Weekly Challenge 2: Share Your Story

This week’s challenge is to Share Your Story.

The past few months have been unusual for all of us. School buildings closed. Many businesses closed. We have done school and work from home.  Activities and events have been canceled. Being home all the time may have inspired you to get creative and find new things to do that you wouldn’t have usually done.

We invite you to share your story with us.  We will compile these stories into a book at the library. 

You can send us anything you'd like to share - photographs, drawings, writings - anything that shares your experience and daily life during the pandemic.

If you need ideas, here are a few suggestions:

What did you do that you wouldn't have done on a "normal" day?
What did you not do that you would have done on a "normal" day?
What do you like or not like about being home instead of at school?
How are you keeping in touch with family and friends while you can't visit them in person?
Have you done something to help someone else?
Has someone done something to help you?
Have you missed an event during this time?
Did you celebrate a birthday in a different way?
What are you looking forward to doing after we return to "normal?"

What will you keep doing even after we return to "normal?"

The following two resources provide additional ideas – either for Share Your Story or just for yourself.

My Covid-19 Time Capsule
by Long Creations
Journal-type pages for children to document this time.
My Lockdown Diary
by Stephen McCarthy
Prompts for writing and drawing during this time of no school and social distancing.

You can send information to us for our Share Your Story book

• here - A Gmail account is required. You'll upload your submission directly on that page.
• Email us at youth@milanlibrary.org and then complete this form.
• Bring information to the library once we reopen.  We can scan your documents if you'd like to keep the originals.

As a thank you for participating, one person who shares their story will win a gift card to a Milan business. Since this challenge is a little bigger than our usual weekly challenges, we’ll give you some extra time and have the drawing on July 15. 

We hope you enjoy this challenge.  We look forward to seeing your stories!

Curbside Pickup Service

Curbside Pickup Service will be available beginning on Monday, June 22.

If you have already seen Curbside information on our website, you can skip to the youth-specific part of this page here.  The rest is general information repeated from our website.


Here are the basics:

• Reserve or request items.
• Wait for notification that items are ready.
• Come to the library during our current hours (see below) and call us from your vehicle.  Our phone number is on the signs outside.
• Library staff will bring items out to you and place them in your trunk or on the curb.

The details:

WHAT HOURS IS CURBSIDE SERVICE AVAILABLE?

Updated hours beginning 8/12:

Monday 10:00 - 4:00    
Tuesday 1:00 - 7:00
Wednesday 10:00 - 4:00
Thursday 1:00 - 7:00
Friday 10:00 - 4:00
Saturday 10:00 - 4:00


HOW DO I REQUEST ITEMS FOR CURBSIDE PICKUP?  

You can:  

• Place a reserve on items through our online catalog here (most efficient).
  
  
• Fill out the form here for help choosing books for children and teens. 
  
  
• Call the library during open hours at 734-439-1240 to request items. 
  
  
• Email the library at info@milanlibrary.org.

HOW DO I REQUEST ITEMS IN THE CATALOG FOR PICKUP?

• Go to milanlibrary.org and click on the Catalog/My Account link or go directly to our catalog here.
  
  
• Log in to your account with your library card number and password.  If you don’t recall your password, give us a call during open hours and we will help you reset it.
  
  
• Find the item(s) you are interested in and click on “place a hold.”  You'll see a pop-up box that says Reserve Placed when it has been reserved.

HOW DO I CHOOSE BOOKS IF I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR?

• You can fill out the Book Bundle form here for youth staff members to choose books for children and teens.  Let us know what subjects and formats you like and how many items you want.  We'll select items for you based on the information you provide. 
  
  
• You can see some book lists here. 
  
  
• You can search our catalog for new items, items on a subject of interest, and more. See tips for getting the best results when you search our catalog here:
  
  
  
  
  
• If you have questions, please email us at youth@milanlibrary.org.

