Spring Break

 Are you looking for things to do over Spring Break?  We can help.

1. Stop by the library to check out books, audiobooks, magazines, puzzles, STEAM kits, games, and more.

2. While you're here, explore our puzzles, gears table, activity pages, games and more for use in the library.

3. Check out eBooks and digital audiobooks and magazines through Libby. If you haven't already added our 7 partner library systems to your Libby account, you can find instructions here. 

4. Check out eBooks, audiobooks, music, and streaming videos through hoopla. (Additional information is here.)

5. Visit a museum or state park.  Use your library card to check out free passes or discounts to select museums through the Michigan Activity Pass program. 

6. Try a new recipe. Get some ideas from our children's cookbooks. 

7. Play outside. Check out Go Out and Play for game suggestions or The Kids' Outdoor Adventure Book : 448 Great Things to do in Nature Before You Grow Up for more ideas.  

8.  Learn a magic trick.  Check out these magic books for ideas.

9.  Create a craft project.  Try paper crafts, origami, or browse the children's 700 section for additional ideas.

10. Plant a garden. Some ideas are here: All New Square Foot Gardening with Kids,   

March Madness: Book Edition

March Madness: Book Edition is happening this month. We have one bracket for picture books and early readers and a second bracket for chapter books, graphic novels, and nonfiction books in our J collection.  

Children can vote for their favorites each week at bit.ly/MMBookVoting. We'll count the votes on Thursday evenings and announce the next round on Friday mornings.  

Some of these books are on display on the book shelf right across from the circulation desk and the rest can be found on the shelves in our library.  Stop by to check out one of your child's favorites - or discover a new favorite!

Porthole Print Making

 

Porthole Print Making 

Tuesday, August 9 at 6:45 P.M

at The Center

Mrs. DeMint, a local art teacher, will lead this class using foam printing to create a porthole design. You'll add fish and any other underwater features you'd like. 

Best for elementary ages. Children of all ages are welcome.

Please register here.

Stuffed Animal Sleepover

Stuffed Animal Sleepover

Storytime - Saturday, July 30 at 10:30 A.M.

Pick up stuffed animals - Monday, August 1,  10 A.M. - 6 P.M.

 Registration is required. Please register here. 

Children will each bring a stuffed animal to a special Storytime on Saturday, July 30.  We'll share books, songs, and activities together.  The Storytime will be held at 10:30 A.M. at Aid in Milan (89 W Main St.)

When the children go home, the stuffed animals will spend the weekend at the library.  They'll read books, play games, and explore the library. Pictures of their adventures will be shared on Facebook so families can see what their stuffed friends are doing.

Children can pick up their stuffed animals from the library on Monday any time between 10:00 A.M. and 6:00 P.M.

We recommend bringing a second favorite stuffed animal (not THE favorite). Please make sure the stuffed friend and your child will be ok being away from each other for two nights!

Registration is required. Please register here. 

Milan's Healthy Summer

Our library is partnering with Aid in Milan, Milan Seniors for Healthy Living, and Moving Milan for Milan's Healthy Summer.  

Milan's Healthy Summer is an intergenerational program that fosters a sense of community and belonging while focusing on improving the health and well-being of our neighbors. 

The program will focus on children (accompanied by a parent/adult) and seniors - the populations most isolated during COVID - and also invites people of any age with cognitive impairments to participate.

Anyone can attend regardless of age, but the activities are geared towards the above-mentioned groups.

The program will include weekly events focusing on healthy bodies, healthy minds, and healthy communities. 

All events are free thanks to the generosity of our community partners, local businesses, and the Speckard-Knight Charitable Foundation. 

Events include:

Thursday, June 16 at 4:30 P.M. at Marble UMC: Solar Power and Super Heroes

Learn about solar energy with Azalia Solar by creating a simple solar circuit in minutes. Children will be able to choose and cut out one of 8 bug designs, decorate them, and add a solar cell and vibrating motor to make them move! Once built, these bugs will move around in the sun, and best of all, they'll never run out of power, just like some of the super heroes who will be stopping by for the event. Might we see Spiderman or Ant-Man assist with our solar bugs? Stop by to find out! This event will be held at Marble Memorial United Methodist Church (8 Park Lane).

 

Saturday, June 18 at 10:00 A.M. at Draper Houston Preserve: Adventure Time Nature Hike

Josh Kofflin from Moving Milan Forward will lead a nature hike in Draper Houston Preserve. 

Saturday, June 25 at 10:00 A.M. at Symons Elementary: My Milan Cleanup
            Ed Kolar and Milan Cares will lead a cleanup around Symons Elementary.

Thursday, July 7 at 4:30 P.M. at Wilson Park: Protect Our Planet Recycling

Josh Kofflin from Moving Milan Forward will lead a recycling scavenger hunt at Wilson Park

. 

