Abra-Kid-Abra Magic Show: Recipe for a Dream!

This past Monday and Tuesday, the library hosted our first professional entertainer of the summer- magician Joe Fingerhut of St. Louis-based group Abra-Kid-Abra.  Joe did a great job, keeping the kids (and adults!) laughing as they learned about the art of magic and the power of dreaming big!

Entertaining families at Ironton Headquarters.

Getting everyone involved at Recklein Memorial Library in Cuba!

Pulling a volunteer from the crowd to help with a trick.

Inspiring lots of laughs and giggles at our Bourbon branch.

Keep reading!

Shaen

Mommy and Me

It's been a busy week, but I have a stack of pictures to share from our recent Mommy and Me programs, which taught parents of the under-two set how to foster pre-literacy skills and instill a love of reading in their children.

Welcome table with nametags, board books, and literacy-related info.

Some yummy snacks (including animal crackers for the kids!).

Parents took home bags with handouts & a free board book.

Some of the board books we read and talked about.

Getting a little noisy with songs and musical instruments!

Keep reading!

Shaen

Summer Story Time #1- Night Lights

We had great attendance for the first week of summer story time; thanks to all the families and kids who participated!  Our theme was "Night Lights", so we read two bedtime stories (I Love You, Blue Kangaroo! by Emma Chichester Clark and So Sleepy Story by Uri Shulevitz), played a crazy game of glow-stick limbo, and made paper lanterns.

The Glow-Stick Limbo!

Working on our craft.

Some completed paper lanterns at our Bourbon branch.

Keep reading!

Shaen

Opening Party- Indoor Campout!

This week kicked off our Opening Party at four of our library branches- Cuba, Bourbon, Ste. Genevieve, and Fredericktown.  The theme for the program was Indoor Campout, and all of the kids had tons of fun learning the silly camp song, "Boom Chicka Boom", playing two survival skills games (Camper's Memory, which taught us the power of observation, and Flip-the-Pancake, which showed us how to be quick on our feet!), and making clothespin grasshopper flickers.

Scribbling away during Camper's Memory.

Using teamwork- and balance!- in Flip-the-Pancake.

Making our clothespin grasshopper flickers.

All "campers" left with a prize from the treasure chest and a yummy s'mores kit to take home with them.

Even if you didn't get to attend the Opening Party, there are plenty of great programs left to attend in Summer 2012!  Pick up a complete schedule of events at your local library, or view the schedule online by clicking on the June and July calendar images in the left-hand column of this blog.

Keep reading!

Shaen

Summer Reading Club 2012

Summer is a time for fun reading-  and for fun rewards!  With the library's Summer Reading Club, kids and teens can win prizes for every five books they read through the months of June and July.  Signing up is simple: just visit your library's front desk, ask to sign up for the Summer Reading Club, receive a bag stuffed with all kinds of free goodies, like pencils, bookmarks, game sheets, and more, and then start reading!  For every five books you read, you receive a cool prize of your choice from the library.

This year's youth prizes include glow-in-the-dark shutter shades, yellow plush star toys, neon flingers, sticker sheets, colorful "READ" rings, and bat maze puzzles.

This year's teen prizes include backpack buttons, library card holders, glow-in-the-dark flingers, keychain lanyards, magnetic bookmarks, and glow-stick bracelets.

Keep reading!

Shaen
 

Summer Reading Program 2012

It's here!  Summer Reading Program 2012 has arrived!  The youth slogan (for kids ages 0-11) is Dream Big- READ!, and the teen slogan is Own the Night.  Since the program this year is night-themed, we have tons of fun events related to camping, outer space, sleepovers, nighttime animals, and more!  Be sure to check the June and July summer calendars in the left-hand column of the blog, and if the program you're interested in is "registration only", be sure to sign up SOON before all the spots fill up!

Stay tuned over the next few days, as I'll be sharing more information about and fun photos from Summer Reading Program 2012!

Keep reading!

Shaen