HOW DO I KNOW WHEN MY ITEMS ARE AVAILABLE TO PICK UP? 

• Please allow 48 hours for items to be located and placed on hold for you.
  
  
• We will call you or email you to let you know that your items are ready for pickup.  

HOW DO I PICK UP MY STUFF? 

• AFTER YOU HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED YOUR ITEMS ARE READY, pull up near (but not right in front of) the book drop box.
  
  
• Call the library (734-439-1240) to let us know you’re here and your name.
  
  
• A staff member will bring out your items in a bag and can place them either in your trunk (please open when you arrive) OR at the curb near your car. 
  
  
• Staff will stay 6 feet away from you at all times and will wear masks.  We ask that you stay in your car and/or wear a mask if you need to get out of it for any reason.

HOW DO I RETURN ITEMS TO THE LIBRARY? 

• As the library building is still closed, ALL ITEMS MUST BE RETURNED IN THE BOOK DROP outside the library.
  
  
• If you have an oversize item to return, please call us to make special arrangements. 
  
  
• This is so that we can quarantine returned items for the appropriate period of time as determined by the CDC and other authorities. 

Drop box reopens today

Our drop box will be open starting today, Wednesday, June 17.

You can begin returning your checked out books and other items to the drive-up drop box. 

Please note:

• Items will not be checked in the same day they are returned.
• Items will be quarantined before being checked in.  The amount of time will be determined by recommendations by the CDC and other authorities.  At this time, items will be quarantined for four days. (updated 7/21/2020)
• Items will remain on your account until after the 4-day quarantine period. (updated 7/21/2020)
• Fines will not be charged for this time.  Items will be backdated to March 13 (the last day the library was open) until July 18. (updated)   
• If you have any questions, please email us at info@milanlibrary.org.

See more about our reopening plan here.

Reopening News

Reopening News

Thank you for your patience during the library closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This has been a difficult time for everyone, and we hope that you have been able to stay safe and healthy.

On June 9, 2020, the Milan Library Board of Trustees approved a reopening policy for Milan Public Library.

The library will have a “soft reopening” as we tackle many issues.  The library will reopen in stages.

The staff have been trained in sanitary procedures and protocols. Staff have been provided with masks, hand sanitizer, soaps, and sanitizing supplies.

The Milan Public Library follows the guidelines set by the Governor’s Executive Orders and is watchful for any changes in procedures for the library.

Our staff is eagerly looking forward to welcoming you back to the library as soon as possible. Again, we sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding during this chaotic time.

____________

If prefer or require plain text, here are the stages again:

Stage 1
March 14 - June 14

• The library is closed to the public and staff.

Stage 2
June 15 - June 21

• On June 15, the staff will return to the library.

• On June 17, the book drop will open for returned items.
• All items will be quarantined for 3 days before being checked in and reshelved.
• Patrons will not receive any fines at this time.

Stage 3
On June 22, the library will begin curbside pickup.

• Library hours will be:
    Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday 10:00-4:00
    Tuesday and Thursday will be 1:00-7:00
• Books may be reserved online or requested by calling the library (734.439.1240). 
• When items are available, patrons will receive a phone call to let them know their items are ready for pickup and available times for pickup.
• Patrons will pull up by the library drop box and call the library.
• Items will be brought to the patron and either placed in the trunk or on the curb.
• This is a no-contact delivery and staff will be wearing masks.

Stage 4
Beginning some time in July

• Library hours will be:
    Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday 10:00-4:00
    Tuesday and Thursday will be 1:00-7:00
• Patrons may enter the library but with limited occupancy and limitation to certain areas of the library.
• Patrons will practice social distancing at all times.
• All items are to be returned to the drop box and not brought into the library.
• Computer use will be by appointment only.
• All programs will be virtual.
• Closer to Stage 4, more details will be available.

Stage 5
Date to be announced

• Library hours will be:
    Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday 10:00-4:00
    Tuesday and Thursday will be 1:00-7:00
• Limitation to certain areas of the library may be lifted.
• Meeting room may be used for library events.
• Some library events may be held in the library.

