Why Your Kids Will Love the Public Library + A Free Printable

April 8-14, 2018 is Library Appreciation Week. Some of my fondest memories of childhood were our weekly trips to the public library in our small hometown. I remember the excitement of returning the books I had read and getting to pick out 3 new books for the upcoming week. I’m pretty sure my mom had to drag me out of there every time. As a child I had a passion for reading, and it’s something that I work hard to instill in my kids as well.  In today’s fast paced, always connected, video game world, getting a child to sit down with a book may seem impossible.  It’s essential though, because becoming a fluent has a direct correlation with doing well in school. What are some ways we can get children interested in reading?

Check out the Library

The has some great programs. From infant story times to Lego play, they have something that will engage even the pickiest of kids. Here are a few of my favorites::

  • Story times :: 
    Almost every Houston Public Library offers story times at least once a week. The story times are broken down into categories according to age and have age appropriate stories and activities with each class. The very first outing I ever had with my oldest son was to the Baby Time at a Houston Public Library. It’s a GREAT place to meet other moms with littles around the same age as well as start your child down the path to learning to love to read.
  • Flip kits ::
    Flip Kits are a collaboration between education professionals at the Children’s Museum of Houston, The Houston Public Library, and the University of Texas Children’s Learning institute. The kits are categorized by age {or grade} and are available in 4 different languages. Availability is limited to what your library has to offer, but you can search by specific criteria and place a kit on hold for you to pick up at your convenience. Each kit contains a book and an activity that goes along with the book to help reinforce reading comprehension skills. As an added bonus, when you are done with the kit, you can fill out a survey to get free tickets to the Children’s Museum.
  • Summer reading program :: 
    The summer reading program at Houston Public Library is rewarding. Literally. Registering is easy, you can do it online.  After registering, you simply log the books read or minutes read by your child {or in the cases of younger children, the books you read to your child}. With each level the incentives get better. There is also a category of prizes simply for attending the summer programs at the library. The prizes are categorized by age, and include awards for babies and preschoolers, children, teens, and even families. Last year some of the prizes included: free books, tickets to Astros games, and Hermann Park Train tickets.

Some other great things to check out ::

Audio books
E-Books

If you aren’t near a Houston Public Library, lots of other libraries offer similar programs so please check with your local library to see what they offer.

Free Printable

In honor of Library appreciation week, Julie Verville, with Crowning Details created this special printable just for Houston Moms Blog readers. Julie is a local Houston mom and the founding stylist for Crowning Details, a company specializing in printable party invitations, decorations and tabletop designs.   My son Jett can’t wait to give this adorable bookmark to his favorite librarian! 

Grab yours here :: Librarian-Bookmarks

Happy Reading!

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Jessica L
After graduating college, Jessica moved to Fort Worth to pursue her love of fashion, listen to some Texas country music and have a little fun. One night out with a friend, 615 miles would be erased when this small town southeast Texas girl met her tall west Texas boy. Eventually jobs would move them to Houston where they would settle down into suburban life and have two sweet and VERY active boys, Jett {January 2011} and Jay {November 2012}. It wasn’t until having kids and becoming a stay at home mom, that Jessica truly fell in love with Houston. Her perfect day with the kids would begin EARLY at the zoo {because we all know parking there} with a strong cup of coffee, around lunch time they’d hop on the Hermann Park train and head over to Centennial Park for a picnic lunch and then they would end the day checking out the dinosaur exhibit at HMNS. When not exploring Houston, Jessica loves to shop online for amazing deals, watch Texas A&M football and basketball, and plan their next family adventure.

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