Programs & Events for Kids
Library staff design a full schedule of engaging, entertaining, and educational programs and events for babies, toddlers, preschoolers, and school-aged children. Various events – including options for early literacy, STEAM, gaming, and crafts – are offered year-round.
1KB4K: 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten
1KB4K is a library initiative that promotes reading 1,000 books to preschoolers before they begin Kindergarten. It’s easy to do, and the child gets a free book every time they read and report 100 books. Register and track their reading progress online with Beanstack, or visit the Youth Services Department for additional information or to register in person. You can also view the 1KB4K brochure here.
100 Club
The 100 Club is a fun way for kids to build their reading habits year-round – while earning prizes! Kids in kindergarten through 8th grade can join the club and track their progress on Beanstack. There’s no time limit for completing the challenge, but the goal is to read 100 books! The structure is simple: log books in any category and earn a prize for each 10 books read. Each month, a prize winner will be drawn from active readers, and readers who finish all 10 badges will earn a 100 Club completion prize and get to pick a free book to keep. Learn more about signing up in Beanstack at fondulaclibrary.beanstack.org/reader365 or ask a librarian for help and get your young readers involved in this awesome reading challenge!
Anytime Activities, Toys, & Games
Even when there’s not a program scheduled, there’s always something fun to do at the library! Stop by the desk in the Youth Services Department to learn more about the library’s current Anytime Activities – crafts, games, or projects kids can do whenever they visit the library. Additionally, the library offers a wide selection of board games and card games, as well as a train table, Lego table, puzzles, and a puppet theater to play with during your visit.
Fall Reads for Kids
With us reaching towards the end of October, it is finally starting to feel like fall. The leaves are changing and the temperature is cooling down. It is truly one of the best times of the year. It brings us fun holidays with Halloween and Thanksgiving. There are so many great things to do such as visiting orchards, carving pumpkins, and reading books! Here at FDL, we offer a great selection of fall themed books to enjoy. Here are some selections that are perfect for this season!
Picture Books
It’s Fall! by Linda Glaser
A child explores fall in nature outside. Also includes fall activities for children.
More Picture Books
Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks by Margaret Sutherland
A child thinks about what he is thankful for at Thanksgiving.
Pumpkin Town by McKy
A story about a town that is taken over by pumpkins and the brothers that help solve the problem.
J is for Jack o’ Lantern: A Halloween Alphabet by Denise Brennan-Nelson
This book goes through the alphabet with Halloween topics for each letter.
Juvenile Non-Fiction
Carving Pumpkins by Dana Meachen Rau
Learn how to carve pumpkins with this fun book!
Fall Crafts Across Cultures: 12 Projects to Celebrate the Season by Megan Borgert -Spaniol
This book includes festive crafts that celebrate fall.
More Non-Fiction
A Fall Treasury of Recipes, Crafts and Wisdom by Angela Ferraro-Fanning
A beautifully illustrated book filled with fall activities for families such as cooking, crafting, and gardening.
Autumn by Phyllis S. Busch
Full of fall activities related to nature, this book explores how the fall season impacts plants and animals.
The Story of the Jack O’ Lantern by Katherine Brown Tegen
A spooky tale inspired by Irish folklore about how the Jack O’ Lantern was created.
Compiled by Angela Risinger, Youth Services Assistant
New Kids’ Games for the Whole Family
As many of our patrons know, at Fondulac Library we love our board games! However, did you know we also have new additions to our children’s collection? Here are some of my favorite new board games for kids just learning how to play games with their family!
Who doesn’t like Bluey and Bingo?! This is another silly game, where the family draws cards and is tasked with being as goofy as possible. The game’s goal is to collect all the toys before bedtime. This is a great game for any kids who struggle with not winning. The family works as a team and loses and wins together!
Just like everybody loves Bluey, who doesn’t love Dog Man?! Add hot dogs into the mix, and this card game just makes sense! The game is exactly like it sounds. One player slowly reveals cards on the table. As hot dogs appear, players must follow certain rules, then everybody tries to grab up as many hot dogs as they can before their opponents!
Happy Salmon takes traditional Go Fish to a new level! It is a matching game, just like Go Fish, but instead of hiding your cards everybody yells out what they have at the same time. Once you find a match for your card, both players do a silly action together and discard their cards. This game works for both kids who can read and kids who can’t read, because of how colorful and unique each card is.
This game is “laugh-out-loud” fun for both parents and kids. The game consists of you passing a chicken around as it clucks. Each person who gets the chicken gets to shake it, draw a card, and do something silly. Every now and then a player must also run out of the room and find the “chicken butt” token as one of the actions in the game!
by Jacob Roberts, Youth Services Specialist
