This is a season for traditions of all kinds. Tuesday, December 5th the library offers the opportunity for families to learn about the tradition of St. Nickolaus and his sidekick Krampus!  Come on in from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. to make ornaments, hear stories and get a treat.  We are even expecting a visit from the famous pair!

You might want to incorporate some with a literacy focus! You will find more details online, but this might get you started. It is wonderful to engage children in conversation, to read and write together, and to do activities together. All of these promote self-esteem, vocabulary development and shared experience.

“Cookies and Bookies” – Make cookies, and read a book to go with them while they are baking.

Read “The Gingerbread Boy” while baking gingerbread cookies. Share jokes while making snickerdoodles. “Ed Emberly’s Great Thumbprint Drawing Book” pairs well with thumbprint cookies. Read “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” by Laura Numeroff and make chocolate chip cookies.

2017 Around the World Family Dinner Book Club (growingbookbybook.com) – a wonderful site that combines food, art and books to take you around the world. There is a book suggestion and recipes for each month of the year!

Family Game Night – Once a week or once a month, it is fun to play games together! Cards, board games, guessing games, video games, chess or cribbage tournaments, dice games, pictionary and charades all demand thinking as well as social skills.

Crafts – Learning how to follow directions and creating a finished product to use or give away can be a great opportunity for connecting people of all ages!

Sports – Check out a book about a famous athlete and then go out and build your own skills. The world record books are fun, as well. Start your own chart of family records – longest or highest jump, 100-dash time, number of sit-ups, push-ups or pull-ups, etc.

Letter writing – Writing a card or letter to someone is a special way to say you care. Let your children dictate a message, draw a picture or write to someone they know, and they may even get something in return!

Out of doors – Before you head out for a hike or a bike ride, get a map of the area. It can be fun to mark and measure your path. There are also many geocaching spots in our neck of the woods!

Kindness Jar – Make paper “cookies” and write acts of kindness that your family members do on them. Read them once a week as a group. Make a plan for a celebration when the jar gets full.

Service to others – Do you know a neighbor or relative who could use a little extra help with yard work or cleaning, transportation or cooking, or simply a visit? Be intentional about helping others, and your children will learn the joy of giving.

The local library can help you make any of these ideas a reality! You can find books with recipes and crafts, books with directions for games, world record books and stories of great athletes. There are maps and thousands of stories about friendship and family and service and caring. Choose some special activity your family will enjoy, and you may be starting a new tradition!