Get Ready for Storytime!

Did you know that your library offers seventeen regularly scheduled Storytimes each week? Many larger library systems provide far fewer options, so we consider ourselves fortunate to have such a full roster, with the demand to match it.

The library’s Storytimes, typically offered in six-week sessions during the year, as well as on some individual Saturday mornings, offer fun and enrichment that can benefit parents and children of different ages. We incorporate stories, fingerplays, nursery rhymes, movement, songs and more into what may be one of your child’s first social experiences outside of the family setting. We also share some tips on Early Literacy for you to use at home when reading and interacting with your children.

Registration for Baby (0 – 18 months) and Toddler (18 months - 3 years) Storytimes will begin on Monday, September 12th at 10AM. These sessions are very popular and fill quickly, so give us a call or register online to reserve your spot. There are also Storytimes for Preschoolers and Kindergarteners which are available on a drop-in basis without registration, and Family Storytimes where everyone is welcome to stop by and join the fun. Pick up a schedule at the library, call us, or check out our online Program Calendar to find dates and times that will work for you and your children. We hope to see you at the library!

Guest post by Bridget W. 

It's That Time Again...Storytime!

The wait is almost over! Our Fall Storytime registration (for baby and toddler storytimes ONLY) begins next Monday, September 8th at 10:00 AM, and all of our storytimes will begin the week of September 15th. You can register online, by phone, or in person at either of our libraries. See our storytime page for details about day, time, and location of each of our storytimes.

Also, we’re starting our monthly sensory storytimes again. The next one will be this Saturday, September 6th, from 11:00-11:30 AM in Centerville Library’s program room. This storytime engages children through movement, body awareness, and other sensory activities. It serves children with autism, language delay, sensory processing disorder, and children with disabilities. Parents, caregivers, siblings, and therapists are welcome, and no registration is required.

We look forward to seeing you soon for some storytime fun!

It’s That Time Again…

It’s hard to believe that this is the last week of our Fall Storytime session; I guess time really does fly when you’re having fun! Storytime registration for our Late Fall session (for baby and toddler storytimes ONLY) begins this Monday, October 28th at 10:00 AM, and storytimes will begin the week of November 4th. You can register online, by phone, or in person at either of our libraries. Remember, our preschool, kindergarten, and family storytimes do not require registration. See our storytime page for details about day, time, and location of each of our storytimes.

We also have some other fun programs coming up in the next week, neither of which requires registration:

Family Storytime – This Saturday, October 26th, we’ll be having a family storytime from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM at the Woodbourne Library. The theme is Mighty Ducks, and we’ll be doing about 30 minutes of stories and songs and 30 minutes of a duck craft.

Number Fun – If you have a toddler (18 – 36 months), stop by the Centerville Library on Tuesday, October 29th from 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM for some fun, hands-on, number activities.

We hope to see all of you at the library soon!

What Time is It?

I know that this break between summer and fall storytime sessions has been too long for some of you. Fortunately, though, the wait is almost over! Our storytime registration (required for baby and toddler storytimes ONLY) begins next Monday, September 9th at 10:00 AM. You can register online, by phone, or in person at either of our libraries. Storytimes will begin the week of September 16th. See our storytime page for details about the day, time, and location of each of our storytimes.

In addition to our regular baby, toddler, and preschool storytimes, we have a few other ones that I’m excited to tell you about. This fall, we’ll be offering a family storytime on Wednesday evenings at the Centerville Library from 6:30-7:00 PM. We had this one over the summer, and it was such a hit that we decided to keep it as part of our regular storytime schedule! This storytime is for the whole family and does not require registration.

We’re also adding kindergarten storytimes to the lineup this fall! This will be a fun-filled storytime that will be sure to get your kindergartener excited about reading. We’ll be offering two different kindergarten sessions so that both AM and PM kindergarteners will be able to participate—Wednesdays at 12:30 PM at Centerville and Thursdays at 10:30 AM at Woodbourne. This storytime does not require registration.

Finally, we’re starting our monthly sensory storytimes again! The next one will be this Saturday, September 7th from 11:00-11:30 AM in Centerville Library’s program room. This storytime engages children through movement, body awareness, and other sensory activities. It serves children with autism, language delay, sensory processing disorder, and children with disabilities. Parents, caregivers, siblings, and therapists are welcome, and no registration is required.

We look forward to seeing you soon for some storytime fun!

Dig into Reading!

It’s almost time to kick off our annual Summer Reading Club. If you’re not familiar with our club, it’s really easy and REALLY FUN! Registration begins this Monday, June 3rd and can be done in person at either library (Centerville or Woodbourne), online, or over the phone. For kids entering preschool - 5th grade, we have a children’s club, in which all of the kids are asked to read/be read to for 20 minutes each day. For babies and toddlers, we have activity sheets that are filled with great early literacy activities for you and your little one to do together. Along the way, there are tons of coupons and prizes to win, and this year each child who completes the baby/toddler or children’s club will get a book! We even have a club for adults, and participating in that is a great way to show your child that you’re excited about reading, too.

During SRC, we’ll have tons of great programs for the whole family to enjoy. In addition, this year’s theme is “Dig into Reading,” and each week we’ll have a different digging theme for our craft centers. You and your kids can stop by anytime to make a cool craft and color our coloring sheets.

Finally, I know that many of you, like me, are anxious for storytimes to start up again. Luckily for us, we don’t have to wait too much longer, as summer storytimes will begin on June 11th! Check out the new summer storytime schedule. In addition to most of our usual storytimes, we’ve added a family storytime on Wednesday evenings. Registration is not necessary for any summer storytimes; feel free to come whenever you can!

We’re looking forward to seeing lots of excited readers this summer!

Don't Miss Out...

…on these upcoming programs that you and your family are sure to love!

February 23^rd 11:00 A.M. -12:00 P.M. (Centerville Library) – On Your Head: A Family Storytime

Join us for stories about hats, birds, and bunnies on your head. There will be 30 minutes of stories and 30 minutes of craft-making, where the kids will get a chance to make birds on their heads! There is no registration necessary, and the whole family is welcome.

February 25^th 10:00 A.M. – Storytime Registration

It’s almost time to register for our 6-week spring storytime session. Registration begins at 10 a.m. on Monday, February 25th. Preschool (for ages 3-5 years) and evening storytimes do not require registration, but if you want to sign up your baby (6-18 months) or toddler (18-36 months) for one of our weekly storytimes, make sure you sign up early; our spots fill up fast! The easiest way to register is online at http://www.wclibrary.info/events/, but you can also register by phone or in person at either library. Storytimes for this session will begin the week of March 4th.

February 26^th 10:30-11:30 A.M. (Centerville Library) – Baby Boogie

Your babies (6-36 months) will boogie themselves silly with our favorite storytime songs and activities. There is no registration required, so all are welcome to join in the fun!

February 27^th (babies & toddlers) & February 28^th (preschoolers) 10:00-11:00 A.M. (Centerville Library) – Fun with The Very Hungry Caterpillar

This workshop, part of our Every Child Ready to Read program, is for parents and children (birth-3 years and 3-5 years). Parents will learn how to incorporate early literacy activities into everyday reading, writing, singing, talking, and playing with your children. Parents and children will have the opportunity to practice using some of these new tools. Registration is required for this event (http://www.wclibrary.info/events/), and both sessions have already filled up. We do have a waiting list, though. If you’re interested, go ahead and sign up on the waiting list. Hopefully a spot will open up for you!