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Let’s talk, read and sing about PLAY! Play time is fundamental to your child's early development. Outdoor play can teach your child to think critically, strengthen his muscles and bones, and improve his social skills. Read more about the benefits of OUTDOOR PLAY and learn how you can incorporate it into your little one’s everyday routine.
For more ideas on how to talk, read, and sing together about PLAY: TALKING IS TEACHING
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Books are a wonderful way to start a discussion on a specific subject with your little one, like PLAY. Talking is Teaching has a great list of recommended books, but also visit your local library and ask your librarian for ideas. | |
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Kindergarten Readiness Goal:
- Walk forward and backwards easily
- Manages classroom rules, routines, and transitions with occasional reminders
- Uses complete 4-6 word sentences
- Identifies numbers to 10 by name and connects each number to an object when counting
- Explores dance and movement concepts
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Cooking Matters Recipe:
HEARTY EGG BURRITOS
45 Minutes 4 Servings
Cooking time can be a time of learning and sharing with your little one. Let your child help measure and mix the ingredients.
Ingredients:
- 3 green onions
- 1 medium red or green bell pepper
- 1 medium clove garlic
- 2 ounces low-fat cheddar cheese
- 1 (15½-ounce) can black beans, no salt added
- 1 teaspoon canola oil
- 4 large eggs
- ¾ teaspoon ground cumin, divided
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Non-stick cooking spray
- 4 (8-inch) whole wheat flour tortillas
Instructions:
- Rinse green onions and bell pepper. Peel garlic clove.
- Slice green onions. Remove core and dice bell pepper. Mince garlic.
- If using fresh cilantro, rinse and chop leaves now.
- Grate cheese.
- In a colander, drain and rinse beans.
- In a medium skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Add beans, green onions, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook until peppers are soft, about 3 minutes. Add ½ teaspoon ground cumin and black pepper. Transfer mixture to a plate.
- In a small bowl, crack eggs. Add remaining ¼ teaspoon cumin. Beat mixture lightly with a fork.
- Wipe out skillet with a paper towel. Coat with non-stick cooking spray. Heat at medium-low. Add egg mixture. Cook, stirring occasionally, until eggs are as firm as you like, about 3–5 minutes. If using cilantro, add now.
- Spoon egg mixture into the center of each tortilla, dividing evenly. Add beans and veggies. Sprinkle cheese on top. If using yogurt, add a dollop to each tortilla.
- Fold tortilla over mixture and serve.
View the Recipe: HEARTY EGG BURRITOS
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Little Free Libraries
Little Free Libraries are book-sharing boxes where free book exchanges take place. Anyone can take a book or bring a book to share. Our boxes inspire a love of reading, build community, and spark creativity by fostering neighborhood book exchanges.
Visit any of our locations:
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Families with children between the ages of 2 months and five residing in Saginaw County can complete a FREE Ages and Stages developmental screening or a social-emotional screening. Screenings take ten minutes to complete and the results are back within a week. Results tell parents what to expect at each state of development. Often times, early diagnosis can help give a child the best opportunity to reach their potential.
Learn more: AGES & STAGES QUESTIONNAIRES
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One out of every 169 pregnancies ends in stillbirth in the U.S., and that rate is two times higher for Black expectant parents.
The link between fetal movement and a healthy baby is clear, but research continues to uncover more about the importance of tracking baby’s movements. Count the Kicks uses the latest research to help achieve our mission.
Count the Kicks provides free, evidence-based resources for expectant parents to stay informed and monitor their baby’s well-being.
Learn more about: COUNT THE KICKS
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Great Start to Quality
Children learn so much in their first five years. Quality licensed programs, for children 0-12, help children learn, grow, and develop. The foundation is set for children to be successful in school, work, and life when they have a safe place to learn, explore their world, and build relationships. Great Start to Quality is committed to helping Michigan families find child care that fits their budget and schedule.
Great Start to Quality is Michigan’s quality rating and improvement system that evaluates the quality of licensed programs, for children 0-12. As a Michigan family, you can use Great Start to Quality as a tool to help you look up and compare early childhood programs to find the best child care. On a scale of one- to five-stars, Michigan child care, preschool, and afterschool programs are scored in different areas, and those scores are combined to give them their Star rating.
