2011 Fall Into Reading!
We are having a busy fall at the library. We see lots of students asking for books as they work on their 25 books for the year. We make lots of recommendations and our booklists can be helpful. Pick one up in the Youth Department.
Storytimes are busier than ever. Due to our cuts in staffing, we only have one morning storytime for age 3 to 5 but we have a Library Playgroup for children of all ages on Thursdays at 11:15 which many families are enjoying. In November we’ve added an Afternoon Storytime on Tuesdays at 3:30 for ages 3 to 6 so that our kindergarten friends can come. For older kids we are trying a Word Game Wednesdays and for the first day a group of fifth graders tried out some words games they had never played: Apples to Apples and Last Word. Check out our schedule on the web page and the monthly newsletter.
August 2011!
Our summer reading program ends Friday August 5! We’ve had fun traveling the world.
Unfortunatelywe are only open on Fridays from 9 to 1 due to budget cuts and we are no longer open on Saturdays 
Reporting has been slow this summer – everyone must be enjoying the great beach weather. Still plenty of time to read on your own before school starts!
The week of August 1 will be busy:
Monday, August 1 the World Travelers grades 1 to 6 at 11 a.m. will be learning about Scotland, Ireland, England and Wales with two special guests.
Monday August 1 Teen Night for grades 6 and up will be playing life size Trivial Pursuit.
Wednesday August 3 Drop In Crafts ends this week. We’ve made Hawaiian leis, Mexican tissue flowers, Psyanky eggs, and more!
Wednesday morning Playgroup has been a fun, relaxing time for families. We may continue this in the fall.
Storytimes on Wednesday and Thursday will be Fiestas celebrating Latino cultures.
Chess continues this week – we might have a tournament the last half hour. Drop in and play!
Our book groups wind up discussions of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, London Eye Mystery and The Hobbit.
Westie the Library bear continues to travel with West Warwick families. Later in August he will be going on trips with library staff!
We’re looking forward to fall 2011. Plans are underway for programs and storytimes.
If parents or the public in general have any suggestions on services we could offer, please let us know! Email annemn@wwlibrary.org
SUMMER 2011 “ONE WORLD, MANY STORIES”
ONE WORLD, MANY STORIES: the 2011 West Warwick Public Library summer reading program is underway! We’ve decorated with maps and globes. world landmarks, a travel trunk and even a hot air balloon – we’re ready to travel and learn more about cultures around the world.
Sign up started Monday, June 20, the day West Warwick schools got out of school. Be part of the West Warwick reading club which is also the RI state and national reading club! Weekly summer programs start July 11 and end August 6.
Why should children read during the summer? Because it’s fun! You can read anything YOU want! But most importantly, reading skills actually improve so students are more ready for school in the fall.
Who joins the summer reading program? Little Explorers preschool to Gr K color hot air balloons every time they read with someone for 10 minutes. Passport Readers Gr 1-5 promise to read for at least 5 hours this summer. “You Are Here” Teens are signing up to read and report on their reading for four weeks. Preschoolers get stickers for reading, Passport Readers get coupons to visit RI museums and attractions, and teens get McDonald’s and Ronzio coupons. And the adults have a summer reading program too! They are looking for Novel Destinations - ask at the Reference Desk!
Animal Experiences with Dave Marchetti kicked off our summer Tuesday night June 21 for almost 100 children and adults. There were lots of turtles, snakes, lizards, a frog, a chinchilla, a baby bunny and a huge alligator to learn about and TOUCH!
Westie the Library Bear left the building on Tuesday, June 21 – he’s on his summer vacation with WW families. Lots of kids signed up to take him home. We hope he’ll have lots of stories and pictures to share for his summer “One Bear’s World, Many Stories”
Other summer activities planned: storytimes for toddlers, age 2-5 and for gr k-2. World Travelers for grade 1-6 will meet Monday mornings and we’ll have a Fiesta, a Luau, a Chinese Celebration, and a Tea Party. Plus there will be a computer club and a chess club.
Join a book discussion group! Gr 3-5 are reading “Where the Mountain Meets and Moon” the Kids Read Across RI book. Gr 6-8 are reading The London Eye Mystery, and Gr 8-12 are reading The Hobbit. The groups will meet weekly at the library to discuss the books for four weeks.
