Real Talk: Virtual Library Program

My family and I recently participated in a virtual program with the Princeton Public Library. This program is part of their Lit Lab where they blend reading with making. It was really fun and actually perfect as we decided to do this Lit Lab at the end of my kids and I's 10 day break together. 

The program centered around the book Thankful written by Elaine Vickers and illustrated by Samantha Cotterill. Thankful is about a young girl and her family who, once winter sets in, create a paper ring of things that they are thankful for. Each spread of the book is a different set of things to be thankful for during the long, cold winter. 

After the librarian, Katie, read the book aloud, she provided us with a step-by-step tutorial on an activity we could make at home. The activity was to make a paper chain of our with what we are thankful for. As we completed this activity, we all decided that we need a lot more paper (I cut us each out 8 strips) in order to cover all we are thankful for. 

Nonetheless, we were able to narrow our gratitude down to our top 8 and thus, our paper chain was created and now hangs proudly from our living room.

We will definitely be going back to the Princeton Public Library's Youtube to participate in more of their Lit Labs. My kids, like most kids according to my various course readings, love to be read to. In addition, they love to create. Blending these two together is an incredible way to build literacy, create life long readers, and keep children interested. Further, offering the Lit Lab program asynchronously to be viewed again and again, makes the content more accessible and able to be spread widely, increasing the network of those who can attend.