• Easter is a Christian holiday. It celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. According to Christian history, Jesus was crucified on a Friday and rose three days later on Sunday.
• Since 325 AD, Easter has been held on the first Sunday after the full moon, after the 21st of March, which is the Equinox. This means that Easter can land anywhere between the 22nd of March to the 25th of April.
• The holiday’s name comes from a “goddess” named Eastre. Her symbols were the rabbit and the egg. This symbolism is especially fitting for a holiday that signifies rebirth.
• The first Easter baskets given were meant to imitate a bird’s nest when eggs were placed inside.
• We’ve all dyed Easter Eggs, but Ukrainian Easter Eggs, or Pysanka, are by far the most beautiful.

• Each year nearly 90 million chocolate bunnies are made for Easter. In the ranking of kids’ favorite Easter candy, red jellybeans come in first place.
• Peeps are made in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Here are some great craft ideas for Easter — Easter Crafts for Kids.

The Youth Services Staff at the Chester County Library and Hankin Branch are presenting Virtual Storytimes beginning April 27th. They will be for three different ages groups — 0 to 2 Year Olds, 3 & 4 Year Olds, and 5 & 6 Year Olds. Registration is required via the Events Calendar at https://chescolibraries.org/. Virtual Storytimes are not registered as multi-week sessions; you will need to register for each storytime individually.

Dav Pilkey at Home , a collaboration between the “Dog Man” and “Captain Underpants” author and the Library of Congress (LOC), offers with free activities, including how-to-draw demonstrations, read-alouds, and resources from the LOC’s collections. On Fridays at 8 a.m. EDT, new video content created by Pilkey will be released. More videos and content, including downloadable activities, discussions about books, and tips to create characters or act out scenes from the “Dog Man” series will be added periodically throughout the week.

The Youth Services Staff at the Chester County Library and Hankin Branch are presenting Virtual Storytimes beginning April 27th. They will be for three different ages groups — 0 to 2 Year Olds, 3 & 4 Year Olds, and 5 & 6 Year Olds. Registration is required via the Events Calendar at https://chescolibraries.org/. Virtual Storytimes are not registered as multi-week sessions; you will need to register for each storytime individually.

Passover is celebrated every spring by people of the Jewish faith.  The holiday lasts for eight days and nights.  A special meal, called a Seder, is held on the first two nights of Passover.  At the Seder, family and friends read the story of Moses, who led the Jewish people out of Egypt.  Symbolic foods are served on a special Seder Plate, including horseradish, egg, and parsley.  One of the most important Passover foods is matzoh, or unleavened bread. Matzoh is eaten during Passover because, when the Jews were given their freedom, they left Egypt so quickly that there wasn’t time for the bread to rise.  At the Seder, the youngest person at the table asks four important questions and an extra cup of wine is placed on the table for Elijah. During the Seder, an adult hides half of a piece of matzoh, called the afikomen, and the child who find it receives a prize.

For information, songs, and activties about Passover, click on Passover for Kids.

The Youth Services Staff at the Chester County Library and Hankin Branch are presenting Virtual Storytimes beginning April 27th. They will be for three different ages groups — 0 to 2 Year Olds, 3 & 4 Year Olds, and 5 & 6 Year Olds. Registration is required via the Events Calendar at https://chescolibraries.org/. Virtual Storytimes are not registered as multi-week sessions; you will need to register for each storytime individually.

Have you always wanted to learn a new language? Now is a great time to start! Mango Languages will help you learn a new language, with over 70 languages to choose from. From Arabic to Pirate to Yiddish, Mango has something for you!

You can find Mango under Tools & Research and then All CCLS Databases at ChescoLibraries.

Books can take you to other lands — How I Learned Geography.

The Youth Services Staff at the Chester County Library and Hankin Branch are presenting Virtual Storytimes beginning April 27th. They will be for three different ages groups — 0 to 2 Year Olds, 3 & 4 Year Olds, and 5 & 6 Year Olds. Registration is required via the Events Calendar at https://chescolibraries.org/. Virtual Storytimes are not registered as multi-week sessions; you will need to register for each storytime individually.

