26 FALL 2021 | WWW.SHAKER.LIFE
@ Shaker Library
and understand larger concepts on
their own. Through play, they use their
imaginations, expand their vocabularies,
and learn to communicate and collaborate
with others.
The Library offers a literacy lifeline
for all families by providing a wide variety
of resources with active play ideas. Need
help selecting books? Ask a librarian or try
the Library’s Book Bundle Service. Simply
complete an online form asking a librarian
to gather a bundle of children’s books and
then pick them up from the Circulation
Desk or curbside.
Library staff can connect families
to other excellent preschool resources,
such as 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten,
and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
Families can draw inspiration from the
many online and in-person preschool
programs that incorporate play. Tune in to
the Shaker Library YouTube Channel for
more fun.
And remember, playful learning
doesn’t have to be costly. A large
cardboard box is an inexpensive invitation
for imaginative play. In a child’s mind,
it can become a jet plane, a racecar, or a
double-secret clubhouse. At the Library,
cardboard boxes are transformed into
colorfully decorated cars at a toddler
drive-in story time. In her best-selling
picture books, Not a Box and Not a Stick,
Antoinette Portis reminds readers that
nothing fancy or expensive is needed to
ignite the imagination; in fact, sometimes
simpler is better.
Recipe for Fun:
Library Play Clay
1 cup of flour
½ cup of salt
½ cup water
Mix the flour and salt and gradually
add the water. Knead the
dough. If it is too dry, add a little
more water. If it gets too sticky,
add more flour.
To add color, divide the
play clay into three balls and
make a depression in the center.
Add 5 to 10 drops of food
coloring or washable paint in the
center and knead in the color.
Store the play clay in a baggie for
up to four weeks.
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