Thursday, July 14 at 10:00 A.M. at Wilson Park: Play it Safe with Milan Police Department

Milan police officers will talk about safety tips and what police officers do, and show the group a patrol vehicle. 

Thursday, July 21, 5:00 - 7:00 P.M. at Wilson Park: Touch a Truck

Children will see community vehicles and learn about the jobs they do.  Milan Public Library and Milan Parks and Rec will host approximately 25 vehicles including: Aid in Milan's Pantry on Wheels delivery van, an American Aqua technician's van, Backstreet CruiZers' train, Brushfire Design's work truck, Don Pitcher's rock bouncer, a DTE line truck, a Getaway Tours charter bus, a concrete mixer truck from Gotts Transit Mix Inc., HART Huron Valley's rehab truck, motorcycles from Hot Rods Motorcycle Awareness and Suicide Prevention Foundation, a Huron Valley Ambulance ambulance, a boom truck/mobile crane from Just Right Grain Systems, half-scale tractors from Little Tractor Co., a Milan Area Fire Department fire truck, a Milan Area Schools school bus, a Milan DPW snow plow, Milan Historical Society's 1938 Ford fire truck, a Milan Police Department patrol car, Milan Seniors for Healthy Livings' transportation minivan, a Monroe County Road Commission dump truck/snow plow, Moving Milan Forward's event trailer, farm tractors from Neuhart Auctioneering, a University of Michigan transit bus, a snow plow and aerial lift signal truck from Washtenaw County Road Commission.

Thursday, July 28 at 10:00 A.M.: Every Body Moves with Go Mad Fitness

Go Mad Fitness instructors are providing two classes for this event. Children (with their parents/adults) will meet at Marble Memorial United Methodist Church (8 Park Lane) for a fun workout while seniors and other adults will meet at The Center for a light weight training class. 

Thursday, August 4 at 1:00 P.M.at Aid in Milan: Paws for Mental Health

Erin Tellas will bring her therapy dog for children to play with. This event will be held at Aid in Milan (89 W Main Street).

 

Thursday, August 11 at 10:00 A.M. at Zilke's Farm: Farm to Table Nutrition

We'll plant vegetables and learn about the importance of farm to table nutrition. This event will be held at and provided by Zilke's Farm (12491 Carpenter Rd).

 

Thursday, August 18 at 4:30 P.M. at Wilson Park: Drive in Movie Box Cars

Children will create a car by decorating a box.  They can then watch the movie Cars from their "car."  This event is provided by Milan Parks and Recreation.  

 

Thursday, August 25 at 10:00 A.M. at Milan Area Fire Department: Fired Up About Safety

Children will learn about fire safety and the jobs fire fighters do, tour the fire station, and (if the weather is nice) get sprayed by the fire hose. 

Please register for Milan's Healthy Summer:

  here. - if you are ONLY registering for Milan's Healthy Summer

  here. - if you are registering for Milan's Healthy Summer AND our Children's Summer Reading Program 


You can follow us on social media:
   

 Instagram

Facebook

Additional information about Milan's Healthy Summer is available at https://aidinmilan.org/milanshealthysummer.

If you have any questions, please email youth@milanlibrary.org or info@aidinmilan.org.

Oceans of Possibilities!

Our Summer Reading Program will begin Saturday, June 11 and continue through Saturday, August 27.

Children and teens are invited to read and listen to books, earn prizes, and participate in events this summer.  See details about our children's (0-5th grade) program here and our TNT (6th - 12th grade) program here. 

Ukraine

Some resources for families about the situation in Ukraine:

Talking with your children:

How to talk with children about the invasion of Ukraine - article by The Conversation

Talking with children about difficult things in the news - tips from the Fred Rogers Center

Books in our library:

Ukraine

Russia

The Breaking News - picture book about an unspecified "bad news"

Children's books about worry

You can read news magazines online through the Libby app or the Woodlands Overdrive website.  

Our library belongs to the Woodlands Library Cooperative which shares an eBook, eAudiobook, and eMagazine collection.  If you're using the Libby app, you can search for Milan Public Library and it will show us as a branch of Woodlands.  

In either the Libby app or the Woodlands Overdrive website, you can choose magazines and then under "Subjects" narrow down your search to Kids & Teens (and then look for youth news magazines) or News & Politics (to search for your own (adult) reading). 

The following resources are available through MeL to Michigan residents.  If your ip address is recognized as being in Michigan, you will be able to access them without entering any additional information.  If you're not in Michigan, you can enter your Michigan library card number to access most of the resources. Please let us know if you need help: youth@milanlibrary.org

eBooks available to read online or download through MeL: 

Ukraine

Russia

You can search for additional ebooks in Ebsco's K-8th grade eBook collection here and high school eBook collection here. 

