Free Online Activities

Try some of these great sites for all ages, for something new for yourself or your family! You can also find our subscription resources, free with your library membership, here.

Virtual – Little Learners ABCs

Join Kelsi with your little learner to learn all about the ABCs. Each week will feature skills and actions that will help improve your toddler’s early literacy skills! Find them on our YouTube page.

Family Literacy Day

Check out our YouTube playlist to find all our amazing stories and activities!

Early Literacy Videos

Join us to learn some of our favourite songs and rhymes.

Visit our YouTube channel to watch the videos.

Virtual Nature Show

Watch this program on demand on our YouTube page!

This program is funded by the Government of Canada’s Emergency Community Support Fund, via the United Way of Simcoe Muskoka.

Virtual Storytime

Join us each week as we read a fun book! Videos are posted every Saturday at 10:30am on our YouTube page!

Get Ready For Kindergarten

Learn tips, tricks and activities to help your children get ready to start school! Find all the videos on our YouTube channel.

Simcoe Money Management Series: Insurance 101 – Home & Auto

Click here to watch the recording: https://youtu.be/KsKoA8nOX6o

Midland Public Library has partnered with nine County libraries (Barrie, Bradford West Gwillimbury, Clearview, Collingwood, Innisfil ideaLab, New Tecumseth, Ramara, Tay Township, and Wasaga Beach) to offer a 2022 financial and legal speakers’ series. In this program, insurance & financial advisor Jill Charlebois-Richards discusses home & auto insurance. Jill also discusses required coverage, when you might consider additional coverage and industry tips, tricks and advice.

Date Night @ Home With Quest Art

Click here for a full list of materials to create your own kit and click here to follow along with virtual instruction with Quest Art on YouTube.

Spend an evening with your partner as you create masterpieces for your home or office! Virtual instruction provided by:

Heads Up For Healthier Brains With Alzheimer Society Of Simcoe County

A virtual workshop series to learn more about and participate in discussions on:

Normal vs. not normal aging. Click here for week 1 video recap & a relevant TED Talk from author and neuroscientist Lisa Genova.
Getting your brain and body in gear. Click here for the week 2 video recap.
Healthy diet: Feed your body; Fuel your brain Click here for the week 3 video recap.
Social engagement, sleep & stress Click here for the week 4 video recap.

This series is offered in partnership with:

Easy Embroidery

Enjoy working with your hands? Give embroidery a try with MPL’s Easy Embroidery program. Learn the basics of embroidery in just seven weeks! You’ll learn basic stitches, easy flower designs, and fun fonts, culminating in a beautiful final project. Find the videos on our YouTube channel and download the instruction guide and templates here.

Tech Savvy Seniors

Technology can be overwhelming. But learning the basics of technology can make your life easier, keep you socially engaged, stimulate your mind, and provide you with a creative outlet. Find all the videos on our YouTube channel. Let’s tackle technology together!

Virtual Author Talk With Brian Francis

To celebrate the launch of the North Simcoe Youth Wellness Hub, Jenn talks with YA author Brian Francis about his latest novel Break in Case of Emergency, the importance of depicting youth mental health in literature and his advice for aspiring writers.

Watch here on our YouTube channel.

Virtual Author Visit: Amanda Leduc

A special #SimcoeReads2021 conversation with Canadian author Amanda Leduc, the bestselling author of Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space and The Centaur’s Wife, a thought-provoking, exciting novel that blends fable and apocalypse in a meditation on grief and resilience.

Watch here on our YouTube channel.

Virtual Author Visit: Kate Hilton

A special conversation with Canadian author Kate Hilton, the bestselling author of The Hole in the Middle and Just Like Family. Kate’s latest novel is Better Luck Next Time, a laugh-out-loud generational family comedy for those of us who have survived siblings, children, parents, and marriage.

Watch here on our YouTube channel.

Local Author Showcase: Barrie Doyle

A special virtual author visit with local author Barrie Doyle, author of Musick for the King and The Oak Grove Conspiracies.

Watch here on our YouTube channel.

Introduction To Ukulele

Borrow a ukulele from our lending & learning collection and check out the MPL YouTube channel for a series of introductory videos from ukulele instructor Sean McGaughey: https://youtu.be/biRL6WHLg6s

Our ukulele kits come with an instrument, instruction booklet, tuner and case!