Marathon County Public Library

August 1, 2019

Along with summer comes road construction, so our youth services staff at MCPL Wausau has designed a fun, interactive space in our Early Literacy Center for young children to learn all about construction! Throughout the month of August, children can dress up like a construction worker using goggles, a hardhat and more at our dramatic play center; build with wooden blocks; and drive model diggers and cars around the carpeted town. You can read the story Tip Tip Dig Dig (one of my personal favorites) and then re-tell the story using flannel pieces. There are plenty of construction puzzles, magnets, sorting activities and, of course, a vast array of construction books to enjoy together. The construction theme...

June 8, 2019

This summer, blast off with your child in the Marathon County Public Library's Early Literacy Center (ELC)! Throughout the summer months, you can help your child build his or her pre-reading skills in a fun, interactive outer spaced-themed environment!  Early literacy is what children know about reading and writing before learning how to read and write. Early literacy skills include background knowledge (how the world works), vocabulary, phonological awareness (knowing the smaller sounds in words), letter knowledge, narrative skills (telling a story), and print awareness (knowing that print has meaning and how a book works). In the months of June and July, visit MCPL Wausau for a space-themed...

March 2, 2019

Parents and care givers, join your children in exploring the world of transportation in the Early Literacy Center (ELC) at the Marathon County Public Library's Wausau Headquarters! Throughout March, April and May, the theme for the ELC will be "Transportation." During these months, parents and children can: ·     Play on the magnetic board! Put together magnetic puzzles of trains, cars, and trucks; play a car color matching game; sort transportation pictures and words by type, and much more! ·     Re-create "The Wheels on the Bus" on the felt story board – and sing along! ·     Create patterned pictures of cars, trains,...

January 8, 2019

Under the sea is an exciting place to be, so bring your young children to MCPL Wausau to experience the ocean-themed activities and books in the Early Literacy Center (ELC) during the months of January and February!  Some of the activities we have available include puzzles for learning colors and matching animal shapes, a fish felt board featuring the Dr. Seuss book One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish (you can read the book together, too) and felt ocean animals paired with their names. Our magnetic boards have ocean animals and words kids learn together, too.  And, of course, there are a few nets, fish bowls with toy fish and other animals to play catch-and-release with! A fun...

November 15, 2018

In the months of November and December, you will find jungle-themed activities and books in our Early Literacy Center at MCPL Wausau. “Early literacy” is a term for what children know about reading and writing before learning how to read and write. They develop these skills by talking, singing, reading, writing, and playing with a caregiver. In the jungle, you can say hello to Gerald the Giraffe, a four foot stuffed animal alongside our safari jeep. Go on safari and talk with your child about what animals they see, what kind of terrain they are driving on, and more! Using the safari jeep is a great time to talk with your children and let their imaginations soar. You will also find a “matching animal halves...

August 15, 2018

Come visit MCPL’s new Early Literacy Center at our Wausau Headquarters!  In September, we’ll begin offering a variety of pet-themed activities, which will be the first of many rotating themes planned for the Early Literacy Center.  One of the many pet-themed activities you’ll be able to enjoy with your child includes a veterinary dramatic play set, complete with a veterinarian costume and all of the equipment needed to take care of our (stuffed) furry friends! Dramatic play is an integral part of a child’s social, emotional, and cognitive development. In learning to follow the rules of dramatic play, a child learns to coordinate with others, make plans, and resolve conflicts. ...

July 3, 2018

Wisconsin’s first ever LENA Start sessions are complete! A wide range of Marathon County families participated in LENA Start, a program designed to measure how much verbal interaction a child hears in the first three years of his or her life. A total of 18 families graduated from the program this past May, making the first sessions of the program a success!  In order to graduate, parents had to attend nine parenting sessions where they learned how to talk with their child (as opposed to talking at them). The classes taught parents how to use more adult words, conversational turns, and less TV and electronic noise. In addition to attending classes, families also had to turn in eight audio recordings...

