ReadyRosie (for babies, toddlers, preschoolers, & students up to third grade) – Encourage your child’s learning with simple, fun activities when you sign up for this FREE resource provided in partnership with the Early Childhood Council of Warren County. Short “modeled moment” videos will be delivered to you via text or email, clips expertly crafted to inspire together time. Ideas for games and activities will inspire interaction and nurture your child’s mental and physical development.

Readiness Matters (for parents of babies, toddlers, & preschoolers) – Did you know that school readiness starts in the early years, even before your child is old enough to walk or talk? The library and the Warren County Early Childhood Committee have compiled recommended activities to help your child get ready to grow, ready to learn, and ready to succeed! 

• Expose your child to different kinds of blocks, soft blocks for very young children and wooden blocks for older children. Encourage your child to build and create things.

• When traveling, ask your child to count white houses on one side of the street, while you count white houses on the other side. Talk about who counted more or less.

• When sorting laundry, ask your child to sort socks and shirts, putting socks in one pile and shirts in another.

• When shopping, ask your child to help you by putting 3 apples into a bag or 2 loaves of bread into the cart. When they have done that, ask them to add one more.

• Say favorite counting nursery rhymes together, such as, “One two buckle my shoe.”

• Using a toy phone, make up phone numbers for your child to dial.
  Play, “I Spy” with your child, using comparative words. “I spy a glass that is empty.” “I spy a book that is very heavy.” “I spy a jar with few pickles in it.”

• Encourage your child to explore. Then watch and comment as your child tries new things.

• Provide a safe, clean, flat floor space for your child to freely squirm, roll over, crawl, walk and run.

• Dance to music. You can hold your young child while dancing and teach fun dances to your child such as the “Hokey Pokey.”

• Take your young child on outings. Talk about the things that you see at the grocery store and walking in the neighborhood.

• When children are walking on a concrete sidewalk or on a floor with a large pattern, ask, “Can you walk without stepping on a crack?”

• Roll a pair of socks into a ball and ask your child to throw the sock ball into an empty laundry basket. Each time they get the ball into the basket, ask your child to take a step back and throw the ball again.

• Let your child string uncooked macaroni on a string or piece of yarn to make two necklaces, one for you and one for your child.

• Provide your child with opportunities to use art materials, such as crayons, markers, glue and sidewalk chalk. Talk about your child’s drawing and praise their work.

• • Draw simple shapes (circle, square, triangle) then have your child copy these shapes.

• Encourage your child to express feelings. Provide your child with words to label her emotions, such as, “you are mad,” or “you are so happy!”

• Provide your child with opportunities to interact with other children and assist them in doing so. (Playdates)

• Sing the song, “If you’re happy and you know it,” with your child. Change the feeling word (happy, sad, angry, excited, frightened) modeling the feeling for your child as you sing together.

• Show your child how you can put a sock on each hand to make puppets that take turns talking to one another. Model the puppets taking turns when talking, showing interest in one another and talking about feelings.

• Play Emergency, using two cups as phones. Have your child call in a house on fire. Model saying your name, address and phone number. Let your child be the caller, creating different emergencies.

• Talk to your child throughout the day. Talk about the things that you see and do everyday. Young children like to listen when people use high voices and short sentences.

• Read books with your child and allow interaction with books. Young children enjoy durable books with lots of pictures. The goal is for your child to attend to the book until the end of the book. Tally the number of books your child listens to from beginning to end. After tallying 10 books, celebrate with a special outing together.

• Sing songs with your child. Most children love music with interesting words and repetition, like, “Wheels on the Bus.”

• Read familiar poems or nursery rhymes to your child. Stop before a rhyming word and ask your child to provide the word. RHYMES

• Go on a letter safari with your child. As you read a book together, ask your child to point to all the “B”s on the page. Start by finding the letters in your child’s name.

• Make two sets of uppercase alphabet cards. Pull the cards from each stack with the letters of your child’s name. Play a game of Memory, flipping over two cards at a time, looking for a match and taking turns. Have your child name the letters as he turns the cards over. Ask, “Are those letters the same or different?”

• Print your child’s name on a piece of paper he can copy from. Give him index cards or paper squares to copy his name on. Allow him to place the name cards he has written on things that belong to him.

• Let your child feed himself, even though it might be messy at first. Coordination between your child’s hand and the spoon, their eyes and the dish will improve with practice.

• Make sure your young child has interesting playthings to handle. Clean, safe household objects such as plastic sets of measuring cups, spoons, and mixing bowls work as well as more expensive toys.

• Give your child a daily household chore, like making their bed. Each morning your child makes their bed, allow them to draw a happy face on a chart. After they get five happy faces, celebrate with a special playtime together.

• Make cleaning supplies available to your child so they can respond to a spill. Encourage children to clean up after themselves and praise their efforts.

• Play Simon Says with your child. The goal of this game is increase listening skills. Begin with simple one direction tasks, “Put your hands on your head,” working to more complex directions, “Close your eyes, clap two times and sit down.”

We have a number of programs during the year when we work with community partners to host amazing events. We also have special programs, sometimes seasonal, sometimes thematic, always fun! Check out our calendar for more info!