Learn More: GREAT START TO QUALITY
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Peer 360 Recovery Alliance exists to serve the diverse recovery communities, their family, friends and allies offering a unified voice and a shared recovery vision. We are building bridges across the gaps between professional treatment services and successful lives in long-term recovery so that no more are lost to addiction.
What is peer support?
- Peer support is an informal gathering of others in recovery; it is a chance to share your experience and strength in recovery with others. It is also a chance to talk about your struggles and get support.
Check out Peer 360’s own, Carole Evans in this PSA for the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan
on her inspiring story of recovery! Miigwech, Carole!
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FREE Online Parenting Classes
Extension Extras Parenting Hour
Tuesdays at 8 - 9:30 PM
January 9 - Positive Discipline
January 16 - What Children Need to Know to Start School
January 23 - How Soon is too Soon? When to Teach your Children Money Habits for Life
January 30 - RELAX - Alternatives to Anger for Parents and Caregivers
Building Early Emotional Skills for Parents Webinar Series - January 2024
Wednesdays: January 10 - 31 at 12 - 1:30 PM
Online Kinship Caregiver Workshops: Together We Can - Co-Parenting
January 10 at 7:00PM - 8:30PM
Guiding Principles for Highly Successful Parenting Webinar Series - January-February 2024
Tuesdays: January 16 - February 13 at 11:30 AM - 1 PM
The Parent Talk System Webinar Series - January-February 2024
Mondays: January 22 - February 26 at 7:30 - 9:30 PM
Early Warning Signs and Suicide Prevention Best Practices in Children and Youth
January 23 & 24 at 1-3 PM
Recovery Oriented Systems of Care
January 31 at 11 AM - 12:30 PM
Learn More & Register: MSU EXTENSION PARENT CLASSES
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MICHIGAN DOULA INITIATIVE | |
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A doula is a trained birth professional who helps families have safe, healthy and positive birth experiences. Doulas provide non-clinical emotional, physical, and informational support to pregnant people and their families before, during, and after birth.
Doula services have been shown to positively impact the social determinants of health, support birth equity, and decrease existing health and racial disparities.
The MDHHS Doula Initiative supports a broader statewide goal of reducing infant and maternal mortality and addressing birth inequities by:
- Increasing and supporting the doula network in Michigan
- Providing technical assistance for Medicaid doula providers
- Engaging with doulas, families and partners to prioritize and expand doula service access
Learn more: DOULA INITIATIVE
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Visit Great Lakes Bay Parents' KIDS DAILY CALENDAR for a full listing of story times, family/ kid events, and new places to discover in the Great Lakes Bay Region. | |
STEM Passport - Calendar
You and your child can explore STEM Passport locations and events in the Great Lakes Bay Region (GLBR) by accessing our STEM calendar. The GLBR is home to a variety of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) destinations and programs. Afterschool programs help children learn, grow, discover who they are and what they love to do, and ultimately realize their full potential. They enhance a child’s foundational skills, like communication, teamwork, and problem solving, and prepare them for the jobs of tomorrow. Research shows that this added participation in afterschool programs sparks interest in school so students attend school more often, get better grades, and are more likely to graduate.
Learn more: STEM PASSPORT
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January - Playgroup at Thomas Township Nature Center & Preserve | |
January 2,4, 9, 11, 16, 18, 23, 25 & 30 - Tales for Two | | |
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WHERE: Zauel Memorial Library, Saginaw
DATE: January 2, 4, 9, 11, 16, 18, 23, 25 & 30 at 10:30 AM
Come read, laugh, and play at our storytime program designed for toddlers ages 18 months to 3 years. Our storytime provides active young children and their caregivers with stories, fingerplays and songs based on simple concepts, repetition, and lots of movement. This storytime will engage toddlers while fostering early literacy and fine motor skills development.
Meets Tuesdays, with a repeat of the same program on Thursdays.
