The Children's Department

     In honor of Youth Art Month in March, Canton Public Library will display the work of the talented artists in every level of the school system.  The art will fill the main gallery, the Children’s Room, and the display case of Canton Public Library from March 1 to March 31.  A reception for the show will take place on Wednesday, March 14 from 6:30 – 8:00 PM.

     The exhibit will feature more than 100 pieces from students in kindergarten through grade 12 and will include a variety of media, from three-dimensional ceramic and sculptural pieces to two-dimensional work including watercolor, colored pencil and more.

     The schools represented in the show are Cherry Brook Primary School, grades K-3, with art teachers Kezia Hearn and Ellen Raposo; Canton Intermediate School, grades 4-6, with art teacher Deb Beaudoin; Canton Middle School, grades 7-8, with art teacher Linda Klusek; and Canton High School, grades 9-12, with art teachers Renee Hughes and Roselyn Marino.

      Youth Art Month celebrates its forty-first anniversary this month.  Created originally as Children's Art Month in 1961 by The Crayon, Water Color & Craft Institute (now the Art & Creative Materials Institute) in cooperation with the National Art Education Association, it was expanded in 1969 to include secondary school students and, hence, became Youth Art Month. Many schools and communities have planned projects and events to emphasize the value of participating in art for all children. 

     Stop by the library and be prepared to be impressed.  Students and parents will have a bigger exhibit space than the refrigerator, and library patrons will be treated to the lively, colorful, and creative work of our schoolchildren.

     Canton Public Library is at 40 Dyer Avenue in Canton.  Library hours are Monday-Thursday 10:00-8:00, Friday and Saturday 10:00-5:00, and, through the month of March, Sunday 1:00-4:00.  For information:  (860) 693-5800 or www.cantonpubliclibrary.org

We're busy cooking up lots of excitement for our upcoming summer reading offerings.  We know our theme includes monsters, aliens and dragons, but we haven't decided on an official name yet!

The first official day of Summer Reading is July 1, 2011.   The program will wrap up in mid August with our 3rd annual Pool Party for school aged kids (you have to earn your way in!) and our pre-school music party a few days later.

Returning program series will include:

Tuesday Morning Drop In Story Times w/ Ms. Heather (themes may include Cowboys vs. Aliens, Dragons vs. Princesses and  Sharks vs. Trains... notice a pattern here?)  Stories, songs, short movies or kid-friendly youtube clips, a snack and a craft.  With 60 or 70 of your closest friends.  We have a lot of fun, but expect a big crowd (and don't be afraid to bring your friends, since the more, the merrier.)

Book Buddies (Teens Read to Kids) on Thursday mornings, and hopefully also on Wednesdays in the early evening!  Registration for children (aged 3-8)  is absolutely required ( registration is currently scheduled to open on June 13, 2011).  

Readers' Theater (ages 6 to 12, hopefully on Monday evenings OR Friday afternoons.)   We have high hopes that this year we'll be able to add a "digital edition" of our storytellers' performances, thanks to the technology grant from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving."   Registration is required, these programs fill up quickly.

Movies on the Big Screen (Family movies with free hot popcorn every Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m.)  We've heard a lot of interest in Rango, Gnomeo and Juliet, and Mars Needs Moms, Planet 51 and maybe Rio if it is released in time.  And don't forget Monsters vs. Aliens and Beauty and the Beast (we have to include at least one movie that allows for costumes!)   Any other recommendations?


And plans are underway to include:

Movies on the Big Screen: Teen Edition (more free popcorn, of course.)  Shana recommends Beastly, Twilight, HP 7-1, and Men In Black.  Let us know what you think, we'll believe we'll only have THREE of these, every other Wednesday night starting July 12.

Tween Book Club: the other three Wednesdays.  Ms. Heather guarantees that one title we definitely want to discuss is "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman, and she's pushing for "Tale Dark and Grimm" by Adam Gidwitz for another great read.  These clubs will include discussion, theme snacks, and project or game to entertain everyone. Again, recommendations are welcome.

Oh, and we're going to have a BIG Harry Potter Birthday Party, open to everyone, on Thursday, July 28, in the late afternoon/early evening.  Start planning your costumes now!  We'll have Tales from Beetle the Bard, excitement in Snape's Lab, HP treats and lots more.  We'll need volunteers (teens and adults) to pull this one off, so please let Ms. Heather or Ms. Betsy if you'd like to become Hogwarts staff for the day.