New things we’re doing this summer: Drop in Crafts, Puppet Troupe for grade 3-8, Westie the traveling Library Bear, and A Library Playgroup. We’re also reviving Chess Club on Thursday afternoons – an 8th grade student from a school that’s won lots of chess tournaments will be in charge!
Special events coming up: Loren Spears of the Narragansett people will share her culture on Tuesday, July 12 at 7 pm for children age 4-10 and their families. Diane Edgecomb will share Around the World stories on Tuesday July 19 at 7.pm And August 9 we will have a magic show with The Great Baldini. Funding for these programs comes from the West Warwick Public Library, and the RI Office of Library and Information Services.
Reading Tutoring: every summer we have Free reading tutoring for grades 1-3 with volunteer tutors. Sign up is required for this weekly program on Tuesday evenings or Friday mornings.
Check out our summer newsletter in the Youth Department – and online on the Children’s web page http://wwlibrary.org/newsite/children/2011SummerNewsletterYouthDept.pdf (it takes awhile to load!)
Happy Trails! Have fun traveling and reading this summer.
P.S. . The voice of democracy worked this spring! Many library supporters contacted the town council and town manager and made their voices heard about the library services they value.
Happy 2011!
Winter time is our time for planning for the months ahead. We’re already working on our 2011 summer plans for “One World, Many Stories” the national summer reading theme for kids. The teen theme is “You Are Here” and the adult theme is “Novel Destinations“. We hope local residents from non US cultures might like to share their culture with children and teens – language, music, art, food and eating (ie. chopsticks), clothing, and any items from a culture like toys or dolls or other artifacts. Contact us at justkids@wwlibrary.org
Our annual Kids Love the Library Book and Bake Sale by the Mom’s Club of West Warwick and Coventry will be held Saturday February 12, 2011. This month we will accept GENTLY used children books, movies and cds for that sale. Please bring them to the Youth Department. Funds raised by the Mom’s Club have funded youth department programs.
October 2010
Fall 2010 Highlights
We’re off to a busy start this fall – check out the schedule on our web page or stop by the library for flyers to take home.
On Sept 15 local musician Anne Marie Forer presented Tunes N Tales for Tots – a family music program. She’ll be back on Saturday Oct 23 with her guitar and fiddle and musical instruments for babies and little people to play. She’s also scheduled for November. We’re skipping December and January but she’ll be back in the spring! Drop in for a fun time with your family!
In September we were at the Family Resource Fair in September at Deering Middle School – over 80 RI agencies were there. We enjoy seeing familiar faces and making new connections there.
On October 5 we had a huge turnout of about 200 children and parents for our Books Are Wings event on a rainy night. Kids enjoyed taking home free books that had been gently donated, and making bookmarks. Little Rhody Fresh supplied milk until supplies ran out. Thanks to all the volunteers! And thanks to Larry Lamonthe of the WW Schools and Books Are Wings board for all his help.
Storytimes start in October in the mornings. No sign up required – we had a FULL house for 2 year old storytime on Oct 6. Maybe because it was a rainy day????
Countdown to Kindergarten 2011 is a monthly program for West Warwick children and their families based on books and activities to help them get ready for kindergarten next year. Sign up is required. Countdown meets on the last Tuesday night of each month.
The Masterpiece Art Club starts Thursday Oct 7 with Cindy Cosgrove after school for grades 3 and 4. Sign up is going on now. What a unique opportunity for art lovers! Cindy Cosgove taught at Greenbush School for many years.
Whew!
Kids Books
The Caldecott and Newbery Awards have been announced for 2009. The Newbery Medal went to Neil Gaiman for his book The Graveyard Book. The Caldecott Medal went to The House in the Night illustrated by Beth Krommes, written by Susan Marie Swanson. Make up your own mind about these books by reading them to decide if you would give them an award. Lists of Newbery and Caldecott Award winners are avialable in the library and on the American Library Association website. The books that win the Honor Award are also worth reading!
Welcome!
Welcome to the West Warwick Public Library’s Kids Blog.
