If you haven’t signed up for summer reading at Liberal Memorial Library, then pop into the library or apply online at our website (www.lmlibrary.org). We’ve already had hundreds of children sign up already. The goal is to get more kids signed up, more kids to complete the program and more total hours read than last year. We will still accept applications for a little while longer (and since the program is free and fun, you have no excuse not to sign up). One of the best parts of the summer reading program is the weekly sessions that we have. This year, we have six different groups – the wee ones, toddlers, preschoolers, grade 1 & 2, grade 3 & 4 and grade 5 & 6. Since the theme of the summer reading program is Fizz, Boom, Read, each of the weekly programs is going to be a lot of fun, because we are going to have science experiments, stories, crafts, music and other activities.
Last year we had worms as a mascot for the summer reading program. Kids had a great time digging through the newspaper bedding to find the worms cowering in the bottom of the box. This year we are having another mascot – since the theme of summer reading is a science theme, what better animal to have at the library than a monkey? Well, since I would probably be fired for ordering a real monkey on the library’s credit card, we are going to discover the scientific importance of sea monkeys. In the first weekly session (which is this coming week), each group is going to try their hand at growing sea monkeys. I’ve dug out the magnifying glass, so we should be able to see something almost instantly. The sea monkeys will stay in the library until the end of the summer reading program so that each week the kids can see them grow.
While you are at the weekly programs, make sure to check out a few books. Right across from the circulation desk, we have a lot of books from the American Library Association’s summer reading list on display. This list has some great books for kids of all ages – from story books to chapter books. We’ll keep replenishing the display with books that are favorites with kids. Don’t worry, there won’t be any boring books on display.
We also have some great special programs lined up for the beginning of the month. Professor Popcorn from K-State Extension is going to come on June 4th. We’ll have two groups – one at 2:00 and one at 2:30. This program is limited to 20 participants from grade one to six in each group and is going to be an exploration of food science.
One June 11th at 2:00 we have a science show – Fizz, Boom, Pop, Science Rocks. Kids (and adults) are going to see the exciting side of science and what happens when things get mixed together. It’ll be fun for all ages. It’s free and open to as many people as we can squeeze in the library!
If you don’t have a library card, now is the time to get one. Kids of any age can get a library card with their parent’s permission. To get a first card, mom or dad needs a photo ID and a piece of mail that was sent to them (like a utility bill) so that we can verify an address. The card will be mailed to you and then you are ready to start checking things out.
Don’t forget to start reading and logging those minutes once you sign up for summer reading. Set aside time each night to read. Turn off the TV for a half an hour, and read as a family. Mom and dad can set a good example by signing up for the adult summer reading program and completing a bingo over the course of the summer.
Check out our website (www.lmlibrary.org), call (626-0180) or come into the library to find out what is going on each week. It’s an exciting summer at Liberal Memorial Library as we plan to Fizz, Boom, Read!
Sign up for swimming lessons – Check!
Sign up for summer reading at the library – Hmmm….
A lot of parents are good at signing their kids up for swimming lessons, sports and other camps, but
then forget to sign them up for the summer reading program at the library. Sign up for summer reading at Liberal Memorial Library begins tomorrow for everybody in the community. We often get asked a lot of questions about the program (and given a lot of bad excuses about why they didn’t participate once the program is over), so here is the information that you need to know.
1. Who is summer reading for? We have three different programs, one for kids from birth to grade 6, a teen program for kids from grade 7 to 12 and then an adult program for everybody else. While you are signing up you kids, make sure to sign up for the adult program! Each program has different special events all revolving around a theme. For example, the theme of the children’s program is Fizz, Boom Read, a science theme. Each week, we will be discovering a different aspect of science and technology.
2. Why would I sign up for summer reading? I won’t bore you with statistics that show that kids who don’t read during the summer lose some of what they’ve learned the previous year in school, which sets them back when school starts again in the fall. Summer reading isn’t just about the books, it is also about having fun. We have crafts, games, songs, science experiments, stories and more planned for the weekly sessions this year and some stellar special programs. Plus, all of it is free!
