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Make a Gingerbread House
All Fun, Christmas baking, December, Holidays, LibraryPoint Blog, Recipes, Virginia Johnson, Kids Blog, Teen Blog, Cooking, History
11/02/2012 - 3:13pm
Make a Gingerbread House

Gumdrops, lollipops, chocolate squares, jelly bears, and peppermint candies. The sky is the limit as far as decorating your own gingerbread house. They are a ton of fun to decorate, but first you need to make the house itself.

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Hanukkah: A Festival of Lights
All Fun, FYI Articles, Jewish holidays, Nancy Buck, Kids Blog
11/02/2012 - 12:22am
Lighting a candle on Hanukkah

Hanukkah, or Chanukah, begins on the 25th day of the Jewish calendar month of Kislev, at sundown. Lasting eight days, Hanukkah usually occurs during December, but sometimes begins in November. This Jewish holiday is known as the Festival of Lights, commemorating the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem in 164 B.C. after three years of war. Hanukkah means "dedication."

Jerusalem at the time was part of the Hellenistic empire and was ruled by Antiochus IV. His government instituted a different religion from Judaism. When the Temple became a site of sacrifices and icons, the people resisted, sparking three years of fierce rebellion. The Maccabees led the rebellion and were triumphant in 164 B.C.

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Kids Can Cook
All Fun, Apples, Nutrition, Recipes, Vegetarian, Virginia Johnson, Books and Reading, Cooking, Multicultural
09/26/2012 - 4:40pm

Imagine a plate piled high with warm chocolate chip cookies, ooey and gooey with melted chips and crunchy with nuts. Your grownup might have helped a little bit, but these beauties are all yours, to share with friends (or eat yourself!) because YOU made them!

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Halloween Fun
All Fun, Costumes, Halloween, Holidays, Pumpkins, Recipes, Songs, Cooking, Crafts and Hobbies
09/25/2012 - 4:38pm

Get ready for some spooky good times! We found lots of games to play, stories to share, crafts and recipes beyond compare. Learn to make your own costume, have a creepy cool party, carve a pumpkin, and get lots more tips to make this Halloween the best one ever.

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Ha-Ha! Jokes for You
All Fun, Jokes, Virginia Johnson, Humor
08/29/2012 - 6:30pm

Like to hear jokes? Like to tell them? People have riddled for fun throughout history and all across the world. From Africa to Spain to Russia, brainteasers and jokes rule. Always have. Today, you can't keep a good joke to yourself. They're everywhere: in books, on cereal boxes, even sometimes on popsicle sticks.

Find funny jokes, punny jokes, riddles and knock knocks both online and in the library

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Sidewalk Games
All Fun, Games, Summer kids, Kids Blog, Multicultural, Self-Help and Instructional, Teacher Resources
08/02/2012 - 10:39pm

Face it. Cartoons and video games are boring. You can only sit in front of the tee-vee for so long before your eyes glaze over. Between the ads for the latest plastic gizmos and excitingly-shaped wads of sugar (a piece of super sweet hard candy shaped like a pacifier? Puh-leese!), you may realize that the stuff between the ads isn't that interesting either.

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Chincoteague Ponies
All Fun, Eastern Shore, Horses, Marguerite Henry, Kids Blog, Natural World, Teacher Resources, Virginia History
07/27/2012 - 1:23pm

On the last Thursday in July, the wild ponies on Virginia's Assateague Island will make their annual swim across to Chincoteague Island. Many of the foals will be auctioned off to raise money for the local fire department, just as they have since 1925. The custom of rounding up the ponies is much older, dating back to the 1700s at least, and it has always been held with a lot of celebration. Today, you and your family can visit Chincoteague during Pony Penning, enjoy a carnival and great seafood, and perhaps bring home your very own foal.

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Dying for Tie-Dye
1960s, All Fun, Summer kids, Virginia Johnson, Kids Blog, Crafts and Hobbies, Multicultural, Self-Help and Instructional
07/03/2012 - 1:56pm

Image courtesy of Paula Burch's All About Hand Dyeing, http://www.pburch.net/dyeing.shtml

Feel like putting a little free spirit in your summer? Get on your oldest clothes, grab some buckets and rubber gloves, and head for the backyard to create beautiful tie-dye crafts.

You can use natural or artificial dyes, depending on whether you want your design to be a real eye-popper or something subtler that bespeaks being at one with nature. You can use a tie-dye kit or collect wild things from nature for earthier tones. Heck, even unsweetened Kool-Aid can be used as a dye to produce vivid color.

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