Easter
This year, Easter is on March 31, 2013. On this Sunday families will gather to attend church, eat, hunt for Easter Eggs and many other family traditions. Here in the Indianapolis area there are several Easter activities for families including a trip to the library for your favorite Easter stories. Or, try a new one - there are a lot this year!
Favorite Books for Easter:
Websites
- Martha Stewart: Easter Crafts & Activities
- Martha Stewart: Decorating Easter Eggs
- PAAD Easter Egg Decorating Tips
- Official Website: Peeps
- White House Easter Egg Roll
Indianapolis Area Easter Egg Hunts:
Springtime in Indianapolis is a really beautiful time. This year, Easter is a little early so the weather could go either way. But cold weather or not, your kids are going to want to participate in an Easter egg hunt or two. Many local churches, parks and non-profit organizations host Easter egg hunts. If you aren't sure where to take the kids, this list may come in handy.
- IndyWithKids: List of Area Easter Egg Hunts
- Indianapolis Motor Speedway Kids Club Easter Event
- Indianapolis Propylaeum Easter Egg Hunt
- Post Road Christian Church Eggstravaganza Giant Indoor Easter Egg Hunt
- City of Greenwood Easter Egg Hunt
- Forest Park, Noblesville Annual Easter Egg Hunt
- Carmel Clay Parks and Recreation Spring Fever Easter Egg Hunt
- The Times of Noblesville: Hamilton County Easter Egg Hunts
- Beech Grove Easter Egg Hunt
- Asa Bales Park Easter Egg Hunt
- Brownsburg Easter Egg Hunt Arbuckle Park
- Plainfield Community Easter Egg Hunt - Followed by an UNDERWATER hunt at the Aquatic Park!
- Northminster Presbyterian Annual Easter Egg Hunt
- Avon Optimist Club Easter Egg Hunt
- Fishers Station Kiwanis Club 31st Annual Easter Egg Hunt
- North Central Kiwanis Club Easter Egg Hunt
- Danville Kiwanis Club Easter Egg Hunt
- Easter at Conner Prairie
- Zionsville EGGnormous Event
New Easter Books for 2013:
Easter eBooks:
- 10 Easter Egg Hunters
- Duck & Goose: Here Comes the Easter Bunny
- Easter Mice
- An Easter Prayer
- God Gave Us Easter
- Happy Easter, Curious George
- Happy Easter, Gus!
- Ollie’s Easter Egg
- The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes
- Easter in Harwick
- The Berenstain Bears and the Real Easter Eggs
- The Berenstain Bears’ Easter Magic
- An Egg-cellent Easter
- My Easter Bible Storybook
- Emma’s Easter
- The Easter Story
- The Story of Easter
- All New Crafts for Easter
- Easter
Easter Downloadable Audio:
Books Recommended by: Janet Spaulding, Selection Services
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Passover
Passover this year is from March 25 - April 2, 2013. During Passover Jewish people remember how their ancestors left slavery behind them when they were led out of Egypt by Moses. The Passover celebration lasts for seven or eight days, depending on where you live.
On the night before Passover starts, there is a special meal called a Seder. Families read the story of how the Israelites fled from Egypt from a book called the Haggadah. An extra cup is on the table and the door is left open for Elijah. Jews believe that the prophet Elijah will reappear to announce the coming of the Messiah.
The books and websites on this page can be enjoyed by families celebrating Passover themselves or by families who would like to learn about the Passover traditions of their friends and neighbors.
Websites:
- Chabad.org: Passover
- Sesame Street: Shalom Sesame
- BBC: Passover
Favorite Passover Books:
New Passover Books:
Passover eBooks:
- Dinosaur on Passover
- Grover and Big Bird’s Passover Celebration
- Sammy Spider’s First Passover
- Only Nine Chairs
- Too Many Cooks
Book Recommendations By Janet Spaulding, Selection Services
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And Then It’s Spring!
And then it IS Spring! Finally! TODAY, March 20th, the vernal equinox. This is the day that the sun moves from south of the equator to north of the equator. Spring is in our hemisphere! The days, which have been getting longer since the winter solstice on December 21st, are now the same length as the nights. Equinox is latin for "equal nights."
When small children think of Spring, they think of lambs, chicks, ducklings, flowers and playing outside. There are a lot of books at the library to celebrate Spring: stories about baby animals and planting gardens getting outside again. Pulling a wagon to the library and filling it up with books is a great way to spend a pretty day!
You know what else is a sign of spring? Caterpillars. That means butterflies and moths are coming! Who better to usher in Spring than Eric Carle himself reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar for today, March 20th, the First Day of Spring as well as The Very Hungry Caterpillar Day, 2013!
Websites
- National Geographic Kids: Tiny Frogs Ring in Spring
- Martha Stewart: Kids Spring Crafts
- The Children's Museum of Indianapolis: Egg Balancing Myths and the Vernal Equinox
- TO DO: Indianapolis Zoo/Hilbert Conservatory: Butterfly Kaleidoscope Opens March 22, 2013! See over 40 species of butterflies!
- TO DO: White River State Park: Flight of the Butterflies 3D Downtown Indy IMAX movie follows the year-long annual migration cycle of monarch butterflies. Hundreds of millions of monarchs flying their migratory routes from Canada, across the U.S. and into Mexico.
- TO DO: Holliday Park, Indianapolis April and May 2013 Calendar of Events
Favorite Books about Spring
New Spring Stories for 2013
New Spring Non-Fiction for 2013
Book Recommendations By: Janet Spaulding, Selection Services
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Fun on a Cold Winter Day
It's cold! I know, stating the obvious! A good day to remember this famous storybook quote:
"The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So we sat in the house all that cold, cold, wet day."
It would be a good day for a visit from The Cat in the Hat to change things up and make a big fun mess!
Since The Cat in the Hat won't really stop by, here are some websites and books that might help you figure out how to have some fun together on a cold day, and later in the week, on a snowy day!
- IndyPL Kids Pinterest Board: Winter Crafts
- Wilson A. Bentley Official Website
- Make-a-Flake
- Is it true that no two snowflakes are alike? Answer
- Snowball launchers (I’ve talked about this book before – now would be a good time to check it out!) I also like the Build an Igloo book - see below.
- Make Ice Spikes
New Winter Books:
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