3. Isn’t summer vacation supposed to be fun? Summer reading is fun. This year, Dan, Dan the Magic Man is coming to perform a science/magic show. We have a mad science show – Fizz Boom Pop, Science Rocks! We have tons and tons of Legos coming over to the library from the Air and Space Museum. Professor Popcorn from K-State Extension is going to wow us with food science. Weekly movies will give us a chance to just veg out with friends (and with popcorn and lemonade). I promise, it is going to be fun for kids.
4. How does it work? It’s simple. Sign up at the library (or online at our webpage, lmlibrary.org). Choose a reading goal (at least ten hours to earn a t-shirt). Come to programs if you can. Keep reading at home. At the end of the program, return your logs to the library to get a t-shirt.
5. My kid doesn’t like to read books. You don’t have to read books in order for it to count for summer reading. You can read magazines, comic books, anything… We have books on nearly any subject at the library.
6. I live in Oklahoma- I can’t join. It doesn’t matter where you live, you can sign up for summer reading at the library. If your grandkids are visiting for the summer from Arkansas, sign them up too. (Insider tip, Oklahoma residents can get a library card from the library for free now, so you can check out books and participate in library programs.)
7. I work, so I can’t bring my kids to the programs. You can sign up for the reading part of summer reading even if you don’t plan on coming to any of the programs. And none of the programs have registration (although a few this summer do have limits to the number of participants), so you can be spontaneous!
Signing up for summer reading takes less than five minutes and is easy to do. It’s free and it’s one of the great things that the library has to offer. If you haven’t participated in summer reading before, now is your chance to get signed up! For more information, contact me at the library at 626-0180.
Cinco de Mayo
Celebrated in parts Mexico, primarily in the state of Puebla, Cinco de Mayo is known as El Día de la Batalla de Puebla (The Day of the Battle of Puebla). It commemorates the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, when an outnumbered Mexican army defeated the invading French.
In the United States, where it is a much bigger holiday, Cinco de Mayo has grown to be a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage.
Liberal’s Cinco de Mayo community celebration is being held on Saturday May 10th. There will be a parade at 1:00 p.m., traveling north up Western Avenue to end at the fair grounds and followed by the Liberal Rodeo Fiesta held there at the Seward County Fair Grounds.
The library has several children’s books about the holiday, including:
Cinco de mayo : celebrating the traditions of Mexico
by Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith
Book Description
A young Mexican American from California learns about her heritage and celebrates the holiday with her friends, family, and community.
Max celebrates Cinco de Mayo
by Adria F. Worsham ; illustrated by Mernie Gallagher-Cole.
Book Description
Join in the celebration of Cinco de Mayo as Max is invited to a fiesta at Jose’s house which includes food, music, dancing, and a parade as part of the fun.
Star Wars Day – May the Fourth be with you
Some of you may not know this, but today, May 4th, is a holiday as well. It’s an unofficial, fan-created, holiday, but a holiday none the less. The day was chosen based on a pun, “May the Fourth be with you”.
It’s said that the first use of the pun was on May 4, 1979, the day the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was elected. There was ad in the London Evening News proclaiming, “May the fourth be with you…” Since then is has become an internationally celebrated holiday.
This year’s celebration is bound to be a big one, with so much talk about the new movie, “Star Wars Episode VII”, floating around on the internet. It’s going to be a day for fans worldwide to break out their Darth Vader helmets and Wookiee costumes or maybe grab their lightsabers to show off their dueling skills.
If you’re like me you might want to go a little more low key and have a Star Wars party and movie marathon with a few friends. The Library has all of the Star Wars movies available for checkout, episodes one through six, plus “The Clone Wars” an animated adventure from 2008 which is meant to take place between episodes two and three.
