Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Children's Update: Danbury

Thirty-two children attended preschool storytime in February. Ruby Lewis prepared a special storytime all about hermit crabs.

Our Valentine’s Craft Night saw thirty-four people attend. They enjoyed making their craft.

Tom, adult program coordinator

Children's Update: Clute

At preschool storytime in March, we will be focusing on Dr. Seuss, St. Patrick’s Day, spring and the ocean.

We have lots of programs planned for Spring Break. We will be having a Board Game Day on March 19. Teens can take this opportunity to prepare for the Monopoly Tournament we’ll host this summer. We’re also having crafts, a St. Patrick’s Day party and a movie.

Our third AWE Early Literacy computer has arrived and looks great on our new computer table. Children of all ages are enjoying the games available on the machine.

I was invited to read to the children in the Awana Club at Clute First Baptist Church. We all enjoyed hearing about The Great Fuzz Frenzy by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel.

Carolyn, branch manager

Children's Update: Brazoria

We can’t believe how fast the year is passing! We finished our Let’s Go storytimes with books about airplanes. We talked about machines that fly and our own flying experiences. Many of our storytime attendees are frequent flyers.

Other storytimes featured celebrations for Valentine’s Day and Mardi Gras. We made cards and masks, respectively. We finished up the month with stories about birds and made 3-D birds for our craft.

Bedtime Stories featured monsters under the bed. Everyone had a wonderful time and enjoyed the milk and cookies, too.

I went to Head Start two Fridays in February and read to the students. I have noticed their listening skills and their ability to sit through more stories has improved greatly since they began school in September.

March 7 is Heritage Days in Brazoria, and the branch library will have a float in the parade. Melissa and I are organizing this, and we’ll have children on the float.

We love being open on Fridays! Our displays look great, and we hope you come out to see them.

Jo, children's specialist

Children's Update: Angleton

Miss Emmy’s preschool storytimes continue to be successful. People drive from all over the county to attend. During February, she featured Peter and the Wolf and Dr. Seuss.

Kids Kraft featured a Valentine’s Day craft that everyone enjoyed. Pajama Storytime kept children entertained.

Brazosport College invited Miss Emmy to come to their daycare and read to about 60 children. She will also be going to Frontier Elementary for a special storytime.

Emma Lou, children's specialist

Children's Update: Alvin

One hundred people attended preschool storytime in February. We featured stories about bubble gum, dogs, reading and, of course, Valentine’s Day.

Our Valentine’s Day Craft didn’t see as many people as other craft events. Only seven came to create their own work. Thank you to Laura for filling in and hosting this event while I was at jury duty.

The Next Generation Learning Center came to storytime this month. We were glad to have them at the library and hope they return again soon.

We will be having our premiere Family Movie Night on March 24. Come down and enjoy a free movie at the library!

Carol, children's specialist

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Children's Update: West Columbia

Forty-seven people attended storytime in January. We featured stories about winter, friends, Chinese New Year and the Super Bowl. We made dragon masks and football pennants. Everyone had fun.

Our Paper Football Tournament was held the day before the Super Bowl. We had eight people participate. We served nachos and drinks and cheered on the winning team.

Melissa, branch manager

Children's Update: Manvel

We have continued our alphabet-themed storytimes. Each week our attendance grew with more than 100 people coming throughout the month. We read stories about hippopotami, ice cream, characters named Jack and kites. We made hippo hats and finger puppets and decorated kites. Everyone had lots of fun.

Teen Read continues. Since school has begun, our attendance has dropped some, but we still have a wonderful time.

We began a new monthly storytime with a local daycare this month. Kids R Kids #13 from Pearland will be bringing nine children to a special monthly storytime.

We have decorated our library for February. We have displays for Valentine’s Day, Black History Month and Presidents’ Day. We also have a display of quilt squares promoting the 2009 Quilt Festival being held in Lake Jackson. Our clerk Judy did an especially good job on the decorations.

Geri, children's librarian

Children's Update: Lake Jackson

Storytime in January featured snow. Parents and children made snowflakes out of coffee filters which we then displayed in our front windows. As with real snowflakes, no two were alike.

Cindy, our reference librarian, hosted our first teen You + Me = Wii gaming event. Eight teens attended and had lots of fun playing Wii Sports, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Guitar Hero. Future events will likely include Dance Dance Revolution. You + Me = Wii events will be held every first and third Saturday.

I did an adult program at Columbia Lakes for The Daughters of 1812 & Colonial Dames. I told them about the history of storytelling and even included some stories. They all enjoyed it, and I enjoyed the lunch I was invited to share. Thank you, ladies, for inviting me!

The Readers Circle for Grades 1-3 discussed “Many Moons” by James Thurber and charted the changes in the moon for one month. Our next book will be “Sam and the Tigers” by Julius Lester.

Bookaneers for Grades 4-6 read a variety of books on heroes, both fictional and historical. They discussed what makes a hero and whether they had ever done anything heroic. For February, we’re reading “Johnny Tremain” by Esther Forbes.

Lots of events are planned for February including crafts and a “Group Hug” of the library building.

We are planning a Fancy Nancy Fashion Show and our media swap for March. In conjunction with the Brazosport Symphony League’s presentation of “Fun with Tubby the Tuba,” we are planning a Tubby the Tuba storytime in March. This will feature musical accompaniment.

Susan, children's librarian

Children's Update: Freeport

Our storytimes in January featured raccoons, libraries, cats and butterflies. We had 46 people enjoy our stories and crafts. Some of the crafts we made were raccoon masks and our very own books. We even had a puppet show about Cassie, the ugly fuzzy caterpillar.

Our Game Night was quite popular. Twenty people showed up to play Wii Sports and enjoy some great fun!

Lakewood Childcare brought 50 people to the library for a special storytime. They enjoyed a puppet play and stories. We hope to have them back to our library soon.

Memorial Childcare comes to the library every Tuesday for a special storytime. We love having them around.

We’re getting ready to celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 10. We’ll be having crafts for all ages. We’re making love bug crafts, I love you pins and bee mine magnets.

Dawn, children's specialist

Children's Update: Clute

We began our Five Senses storytime series in January. We will continue the senses through February. We are really looking forward to tying in Valentine’s Day candy with the sense of taste. Mmmm – come help us enjoy this delightful combination!

We have a Valentine Craft Night planned for February 12.

During Spring Break, we’re planning some wonderful teen programs.

Carolyn, branch manager

Children's Update: Angleton

Kidz Kraft for January featured the new year as its theme. Attendees made and decorated 2009 frame glasses.

Pajama storytime continues its successful run. Children listened to stories about different cultures while enjoying milk and animal crackers.

Our Saturday family movie was another success. Twenty-three people enjoyed pocorn and drinks while watching the movie. Our next movie will be shown on February 21.

Emma Lou visited St. Mark’s Lutheran School for career week and spoke about working in a library. Her visit was well-received by the children.

Our staff received lots of praise for the President / Black History Month bulletin board that we have on display in the children’s area.

Emma Lou, children's specialist