Learn More: TALES FOR TWO
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January 5, 12, 19 & 26 - Preschool Storytime | | |
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WHERE: Butman-Fish Library, Saginaw
DATE: January 5, 12, 19 & 26 at 10:30 AM
Drop-in storytime fun! We can't wait to have you join us for stories, music, crafts, games, and more!
Learn More: PRESCHOOL STORYTIME
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January 6 - Kids Workshop | | |
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WHERE: Home Depot, Saginaw
DATE: First Saturday at 9 AM – 12 PM
Join us the first Saturday of each month between 9 am – 12 pm for free in-person Kids Workshops.
Learn more: KIDS WORKSHOP
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January 6, 13, 20 & 27 - Preschool Storytime | | |
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WHERE: Zauel Library, Saginaw
DATE: January 6, 13, 20 & 27 at 10:30 AM
at 10:30 AM
Preschool Storytime at Zauel
Learn More: PRESCHOOL STORYTIME
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January 6 - Community Youth Day | |
January 6, 13, 20 & 27 - Free Saturdays @ Saginaw Art Museum | | |
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WHERE: Saginaw Art Museum, Saginaw
DATE: January 6, 13, 20 & 27
at 12 - 5 PM
In an effort to increase accessibility to the museum, we have extended our regular hours to include Saturday afternoons Noon-5pm starting this week, for FREE! We look forward to welcoming you and yours into our gem of a museum to explore our collection, exhibitions, and gardens.
Learn More: FREE SATURDAYS
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January 8, 22 & 29 - Kindergarten Boot Camp: Preschool Story Time | | |
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WHERE: Zauel Library, Saginaw
DATE: January 8, 22 & 29 at 10:30 AM
This story time is an interactive learning experience that helps preschool aged children strengthen the skills necessary for a successful transition to kindergarten. Story time and activities focus on early literacy and kindergarten readiness skills such as colors, shapes, numbers, counting, letters, and scissors practice. Stories, activities, and crafts are prepared for children ages 3 to 6.
Learn More: KINDERGARTEN BOOT CAMP
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January 8, 9, 16, 22, 23, 29 & 30 - Story Time with Mrs. Emmons | | |
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WHERE: Frankenmuth Wickson District Library, Frankenmuth
DATE: January 8,9, 16, 22, 23, 29 & 30
Learn More: STORY TIME
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January 8 - Hoots at Hoyt Storytime | | |
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WHERE: Hoyt Main Library, Saginaw
DATE: January 8 at 7 PM
Come join us in the Children's Area at Hoyt Library for Evening Storytime. Enjoy a snack as our overly enthusiastic reader reads a variety of stories with a variety of voices! (and he may even sing if the kids ask him nicely!) Spend an evening with us filled with books, rhymes, and good times! Have a hoot at Hoyt!
Learn More: HOOTS HOYT STORYTIME
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January 9, 16, 23 & 30 - Story Hour | | |
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WHERE: Bridgeport Public Library, Bridgeport
DATE: January 9, 16, 23 & 30 at 10:30 AM
Have fun with stories as Miss Cindy reads and discusses each story. We also sing songs, learn rhymes and fingerplays and make crafts. We promote early literacy by teach the Ready to Read Michigan skills during each story hour.
Learn More: STORY HOUR
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January 13 - Studio Storytime | | |
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WHERE: Saginaw Art Museum, Saginaw
DATE: January 13 at 12:30 PM
Calling all young museum goers! Join us every second Saturday, January through April for Studio Storytime. Every month will be a new theme, where we read a story and create an art project from 12:30-1:00 PM. The program is geared towards ages 2-5, but all are welcome. Studio Storytime is in partnership with Public Libraries of Saginaw.
Registration is requested, but not required:
STUDIO STORYTIME
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January 13 - Second Saturday Open Studio | | |
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WHERE: Saginaw Art Museum, Saginaw
DATE: January 13 at 1-4 PM
Come make the studio space your own and turn one of your ideas into a reality! Drop-in between 1pm-4pm on the Second Saturday of the month September-December for unguided art making. We have plenty of materials for you to access, like yarn, fabric, markers, colored pencils, and more.