Families around the country are taking walks in their neighborhoods for a little outdoor time. They’re also going on a Bear Hunt! If you take a walk in your neighborhood, you can go on a Bear Hunt, too! Many families are putting teddy bears in their windows. See if You can find one!

We’re going on a bear hunt. We’re going to catch a big one.
What a beautiful day! We’re not scared. Uh-oh!
Grass! Long wavy grass.
We can’t go over it. We can’t go under it.
Oh no! We’ve got to go through it!
Swishy swashy! Swishy swashy! Swishy swashy!

We’re going on a bear hunt …  and then you can go through: a RIVER, a deep cold river (Splash! Splosh!) and MUD, thick, oozy mud (Squelch squerch!) and a FOREST, a big dark forest (Stumble trip! Stumble trip!) and a SNOWSTORM, a swirling, whirling snowstorm (Hooo wooo!) and a CAVE, a narrow gloomy cave (Tiptoe tiptoe!)

WHAT’S THAT!
One shiny wet nose! Two big furry ears! Two big goggly eyes!
IT’S A BEAR!
Quick! Back through the cave!
Tiptoe! Tiptoe! Tiptoe! … and all the way back until we

Get to our front door. Open the door. Up the stairs.

Oh no! We forgot to shut the door.
Back down stairs. Back upstairs.
Into the bedroom – in to the bed
Under the covers
I’m not going on a bear hunt again.

Keep your eyes open! Have fun!

The Youth Services Staff at the Chester County Library and Hankin Branch are presenting Virtual Storytimes beginning April 27th. They will be for three different ages groups — 0 to 2 Year Olds, 3 & 4 Year Olds, and 5 & 6 Year Olds. Registration is required via the Events Calendar at https://chescolibraries.org/. Virtual Storytimes are not registered as multi-week sessions; you will need to register for each storytime individually.

Most 12-year-olds love playing videogames — but Thomas Suarez taught himself how to create them. After developing iPhone apps like a whack-a-mole game called “Bustin Jeiber,” he is now using his skills to help other kids become developers. Click here to hear Thomas’s TEDtalk — Thomas Suarez, 12 Year-old App Developer.

The Empty Pot is a wonderful story about another boy who uses his talents well.

The Youth Services Staff at the Chester County Library and Hankin Branch are presenting Virtual Storytimes beginning April 27th. They will be for three different ages groups — 0 to 2 Year Olds, 3 & 4 Year Olds, and 5 & 6 Year Olds. Registration is required via the Events Calendar at https://chescolibraries.org/. Virtual Storytimes are not registered as multi-week sessions; you will need to register for each storytime individually.

You probably don’t know that there’s a publisher right here in Chester County! Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. publishes books on all topics, for kids and adults, and they’re located in Atglen. Our friends at Schiffer have a shared their Kids’ Resource Hub with us. Check it out for coloring pages, puzzles, and more!

What would you do if your under-the-bed monster went fishing for a week? Find out in I Need My Monster!

The Youth Services Staff at the Chester County Library and Hankin Branch are presenting Virtual Storytimes beginning April 27th. They will be for three different ages groups — 0 to 2 Year Olds, 3 & 4 Year Olds, and 5 & 6 Year Olds. Registration is required via the Events Calendar at https://chescolibraries.org/. Virtual Storytimes are not registered as multi-week sessions; you will need to register for each storytime individually.

This is a great time to connect with your inner poet. Whether you do it by reading poetry or writing your own — it’s all good and FUN! Here’s a poem we remember from our school days:

I eat my peas with honey.

I’ve done it all my life.

It makes the peas taste funny,

But keeps them on my knife.

— Anonymous

Here are some sites for you to explore! 30 Ways to Celebrate Poetry Month at Home! and Children’s Poetry have lots of poems for you to read, or Kenn Nesbitt’s Poetry 4 Kids will help you write your own!

Read this story and you’ll discover that Clark the Shark is a bit of a poet himself!

The Youth Services Staff at the Chester County Library and Hankin Branch are presenting Virtual Storytimes beginning April 27th. They will be for three different ages groups — 0 to 2 Year Olds, 3 & 4 Year Olds, and 5 & 6 Year Olds. Registration is required via the Events Calendar at https://chescolibraries.org/. Virtual Storytimes are not registered as multi-week sessions; you will need to register for each storytime individually.