Read about it, talk about it and do it!
Get ready for some nature adventures right in your backyard! This special reading club for preschoolers includes stories that will kick-start imaginations and get you and your little one outside exploring and discovering. Participants can sign up anytime after August 23 and are asked to complete 6 books and 6 activities from the book club list.

Young children are naturally curious about their world. They want to know what things are, how they work, and what they can do with them. The Get Outside Book Club is designed to get you and your preschooler reading great books and then spending time together outside having fun and exploring nature.

How to Participate

• Download and print a brochure.
• Read a book about being outside to spark your child’s interest and imagination. (Ideas for great books can be found by downloading the book list or asking your local librarian.) Be sure to have lots of conversation about the book while you are reading it.
• Go outside together and do an activity related to the content of the book. Provide opportunities for your child to ask questions, express ideas and make predictions.
• Later, read the book again. Help your child to relate his or her experiences outside to the topic of the book.
• Keep track of the books you read and the outside activities you do, after reading six books and doing six activities, come to the library for a small prize and certificate of completion.

For more ideas about good books to read and activities to do, check out the Dayton Metro Library’s Early Literacy Blog: www.daytonmetrolibrary.org/early-literacy

Upcoming Programs
MetroParks has a number of upcoming Book Club Storytime programs designed to help you and your child connect with nature through stories about plants and animals. The programs will occur at four unique locations.

Suggested Activities

• Find a tree with branches low enough to reach, then climb up and enjoy the view.
• Roll over an old log or a large stone and look for insects, fungus, spiders and salamanders!
• Dig a hole to see what might be living beneath the ground.  How deep can you dig before you reach water?
• Discover a new place by hiking along a path you’ve never been on before.
• Follow a set of tracks to see where they lead you!
• Spend the afternoon exploring a creek.  Splash around, turn over rocks, and look for fossils, minnows, toads and crawdads.
• Enjoy playing outside in the rain.  Put on your rain gear then splash through puddles and look for worms!
• Take some toys from inside and play with them in a new, outdoor setting like the sand box, garden or in a tree. 
• Visit a pond or river and try to catch a frog, toad, or crawdad.
• Find a mud puddle, or mix some water with dirt to make a mud puddle to play in.  Squish the mud between your toes, paint your face with it, or form shapes made out of mud and let them harden as they dry.
• Rake up a big pile of leaves and jump into them, or ride your bike or tricycle right through the middle of it!
• Skip stones across the water at the edge of a stream, lake or pond.
• See where your nose takes you!  Find at least five interesting plants to smell.  Which is your favorite?
• VIEW ALL SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES