Summer Reading 2016!

The 2016 Summer Learning Challenge has started and you all are invited to participate! This year the

The Lansdowne Public Library offers a nine week Summer Reading Challenge for children through age 18. The program runs from June 13th through August 13th...nine weeks of reading fun!

What is the Summer Learning Challenge?
The Summer Learning Challenge, formerly known as the Summer Reading Club/Program/Challenge,  is a reading incentive program designed to help children exercise their minds!
For the challenge we want you to "get into the game" and when you stop by the library to register you can learn about the programs and incentives available.

The benefits of our summer reading challenge include:
Keeping your mind sharp to help avid the "summer slide."
Encouraging a habit of reading.
It's fun!

There are scores of library programs to check out this summer and the calendars are below.
 

 

April events at the Library!

The calendar for April is available! Check out the images below for what's going on at the library.

Join us for Mysteries and Monsters! October 26-31

Calling all gals and ghouls!
You're invited to spend a week of howling fun as we explore mysteries and monsters!

Monday, October 26th beginning at 6:30 pm we welcome magician Ran'D Shine!
We love having Ran'D as our special guest and look forward to his amazing tricks and illusions.

 

Other activities:
Monster themed storytimes.
Monday, October 26th beginning at 10:30 am.
Tuesday, October 27th beginning at 10:30 am.
Thursday, October 29th beginning at 10:30 am.

Pajama storytime
Wednesday, October 28th at 6:00 pm

Monster Make and Take
Thursday, October 29th at 4 PM in the Family Room.
Join us for monster themed crafts and activities.
All ages are invited to participate.

Lansdowne Borough's Halloween Party
Lansdowne Farmers Market to the Twentieth Century Club When: Saturday October 31st 1pm-3pm
Come out in your Halloween costumes for an afternoon of family fun! We will parade our fancy Halloween duds from the Farmer’s Market down Lansdowne Avenue to the Twentieth Century Club, where we will have snacks, crafts, games, prizes and more. What a great way to start your night of trick or treating!

Halloween Hot Spot
We are pleased to team up with the Lansdowne Police Department for a Halloween Hot Spots!
The Lansdowne Police Department and the dedicated volunteers in all or our partner groups would like to be a part of your Halloween. The event will run from 5pm to 7:30 pm.

This year there will be five "Halloween Hot Spots" set up around the Borough.   While you are out trick or treating with your young ones, please stop by. Volunteers will be handing out all kinds of goodies. Police Officers and a very special guest will be visiting each of the station to share safety tips and meet trick or treaters of all ages.   


Please join Miss Rachee and other volunteers at the corner of Nyack and Wycombe! Other locations will be announced closer to the event. Visit us on Facebook to see what other locations will be participating.

1000 Books Before Kindergarten: Monkeying Around

The Library is participating in the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten Program and we want to help you succeed!

Check back each week as share the titles of the books we read during our storytimes. We will also share some books that we love.


This week during Wee Read we read books about monkeys and apes!
Be Quiet, Mike! by Leslie Patricelli

Betty Goes Bananas by Steve Antony
(Watch our Storytube!)

1000 Books Before Kindergarten

The Lansdowne Library is pleased to be a host for the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten Program.  We want to encourage and welcome all families and caregivers with children who have not yet started kindergarten to join this FREE program!

We know as your child’s first teacher you want to do everything you can to make sure your child is ready to learn when he starts kindergarten. Research shows that reading to children at home increases their reading readiness skills. These children have a positive attitude about reading and are eager to learn. In addition, they acquire letter knowledge, background information, an awareness of the structure and sound of language, and a richer vocabulary; all from just listening to stories! We challenge you to read 1000 books before kindergarten to help your child get school ready.

Really…1000?!
It’s not as hard as it seems!
1 book a day for 3 years = 1095 books
10 books a week for 2 years = 1040 books
3 books a day for 1 year = 1095 books

YOU CAN DO IT!

Summer Meals

The Lansdowne First Presbyterian Church is providing meals for children this summer. Children 18 years of age and younger can stop by the church daily, at noon, for a nutritious meal.

 Please call Pastor Nancy Timothy at (610) 622-0800 for more information.
Pastor Nancy can also be reached by e-mail: nancy.holt@rcn.com.

The Library is assisting the church by acting as a collection site for donations for their food pantry. If you would like to donate, please stop by the library with your goods. We will also be collecting food at our summer reading kickoff performance with Peter Taney and the Juggernauts. The performance will take place Friday, June 19th beginning at 10:30 am at the Twentieth Century Club. The Club is located at 84 S Lansdowne Ave.

Please call 610-623-0239 with any questions.

Our Summer Reading Kickoff Program is made possible by the Lansdowne Allied Youth and the Lansdowne Department of Park and Recreation.

Eighth Annual Children’s Choice Book Awards Finalists Announced

Every Child a Reader (ECAR) and the Children’s Book Council (CBC) have announced the finalists in the eighth annual Children’s Choice Book Awards (CCBA), the only national book awards program where the winning titles are selected by kids and teens. Young readers across the country will determine the winners in all 7 categories of the Children’s Choice Book Awards by voting online at ccbookawards.com from Tuesday, March 17, 2015 through Sunday, May 3, 2015. In 2014, over 1.2 million votes were cast online by young readers. Winners will be announced during the 96^th annual Children’s Book Week (May 4-10, 2015).

The finalists for the K-2, 3-4, and 5-6 Book of the Year categories were selected by kids through the Children’s Choices Program, a joint project of the International Literacy Association (ILA) and the CBC, in which 36,600+ children from different regions of the United States read newly-published children’s and young adult trade books and voted for the ones they liked best. Teen Book of the Year finalists were chosen by 4,000+ teens via voting conducted by Teenreads.com.

No Place for Hate Poetry Slam

Join No Place for Hate Lansdowne Chapter for a Poetry Slam.

This month the theme is "What does Black History Month Mean to You?"

The event takes place Saturday, February 21 from 3 pm to 5 pm at Art Space Lansdowne which is located 25 S Lansdowne Ave.

Awards will be given to all teens who participate and there is a prize for the winner.

You must submit your poem, lyrics to spoken words by 11:59 pm on Thursday, February 19th, by emailing them to Meg.flisek@gmail.com.

See flyer for all details!

Delaware County Symphony is offering discounted tickets to DCLS library card holders

The Delaware County Symphony (DCS)presents the third of its Chamber Concert Series on Sunday February 8, 2015 at 3 p.m. in the Meagher Theatre of the Thomas A Bruder, Jr. Life Center at Neumann University, Aston, Pa.

 

The February chamber concert opens with Jennifer Flam, flute, Michael Berton, cello and DCS Music Director  Tim Ribchester, piano, performing Bohuslav Martinu’s Trio for Flute, Cello, and Piano. Martinu is one of the greatest Czech composers of his generation and internationally known for his concerti and chamber music. His work tends to command attention from its opening bars. Martinu offers a rhythmically vital and singing style that recalls the genius of both Antonín Dvořák and Igor Stravinsky.

 

Chess Club

Each Saturday the library hosts a chess club. Our volunteers and coaches are available to teach and guide you through the process to process to learn to play. 

Today we are having a tournament in addition to our regularteaching. Players 18 and under will go against each other! 

 

We will update with the winner! 

January Early Literacy Calendar of Activities

Theresa Dykes is our wonderful storyteller provided by the Delaware County Library System. Her programs are designed for children aged birth to 24 months, and consist of books, music, fingerplays, rhymes and puppets. Theresa is often our guest for Tuesdays during Bibs-n-Books. Theresa has created a wonderful resource an Early Literacy Calendar for you to use with your children! The calendar is geared toward toddlers (2 and 3) and encourages parents to read, talk, write, play, and sing with their child everyday.

 January Activities can be found using this link.

Theresa will be joining us for storytime Tuesdays in January, beginning January 6th! Stop by for fun stories, playtime and more!

Book Bites: The Storytime with No Theme

My "Infant/Toddler" Storytime has really morphed into more of a "Toddler/Whoever shows up" Storytime. I am not complaining; there have been days when it is me and an empty room or one or two children who wanted anything but me reading a book so a diverse age group is welcome. With my diverse age group, however, I find that I do need to think about mixing up what books we will share. The shorter books are best for a younger attention span while some of the older listeners are able to appreciate longer books. It's a struggle sometimes to find that magical combination of engaging story, fun for the audience (the listeners and their parents) and just right book.