Learn More: OPEN STUDIO
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January 17 - Play Dough Party | | |
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WHERE: Rauchholz Library, Hemlock
DATE: January 17 at 6 - 6:30 PM
Check out all the awesome play dough toys at the library's Play Dough Party! Make play dough food, give a play dough haircut, make play dough puppets, and much more! Family event for kids of all ages. Must be accompanied by an adult.
Learn More: PLAY DOUGH PARTY
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January 18 - Preschool Storytime - Snow Day | |
January 18 - Preschool Playtime | | |
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WHERE: Butman-Fish Library, Saginaw
DATE: January 18 at 4 PM
Join us for some open playtime at Butman-Fish Library! We'll have toys and games
Learn More: PRESCHOOL PLAYTIME
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January 20 - Kids Workshop | | |
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WHERE: Lowes, Saginaw
DATE: January 20 at 10 AM - 12 PM
Calling all little builders! Kids will love this holiday DIY-U workshop where they’ll learn to build a handmade wreath ornament that also makes a one-of-a-kind keepsake.
My First DIY Toolbox
Time to get to work! This Kids Toolbox Workshop will have your little helper eager to tag along on your next home improvement project.
Learn More & Register: LOWES
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January 20 - Hands On History - Clothing Through the Years | | |
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WHERE: Castle Museum, Saginaw
DATE: January 20 at 11AM
Learn more: HANDS ON HISTORY
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January 20 - LEGO Night at the Library | | |
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WHERE: Butman-Fish Library, Saginaw
DATE: January 20 at 2 PM
Come test your creativity with our Legos! Or you just relax and watch a Lego Movie with us.
Learn More: LEGO NIGHT AT THE LIBRARY
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January 22 & 29 - Story Hour | | |
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WHERE: Rauchholz Library, Hemlock
DATE: January 22 & 29 at 10:30 AM
For kids ages 2-5. Drop-ins are welcome!
Learn More: STORY HOUR
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January 23 & 30 - Play to Learn | | |
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WHERE: Rauchholz Library, Hemlock
DATE: January 23 & 30 at 10:30 AM
Play to Learn: Playgroup at the Library
September 19th-May 14th (with some breaks)
For kids ages 0-5. Drop-ins are welcome!
Learn More: PLAY TO LEARN
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January 26 - Jumping Jammers | | |
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WHERE: Rauchholz Library, Hemlock
DATE: January 26 at 10:30 AM
Jumping Jammers: Music Time at the Library!
For kids ages 2-5. Drop-ins are welcome!
Learn More: JUMPING JAMMERS
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January 27 - Art Encounters | | |
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WHERE: Saginaw Art Museum, Saginaw
DATE: January 27 at 1-4 PM
Get out of the cold and come make art at the museum! Create your very own winter scene, captured in a jar. We will supply all the materials you need: a jar, “snow”, a tiny tree, and model magic to add your own favorite winter details, like a snowman! We have limited jars, so it will be first come, first serve. However, feel free to bring your own small 8-12 oz jar or clear cup and join the fun. All ages (kids and adults!) are welcome to participate.
Learn More: ART ENCOUNTER
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January 27 - Upcycled Snowman Fun | | |
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WHERE: Butman-Fish Library, Saginaw
DATE: January 27 at 2 PM
Make a fun snowman out of a Mentos gum container and then pick your treats to fill it up. This program is designed for ages 4-12 and children under age 7 need an adult helper.
Learn More: UPCYCLED SNOWMAN FUN
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January 30 - Pizza & Pages Storytime | | |
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WHERE: Butman-Fish Library, Saginaw
DATE: January 30 at 4:30 PM
Bring the whole family for stories, crafts and PIZZA at Wickes Library! This activity is specially prepared for children ages 2-5, but the whole family is welcome. Please let us know you can be there by calling Wickes Library at (989) 752-3821.
Learn More: PIZZA & PAGES FAMILY STORYTIME
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Visit Great Lakes Bay Parents' KIDS DAILY CALENDAR for a full listing of story times, family/ kid events, and new places to discover in the Great Lakes Bay Region. | | | | |
