Children and Families

Children and Family Events
New Year, New Beanstack Challenges!!!
New challenges - For the Love of Reading is a 28 day, daily reading challenge that starts Feburary 14 and ends on March 14, 2023: Join any of our challenges at Beanstack!
Adventure 365 with Ligonier Valley Library is a year-long challenge! Use Beanstack to track your minutes read throughout the year and earn fun badges. All of the details are available on our Beanstack page.
**Visit our Event Calendar for upcoming events. Make sure to scroll through the months.**
Extra Fun Finds
Find a storytime read aloud here. Thank you BrightlyStorytime!
We love listeniing to classical music in the Children's Department at the library. Enjoy classical piano for babies here. Need extra brain power for studying? Check out classical music to boost the brain!
Do you need some help with fractions? Here are some videos from Cyberchase on PBS that do a nice job explaining fractions by watching episodes of the show!
Go on a fall scavenger hunt here.
Activities and Resources for Families
1,000 Books Before Kindergarten
- The 1000 Books Before Kindergarten challenge is a simple (read a book, any book to your child, with the goal of reading 1,000 before kindergarten) and very manageable endeavor.
- Check out the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten site for more information about the importance of reading aloud to your child.
- Find the Ligonier Valley Library's 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten reading challenge on Beanstack. Once you complete the challenge, let us know and we will dedicate a book in your child's name to add to our collection.
Storybook Trail
Check out the Storybook Trail each season for a new story to read while you explore the trail.
The story begins at the forestry office trailhead, located by the kiosk in the parking area. Make sure to visit the Storybook Trail at 1291 Route 30, Laughlintown, PA.
Must-Read Books
Brightly provides a list of must-read books for grades 1st through 5th. If you see one that interests you, you can easily check to see if the book you want is in our on-line catalog by clicking here. Even if another library has the book you want, you can request it to be delivered to the Ligonier Valley Library for you to pick up.
Other Important Information
In order to keep our staff and patrons safe, we do have a few expectations while visiting the Children's Department.
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Check the COVID-19 Community Level for Westmoreland County and CDC recommendations on the Covid-19 by County website.
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At this time we are asking that no food or drink be brought into the Children's Department. This includes items such as lollipops. We would be happy to provide a baggie for anything a child would like to save for later.
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Currently, we have limited items out for children to play with. We are working towards having educational toys and games out again. This will be a work in progress and we thank you for you patience and understanding.
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Our restrooms are open.
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We do have our books, movies and even board games ready for check-out. Our hours of operation can be found here.
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If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hestiate to ask by calling the library at 724-238-6451 or emailing the Children's Department at kids@ligonierlibrary.org
Children's Department Staff
Miss Bobbi is here to help you find the perfect book! You can check out books or enjoy reading a fire truck book in our fire truck. We hope to see you soon!
A Library Card Makes the Perfect Gift!
Here at the Ligonier Valley Library, children can have their very own library card once they turn 5 years old. Stop by and ask us how today. Along with many books, movies and even board games to check-out, there are many free resources available to your child when they have their card. We would love to share those resources with you!
Extra Helpful Links
Find great resources here for fire safety. This site includes a printable fire safety book for kids!
Check out Wonderopolis...where the wonders of learning never cease! If you or your child have ever wondered about anything, this is the site to help you find the answers.
Find a soothing jellyfish webcam here. Check out many more animal webcams at Explore's webcams.
Kansas City Zoo Field Trip: Penguin Cam
Welcome To Ready Set Music! Feelings can be hard for children to talk about. Often they demonstrate their feelings before they can use words to share them. This site will help you explore feelings with music.
Check out Ruff Ruffman Humble Media Genius. This site if full of animated videos, quizzes, games and other activities focused on helping kids become more savvy and ethical users of technology.
Empathy is very important. The Blackburn Center Empathy Series is a fantastic resource for families that include read-alouds and activities.
Each week, a kid interviews two experts in a particular topic, one of which is a genuine, credentialed expert, the other a liar. In this fun game show like podcast, see if you can figure out who is telling the truth in the Big Fib podcast. There are many episodes to listen to.