All Library branches will be closed and the Mobile Library will not make its scheduled stops on Monday, May 25, for Memorial Day.
Summer Reading Program Activities for Tiny Tots and Preschoolers Birth Through Age 5
Reading, singing, playing and talking are fun activities to do with your little one that prepare them for learning to read. Feel free to repeat the activities and create your own — repetition is important for learning!
Take our Summer Reading Survey.
Activities
Paint with water and brushes or even hands and feet!
Explore different textures and talk about how they feel.
Learn a rhyme and recite it to your child.
Put your baby in the stroller and go on a walk. Talk about things, people and animals you see. Act as a narrator during the walk.
Pause during your talk time and wait for baby to respond with a word, sound or movement.
Explore different sounds. Find items around the house to tap, shake and rattle.
Make a book of photographs or drawings of family members (don’t forget pets!) and read it together.
Create a song routine when getting baby dressed, putting them in the car seat, bathing, etc.
Hold a mirror in front of baby and talk about different parts of their face.
Practice mixing colors with fingerpaints or different colored foods.
Check out a high-contrast board book!
Take your child to visit a Springfield mural.
Use a cup of water and a paintbrush to paint pictures and practice writing letters on a sidewalk.
Go for a walk to find objects for a “nature collage.”
Talk about the different colors of food during mealtimes or grocery shopping.
Play I-Spy with colors when you’re out running errands.
Put on some favorite music and have a sing-a-long.
Check out a toy from the Library.
Play together in the Play and Learn Center at your favorite library branch.
Retell your little one’s favorite story without the book.
Make a “What I Can Do” chart to watch your little one grow. Encourage preschoolers to add new skills as they gain them!
Hunt for the first letter of your child’s name in books, on signs in the store and all around town: “Look, It’s a ‘T’ for “Teddy!”
Make a pattern using different colors.
Go for an alphabet walk. Start by finding something that begins with “A” and continue until you get to “Z”.
Practice sorting colors with materials around the house.
Create your own:
Activities
Reading List
Thank you to our Youth Summer Passport sponsors!
