Parenting Blog
Updated often--find tidbits of information to help you with parenting. Send us your comments or suggestions for blog topics.
Being a fit family
Run together! The article, Kids on the run, provides tips for families to stay together and to stay healthy together. We also have a great selection of titles!
Do you love our planet?
Then show it! Planetfesto is the place where you can express your love and concern for Earth as well as provide your own promise on how to make it better.
Books for Young Boys
Want to get that little guy interested in books? Try these.
Mile High Mamas
Parenting with altitude! Check out this entertaining community resource for area moms.
Poetry
Here are some great poetry books for all ages. Click here for even more poetry books.
Families - Celebrate Mardi Gras
Play a life-size King Cake Game, and then try some king cake for yourself. Register online.
Instinctive parenting : trusting ourselves to raise good kids
by Ada Calhoun
Get the book
Everyone wants to do what's best for his or her child, yet the fact is there is no universal "best." Whether you start solids at four months or eight, whether you co-sleep or Ferberize, whether Junior's mac'n'cheese is dayglo orange or 100 percent organic matters a lot less than other parenting books -- and other parents -- might have you believe...
Literacy Playground!
Southglenn Library, 6972 S. Vine Street, Centennial, recently received a $1,500 grant from the Rotary Club of Centennial, as well as another $1,500 matching grant from the District Rotary, to fund a new indoor play structure for the library. The $3,000 Rotary gift will combine with more than $5,000 already granted by the Friends of the Arapahoe Library District.
The Random House Book of Greek Myths
by Joan D. Vinge
Ages 9 and up
Get the book
Brush up on your mythology before going to see Percy Jackson!
Your kids are your own fault
by Larry Winget
Get the book
From the straight-talking, bestselling author of "You're Broke Because You Want To Be" comes a rescue plan that spells hope for raising a generation of productive adults.
Better than peanut butter & jelly: quick vegetarian meals your kids will love
by Marty Mattare & Wendy Muldawer
Get the book
This new revised edition of the trusted guide to vegetarian family cooking is better than ever.
Begin with Books: Home Daycare Storytime Visits
Trained volunteers visit daycare homes each month sharing books, puppets, rhymes, songs and games with young children and caregivers--the next best thing to coming to the library! For information or to volunteer contact Lori Romero at lromero@ald.lib.co.us or call 303-LIBRARY.
New science of learning - brain fitness for kids
Get the dvd
Join host Peter Coyote as he shows how there is a new look at the learning capabilities of the brain thanks to breakthroughs in neuroscience and education; how skills that are required for school success can be learned under the right conditions, and how these learning skills can impact the life of a child forever.
New National Ambassodor for Young People's Literature
Katherine Paterson has been named the new National Ambassodor for Young People's Literature by the Library of Congress. It is a two year postition to promote children's literature and literacy. She replaces Jon Scieszka. Paterson is the Newbery Medal winning author of Bridge to Terabithia and her newest book is The Day of the Pelican
Emergent Readers
Starting soon, all of the Arapahoe Libraries will have emergent readers available for checkout.
The complete idiot's guide to raising a strong-willed child
by Mary-Micheal Levitt, and Helen Coronato
Get the book
Assert your positive power! The strategies in The Complete Idiot's Guide to Raising a Strong-Willed Child will help you bring out the best in your child---even when he's at his worst
Baby Names
Lots of sites list popular baby names, but the Social Security Administration lists them by state or by year. You can also track a name's popularity through recent years.
We still have baby name books at the library too!
Your Child's Vision
Kidshealth.org has a special feature about your child's vision including developmental stages and how to watch for signs of problems.
National Geographic Bee
by National Geographic
Each year thousands of kids in grades 4-8 take part in the National Geographic Bee. Between November 9 and January 15 schools have their own Geographic Bees. In April there is the State level Geographic Bee. May 25-26 the state winners go to the National Geographic Bee in Washington, D.C.
Find out more about the National Geographic Bee and take the GeoBee Quiz on their website.
For more study tips, check out National Geographic Bee Official Study Guide.
Baby Boot Camp
by Kristen Horler
Get the book
Created specifically for the postpartum body, this safe and highly effective fitness program enables mom to get back in shape...all while playing with her infant or toddler.
Feeding baby green
by Alan Greene
Get the book
You can break the cycle of weight struggles, junk food, and unhealthy kids' meals-and avoid food battles along the way.
Check out your environmental impact!
Lowimpactliving.com provides a handy calculator for checking out your impact and for how to do better. Or for more reading, check out the library’s titles on environmentalism, the green movement or sustainable living.
Bullying Prevention Awareness Week
"It takes a community to prevent bullying of children. The Fourth Annual National Bullying Prevention Awareness Week, Oct 4-10, 2009 encourages communities nationwide to work together to increase awareness of the prevalence and impact of bullying on all children." Visit the PACER Center website for more information or check out some books on the topic for kids, teens, and adults.
Great Books, Old and New
In celebration of Children's Book Week, our librarians have paired up some favorite books, new and old. See the pairings of picture books or chapter books.
Dia de los Niños
Celebrate Dia de los Niños with a story, a craft, a piñata and other treats.
Register Online.
What kids really want that money can't buy
by Betsy Taylor
Get the book
Tips for parenting in a commercial world. This book offers parents a clear and simple path to follow to protect their children from the notion that "more is better."
Measuring up : what educational testing really tells us
by Daniel Koretz
Get the book
How do you judge the quality of a school, a district, a teacher, a student? By the test scores, of course. Yet for all the talk, what educational tests can and can't tell you, and how scores can be misunderstood and misused, remains a mystery to most. The complexities of testing are routinely ignored, either because they are unrecognized, or because they may be--well, complicated.