We'll update our blog once we know who our special guest performers/special events will be!

I think the hokey pokey kitchen is my new favorite blog, even though I only found it 2 days ago. Thanks to author, librarian, and educator Esme Raji Codell  for always sharing the best stuff. I only wish the blog creator lived in Connecticut, not California.

The Hokey Pokey Kitchen, Kids books and fun food, Story and snack

Friday evening the Canton Public Library was delighted to host 17 bears, one infamous mouse, and a very friendly plush puppy for our second ever "Teddy Bear Sleepover."  The caregivers of the bears, library patrons aged 2 through 8, dropped off the bears at 4 p.m. on Friday, leaving them tucked in for the night after reading them a bedtime story. 

Many thanks to our 6 volunteers from Canton Intermediate School, who helped the smaller children find safe places for their bears to spend the night before lending their voices to the bedtime stories!

Our very friendly (and big) Mr. Bear, with his helper Curious George, were elected to be chaperones for the night.  We know some nighttime mischief occurred before the library opened again the next morning, since the bears were found in playful positions all over the Children's Room of the library!  Some completed crafts, others put on a puppet show, one puppy took a ride in a shopping cart, and still others had a tea party.  Some of the quieter bears were found reading their favorite books, and two others had decided that THEY wanted to be the librarians.

The bears' caregivers all returned promptly the next morning to pick them up, and then stayed for a Teddy Bear Picnic style story time!  We read several bear books, sang some bear songs, and watched a short movie starring Cordoroy the Bear.  Beary delicious snacks were shared by all, before we made bear valentine puppets.

We hope to repeat the experience next year!

Our summer flyer, including all of the fabulous splashy summer fun we have planned for all of July and August is available now at the library or online.

Registration for summer programs that require it (Reader's Theater, Book Buddies, and a variety of special "one-time" programs) will begin on June 14 for Canton residents, and open to all on June 21. 

We look forward to seeing you all at the library this summer! Click HERE to see the flyer.

We are thrilled to be the  hosts for Canton's first Early Childhood Community Fair (and we want to give a big shout-out to Canton Parents as Teachers for organizing the whole event with us.)

Join us for this "meet and greet" style event on the evening of Thursday, November 12 (think of it like a mini "college fair for preschoolers!")

For those of you who haven't yet heard about the great opportunity to learn about early childhood services in Canton that is coming your way, here is the press release:

Parents of young children will want to mark their calendars for a new event in November which promises to supply important information about early childhood resources in Canton.  The event, to be held on November 12 from 6:00-8:00 PM, is cosponsored by Canton Public Library and Canton Parents as Teachers (CPAT) and will be held in the multi-purpose room of the Canton Community Center. 

            Each participating group (preschools, nursery schools, playgroup providers, CPAT, Canton Parks and Recreation, and Canton Public Library, to name a few) will have a table or booth highlighting the services they provide for children younger than school age. 

            Groups that will participate include Canton Community Nursery School, Trinity Nursery School, Joni’s Children, FAVARH (which has a children’s playgroup), Stepping Stones Educational Center, Kindercare, and the Cherry Brook Primary School Preschool Integrated Program.  There will be information available about free developmental screenings for three- and four-year-olds on an ongoing basis to Canton residents through the Cherry Brook Primary School.

             Parents, guardians, and caregivers can “meet and greet” with participants for two hours on the evening of November 12.  The event takes place in advance of any open houses and enrollment deadlines for next year.

             For additional information contact Canton Public Library Children’s Librarian Heather Baker.  Canton Public Library is at 40 Dyer Avenue, Canton.  For information:  (860) 693-5800 or www.cantonpubliclibrary.org

We're having a "Follow the Yellow Brick Road" story time at 10:30 on Tuesday, July 28, and we've just found out that we'll be joined by two very special guests!

Warner Theatre is putting on a production of "The Wizard of Oz" starting August 1, and Glinda and the Tin Man will be our special guests.  We'll also, as always, enjoy several stories (lions, tin men and rainbows this week), some songs, movie clips, a craft and a snack... all free of charge.

 

To find the children's books that were new in March 2009 at the Canton Public Library,  head on over to Shelfari.   http://www.shelfari.com/fox_in_socks/shelf

The books are automatically sorted by the date they were added, so the April books are at the top, and the March books are a couple of "pages" in.

The March books are all in the online catalog at www.cantonpubliclibrary.org, and  you can use your Canton library card to place a "hold" from wherever you happen to be!