30 on the field. Children will be allowed to run bases after the game. Food and beverage available for purchase at the concession stand. We have tickets left!
Come hear U of MN Extension Master Gardner Becky West talk about sedums. She love all sedums (she has over 35 different varieties and is ready to add more) She hopes to encourage little gardener to value, plant, and adore sedum. This will be a hands-on time of getting to learn about and plant your own sedum. This program is for children preschool through age 10 and registration is necessary. Call the library at 235-3162 to register or register online. This program is on June 27 from 10:00 - 10:45.
The Land Before Time: June 28th, 2013, 3:30 - 5:00 Join us to watch the movie, "Land Before Time". The movie is G rated and is 73 minutes long. Popcorn will be provided or bring your own snack. According to IMBd the story line is as follows:
An orphaned brontosaurus named Littlefoot sets off in search of the legendary Great Valley. A land of lush vegetation where the dinosaurs can thrive and live in peace. Along the way he meets four other young dinosaurs, each one a different species, and they encounter several obstacles as they learn to work together in order to survive.
July 9: 10:00 - 11:00 The Stingers baseball team players will visit the library along with Barry. The players will read some of their favorite stories. There will be time to sign autographs and take pictures. This is for children preschool through age 12. No registration is necessary.
July 12: 3:30 - 5:00 Join us to watch the movie, "A Bug's Life". The movie is G rated and is 95 minutes long. Popcorn will be provided or bring your own snack. According to IMBd the story lines is as follows: Every year, a bunch of grasshoppers come to the anthill and eat what the ants have gathered for them. The "offering", as the ants call the ritual, is a part of their fate. One day in spring, when the offering's preparation has just been finished, Flik, unliked inventor ant, accidentally drops the whole offered seeds into the river. The grasshoppers come and give the ants a second chance to collect food until fall. Flik sets off to find bugs that are willing to fight the grasshoppers (nobody expects him to succeed anyway) and, due to a double misinterpretation, returns with a circus crew, giving everybody new hope. When the misunderstanding finally gets cleared out, there is only little time left for a new plan, which has to work, or else...
On July 22 from 10:30 - 11:30, 4-H will bring satellites to you this summer at the library! Join us as we learn about GPS units and how they use satellites to geocache. This class will be limited to 20 participants. Call the library at 235-3162 to register or register online. *Please note: Children will be exploring outside the library and will be supervised by adults.
Local theater director Nikki Bettcher Erickson will do a play in an hour with the story of "Stone Soup". Children will be encouraged to participate in helping Nikki reenact the book. This play will take place upstairs at the library on August 21 from 6:30 - 7:30. Call the library at 235-3162 to register or register online.
Minnesota's Children's Museum Smart Play Spot Early Literacy Environment is now open and available! Willmar Public Library is very proud to be 1 of 6 sites selected to be a permanent Smart Play Spot Literacy Environments. We now have a large part of the children's section converted into an interactive, early literacy environment that is three dimensional, hands-on, multi-sensory learning for children ages 0-5 years.
Environments will engage children in dramatic play, storytelling, playing with letters and sounds vocabulary development and high quality literature, also designed to promote a love of reading and build pre-reading skills. Engaging adults in children's early literacy development is also of primary importance in the environments with the goal of making early literacy development and the pre-reading skills more understandable and accessible for a broad audience.
Together the Willmar Early Childhood Initiative and Willmar Public Library wrote and submitted the grant, which requires a $25,000 local start up cash match. Our partners, the Southwest Initiative Foundation and United Way of West Central Minnesota, along with the Library are working on securing $25,000 community match now. In addition to the community match, we are looking to secure funds for yearly maintenance and repair and are looking to the community for that additional support. If you or your organization would be interested in helping to support this community wide project please contact Jodi at 231-8490.
The Caldecott Medal is awarded to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children during the preceding year. The medal was named in honor of the nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph J. Caldecott. The 2013 Caldecott Medal Winner was This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen. 2013 Caldecott Honor Winners are Creepy Carrot by Aaron Reynolds, Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett, Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger, One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo and Sleep Like A Tiger by Mary Logue. The library has a copy of each of these books. For more information: Caldecott Medal Home Page.
The Newbery Medal is awarded each year by the American Library Association for the most distinguished American children's book that was published the previous year. The award is named after the eighteenth-century English bookseller John Newbery. The 2013 Newbery Medal is The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. 2013 Newbery Honor Winners are Splendors And Gloom by Laura Amy Schlitz, Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin and Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage. The library has a copy of each of these books. For more information: Newbery Medal Home Page.
These kits include books, cd’s, scarves, and laminated sheets with ideas and activities. Preschooler can be unstoppable – running, spinning, leaping, and climbing at every opportunity. Their desire to move, move, move makes this a great time to cultivate fitness habits that will last. The activity sheet will help you in making simple movement props and exercise that can be done with them. We encourage you to also use props you many already have at home, such as balls and scarves, to promote movement and activity to your kids. These kits were donated to the library by: Kandiyohi County Public Health Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP). See all kits available.
1: I Am Moving, I Am Learning – Tumbling, Rolling, Crawling and Climbing
2: I Am Moving, I Am Learning – Rhythmic, Movement and Balance
This program is for children in Kandiyohi County 0 - 5 years old. This is an exciting new reading program designed for pre-school children and their families. Many people believe that children learn to read and write in kindergarten or first grade. Developing literacy skills begins at birth through everyday interactions - sharing books, telling stories, singing songs, talking to one another, or pointing out and naming objects. Families-parents, grandparents, and older siblings play a powerful role in preparing young children for future school success and in becoming self confident and motivated learners.
How it works:
This program is sponsored by:
Willmar Public Library
Bremer Bank
Jennie-O Foods Inc.
Willmar Area Early Childhood Initiative
WPL Children
WPL Children on Twitter
Follow @WillmarChildren
Bergh's Fabricating
Bremer Bank
Carmike Cinema
Coborn's Incorporated - Cashwise
Concorde Bank
Cub Foods
Dairy Queen
Dorothy Olson Aquatic Center
Herbergers
Heritage Bank
J.C. Penney
Jenni-O Turkey Store
Lakeside Press
Midas Auto Service
MN Twin Baseball Club
MN Vikings
Premium Waters, Inc.
Stages Theatre Company - Hopkins Center for the Arts
If you have questions, comments, suggestions, concerns, or recommendations, email Kathy, Children's Services