Library’s online entertainment and education services for children continue during the shutdown
- Jan Cook
- Posted On
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Library is currently closed to the public due to the shelter in place order and to assist community efforts in limiting the spread of COVID-19.
With libraries and schools closed, parents might be looking for ways to occupy their home-bound children. The library can help.
Online library services to both entertain and inform children and teens continue while the physical branches of the Lake County Library are closed. With a library card, patrons can access the library’s array of digital services without the need to visit a local branch.
If you need a library card, you can create an online card with the application form on the library website. If you have a question about an existing library account, call 707-263-8817 and leave a message. Library staff will be available by phone during normal operating hours to assist with the digital resources.
The library website is http://library.lakecountyca.gov . Go to the website and click Digital Content to see all the digital services available.
To entertain and inform kids, the library offers a variety of online services that require nothing more than a library card to access. On Hoopla you can activate kids mode by signing in and then clicking Kids. Hoopla has movies, television shows, music and audiobooks for kids.
On Libby or on the Overdrive website you can find kids’ content by clicking the Kids tab at the top. Libby by Overdrive has ebooks, audiobooks and special read along books.
Creativebug’s many classes include arts and crafts designed for children to do.
For children and teens the library also offers three online services ABCmouse, Britannica, and TeachingBooks.
ABCmouse.com is the leading and most comprehensive fun digital learning resource for children ages 2 through 8. Britannica School and Britannica Escolar are both educational sites for students to use for homework help, projects, or learning at home or at the library.
TeachingBooks.net is a multimedia website that generates enthusiasm for books and reading with engaging author programs and K-12 book resources for children and teens.
Patrons can check out ABCmouse accounts for home use on their computers or devices. The award-winning ABCmouse.com curriculum, created by Age of Learning, Inc., is designed to help young children ages 2 through 8 and beyond build a strong foundation for future academic success. ABCmouse.com is 100 percent educational, with more than 8,500 learning activities across all major subject areas-reading, math, science, social studies, art, and music. ABCmouse is one effective early learning resource that’s available for you to check out from the library and use with your children at home.
When you check out an ABCmouse account from the library with Bring Learning Home, you will get full access to ABCmouse from the convenience of your home or anywhere you have an internet connection. You will also have access to the Assessment Center, which allows you to track your child’s progress in key early literacy and math skills over time. Funding for the ABCmouse Bring Learning Home program was provided by Doug & Laurie Dohring, Bell Haven Resort.
Britannica School and Britannica Escolar are both educational sites for students to use for homework help, projects, or learning at home or at the library.
Britannica School is the go-to site for research – the core of any inquiry learning model – offering thousands of up-to-date, curated, and curriculum-relevant articles, images, videos, audio clips, primary sources, maps, research tools, recommended Web sites, and three separate databases. Britannica Escolar is the leading knowledge-building resource that is universally trusted for accurate and age-appropriate content in Spanish.
Choose from two or three levels of learning – Elementary, Middle, and High School – for a wealth of unique content to explore. Select an article and adjust its complexity with a single click while maintaining the age-appropriate look – ideal for classes of students at multiple reading levels! Read-aloud functionality and a font size changer are just a few of the features specifically helpful for students with special needs.
Nonfiction, cross-curricular content in Britannica School is updated daily by the editorial team with new and revised articles and multimedia – at least 1,200 entries per month – to keep users informed and engaged. Britannica offers accurate, up-to-date content aligned to the common core and state standards.
Use handy how-to-conduct-research tools to build essential information literacy skills. Group together related content types for activities or projects using the easy-to-use Content Collector. For educators, review and adapt ready-made lessons on various subjects or create your own with the intuitive Lesson Plan Builder. Access to Britannica School and Escolar is provided by the California State Library.
TeachingBooks is a dynamic, PreK–12 reading and library service that strives to deepen everyone's connections to the books they are reading. With 170,000+ engaging video, audio, and online resources, TeachingBooks brings to life the books that are enjoyed in your community.
TeachingBooks is a database of resources for children's and young adult books and their authors and illustrators. Use TeachingBooks to search titles, authors and illustrators, and find resources to engage readers. The resource collection includes short movies, audio book readings, book discussion guides, and more.
Access to TeachingBooks.net is provided for Lake County Library by the California State Library in conjunction with Riverside COE.
Jan Cook is a library technician with the Lake County Library.