This drop-in activity will highlight picture books in the AmazeWorks Elementary Curriculum that focus on connection—specifically the connections children have with those they don’t get to see all the time. Separation can occur due to divorce, military deployment, incarceration, death, or other reasons, so we’ll have a variety of picture books available for families to look at, and we’ll help them create bracelets that remind them of the bonds they have with people even when they’re not there.  (All ages)

We all have special places that evoke family, comfort, and community. In this special session, kids can join educators from AmazeWorks in reading Kao Kalia Yang’s picture book The Blue House I Loved, which tells the story of her aunt and uncle’s home. Kalia and her family are Hmong refugees, but they create a new home together in St. Paul, Minnesota. We’ll read together to learn about how special the blue house was, thenchildren will have the opportunity to share about a place they love, drawing and adding words to a large floor map. (Ages 6-11)