Welcome to the Shine Kids Corner!☀️
Welcome to our little corner of sunshine for kids and families in Jefferson County!
~ 📚 Storytime at Shine Realty Dates 2025 📚~
On this page you will find upcoming events, Shine Storytime updates, recipes, kids’ activities, and more!
Next Shine Storytime with Ms. Adriane
☀️📖 Thursday, March 13 at 9:30 AM at Shine Realty in Jefferson
Storytime at Shine Realty is an hour of free fun for local children and their caregivers once per month at Shine Realty located at 101 N. Main St., Jefferson (see map below)
Come to enjoy:
- a story
- creative activities
- playtime
- snack
- coffee for the adults!
Shine Realty broker and owner, Adriane Stuebs, usually leads storytime and reads the story. But sometimes, we have special guest readers join the fun! In the summer, Shine Realty teams up with Ms. Jess from Power Hour and holds outdoor storytime in Lake Mills!
📍Shine Realty Jefferson Office Location📍
Upcoming Local Events for Families
Here are some fun family-friendly activities around Jefferson County and surrounding counties.
☀️ Upcoming Events ☀️
~ Events with the ☀️Sun are events Shine Realty is hosting or attending!
Feb 28 🎻 — Classical Kids’ Concert: “Bach, Brahms, and the Boys” is a kid-friendly concert by the Symphonic Band and Chamber Strings at Calvary Baptist Church in Watertown!
March 2 🎻 — Symphonic Wind Ensemble: Experience the symphonic melodies of the renowned Wind Ensemble at UW-Whitewater!
March 4 🤖 — Homeschool Tuesdays: Robot Banaza. Homeschool families get together one Tuesday each month to explore a different educational topic together at the Watertown Public Library!
March 5 🌤 — Ourdoor Classroom for Kids: The Weather Machine. Learn and explore the outdoors with a naturalist program that focuses on seasonal topics and incorporates hands-on discovery for ages 4-12 at the Retzer Nature Center in Waukesha!
March 11 & 12 🌲 — Wee Wonders: A monthly opportunity for nature exploration and discovery for children 2-4 at the Retzer Nature Center in Waukesha!
March 13 ☀️– Storytime at Shine Realty: Come enjoy a fun story, craft, and other playtime activities with your littles at Shine Realty in Jefferson!
March 15 🏃♀️ — Watertown Jig Jog 5k or .5k for Kids: Join over 500 walkers and runners while also supporting private & public schools in Watertown!
March 19 ✂️ — Parent & Tot Craft Time: A new monthly event of a story & craft for Parent & Tot to do together at Let’s Get Crafty in Lake Mills!
March 19 🐿 — Outdoor Classroom for Kids: Chipmunks. Learn and explore the outdoors with a naturalist program that focuses on seasonal topics and incorporates hands-on discovery for ages 4-12 at the Retzer Nature Center in Waukesha!
March 27 🧱 — Oz-Mania: Drop in for trivia, games, crafts, Wicked & Wizard of Oz karaoke, and a costume parade at the Hedberg Public Library in Janesville!
March 27 🧪 — Spring Break Science Fun: Drop in to try some fun science experiments during the Spring Break Science Fun Day at the Watertown Public Library!
April 7 🏛 — Homeschool Capital Day: Homeschooling families gather to build relationships with lawmakers before their political influence is needed. This is a wonderful opportunity to connect, learn, and make an impact together.
April 8 & 9 🌲 — Wee Wonders: A monthly opportunity for nature exploration and discovery for children 2-4 at the Retzer Nature Center in Waukesha!
April 16 ✂️ — Parent & Tot Craft Time: A new monthly event of a story & craft for Parent & Tot to do together at Let’s Get Crafty in Lake Mills!
April 22 👩🎨 — Crafternoon: A monthly opportunity to explore open-ended crafts. Each month features a different craft medium. Drop in at the Library in Waterloo!
Jefferson Area Storytimes by Day of the Week
Looking for local storytimes that fit your schedule best?
Here are some of our Jefferson area storytimes divided by day in:
- Jefferson
- Lake Mills
- Johnson Creek
- Fort Atkinson
There’s at least one each day of the week, so hopefully you can find something that fits your schedule!
Here are links to each storytime host if you need more information:
* MONDAYS *
Baby Bounce: Geared toward birth to 18 months at Jefferson Public Library!
Storytime with Ms. Carrie at Simple Kup coffeeshop and Present Not Perfect Play in Lake Mills!
* TUESDAYS *
Baby & Me Storytime: Geared toward birth to 24 months at L.D. Fargo Library in Lake Mills!
Toddler Time: Storytime & early literacy geared toward ages 18-36 months at Dwight Foster Library in Fort Atkinson!
