Youth
Create the best possible future for your child!
Read, sing, write, talk and PLAY! Sounds like fun, right? It is—AND it’s how children’s brains develop! These five practices are the tenets of our programming. They help get children ready to read.
From the time they are infants, children learn language and other important skills that make it easier for them to read when they begin school. Children who enter kindergarten with these pre-reading skills in place have an advantage; they are ready to focus on learning to read, and they will have greater success throughout their school years. Through our programs, parents and caregivers will gain insight into how fun and simple activities translate into acquisition of these vital early literacy skills. After all, you are your child’s first, best and favorite teacher.
Share and delight in this great adventure of learning. The library is a great place to start!
SING
Singing slows down language so that children can hear the smaller sounds in words. Your child doesn’t care if you can’t carry a tune, so sing away!
Talk
Young brains require rich talk where they get more vocabulary and hear complex sentence structure. Point out, describe and explain everything you encounter!
READ
Shared reading is the single most important activity to help children get ready to read. The language of books is richer than conversation. Add factual books; they offer different vocabulary than story books.
WRITE
If it involves mark-making of some kind, it’s writing! Scribbling is the first step to the formal handwriting they’ll learn later.
PLAY
Children experience the world through play while developing fine and gross motor skills, cognitive concepts, language and social skills.
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programming
Babygarten
Birth to 18 months
Share nursery rhymes, songs and books with your baby. Learn the best ways to develop pre-literacy skills. Gain insight about infant development We share activities that caregivers can use at home because repetition is key to babies’ learning! Six weekly classes include projects and free-play time.
Movers & Shakers
18 months to age 3
Movin’, groovin’ and learnin’ for children 18 months-3 along with their caregivers. Toddlers need to MOVE to learn! Active storytelling, engaging play, music and more. Five weekly classes conclude with free-play time.
Story Time
All ages
Stories, movement, music and FUN! Play-based learning leads to success in school and life. Activities embrace five early literacy practices: read, sing, play, talk and write. Geared for preschoolers but children of all ages welcome. After Story Time, engage in process art and other hands-on activities.
Click here to check out our Events Page for dates and times.
to go packs
Story Time To go
New packs every week.
Books, music suggestions, finger plays, math and science activities, and an art project. >aterials reinforce those five vital early literacy practices: Read, Sing, Talk, Play and Write! Library card required. One per family per week while supplies last. Pick up at the front desk or drive-thru. (Geared for ages six and younger)
Family Activity Packs
New packs available each month.
Packs contain all the supplies you need for fun family activities. Geared for families with school-age children. Pick up at the front desk or drive-thru. One pack per family per month while supplies last. No library card required.
Youth art to go
New packs available every other week.
Packs contain all the supplies you need for fun art projects. Pick them up at the front desk or drive-thru. One pack per child while supplies last. No library card required.
dramatic play
NEW Dramatic Play Center Opens June 10!
There are so many benefits of dramatic play–it supports language development, self-regulation, conflict resolution, and the acquisition of math and literacy skills! Which is why we love to create interesting scenarios to present in our youth area.
reading challenges
Use Beanstack, a web and mobile app, to participate. Beanstack makes it easy to register, track reading, and earn incentives. Download the app or access it here.
Winter Reading Challenges through April 27.
Read for FUN and prizes! Register on Beanstack.
Read to Me (Ages 0-7)
Log each book you read. Earn a Reading Badge and a fun wintry prize for every five books. Pick up prizes at the Help Desk or call ahead to pick up at the drive-thru. Read 25 books to complete the challenge and receive a FREE BOOK.
Read on My Own (Ages 7-12)
Log each book you read to earn badges and prizes. Pick up prizes at the Help Desk or call ahead to pick up at the drive-thru. Read ten books to complete the challenge—and pick out a FREE BOOK!
Teen (Ages 13-17)
Log each book you read. Earn a Reading Badge and a prize for each book. Pick up prizes at the Help Desk or call ahead to pick up at the drive-thru. Read five books to complete the challenge—and pick out a FREE BOOK from our fabulous WALL OF BOOKS!
Ongoing challenges: build your home library!
babies bloom
100 Books Before One
Read 100 books by age one. Sharing books together strengthens your baby’s foundation for learning, and the bond between baby and their favorite teacher: YOU! Receive a free book after each milestone of 25 books logged.
1,000 books before kindergarten
Read 1,000 books together before your child enters five-year-old kindergarten. Earn FREE BOOKS for your home library as you hit each 100-book milestone!
500 books before middle school
Now that your child is reading on their own, challenge them to read 500 books before middle school. Earn reading badges, fun charms, and FREE BOOKS!
Storywalks®
Navigate a new adventure!
StoryWalk® is a way for children and adults to enjoy reading and being outdoors. Pages from a children’s book are attached to structures posted at regular intervals. Follow the path and read the story together. Do the activities—and make up your own. Be ACTIVE! Promote literacy through PLAY (because that’s the BEST way to learn!).
As you read and play, talk about the sights around you. Listen to the sounds. Smell the smells. Touch objects to note the textures. It’s our job as adults to teach children about plants, rocks, sticks, trees, water, and all things that creep, crawl, scamper and fly; to instill in them love for the land, lake and sky; and to maximize WONDER for our wildly unique place in the world.
The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, Vermont, and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. StoryWalk® is a registered service mark owned by Ms. Ferguson.
Lester Public Library
1001 Adams Street
Current selection:
We Are All Under One Wide Sky by Deborah Wiles
Zander Park
1520 17th Street
Current selection:
An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Aston