Encyclopedia articles about Ukraine and Russia 

Britannica School - you can choose elementary, middle, or high school

World Book Kids

For your own (adult) reading, 

Newspaper Source Plus includes articles from newspapers, newswires, and news magazines; television and radio transcripts; and ongoing daily updates from popular news sources.  

Additional resources available through MeL:

Start on mel.org.

Choose "eResources" (for all ages) or "Kids" near the top of that page.  

The teen section is located directly here or under eResources then K-12 schools then Teen.

Conflict in Ukraine Resource Guide by University Libraries, West Florida University 

If you have questions or would like help finding additional resources, please let us know. You can email youth@milanlibrary.org for youth-related questions or info@milanlibrary.org for general/adult-related questions or call us at 734-439-1240 and ask for the reference desk.

Youth Media Awards 2022

Each year, the American Library Association (ALA) honors books, videos, and other outstanding materials for children and teens. The Youth Media Awards, including the Newbery, Caldecott, Printz, and more, were announced last week.  

The complete list of this year's winners is here.  The (print) books we own are highlighted in yellow.  The ebooks we have are highlighted in blue.  

You can see the books (print and digital) we own in our catalog here.  You can reserve any of the books you'd like to check out.  

This year is the 100th anniversary of the first Newbery Medal.  Stop by the library to check out one of the winners.

Resources for talking with your child about School Violence

Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy at Oxford High School yesterday.

Here are some resources that may be helpful to parents talking with their children.

Talking To Kids About Fear And Violence – Mental Health America

Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers – National Association of School Psychologists

School Shooting Resources – The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

OK2SAY – State of Michigan Tip Line Anyone can report tips confidentially on criminal activities or potential harm directed at students, school employees, or schools. Tips can be submitted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

DINOvember

This month is DINOvember (dinosaur + November)!

Book Buddies (kindergarten - 2nd grade) and Bookworms (2nd - 3rd grade) will meet on Thursday, November 18 at 4:45 on Zoom for a dinosaur-themed book club.  If your child would like to participate, please register here and we'll send you the Zoom link.

Dinosaurs are having fun in the library this month.  You can see some of their adventures below.

We'd love to see what your dinosaurs are doing this month.  If your child has a dinosaur of any type (stuffed animal, plastic toy, homemade, any dinosaur!), you can share their adventures with us and we'll include them in our DINOvember collection of pictures online and/or in our library. If you don't have any dinosaurs, we have 4 sets of dinosaurs available to check out from the library.  If you'd like to share your dinosaurs' adventures with us, please email pictures and/or comments to youth@milanlibrary.org.

Rex is getting a library card!

Dinosaurs are playing football in the library.

Dinosaurs are taking a look at the books in the display case. Can you find all 6 dinosaurs?

The dinosaurs found a snack in the refrigerator!

Are they washing the dishes or just playing in the water?

Oh, no! How did Rex get stuck in there?  His friends helped pull him out.

Rex loves the Launchpad tablets!

These dinosaurs love reading - especially when the book is about a dinosaur!

These dinosaurs are learning about insects from the insect collection in the display case. 

Children's Events - August

We have in-person and virtual events this month.  Older and younger siblings are welcome to attend with the child in the suggested age group.  

Please register here for elementary events.

Please register here for Storytime.

Storytime (ages 3-5)

Fridays at 10:30 A.M.

ages 3-5

Stories, songs, dance, fingerplays, and more. We're following our Summer Reading theme, Tails and Tales, and are reading about animals this month. 

We will meet on ZOOM on August 6 and August 20.

We will meet in WILSON PARK on August 13 and August 27.

Animal Adventures (kindergarten - 2nd grade)

kindergarten - 2nd grade

Books, crafts, and related activities

We will meet on ZOOM on:

Thursday, August 5 at 1:00, Theme: Hibernation and Estivation (sleeping/being dormant in winter and in summer)

Thursday, August 19 at 1:00, Theme: Amphibians

We will meet in WILSON PARK on:

Wednesday, August 11 at 1:00, Theme: Reptiles

Wednesday, August 25 at 1:00, Theme: Marsupials

3rd - 5th grade events:

IN WILSON PARK:

Hack Your Harvest: No-tech Coding

Wednesday, August 4 at 1:00 in Wilson Park

You'll code (on paper) a tractor to collect produce and get to the barn with additional challenges each time.

Origami Animals

Wednesday, August 18 at 1:00 in Wilson Park

You'll create a variety of origami animals.

ON ZOOM:

Virtual Escape Room

Thursday, August 12 at 1:00 on Zoom

You'll work together to solve an escape room.