Stage 6
Date to be announced

• Library hours and functions return to normal.

National Library Week

We are celebrating National Library Week very differently this year.  Instead of being together at the library, we invite you to explore the library from your home.  

Our library provides you with FREE access to ebooks, eaudiobooks, online learning opportunities, virtual programs, and more.  We also have compiled additional free educational and entertainment resources from other reputable sources for your consideration. 

Children can explore our options with this bingo board and win a prize for participating.  

(Our TNT (Teen and Tween, 6th - 12th grade) bingo page is here.)

National Library Week BINGO

Share Your Story: Share your experience during this time at home. Details here.	Color a coloring page, do an activity page, or try anything else from this list.	Read or listen to any book or part of a book.	Visit a museum virtually here.	Do something kind for someone else.
Read somewhere you don’t usually read -  in a blanket fort, under a table, outside, or anywhere you choose.	Write a book review.  It can be just one sentence or as much as you want to write.  Details here.	Play a game: I Spy, charades, a board game, a card game, or anything you choose.	Share a Smile: Write a letter or draw a picture to share with someone who receives Meals on Wheels. Details here.	Watch an live event or video of an author or illustrator, or an actor or astronaut reading a book.  Details here.
Tell someone about a book you have read or are reading.	Read or listen to an ebook or eaudiobook. Details here.	Your Choice: Choose something you like on this bingo board and do it again.	Create a comic, write a story, or try anything else from this list.	Observe the animals and plants you see and hear outside. Learn more about one. Details here.
Create something - a drawing, a story, a photograph, a song, a LEGO creation, origami, or anything you choose.	Visit a zoo, aquarium, or aviary virtually here.	Write a letter or draw a picture for a friend or family member.	Read a poem. Details here.	Read to someone else - a family member, friend (virtually), pet, or stuffed animal.
Learn something new that interests you.  Details here.	Go on a scavenger hunt or try anything else from the list of ideas here.	Write a poem, and share it with us to add to our Poetree, if you choose. Details here.	Watch our Stay-at-Home Story Night or attend a virtual library program or read any book. Details here.	Draw a picture about a book you have read.

You can:
- print the bingo page here (with color header and instructions)
- print the bingo page here (printer friendly black & white)
- save one of these images to your device 

with heading and instructions

just Bingo page

Then mark off the activities you do, and email the image or a picture of your paper copy to jperryman@milanlibrary.org.  

Complete one bingo to receive a free book after we reopen.  Complete additional bingos (2, 4, 6, and full card) to enter a prize drawing for a gift card to a local business or bookstore.  

We'll draw names for the prize drawing on Monday, May 4, so please submit your entries by Sunday, May 3.

If one (or more) of the bingo squares doesn't work for your child, you can choose any other activity on the page instead.  

If you have any questions, please email Jennifer at jperryman@milanlibrary.org.


Activity Details:

Most of the activities on the bingo page are already on our blog.  The links on each square will take you to those details. 

Here is more information about the items that don't already have a page.

Book Review: 

Write something about a book you have read.  It can be one sentence or as long as you want it to be. Tell if you liked the book or not and why you liked or didn't like it.  You can write anything else you would like. Younger children can tell an adult and/or draw a picture. Adults can talk with babies and young toddlers about the book. Anyone can talk/write/draw about what they think of a book. If you would like to share your review with us, we will post them online and in the library when we reopen. If you want to share it, you can email it to Jennifer at jperryman@milanlibrary.org.  Please include how you would like your child to be credited: first name and age, just age, or neither (anonymous). 