Storytime at Shine Realty: Geared toward babies through preschool age at Shine Realty in Jefferson! [☀️2nd Tuesday of each month☀️]
* WEDNESDAYS *
Storytime/Power Hour: Enjoy a story before heading to the gym for open play and activities for children birth-4 at Power Hour at St. Paul in Lake Mills!
Storytime: Geared toward ages 2 to 5 at the Jefferson Public Library!
* THURSDAYS *
Baby Time: Storytime & early literacy geared toward birth to 18 months at Dwight Foster Library in Fort Atkinson!
Preschool Storytime: at Johnson Creek Public LIbrary!
* FRIDAYS *
Toddler Storytime: Geared toward ages 2-5 at L.D. Fargo Library in Lake Mills!
Want more event ideas?
Check out 15 Festive Things to do in Jefferson County this December and 17 Fun Things to do in Waukesha County this December!
Also, check out Jump Around Gymnastics in Cottage Grove and DeForest! They have lots of Open Jump hours for your little ones to burn some energy (adults too!)
Be sure to check out your local library programs. There are LOTS of activities going on like LEGO Club, Storytime, Fort Building, Reading to Dogs, and more!
Storytime & Other Fun Shine Activities
November Storytime at Shine Realty Highlights
August Storytime / Power Hour in Lake Mills
Town & Country Days Parade in Lake Mills
We loved seeing so many of our friends downtown Lake Mills as we walked in the Town & Country Days parade in Lake Mills! We hope you enjoyed your treats, bubbles, or shiny gold coins!
Last November’s Fall & Veteran’s Day Storytime
Touch-A-Truck (or Staging Van 😉🚙☀️) in Lake Mills was so much fun!
We got to see so many friendly faces from the community and do crafts together in front of the iconic Shine Realty Staging Van!
We hope this becomes an annual summertime event.
August Shine Storytime Teddy Bear Picnic
We had such a fun Teddy Bear Picnic with stuffed animals for our August Storytime at St. Paul’s School in Lake Mills.
We love seeing our storytime friends & meeting new ones each month!
Enjoy this quick video of some of our Summer Shine Storytime fun on YouTube!
Summer brings our special Shine Storytime series where we team up with Ms. Jess from Power Hour and have outside storytime! The kids listen to a story, do fun activities, and play on the playground while parents sip iced coffee and enjoy the beauty of kids, friendship, and summer together!
Be sure to check out our Lake Mills Guide for a bucket list of fun things to do around Lake Mills every season!
May was a Special Mother’s Day Storytime
Ms. Adriane’s Homemade Play-dough Recipe
Love the play-dough that was at November Story Time? This play-dough recipe feels great, smells great, and lasts a long time.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups flour
- 3/4 cup salt
- 4 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 2 cups lukewarm water
- 2 tablespoons oil
- food coloring (optional)
- essential oils or spices (optional)
DIRECTIONS
- Mix all ingredients except the food coloring and oils/spices in a pot of lukewarm water.
- Stir over low heat until it’s a good dough consistency – it will be hard to stir.
- Remove dough from pot and allow it to cool a few minutes.
- Kneed in optional food coloring/essential oil/spices. Cinnamon and pumpkin spice are great for fall, but there are many other options, like lavender and orange!
- Now it’s ready for your kids (and you) to enjoy hours of creative play! 🧡
DIY Playdough Video
Ms. Adriane woke up super early to make this playdough for story time. Here’s a video so you can see how simple it is to make. Enjoy!
September Storytime
We had such a wonderful time with the families who attended Shine Storytime! We read a silly story, played with Calico Critters, babies, and trucks, put together an alphabet puzzle, and made fall creations with Play-Doh. Moms enjoyed iced coffee and the kids went home with a yummy snack. Thank you for coming!
Hooway for Wodney Wat Reading by Ms. Adriane
If you were unable to attend storytime, we missed you! Here’s Ms. Adriane reading Hooway for Wodney Wat by Helen Lester to your kids. This way your child can still enjoy a special piece of Shine Storytime (and maybe you can enjoy a few moments of peace 😉).
Shine Kids’ Activity Pages
Tap the button below to access Free Activity Pages we created to help you keep the kids’ hands and minds busy.
Mazes, Word Searches, and Coloring Sheets can be helpful while you’re viewing houses, if you need to leave for showings, or if it’s just been a long day and you need a little sunshine in your life!
School Supply Drive for Kids in Jefferson County, WI
☀️ School Supply Drive with Jefferson County Board of Realtors
Thank you to everyone who helped us stuff the Shine van with donated school supplies to help local youth get ready for the school year!