June 14, 2018

The Marathon County Public Library is set to unveil its new Early Literacy Center, a special section in the children’s area of its Wausau Headquarters designed especially for children 0-5 years! The opening of the center will be commemorated with special ribbon cutting ceremony with the Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce at 11 a.m. on June 20. Early literacy is a term used to describe what children know about language before learning how to read. This includes knowing what letters look and sound like, knowing words that rhyme, knowing how a book works and that printed text has meaning. These concepts are learned by children through talking, singing, reading, writing, and playing with a caregiver...

January 19, 2018

The first three years of a child's life are vital to brain development. Children from birth onward learn through talking, singing, reading, and playing. During these interactions, children learn how the world works, acquire vocabulary, stimulate different parts of their brain, as well as many other benefits. While this may seem easy enough, some caregivers may simply not be talking enough or using a variety of words to build a child’s brain! This is where LENA Start can benefit many children in our community. LENA stands for Learning ENvironment Analysis. The LENA System measures the early language environment of children ages birth to 32 months. Using a “talk pedometer” that children wear in a...

April 2, 2015

If you are a parent, guardian, grandparent, or child caregiver, we would like your input! Raisgreatkids.org is a local website put out by a collaborative effort of community partners under the Early Years Coalition. Marathon County Public Library is a member of this coalition, and we need your help completing a survey. As part of our efforts to make RaiseGreatKids.org a better site for our users, we need your help. We would like to get both your thoughts and feedback on Raise Great Kids as well as gather more information about how you use the internet to search for information you find valuable about children. Thank you for taking the time to fill out this survey. Your feedback will be invaluable in helping...

July 24, 2014

Beginning this fall, together with our usual literacy offerings, we are incorporating more S.T.E.A.M. into our children’s programs! What’s S.T.E.A.M.?  It is an approach to education that focuses on science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics by providing kids with lots of hands-on activities and experiments. Each program will be designed to engage the imagination and stimulate the curiosity of our future computer programmers, scientists, mathematicians, artists and engineers. S.T.E.A.M. Exploration Stations are planned for preschool children (ages 3-5) at 10:30am on the second Wednesday and the following Saturday of each month at our Wausau headquarters. Occasionally, other Preschool...

July 23, 2014

Music has many benefits to children of all ages; it gives children an outlet for expression, it breaks down language so children hear the smaller sounds in words (also known as phonological awareness), and music stimulates brain development in specific areas including language and reasoning. So, what can you do so your child gets the most out of music? Encourage your child to make his or her own music with household items. Play music in your home and encourage your child to sing and dance. And, even if you have a terrible singing voice, sing to your child! Your child will not care what your voice sounds like, just be enthusiastic and expressive. Sing nursery rhymes, make up songs that rhyme together, and even...

July 11, 2014

The first 1000 days of a child's life will influence his or her future academic achievement greatly. A child's brain is only about 25% developed at birth and develops to about 85% at age 3, or about 1000 days old. Marathon County's Early Years Coalition is taking proactive steps to ensuring parents have information and support for those first 1000 days so they raise great kids. The Wausau Daily Herald interviewed members of the coalition in the hopes of spreading the word about what parents can do to ensure their child is healthy, safe, ready for school, and great! Check out the links to other episodes and information to see how you can raise a great child in Marathon County. New episodes will air Fridays...

April 28, 2014

Your child needs positive human interaction to fully develop physically, mentally, and emotionally. Human interaction includes simple tasks such as talking, singing, playing, writing and reading; the five suggested practices to get your child ready to read! Through human interaction, your child’s brain will develop to its fullest potential and he or she will feel loved and be more willing to learn, listen and grow. How can you interact with your child? Below are a few ideas: Play with your child outside, or play make believe inside Talk with your child about his or her day, favorite color, or anything you can think of! Sing favorite songs, sing sentences in books, or make up silly songs that rhyme...

January 24, 2014

Helping your child get ready to read is easy! Just do one fun activity from this calendar each day. Plus, sign up for our 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program. Ask your children's librarian for more tips and ideas to promote pre-reading skills in your child. http://wla.wisconsinlibraries.org/images/yss/2014_Early_Literacy_Calendar.pdf