Greetings from the Great Bend Public Library! I hope everyone is doing well, staying home and staying safe. I’m sure it is getting more and more difficult to keep small ones busy during this time. Fortunately, we have quite a few resources to keep kids busy even while we are closed, including several great educational resources. 

Tumble library offers K-6 children’s e-books as well as K-6 math e-books. They are offering free trials for both through August 31. BookFlix is a children’s non-fiction e-book source including books in Spanish. There is also the Britannica Digital learning service that also offers a wide range of non-fiction children’s e-books. Unite for Literacy offers e-picture books with audio that reads the books for you. There is a wide selection of books and lots of educational picture books, little ones can learn about everything from how plants grow to what jobs dogs can have, or just read a funny joke book. They even have a picture book explaining COVID-19. These are all great supplementary learning resources for kids, while they are learning from home and it’s all free. 

We have extensive e-book and audio book resources available, so I encourage anyone interested to check out a full list on our website under the online family resource tab. Some of the resources in the list do require a state library card but there is a link on our family resources page to register for one.

Another exciting learning activity that can be accessed from home is our code club. This is free and open to children and teens. Do you have a child at home who is technologically inclined? This would be a great activity for them. They can learn to make their own video games, apps, or websites. If you would like to sign up or find out more about this exciting program you can check out the online family programs tab on our website.

You can also add reading to Luna to your list of at-home activities. Even though you may not be able to physically visit with Luna right now, kiddos can still read to her on our new webpage dedicated to Luna, the Burmese Mountain Dog trained as a reading therapy dog. We have a wonderful slide show of Luna so young ones can continue to practice their reading skills with Luna virtually. It is a great way for more shy readers to practice reading aloud. Luna doesn’t judge if they read slow or mess up a word. She just listens patiently. I’m sure kids will have fun reading to Luna from home until they can in person again.  

All of these resources and more can be found on our website greatbendpl.info. We also post lots of great stuff for families on our Facebook page, so please check there as well. We have links to tons of storytimes, silly songs and other e-book and audio book resources and just stuff to keep kids busy. This week is also National Library Week so check our Facebook and Instagram for tons of great stuff in the coming week. Hopefully, this has helped give you some ideas to keep yourself and family busy with fun and educational things during this time. Keep washing your hands and help us flatten the curve. 

Hannah Grippin is the outreach and marketing manager for the Great Bend Public Library. She can be reached by email at gbcirc@gmail.com.