The library also has just shy of a hundred Star Wars books, ranging from fiction to non-fiction; adult to children’s books; Lego books to comic books. There are print books and audiobook versions. Here are just a few of the newer ones:
William Shakespeare’s The empire striketh back : Star Wars part the fifth
by Ian Doescher
This is the second in the William Shakespeare’s Star Wars trilogy, with the third book soon to follow in July.
Book Description
Many a fortnight have passed since the destruction of the Death Star. Young Luke Skywalker and his friends have taken refuge on the ice planet of Hoth, where the evil Darth Vader has hatched a cold-blooded plan to capture them. Only with the help of a little green Jedi Master—and a swaggering rascal named Lando Calrissian—can our heroes escape the Empire’s wrath. And only then will Lord Vader learn how sharper than a tauntaun’s tooth it is to have a Jedi child.
Art2-D2’s guide to folding and doodling
by Tom Angleberger.
This is part of a popular children’s series, “Origami Yoda”.
Book Description
Kellen and the kids from McQuarrie Middle School – with some help from Art2-D2 – present this guide to mastering over seventy-five activities inspired by the bestselling Origami Yoda series, including: doodling, folding, and more! May the doodles by with you!
The wildlife of Star Wars : a field guide
by Terryl Whitlatch and Bob Carrau.
This field guide catalogs some of the some of the amazing creatures that inhabit the Star Wars universe. It is organized by planet, from Tatooine through to Coruscan with a helpful index in the back.
Star Wars. Kenobi
by John Jackson Miller
This book takes place before the events of episode four.
Book Description
Ben—Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, hero of the Clone Wars, traitor to the Empire, and protector of the galaxy’s last hope—can no more turn his back on evil than he can reject his Jedi training. And when blood is unjustly spilled, innocent lives threatened, and a ruthless opponent unmasked, Ben has no choice but to call on the wisdom of the Jedi—and the formidable power of the Force—in his never-ending fight for justice.
Happy New Year! There’s a refreshing renewal and commitment individuals make in the new year whether it be personal goals, projects, or habits. The anticipation of the New Year, and new beginnings.
The most popular goals include resolutions to improve health by losing weight, exercising, drinking less, or quitting smoking; improving finances by getting out of debt or saving money; improving career; improving education; improving self by becoming more organized or reducing stress; taking a trip; or volunteering to help others.
I’m a fan of resolutions. I only came up with five quirky fun resolutions this year. As the New Year was about to ring in, someone passed an invisible mike around, questioning what resolutions everyone made. When it was my turn, I forgot my four quirky fun resolutions and only remembered the fun malefic one.
I hope you’ve made a resolution to visit your local library more often this year or perhaps partake in the services we offer! There’s a couple of brand new books that just left my desk to aid you in your resolution whether it be weight loss, financial freedom, or utter organization from clutter.
Weight Watchers New Complete CookbookThe new “Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook” with over 500 delicious recipes is out for the healthy cook’s kitchen. It has the new points plus values that Weight Watchers recently revamped. I have several friends who over the years have been on Weight Watchers and have passed down a marvelous Taco Soup recipe.
365 Thanks yousIf you’d like to exhibit some kindness and gratitude this year check out “365 thank yous: the year a simple act of daily gratitude changed my life” by John Kralik. The author made a resolution to be more thankful for the good people and things in his life by deciding to write a thank you note each day for a year to the people that mattered in his life. So send an impromptu thank you card or postcard to someone in your life.
Suzanne Somers is out with a new book entitled “Sexy Forever: How to Fight Fat After Forty shed the pounds shed the fat”. The book includes a simple three phase weight loss program, recipes, and an exercise program.
Debt free for lifeFor something to listen to in your car, check out “Debt Free for Life” by David Bach. The author of “The Automatic Millionaire” offers an approach to personal finance that teaches you how to pay down your debt and adopt a whole new way of living debt free.
Those are the newest titles. For more check out the first display of the year: New Year’s Resolutions.
For tips on organization, productivity, and time management browse through “Time management from the inside out: the foolproof system for taking control of Your Schedule and Your Life” by Julie Morgenstern, “Getting things done: the art of stress-free productivity” by David Allen, or “The complete home organizer: a guide to functional storage space for all the rooms in your home” by Maxine Ordesky.