Animals and Plants:
Go outside - or watch and listen through a window - and see how many animals and plants you see. Notice what they look like, what they sound like, and what they are doing.  Pick one that interests you and learn more about it using any books you have at home or any of these resources: 

Britannica School Elementary (available through MeL)
EBSCO eBook K-8 Collection (available through MeL)
PebbleGo (available through MeL)

World Book Kids (available through MeL)
Michigan Department of Natural Resources - Learn about Michigan's Species
Michigan Department of Natural Resources - Attracting Frogs and Toads
Michigan Department of Natural Resources - Bird and other Wildlife Feeders

The following have fiction and nonfiction books. You may find the animal or plant you're looking for:
Tumblebooks

Overdrive/Libby



Learn Something New:
Use any of our resources or the resources we have shared from others to learn something new.
Learn how to draw something from an author/illustrator video here or a drawing page here.
- Explore World Book Kids, PebbleGo, or any other resource on MeL Kids
- Watch or try a science activity here
- Write a poem. Try a type you haven't written before. Details here.
- Download an ebook or eaudiobook here
- Or try any other activity or resource on our blog:
          Online reading, learning, and fun resources
          Printable activity pages, story starters and more
          Screen-free things to do at home

Stay-at-Home Story Night

Join us on Facebook on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 7:00 P.M. to hear a story.  

Larry Biederman, Library Board president, will read from April 14 through May 7.  

Tuesday, April 14: a LEGO picture book (video here)
Thursday, April 16: Dog Man - We'll read 15 to 20 minutes at a time and continue until the book is finished. (video here)
Tuesday, April 21: Dog Man continued (video here)
Thursday, April 23: Dog Man continued (video here)
Tuesday, April 28: Elephant and Piggie books (video here)
Thursday, April 30: More Elephant and Piggie books (video here)
Tuesday, May 5: Big Smelly Bear, Doctor Ted, and How Many Jelly Beans (video here)
Thursday, May 7: Curious George books (video here)

Ms. Jennifer from the library will read beginning on May 12.

Tuesday, May 12: Potato Pants and Our Silly Garden (video here)
Thursday, May 14: Mouse in the House and Traffic Pups (video here)
Tuesday, May 19: Little Hoot, Little Oink, and Little Pea (video here)
Thursday, May 21: Interstellar Cinderella and Reading Beauty (video here)

Ms. Jennifer from the library will read sometimes, and sometimes we will share videos of authors, illustrators, and others reading.

Tuesday, May 26: We shared videos of Sylvie read by The National Aviary (here) and Ranger in Time read by the author, Kate Messner (here)
Thursday, May 28: We shared a video of Arnie the Doughnut read by Chris O'Dowd on Storyline (here).
Tuesday, June 2: We shared a video of Catching the Moon read by Kevin Costner and Jillian Estell on Storyline (here).
Thursday, June 4: We shared a video of Max Goes to the Space Station read by NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins on the International Space Station via Story Time in Space (here).
Tuesday, June 9: We shared a video of The Case of the Missing Carrot Cake read by Wanda Sykes on Storyline (here).
Thursday, June 11: We shared a video of Lost and Found Cat: The True Story of Kunkush's Incredible Journey read by Doug Kuntz (one of the authors) on Storytime (here). 
Tuesday, June 16: Ms. Jennifer read two books: A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee and Most Marshmallows (here).
Thursday, June 18: Ms. Jennifer read two books: Billy Bloo is Stuck in Goo and Mrs. McNosh and the Great Big Squash (here).
Tuesday, June 23: Ms. Jennifer read Reptiles: True or False (here).


We will post future books as we get closer to them. We hope you'll join us!



____________________________________________________________

Additional resources:

Online reading, learning, and fun resources
Printable activity pages, story starters and more
Screen-free things to do at home
Resources about COVID-19 - books for children, journal pages, tips for talking with your child

Projects:

Share a Smile - Share artwork and letters with Meals on Wheels recipients.
Share Your Story - Share your experiences and daily life during this pandemic.
Poetry Month - Write a poem to add to our Poetree.

Storytime at Home: U is for . . .