Virtual Game Day

Thursday, August 26 at 1:00 on Zoom

You'll play Codenames and other games. 

Registration:

Please register here for elementary events.

Please register here for Storytime..

If you have any questions, please email youth@milanlibrary.org

Saturday Spotlight: STEAM Kits

 

These are a few of the STEAM kits available to check out from our library. To see them all and/or reserve any, you can search for "STEAM kit" in our catalog (milan.agverso.com) or follow the link here: bit.ly/mplSTEAMkits

Elementary Events

Elementary events for the next 2 weeks are below.  Older and younger siblings are welcome to attend with the child in the suggested age group.  

Please register here.

Kindergarten - 2nd grade events:

Ocean Animal Adventures

Tuesday, July 20

1:00 P.M.

Pavilion at Wilson Park

Children will listen to books about ocean animals and participate in related activities and a craft project.

All About Birds

Wednesday, July 28

1:00 P.M.

Pavilion at Wilson Park

Children will listen to books about birds and participate in related activities and a craft project. 

August events will be posted at the end of July.

3rd - 5th grade events:

Owl Pellet Dissection

Wednesday, July 21

1:00 P.M.

Pavilion at Wilson Park

Children will learn about owl and dissect an owl pellet. Owl pellets are the balls of things an owl eats but can't digest and then vomits them out in compact clumps.  

VIRTUAL Game Day on Zoom

Tuesday, July 27 

1:00 P.M.

Zoom

We'll play word games, logic games, and other games together on Zoom.

August events will be posted at the end of July.

Registration:

Please register here.

If you have any questions, please email youth@milanlibrary.org

Storytime in the Park

We will have Storytime in the Park this Friday, July 16 at 10:30 A.M. (and likely every two weeks this summer).  We'll read books, sing songs, dance, and participate in fingerplays, rhymes, and more!  

Storytime is planned for children ages 3 to 5. If your child is slightly older or younger and would enjoy Storytime, they are welcome to attend. Older and younger siblings of Storytime children are also welcome!

We plan to meet every other Friday in Wilson Park.  We will definitely meet on July 16 and July 30, and then will evaluate interest and schedule dates for August. 

You can bring a blanket or towel to sit on, if you choose.  We will meet either in the grass near the new pavilion (most likely) or under the new pavilion in Wilson Park.  This is our first Storytime in the Park, so we'll do whatever works best with the group we have.

If you'd like to attend, please sign up here: bit.ly/Storytime-Park.  This will help us know how many people to expect and will add you to the email list to receive reminders before the events, notice when August's dates are scheduled, and updates in the event of bad weather. 

The library is now open without appointments.  If you'd like to visit the library before or after Storytime, you can just drop by.  If you have reserved books or Summer Reading prizes you'd like to pick up without needing to go to the library, please let us know (youth@milanlibrary.org) and we'll take them to the park for you to pick up there before or after Storytime.

If you have any questions, please let us know at youth@milanlibrary.org.

We hope to see you Friday!

Virtual Tickets - Prize Entry Form

Children and teens who have read or listened to books, magazines, and/or audiobooks every day of Summer Reading are ready to enter the prize drawing for reading for 10 days!

You can enter here.  Additional prize levels will be added to that form as we reach them, e.g. the 20-day prize will be added on July 1, the 20th day of Summer Reading. 

To find the form again as you reach future reading goals, you can:

• bookmark that form to return to it
• find it on milanlibrary.org/children and milanlibrary.org/teens
• find it on our specific Summer Reading pages here (for children) and here (for TNT - teens and tweens, 6th - 12th grade)

The prize entry form is the same for children and teens.  Events and additional information vary by age.  

If you have any questions - about Summer Reading, book recommendations, or anything reading or library-related - please let us know! You can email us at youth@milanlibrary.org.

Summer Storytime

We are beginning our Summer Storytime on Friday, June 18 at 10:30 A.M. on Zoom.  

If you'd like to attend, please sign up here and we'll send you the Zoom information to join us.  

We will have some Storytimes on Zoom and some in-person, outside this summer.  Storytime will include books, songs, dance/movement activities, fingerplays, flannel board stories, and more.

Storytime is planned for 3- to 5-year-old children.  If your child is slightly younger or older and would enjoy Storytime, you're welcome to attend.  Older and younger siblings of Storytime children are also welcome to attend.

Our Zoom Storytimes are scheduled for every other week.  You can attend as many as work for your schedule.

We'll meet on Zoom on:
June 18
(We're skipping June 2 in case you're celebrating the holiday weekend!)
July 9
July 23
We'll schedule August dates closer to that time.

If you'd like to attend, please sign up here and we'll send you the Zoom information to join us.  

We hope to see you there!