Children
Programs; Craft Kits; Learning; Reading; Games; Aquariums; Museums; Zoos… Choose your adventures!
Storytime & Toddler Tunes Continue at 10am: Tuesdays & Thursdays.
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Drop in for reading & music!
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Gingerbread House Party
Wednesday, Dec. 11, 5:30 PM
Get into the holiday spirit with a delightful evening of icing, candies, & creative confections. Stay for storytime and hot cocoa with our special guest, Mrs. Claus at 7 PM! All materials will be provided. Please Register Here.
Some patrons have suggested we post a Wish List. Here it is! The link will take you to our Amazon Wish List where you may purchase 1 or more items for BML’s Children’s Department. Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness and generosity!
Brainerd is excited to offer 1000 Books Before Kindergarten thanks to support from the Friends of the Library!
Read a book with your baby or toddler and collect “brag tags” at each 100 book milestone. The goal is to read 1,000 books before your child starts kindergarten. Read just 1 book a night starting when your little one is an infant and you’ll hit 1,000 books by the time they are 3! Any child who has not yet entered kindergarten is welcome to participate in this fun program.
Sign up and visit the library to receive your first reading log. Once you’ve read 100 books with your child, bring your completed reading log to the library to receive your next reading log and a cool brag tag!
Children who successfully read 1,000 books will receive a prize!
Alphabet Book Video!
Here is a video of a book published by local author, Roger Straub, from Higganum. His character and cartoon drawings are Mac O’ Moodus. Click here or on the picture to watch the short 6 minute video of the book.
If you like Lucas the Spider [below] we think you’ll enjoy Marcel the Shell with Shoes!
Have you seen Lucas the Spider? Besides his being wicked cute, we like the idea that he encourages curiosity and may help children not to be afraid of spiders.
Here are some Lucas the Spider 1-2 minute cartoons. Enjoy!
Nintendo Switch games are available for checkout at Brainerd! Here are some examples of what we have.
Create your very own Blob Opera.
No vocal skills required!
Have fun!
Here is a link to a free yoga video!
Typically a Museum Naturalist visits elementary schools. They explore science & nature through experiments, games, and natural objects. Now, they offer online versions of some lessons. Check out these 1st grade videos and materials on ponds & frog life!
Bringing Hogwarts to You!
Wizarding World introduces the Harry Potter at Home Hub. Audible, Bloomsbury, OverDrive, Pottermore Publishing and Scholastic, “introduce Harry Potter At Home to help children, parents, carers and teachers add a touch of magic to their daily lives.”
To help educators and parents Mystery Science is offering their most popular science lessons for free. No account or login is needed. They curated this starter set of science lessons.
In this kid-focused webinar, J.W. Fansler of Purdue University shares fun and educational personal finance lessons for elementary and middle school aged children. The lessons are designed to spark conversations about money and the importance of spending wisely. If you’re looking to incorporate financial literacy into your homeschool lessons, this webinar is a great place to start.
The SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s award-winning children’s literacy website streams videos featuring celebrated actors reading children’s books with creative illustrations. Readers include Viola Davis, Chris Pine, Lily Tomlin, Kevin Costner, Annette Bening, James Earl Jones, Betty White and more.
Storyline Online receives 100 million views annually from all over the world.
Reading aloud to children improves reading, writing and communication skills, logical thinking and concentration, and general academic aptitude, and inspires a lifelong love of reading. Books include curriculum developed by an elementary educator, to strengthen comprehension, verbal, and written skills.
Mindful Schools is offering mindfulness classes for kids! Join them online – for mindful activities, mindful movement, read-alouds – and have fun exploring mindfulness together.
Starfall.com® opened in 2002 as a free public service to teach children to read. It has expanded to include language arts and mathematics for preschool through 3rd grade. Starfall’s emphasis on phonemic awareness, systematic sequential phonics, and common sight words with audiovisual interactivity has proven effective in teaching emergent readers. Starfall activities are research-based and align with Individual and Common Core State Standards in English language arts and mathematics.
Free coding for young children
ScratchJr is an introductory programming language that enables children (ages 5-7) to create their own interactive stories and games. Children snap together graphical programming blocks to make characters move, jump, dance, and sing. Children can modify characters in the paint editor, add their own voices and sounds, even insert photos of themselves — then use the programming blocks to make their characters come to life.
These Nest Cams provide high-definition insight into the Bald Eagle nesting process. At the start of nesting season, Bald Eagles return to their ‘home nest’ and begin ‘nestorations.’ Sticks are brought in to reinforce the structure, and soft nesting material provides the protective nest “bowl” for the 1 – 3 eggs. Incubation is about 35 days. Eyes are pealed for the first ‘pip’ or breakthrough of the egg shell by the baby inside. Viewers get to watch these babies grow and develop from downy bobble-heads to feisty and magnificent Eaglets, ready to take their first flight into the wild.
Learn about the different animals at the zoo. Includes animal facts, stories, videos, games, and craft activities
Enjoy sea otters as they frolic, watch sharks and fishes glide through their habitats, view busy tropical fishes, and be hynotized by glowing moon jellies. They have 10 live cams to choose from as well as other exciting resources to explore for all ages.
GALLONS OF WATER= 6.3M+ : TUNNEL= 100 ft : SPECIES= 50+
The Ocean Voyager gallery is home to 4 whale sharks, 4 manta rays and thousands of other fascinating fish. Ocean Voyager features an acrylic tunnel to view thousands of marine creatures on all sides, as well as a giant acrylic viewing window to explore our oceans. The webpage features webcams to other exhibits in the aquarium.
The Yale Peabody is now open and free to all!
Here is the link to the digital resources, educational tools, and interesting online curiosities of the Peabody Museum! The Peabody encourages the curious and invites explorers of all ages to search collections and engage with their programs.
The Mystic Seaport Museum is working hard to bring the museum to you! Within these pages you will find collections of videos, blogs, articles and ways for you to continue to interact with them. They are curating new content to share with you, from an insider look at Watercraft Hall and other behind the scene tours they think you will love! Come back often as they are updating frequently.
ldren’s Department Wish List 
Sign up here or stop in!
Free Online Mindfulness Class for Kids!
Starfall: Math, Language Arts, and Music for Pre-K to Grade 3
Scratch Jr.
American Eagle Foundation Bald Eagle Live Nest Cams!
Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History
Mystic Seaport Digital Museum