We've been reading through the alphabet this year in Storytime.  Since we won't be able to meet in person for a while, here are some ideas for you to continue with the alphabet at home.

There are more choices than we'd use in one Storytime.  You can choose what you want to do and skip the rest - or spread out the activities over multiple times.

If you missed the T post last week, you can see it here.

The letter U

You can write the letters U and u on paper for your child to see.

Here is the letter u in sign language:

And the entire alphabet:

Songs

• The Alphabet Song

• We Clap and Say Hello
  
  We clap and say hello.
  We clap and say hello.
  With our friends in Storytime,
  We clap and say hello.
  
  You can change the third line to: "With our family in our house" to better fit the situation, if you prefer.
  
  Take turns choosing activities with your child: jump, spin, dance, . . . anything you want!

• Silly Dance Contest
  recorded during a live concert here (some verses different from our CD)
  CD version here

Books

You can look through your books at home for things that start with U and read some of those with your child.  Unicorns, up, underground, under water, uniforms (or occupations that wear uniforms) underwear, umbrellas, and unique are some U words you might find in your books.

Here are two online books:

Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner read by Kate Messner on YouTube here This is a story about a child, a grandmother, and their garden.   "Up" in this story refers to things above ground, in relation to things down in the dirt. For younger children who may think of "up" as things they look up to see or things higher than they are, you may need to explain that "up" in this book is above ground. Think about lying on your stomach on the ground - things you would see above the ground are "up in the garden;" things under the ground are "down in the dirt." If you read Tops & Bottoms last week, you can compare the two books.  Did anything in this book remind you of Tops & Bottoms? Would you want to choose "tops" or "bottoms" if you were growing the vegetable on this page?

Uni the Unicorn by Amy Krouse Rosenthal  read by Brightly Storytime on YouTube here  Uni the Unicorn believes that little girls are real; the other unicorns do not think girls are real.  Uni imagines what she would do if she met a real girl.

Crafts

Up:

You can draw a garden - with plants growing UP and roots growing down. Add anything your child would like that is UP - clouds, birds, etc.

Unicorn craft:

You can print the template here or draw and cut out the shapes.
Source (which includes instructions): easypeasyandfun.com

Unicorn masks:

You can print a unicorn mask here, color it, cut it out, and pretend to be a unicorn.
Source: itsalwaysautumn.com






U page for alphabet books:  
U page here and U pictures here


Additional activities

UNDERWATER animal watching:
You can watch live views of underwater animals on Georgia Aquarium's website here.

Scavenger hunt:
Go on a scavenger hunt in your house or yard.  You can look for things that start with the letter U and/or look for the letter U written on packages, book titles, artwork in your house, etc.  See how many you can find.

UP and down game:
Name something and ask your child to jump UP if the item is found up or crouch down low if the item is found down. After a few times, ask your child to name something and you can both jump UP or crouch down.  Continue taking turns with your child.  Some ideas: clouds, the moon, the sun, stars, the top of a tall tree, grass, the floor, your feet.  Keep in mind some things can be up or down; for example a bird can be "up" when it's flying or "down" when it's standing on the ground.  If you and your child differ on whether something is up or down, it is a good opportunity to talk about why.

UNDER guessing game:
Find a cup, bowl, bucket, or other container that you can't see through.  Choose a familiar object from your house and hide it UNDER the container.  Ask your child to guess what it is. Give them clues and encourage them to ask questions to help them figure out what is hidden.  Then have your child hide an object for you to guess.  Continue taking turns hiding items and guessing.

____________________________________________________________

Additional resources:

Online reading, learning, and fun resources
Printable activity pages, story starters and more
Screen-free things to do at home
Resources about COVID-19 - books for children, journal pages, tips for talking with your child

Projects:

Share a Smile - Share artwork and letters with Meals on Wheels recipients.
Share Your Story - Share your experiences and daily life during this pandemic.
Poetry Month - Write a poem to add to our Poetree.