May 20, 2025, By Library Staff in Early Literacy.
The Youth Services team at ImagineIF Libraries plans and implements early literacy programs for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers in Kalispell, Bigfork, and Columbia Falls. Our goal in every Storytime is to connect with young children and their caregivers through books, songs, and interactive activities that foster early literacy and social emotional skills.
Explore the Storytime Schedule
Hide and Seek is not only a fun activity for kids, but it can be a powerful tool to support their early literacy. As kids are tasked with hiding and finding objects, they have ample opportunities to build gross motor skills, develop an understanding of object permanence, and practice critical thinking. Join us as we dive into a special Hide and Seek themed storytime and see what new things you might find.
Book Read:
- Run
- by Guilherme Karsten
ISBN: 9781771475358
ISBN: 9781984849021
ISBN: 9781481456159
Activities:
- Cats with Hats Felt Board Game
- We began storytime with a felt board game where we hid a hat behind a cat. We played a few rounds and kids took turns guessing which cat stole the hat!
- Hide and Seek Sensory Tub
- This week we filled our sensory tub with assorted colored beans and we hid a variety of items inside. We posted an “item list” photo on the wall nearby, and kids sifted through the beans to find things like egg shakers, magnatiles, pretend food, and more!
- Character Scavenger Hunt
- We found this fun character scavenger hunt from another online library blog, Jbrary. Everyone had a blast searching the kids’ area for familiar book characters like Fancy Nancy, Yoda, and Pete the Cat. Check out the link to learn more, or to find inspiration to create some bunnies of your own.
- Dot Marker Art
- This week in art, we used dot markers to fill a large poster with different colored dots! We encouraged kids to experiment with how hard and soft they pushed down on the dot markers as they made their art, which helps build grip strength and fine motor skills.