Instead of stressing about a theme we shared some of my favorite books to read and among them was "Press Here" by Herve Tullet. This book was such a great way to allow the group to settle in, be a part of the action and quite frankly, I love this book!

Overview of "Press Here"

Press the yellow dot on the cover of this book, follow the instructions within, and embark upon a magical journey! Each page of this surprising book instructs the reader to press the dots, shake the pages, tilt the book, and who knows what will happen next! Children and adults alike will giggle with delight as the dots multiply, change direction, and grow in size! Especially remarkable because the adventure occurs on the flat surface of the simple, printed page, this unique picture book about the power of imagination and interactivity will provide read-aloud fun for all ages!

Today's group are my "regulars" and before sharing the book I informed them that I would need their help as we read. I did let everyone know that there would be opportunities for everyone to help. The book worked great with the four to six revolving helpers who volunteered. Those a little more reluctant to help and shied away from being near the book would act out some of the moves (lean to the left or blow away the darkness).

The reaction of the children was great! They were amazed that by following directions that their actions created something new throughout the book.






We also read
Naked! by Michael Ian Black.
For this book we passed out scarves and pretended they were our capes.

Pete the Cat by Eric Litwin and James Dean.
For this book we learned the signs for colors and sang Pete's song each time his shoes changed colors.

Hello, Day! by Anita Lobel.
We learned animal signs and had a chorus of quacks and moos and other animal sounds as we read.

The Snowy Day by Ezra jack Keats
We pretended the scarves were snow and played along with Peter as we celebrated a very UN-snowy day in Lansdowne.

Bibs-n-Books will be on hiatus until January 6th! You are invited to join us when we return and help us welcome Theresa Dykes!

Interactive Frozen Sing-a-long

The movie Frozen has come out with an sing-a-long edition and we decided to show it along but make it an interactive experience.

After following a thread from a group for libraries on Facebook (hat tip to Storytime Underground and all of their suggestions) we created some props, watched and rewatched Frozen and hosted an interactive event.

December 1st is Rosa Parks Day!

On December 1, 1955, African Amerian seamstress Rosa Parks was travelling in a Montgomery City bus when the bus driver asked her to vacate her seat for a white man. The driver's request was standard practice of racial segregation in buses at the time. Rosa Parks refused to leave her seat on the grounds of fairness, freedom and equality. As a result, she was arrested and convicted of violating the laws of segregation, known as the "Jim Crow" laws. She appealed her conviction and formally challenged the legality of segregation. At the same time, civil rights activists, including Martin Luther King Jr, boycotted the Montgomery bus system.

The boycott lasted for 381 days, into December 1956, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the segregation law was unconstitutional and the Montgomery buses should be integrated. This boycott kickstarted other civil rights protests throughout the U.S. Over the years, the Rosa Parks bus has become a symbol of the fight for equal rights. It has been fully restored and is now displayed in the Henry Ford Museum. Rosa Parks' Day, on February 4, is also known as the Day of Courage.

In observance of the day, we are sharing "Rosa" by Nikki Giovanni and illustrated by Bryan Collier.

Early Literacy Activities for Your Child

Theresa Dykes is our wonderful storyteller provided by the Delaware County Library System. Her programs are designed for children aged birth to 24 months, and consist of books, music, fingerplays, rhymes and puppets. Theresa is often our guest for Tuesdays during Bibs-n-Books. Theresa has created a wonderful resource an Early Literacy Calendar for you to use with your children! The calendar is geared toward toddlers (2 and 3) and encourages parents to read, talk, write, play, and sing with their child everyday.

Theresa will share the fliers during her scheduled storytimes or you can download a copy from our blog.

Click these links for access to the December Literacy Calendars.
Calendar




Calendar Back



Thank you for reading and see you at storytime!
-r

December Programs at the Library

Happy Winter, Library Friends!

Attached is the December calendar for children. Here are a few things I wanted to highlight and share.

• Family Room programs and activities will take a break from Sunday December 21 through Sunday, January 11th. Please feel free to visit the library and use materials and books during the break.

• Homework Help will be discontinued in December. We are working on a new program with our volunTeens to provide assistance with reading. More details will be available soon.

• Teen programming will be on hiatus until January 2015. 

