Blog

FOR KIDS AND FAMILIES

Baby Fingerplays: Ideas for Caregivers

Ms. Mary shares three simple fingerplays that you can enjoy with your little one.

Storytime at Home: Pets

You and your little one can enjoy storytime at home! This storytime sheet includes books, songs, and more exploring the theme of pets.

We’re Mad for Mo!

Our readers and storytime leaders love, love, love books by Mo Willems, and we’ve got three read-aloud videos to share with you:

• Ms. Mary reads Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, a story about our good friend Pigeon who really, really wants to be allowed to drive the bus. Will you let him?
• Our friend the pigeon could really use a bath. Ms. Meleesa shares his story in The Pigeon Needs a Bath!
• Ms. Caitlin & Desi team up to read Listen to My Trumpet! which is the story of Piggie, her new trumpet, and Gerald's reaction.

Bird Puppets with Ms. Caitlin and Haven

Join Ms. Caitlin and Haven for a song perfect for singing with puppets of our fine feathered friends: birds!

Hora de cuentos en el hogar: Vehículos

Es fácil seguir leyendo y aprendiendo con sus hijos. ¡Vamos a divertirnos con los vehículos!

Rise & Shine Storytime: The Great Gracie Chase

Ms. Mary reads The Great Gracie Chase by Cynthia Rylant, with illustrations by Mark Teague. Due to publisher restrictions, this video will only be available until June 30.

Skokie Spirit Shines Through: Kindness Rocks

Get crafty and leave little tokens of your Skokie spirit on your next walk using these instructions for creating kindness rocks.

Storytime at Home: Things That Go

You and your little one can enjoy storytime at home. This storytime sheet includes books, songs, and more exploring the theme of vehicles and things that go.

Animal Facts: Axolotls

Ms. Quetzalli and her stuffed animal friend Mickey D. explain some facts about axolotls, including their regenerative abilities and their mythical origin story.

Rise & Shine Storytime: They All Saw a Cat

Ms. Mary shares the picture book They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel.

Storytime at Home: Baby’s Day

You and your little one can enjoy storytime at home. This storytime sheet includes books, songs, and more exploring the theme of all the things babies do in a day.

Storytime with Ms. Meleesa - Little Pea

Ms. Meleesa shares the story of Little Pea, who just wants to skip straight to vegetables for dessert--no sweets!

Be the Artist: Torn Paper Landscape

J.M.W. Turner was a fabulous landscape artist and a master of light. This project explores his landscape design. 

Rise & Shine Storytime: A House for Hermit Crab

Ms. Mary shares the story of Hermit Crab, who is looking for a comfortable home in the picture book A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle.

Storytime at Home: Rain

You and your child can enjoy storytime at home. This storytime sheet includes books, songs, and more exploring the theme of rainy weather.

You can also find resources and recommendations from our staff.

FOR ADULTS

Book Chat: Books That Speak to Use during Stay-at-Home

Allyson, Becca, Tiffany, and Mimosa--all familiar faces from the Reader Services desk at the library and our new online book clubs--share what they've been reading recently. What's on your reading list?

Learn to Crochet

Get started with crochet using this Crochet Basics Resource Guide and an easy moss stitch potholder pattern from Lynnanne, a library staff member with years of crochet experience and lots of great crochet projects under her belt.

Meditation at Home

Join Chelsea Ribaudo, who leads monthly guided meditation sessions at Skokie Public Library, in this guided meditation for the month of May.

Tart Cherry Scones from Kneads & Wants

Make some tasty scones using this recipe shared by Maria Kozi, baker and owner of Kneads & Wants, on Lincoln Avenue just north of the library.

Learn to Knit

Get started with knitting using this knitting basics resource guide and a beginner’s coffee cozy pattern from Becca, a seasoned knitter on the library’s staff.

Sandwich Cookies with Pooja Makhijani

Try this recipe for sandwich cookies from writer Pooja Makhijani. You can watch the recording of our April 30 live event with Pooja, which took place on Zoom.

Explore the Sewing Machine: Janome Magnolia 7330

Jimmy provides an introduction to the Janome Magnolia 7330 sewing machine, including how to thread the machine's needle.

Baking Tart Cherry Scones

Maria Kozi, owner and baker of Kneads & Wants Artisan Bakery on Lincoln Avenue in Skokie, demonstrates how to make tart cherry scones in this recording from the library’s online event May 6, 2020. Get the recipe here.

FOR ALL AGES

Be the Artist: Nature Art

Our staff artist, Sue, developed an art activity based on the work of artist Andy Goldsworthy. What will you create with nature materials near your home?

How to Make a Quilt Square

Jimmy demonstrates how to make a quilt square using fabric scraps. You can complete your square with a sewing machine or hand-sewing materials, or you can do a no-sew version with craft glue.

Skokie Spirit Shines Through: Make a No-Flame Lantern

Show your Skokie spirit and participate in the Skokie Spirit Shines Through campaign and Skokie Lights the Night by creating a no-flame lantern with a smartphone or flashlight and materials you probably have around your home.

Make a Confetti Cannon

Whether you’re celebrating graduates (it’s the Week of the Graduate in Niles Township!), birthdays, or anything else, you can add to your festivities by creating a homemade confetti cannon with at-home materials.

Skokie Spirit Shines Through: Kindness Tree

Participate in the Skokie Spirit Shines Through campaign and create this craft kindness tree.

PERFORMANCES

Streaming Music Performances from NPR Music

NPR Music is compiling a list of live audio and video streams from around the world, categorized by date and type of music, with links to streaming platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Most are free, often with digital tip jars and opportunities to directly support artists by buying music and merchandise.

Streaming Ballet Performances from Pointe Magazine

Pointe Magazine compiles upcoming streaming events and digital ballet performances.

Streaming from London’s Royal Albert Hall

Royal Albert Hall has an ongoing series of streaming performances. This week includes singer/songwriter David Ford, an opera for kids program, and Sea Shambles, a science, music, and comedy show about the past, present, and future of our planet.

WDCB Streaming Events 

WDCB, Chicago’s Home for Jazz, has a calendar of upcoming streamed performances featuring jazz, blues, world, and folk music.
International Bluegrass Music Association 
See the schedules and attendance details for online bluegrass concerts and festivals. Events are currently taking place daily.

Tiny Dance Film Festival 

Explore this retrospective of short (less than 10 minutes) dance films from around the globe.

Straight No Chaser

This superb (and funny!) a cappella ensemble that originated at Indiana University is presenting a new song each Wednesday on its YouTube channel. The latest video posted is a lovely version of “On the Road Again/I Play the Road.” Subscribe to SNC’s Quarantine Sessions.