For tips relating to a new you browse through “The eat-clean diet: fast fat loss that lasts forever!” by Tosca Reno, “The Mayo Clinic Diet” by the weight-loss experts at Mayo Clinic, “How to quit smoking without gaining weight” by Martin Katahn, or “The new Atkins for a new you” by Stephen Phinney.
For financial tips browse through “The 9 steps to financial freedom” by Suze Orman, “Bank on yourself: the life-changing secret to growing and protecting your finances” by Pamela Yellen, “Generation debt: take control of your money: a how-to guide” by Carmen Wong Ulrich, “Downsized but not defeated: the family guide to living on less” by Hope Stanley Quinn, or “The everything money book” by Richard Mintzer.
I wish you many successes in the goals you have made for this year. As for that fun malefic goal I made as the New Year rang in? It’s part of a greater ‘run a marathon by the age of blah’ resolution for a great cause. So if you see me around town passed out on a sidewalk as I learn to run ten miles this year without, like, stopping, shout out a friendly “Hello!”
As always, for the latest library programming take a peek at the library website or grab a newsletter from the circulation desk. Stay tuned and connected through our social media pages. The full schedules for Library and Lunch and Book and Movie Series will be out soon. Most importantly, I hope to see you at the library this year!
Happy 2011! The New Year at the library always brings a moment of reflecting on what was accomplished the previous year and plans for what we would like to do this year. As always, patron input is welcomed. If you have an idea for a program or service you’d like the library to offer, please visit with one of the staff about it. One recent addition to the library is a big screen television mounted at the front desk which presents a slide-show-type array of activities going on at the library. In case you overlook a flyer hanging in our hallway or a take home slip on the counter, you can now keep informed on what’s happening.
Things that the library does do not always confine themselves to the area within our walls. Children’s is once again doing Snack Attack at the Recreation Center. This educational endeavor is presented twice monthly and teaching is shared with a representative of K-State Research and Extension. Snack Attack is a way to teach healthy eating and fitness strategies with young people in a fun way.
Fourth graders in our district, as well as home school and private school students, will get a chance to learn a bit more about soil this month. Seward County Conservation District has arranged for Miami County’s Soil Tunnel Trailer to come to Liberal. It will spend the day touring in designated locations so that these young people can take part in this learning activity.
A big out-of-the-library event we are preparing for is the 8th annual Children’s Healthy Fun Fair, which will be March 5. Planning meetings are already taking place so that this event can be a big success for families in our city, county, and beyond. Mark your calendar!
Inside our building, our story times continue for little ones on Thursday mornings throughout the month of January. It’s important to start little ones down the road to early literacy. If you know someone with a little one, please have them contact the library for more information. For older children, kindergarten through the fourth grade, don’t forget that their literacy is important too. Have them check out our After School Club, which meets monthly the last Tuesday of each month. No dues or scary initiations. All you need to do is just stop by the Cooper Clark Room and see what book character we are featuring and the fun activities we have to go with it. This month we will meet on January 25 with Judy Moody as our feature.
The library has a wonderful opportunity annually to apply for a early literacy grant from Smart Start of Southwest Kansas. That grant has made it possible for three years to provide some special services to children enrolled in Head Start. Those services include five special field trips to the library during the school year. The trips allow them to become familiar with the library and to share in special story times while they are here.
In December, an additional grant became available from Smart Start for which we qualified. This grant made a certain children’s coordinator giddy with excitement as shipment after shipment arrived. It was just like Christmas! New items so far include a four-piece activity table, early literacy DVDs, early childhood music CDs, books of all kinds, and a wonderful platform glider (which is perfect for story time). Stop in and see our new things. You can even try out the glider!
Hopefully you rang in the New Year on a positive note and plan to try to make your little corner of the world a better place in 2011. We’ll look forward to you brightening our corner when we see you at Memorial Library!
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