Reindeer Games Virtual Story Time

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and we are celebrating with a month of Christmas books! This week our theme is Santa’s reindeer. Can you name them all?

Check out our stories below and then see what our craft is for this week. It is a tasty treat we have made at the library before!

Reindeer Graham Cracker Snacks

Use the above picture as a guide to make your cute, tasty little reindeer. You will need graham crackers, pretzels, M&Ms, and your choice of frosting. We have used peanut butter in the past, but you can also use frosting, Nutella, or some other kind of spread. Some versions call for raisins or chocolate chips for the eyes. We use M&Ms for convenience. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Virtual Story Time

Tomorrow is a special day! This week, we are again celebrating Thanksgiving with some themed stories for Virtual Story Time. Check out Miss Theresa’s two stories and then the craft below. Miss Theresa liked both stories so much that she couldn’t decide which one to read, so she recorded both!

We are pretty sure everyone has made a hand turkey before. This week, we are bringing back this classic Thanksgiving craft for our story time. It’s so easy that even babies can do it (with some help) and so fun!

The sky’s the limit with decorating the hand turkey. Crayons, markers, and paint are all great mediums to color in the turkey after the hand is traced. Be sure you write down the child’s name, age, and the year so later you can look back and see how little their hand was when they made the craft.

If you need a refresher, we have a link you can visit here! We hope you all have a safe and happy Thanksgiving this year.

Turkey Day Virtual Story Time

This week and next, we are celebrating Thanksgiving with Virtual Story Time! Below you’ll find two turkey-themed stories and a craft. Enjoy!

This is a great time of the year to talk about the meaning behind Thanksgiving and introduce young kids to the concept of “being thankful” or “giving thanks.” You can use this coloring sheet to help them visualize three things they are thankful for!

Right Click > Select “Open Image in New Tab” to print the picture at full size.

Veterans Day Virtual Story Time

The library was closed for Veterans Day on Wednesday. This week, we are celebrating the holiday with three stories! These patriotic picture books can be used as a tool to introduce the holiday to your children. Pull out the photo album and have fun telling them about their relatives who served in the military. Then, check out the fun craft below!

A big part of Veterans Day is thanking vets for their service. Kids are invited to color the picture below and give it to their favorite veteran. It can be a parent, grandparent, or anyone they choose.

To Print: Right Click on Image > Select “Open Image in New Tab” > Go to “File” > Select “Print”

Have you heard of OverDrive?

At the library, we don’t think there is such a thing as bad weather. We like to say, “Today is good reading weather.” There’s nothing finer than curling up with a good book when the weather outside is frightful.

As the winter months roll in, you may be drawn to some tea and a bestseller. While we are always here to help you find the perfect book in person, there may be circumstances where you don’t want to leave the house to visit us.

Thanks to a service called OverDrive, you can find a new favorite book while still in your pajamas.

OverDrive is a digital library consortium that is provided to us through the Nebraska Library Commission. Tekamah Public Library pays a subscription fee for this service, but it is FREE for our patrons to use. All you need is some info to sign in and you automatically have access to nearly 25,000 digital books and audiobooks.

OverDrive works a little bit like a traditional library. Digital materials can be checked out for 2-3 weeks at a time. There is also a limited number of “copies” of each title, just like in a real library. This means you may be put on a waiting list for popular titles. You’ll receive notice when it is available for you, but there is no need to remember a due date. The item automatically returns itself to the digital library when its time is up.

OverDrive can be accessed online via their website, or an app you download on your phone or tablet. If you want to get started, click on the OverDrive tab at the top of his page.

Election Day Virtual Story Time

Every four years, we have a historic night in the beginning of November. We are celebrating the presidential election with our virtual story time this week. You can use these stories to encourage your child’s curiosity about voting and the president. Check out our stories and then the craft below!

Next, you can use this cute craft to get in the spirit of Election Day. Campaign buttons used to be really popular, but you don’t see them much anymore.

Election Day Craft

These are vintage campaign buttons.

Halloween Virtual Story Time

Today is our final Halloween-themed Virtual Story Time. We had so much fun celebrating spooks and spectres for the month of October. Tomorrow, we will also post Megan’s daily reads from this past week. Check out our two stories and accompanying craft below.

For our craft this week, we want to tell you about Junk Pumpkins! Simply find some junk around the house and use it to give your pumpkin a cute face. They are safe for kids, as they don’t involve any carving or sharp tools. Check out the examples below!

Library Happenings

Trick-or-Treat at the Library

We will be having our annual Halloween event on Saturday, October 31st from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. We will be handing out candy via a candy chute Miss Megan is building out of cardboard tubes! This will make the night extra fun and safe. We hope you will come see us.

Virtual Story Time

There was a hiccup in our usual Virtual Story Time this week due to scheduling conflicts. We will be back next week with a bunch of spooky and fun Halloween stories.

Library Closures

The library will be closed on Wednesday, November 11th for Veterans Day.

The library will close for Thanksgiving on Wednesday, November 25th at 5:00 p.m. The library will reopen on Saturday, November 29th at 10:00 a.m.

Lego Club

Lego Club will be held on Thursday, November 5th and Thursday, November 19th from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Children attending the event will make a lego creation based on our theme for that week. It is a ton of fun and we hope you will join us!

All the legos are sanitized prior to each meeting and we have hand sanitizer available. Social distancing guidelines will be adhered to. Children younger than 7 need to be accompanied by a parent, guardian, or responsible older sibling.

This picture was taken long before COVID-19 was a problem.
We are much more spread out now!

This Virtual Story Time is a “hoot”

This week, our story time is tied in with our fall bulletin board. Pete the Cat has gone into storage, and we are in the process of putting up new bulletin board decorations in the children’s area.

It is going to look something like this:

But we need your help! When you come in the library, every patron is encouraged to color a small owl that will sit on the branches of our tree on the bulletin board. This display will stay up until December, when we decorate for Christmas. Come snag one!

In the meantime, enjoy our two owl-themed stories this week.

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