Leah Langby | IFLS Library System

Share Some Love!

by Leah Langby | Feb 8, 2018 | Keeping Up With Kids

I think it would be cool to share some book love on this blog. And some idea love. So please send me a brief review of a favorite book or a quick story about an idea you have or a super cool program you had, or a really great thing a kid said and...

Early Literacy Awards

by Leah Langby | Feb 6, 2018 | Keeping Up With Kids

Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy is happy to announce the 2018 CLEL Bell Picture Book Awards for Early Literacy! The five winning books consist of one title in each of five categories selected from a shortlist of 25 titles. Each category represents an early...

More on Young People in the Digital Age

by Leah Langby | Jan 31, 2018 | Keeping Up With Kids

Image from PixabayThere’s been a lot of press recently about the new Facebook Messenger Kids app that Facebook rolled out in early December of last year. Messenger Kids is designed for kids as young as six (or even younger) to use social media to connect...

Jason Reynolds on The Daily Show

by Leah Langby | Jan 24, 2018 | Keeping Up With Kids

Okay, folks, if you haven’t ever had the opportunity to hear the remarkable author Jason Reynolds speak before (and also if you have had the opportunity!), watch him mesmerize Trevor Noah on The Daily Show in a clip from last night. Wow! So much to...

Working with Young People in the Digital Age webinar

by Leah Langby | Jan 19, 2018 | Keeping Up With Kids

A few years back, IFLS did a big project trying to get ourselves up to speed on new media, and how to help parents navigate the overwhelming avalanche of information and products. One of the things we did was hold a workshop on the topic with a morning...

Low Cost, High Impact Teen Programs webinar

by Leah Langby | Jan 17, 2018 | Keeping Up With Kids

One of the things I hear most often from librarians is that they are desperate for great ideas about teen programming, especially great ideas that won’t break the budget. As part of the Youth Services Track of the Wild Wisconsin Winter Web Conference,...

Family Engagement Webinar Coming Up

by Leah Langby | Jan 15, 2018 | Keeping Up With Kids

Last spring, I posted a few times about the great new resource from the Public Library Association and the Global Family Research Project–a tool kit and a call to action for libraries to engage with families. There are some really terrific and practical...

Jacqueline Woodson the New Ambassador for Young People’s Literature

by Leah Langby | Jan 5, 2018 | Keeping Up With Kids

Jacqueline Woodson is the new Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, a position appointed by the Librarian of Congress (with input from librarians, booksellers, educators, and children’s literature experts). I am so excited to see what she does...

Smart Phones and Social Media and Teens

by Leah Langby | Dec 19, 2017 | Keeping Up With Kids

Photo credit: PexelsThe Atlantic Monthly published an article this fall by Jean Twenge, author of the book iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy–And Completely Unprepared for Adulthood (and...

Tips for Getting The Most Out of the CSLP Manual

by Leah Langby | Dec 18, 2017 | Keeping Up With Kids

Use your toolbox! (image from Pixabay)Remember when we used to get a thick juicy manual full of lots of pages, helping us figure out what to do for the summer library program? Those days are not actually gone, the pages are just digital now. I sent...

Circle of Security

by Leah Langby | Dec 15, 2017 | Keeping Up With Kids, Uncategorized

Circle of Security International LogoI learned about Circle of Security as an approach to parenting and parent education the other day at a meeting, and I just had the chance to poke around and see what it is all about. There are some great short animated...

Empowering Parents

by Leah Langby | Dec 13, 2017 | Keeping Up With Kids

A parent and child play together in HawkinsMany of you have been trained in the Every Child Ready to Read curriculum, emphasizing helping parents and caregivers understand the importance of five early literacy practices (Playing, Talking, Singing, Reading, and...