Pacific Elementary School
Small School, Huge Community | 831-425-7002
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Reading During the School Closure

Notes from our school librarian, Doña Bumgarner:

The school library is closed until school re-opens, but your kids need more things to read! I’m the school librarian and also a Pacific parent. I love real, paper books best of all, and I know my daughter is getting a lot more screen time than I like while studying through Google Classroom. But we’re exploring new ways to access stories and reading while we are sheltering at home, and I want to share some of these resources with you. 

Here are some recordings of books for your kids to enjoy. If you ever want to just lay around, relax and listen to a really good story try one of these! Simply click on the links below to hear me reading the story.

Here are some videos of me reading picture books (more coming soon!):
  •  Coyote and the Grasshoppers

Here are audio recordings of the book Lady Lollipop (great for younger kids):
  • Chapter 1
  • Chapter 2
  • Chapter 3
  • Chapter 4
  • Chapter 5
  • Chapter 6
  • Chapter 7 & 8
  • Chapter 9 & 10
  • Chapter 11 & 12

Here are six chapters - audio only - of The Sword and the Stone:
  • Chapter 1
  • Chapter 2
  • Chapter 3
  • Chapter 4
  • Chapter 5
  • Chapter 6

Here are links to summer reading programs:

Bookshop Santa Cruz Reading Program

Santa Cruz Public Library Summer Reading Program


Here are several resources for digital and audio books:
  • The Santa Cruz City Library is open for pick-up only and the Bookmobile is back in Davenport every other week, But if you want a book RIGHT NOW you can access thousands of library materials, including ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, movies and music, without even leaving your home. We use the Libby app on our devices to check out audio books and ebooks. See this page to learn how to access digital materials and what’s available: https://www.santacruzpl.org/ematerials/ If you don’t have a library card, you can create one online. Here are instructions in English and Spanish. 
  • Audible has released a large number of kid’s audiobook recordings in multiple languages for free. You can access them here: https://stories.audible.com/start-listen For more detail about how to use this collection, see this link: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/G/01/AudibleBlisseyReactWebApp/FAQ_v3._CB1584639990_.pdf
  • Scribd is offering a free 30 day subscription to their collection of adult and kid’s ebooks and audiobooks (normally 9.99 - just remember to cancel before it renews!) Here is an example of some of their kid's books on the topic of “keeping kids entertained” https://www.scribd.com/lists/23422079/Keeping-Kids-Entertained
  • Benchmark has free ebooks in English or Spanish for grades K-6. This collection is mostly non-fiction, in the areas of Math, Science, Language Arts and Social Studies. You can filter by grade and general topic area.  You can sign up for a free account to access this collection through July 31. 
  • Here are some other platforms that have opened their digital collections to students for a limited period. I have not looked through these platforms out myself.
    • ABDO 
    • 12 Story Library 
    • Activity Village  - this page has themed coloring pages and worksheet packs
    • Amicus - education-focused ebook collection, sorted by grade level. 
    • Awesome Stories is offering a few free stories each day, delivered in a variety of formats (video/audio, etc). 
    • Scheduled + pre-recorded read-aloud sessions https://eblireads.com/non-fiction-read-alouds/
    • Education.com is offering three different ways to access their worksheets and online learning tools: https://www.education.com/workbooks/independent/ 
       https://www.education.com/weekly-boost  https://www.education.com/games/play 
    • Multimedia non-fiction ebooks https://cloud.k12edu.follett.com/lightbox-av2-offer
    • Nutrition Ed resources for kids missing Food Lab bit.ly/CookShopFBNYC
    • Early learning program for pre-readers (30 day trial) www.learnwithhomer.com
    • A hardback book subscription box, one month free justrightreader.com (preK to 2nd grade)
    • This website has videos of celebrities reading children's books for when you have reading fatigue. https://www.storylineonline.net/
  • While not books, kid-focused podcasts are also an entertaining and educational option. You can listen to them in a browser (just Google the name of the show) or in a Podcast player application on a device or computer. Our current favorites are:
    • Smash Boom Best
    • Brains On
    • Stories Podcast
    • Story Nory
    • Tumble science podcast
    • Book Club for Kids
    • If you have teens or young adults in your household, they might enjoy the Ologies and 99% podcasts.

For actual, physical books, here are your best options: 
  • Use your library card to hold books and pick them up at a subset of local library branches, or have them delivered to the Bookmobile, who will bring them to Davenport every other Monday. You can also visit the Bookmobile to have the librarians pull books from their small collection, or help you place a hold on something in the collection at another branch.
  • You can borrow (or donate) books to any Little Free Library you find around your neighborhood (though some Library owners have closed their boxes for now). Did you know that there is a free library cabinet that lives right outside of the Pacific School office? It is full of books right now, and even has a whole drawer full of books in Spanish. Not all free libraries have kids books in them, but look for the libraries in parks or near schools for more kid-centered collections. You never know what treasures you’ll find in a free library box! There is a map of officially registered Little Free Libraries on this page (https://littlefreelibrary.org/ourmap/) but there are many many more that aren’t registered. Just keep your eye out as you walk around your neighborhood - it is like a treasure hunt, and they are everywhere! Bring a book you are done with and take a new one home with you (just bring a disinfectant wipe to clean them before you bring them home!).
  • Bookshop Santa Cruz is open for online ordering. You can have them ship books to you if you aren't able to shop in person. Please support our wonderful local bookstore!
  • Scholastic.com has put together a curated list of books to uplift and inspire kids who are learning at home, sorted by grade level. Scholastic is a good source of low-cost books. Just make sure you have them shipped to your home and not to the school! https://shop.scholastic.com/parent-ecommerce/learn-at-home.html 
If you are having trouble engaging your kids in reading, take a look at this article that was in the school newsletter a while back.
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