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Free Youth & Family Programs
Storytime Session -
for preschoolers & their parents/caregivers
Storytime is held year round, with the exception of the months of May and August (and a week or two around the winter holidays). Storytime is held on Tuesdays and Fridays at 10:15 a.m. and features songs, stories, and fingerplays on a theme. Children of all ages are welcome, with a caregiver. Feel free to visit with youth staff about your child's readiness for storytime, as well as how storytime can help your child build the kind of skills that he or she will need to be ready for kindergarten.
BabyTime (held in six week sessions, 3 times per year for for parent/babies, 22 months or younger).
Pre-registration required at 754-5738; space limited. BabyTime is a partnership between the library, Building Healthy Families and Early Childhood Iowa. The programs feature a brief program for parents about how to raise a reader and a healthy, happy child. The majority of the time is informal play and interaction. Older siblings are allowed as space permits. Call for more information.
Afterschool Movies & Anime Night
Afterschool movies are shown on the big screen in the large meeting room occasionally throughout the school year and more frequently in the summer. Movies are free and open to anyone interested (kids younger than 8 need to be accompanied by a caregiver.) Free popcorn is served; a drink with a lid or a water bottle may be brought in by the participants. See the online calendar for which movie is playing, and www.commonsensemedia.org or www.imdb.com for more information about movie content.
Anime Night is held a few times a year, and is geared toward teens and adult fans of this genre.
Trading Card League
Players of YuGiOh, Pokemon and occasionally other trading card games, like Magic, meet on Thursdays, 3:30-5, year round, in the blue activity room in the youth area to play these games. Players bring their own cards and league play is supervised by a youth volunteer. Instruction in how to play offered informally, as time permits. Players are encouraged to keep their items in their possession at all times, and to not bring expensive electronics to league play.
Special Events
Special events are planned for a variety of ages throughout the year. See the online calendar, or flyers in the library for special upcoming events. All library programs and activities are free. Musicians, hands-on activities, author visits, arts programs, book discussions, and book character parties are a few examples of past special events.
Annual Special Events
Some programs occur each year at the library. These include Trick or Treat Storytime, where kids can wear costumes to storytime and parade around to receive treats. A Holiday Cookie Decorating event is held each December, and we always host a Santa visit on our last storytime week in December. Día de los Niños/Día de los Libros (April 30 or late April) celebrates all of our community's children and the importance of reading in their lives with fun activities and a free book to keep for each child.
Summer Reading Program
The library offers a summer reading program for all ages. The summer reading program is a combination of a reading incentive program (where kids can earn points that they trade for prizes), as well as an extensive schedule of special activities around an overall theme. The theme for the 2012 summer reading program is: Dream Big...Read! and will feature themes related to nighttime, dreams, etc.
Note about GROUPS visiting the library: For the best experience for both groups and the general public, the library requires any non-related group of 8 or more to please schedule their visit by calling the library at 754-5738. This policy applies to both programmed visits (where library staff leads a tour or provides another program) as well as less formal visits (just bringing a group to use the library facilities or check out.)
On Demand Programs: On demand programming is open to any group of at least 8 children or teens, including classes, clubs (Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts), homeschoolers, etc. as the schedule of youth staff allows. Please call Joa at 754-5738 to discuss your program request and schedule a time. On Demand Programs include everything from tours, storytimes, requested themed programs, "how to use the library," to "book talks" on a special topic or age range, and more.
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