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Activities
The Children’s Department offers lots of activities to educate and entertain kids. There are story hours for various ages, crafts, guest authors, a LEGO club, robotics and other science and tech activities, Partners in Reading, Partners in Technology, and of course our Summer Reading Program.
Learn more about activities offered here.
1,000 Books Before Kindergarten
1,000 Books Before Kindergarten is an education initiative with three main goals: to promote early childhood literacy, to prepare young children for kindergarten and to facilitate family bonding through reading.
Children’s reading success in kindergarten and beyond begins with positive reading experiences in infancy and early childhood. 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten allows caregivers to play an active role in their child’s learning and development. Studies show that reading with a young child can significantly improve their vocabulary, memory, attention span and mastery of the language.
Parents and caregivers may register any child between the ages of 0–6. Any book may be counted and books may be repeated. Repetition is even encouraged as it increases both comprehension and confidence in young children.
Login to Beanstack to add completed 100-Book Reading Logs. Please complete this form to select prizes. Library staff will contact parents when prizes are ready for pick up using the library's Curb It service.
All children who have not entered kindergarten or the equivalent are eligible to register. Participants are not required to be Normal Public Library cardholders or residents of Normal. Participants are welcome to register for this program even if they are completing other area 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten programs.
Questions or comments? Please contact Randi Sutter, Children’s Outreach Librarian, at rsutter@normalpl.org or 309-454-4668.
Places to Discover
Whether we have an official activity going on or not, you can always find fun things to do in Children's Services.
The Discovery Room is a popular area for imaginative play, with tons of puppets and a wonderful puppet theater, a dress-up center, velcro wall, gear table, and more. We even have a Tot Spot area reserved for our youngest patrons.
The Book Nook is a welcoming area to find a comfy seat and enjoy a book, put some puzzles together, or build a DUPLO masterpiece.
Jump on an iPad and play learning games in our Tech Playground. The Tech Playground can be a busy place! If all of the iPads are in use, or you want to sit somewhere else in the library, check out an iPad for in-house use.
Outreach and Services
The library has lots of services and resources that can help teachers and homeschoolers.
We are happy to offer storytelling or information programs to nursing homes, churches, community centers, and schools. For more information, please contact us at 309-454-4668.