• Welcome December with a holiday concert from Peter Taney and the Juggernauts! Thursday, December 4th beginning at 10:30 am. All are invited but we are requesting that large groups please call in advance. 

 Please visit us online at http://www.lansdownelibrary.org/ for more information about our programs. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for pictures and more.

If you have any questions, please call Rachee at 610-623-0239 ext 304 or email lacsd@delcolibraries.org.

Block Party at the Library!

The Library was selected for an exciting new program called the Block Party Project!

When children play with blocks they are learning math, engineering, social skills and so much more! Through play, your child is discovering shapes, learning how blocks can be balanced, observing how they fall and discovering what fits together. Hard to believe, but these playful explorations are the foundation of later mathematical and scientific thinking - plus it's fun!

The Block Party is a workshop format to engage parents in block play with their children. Children are born learners, but they need experiences to be stimulating, fun, and interactive. Parents can guide children’s early learning experiences and use blocks as the tools to support their development. Playing with blocks can provide experiences where children learn math and science, new words and pre-reading skills, social skills, creativity, physical skills, and problem-solving skills. Block play is fun for both children and adults.

Learn more about the benefits of block play in this article from the National Association for the Education of Young Children or call Miss Rachee at 610-623-0239 ext 304.

Drop by the library during the week of December 8th to learn more about the Block Party.
Monday, December 8th beginning at 10:00 AM
Tuesday, December 9th beginning at 10:45 AM (following Bibs-n-Books)
Thursday, December 11th beginning at 10:30 AM
Saturday, December 13th beginning at 12:30 PM

Large groups, please call to make arrangements for a date to schedule a Block Party.

Target Community Night! Wednesday, November 19th

Special Discount to Nov 23rd Chamber Concert for Delco Library Card Holders!

The Delaware County Symphony is offering a special discount to DCLS card holders.  The regular price of tickets is $18 for adults and $15 for seniors & students.  The discounted price is $8.

The Symphony presents the second of its Chamber Concert Series on Sunday November 23, 2014 at 3 p.m. in the Meagher Theatre of the Thomas A Bruder, Jr. Life Center at Neumann University, Aston, Pa.

The November Chamber Concert opens with Music Director Tim Ribchester, piano, and concertmaster Nina Vieru, violin, performing works by Argentinean born composer Astor Piazolla. As a pianist Ribchester brings a special musical message to this concert. During his in depth studies of Argentinean tango music at the Academia Nacional del Tango, Buenos Aires, Ribchester acquired a unique appreciation of the creative technique and intricate sounds of Piazolla's works.

It was Piazolla who fused classical music, including Bach and Jazz into a new style of tango music known as nuevo tango. American music critics hailed Piazolla as the world’s foremost composer of tango music. It may be said that Piazolla changed the history and sound of tango music.

The concert continues with the fresh and vibrant sounds of American Jazz featuring the DCS Jazz Ensemble led by Vince Iannone, flute, clarinet and saxophone performing original arrangements and a wide selection of classic popular Jazz including all time favorites, How High The Moon, Autumn Leaves in an arrangement by Miles Davis, Sister Sadie by Horace Silver and Moanin' by Bobby Timmons.

Chamber program commentary will be provided by Tim Ribchester, Music Director Delaware County Symphony. We pleased to announce for this concert in collaboration with the Delaware County Library System a special discounted group ticket price of $8.00 to all individuals upon presentation of their Delco Library Card the day of the concert. Tickets may be purchased at the door (cash, check or credit card). For additional information on the concert please contact us at 610-879-7059.

Visit the Academy of Natural Sciences on US and check out Dino Days!

Thanks to a generous grant from the Friends of the Lansdowne Public Library, we are pleased to be able to offer free passes for The Academy of Natural Sciences for our library users! 

Located at 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19103, the passes provide admission for 2 adults and up to five children in the same household into the museum, all special exhibits, and Academy festivals. The passes will also give you

• Free, expedited admission to popular festivals including Paleopalooza & Bug Fest.
• 10% discount in the Academy Shop & Café during your visit.

To borrow a museum pass:

• Museum passes are free to adults with a current Delaware County library card.
•  Passes will be loaned out for 5-days, no renewals allowed.  Museum Passes MUST be returned to the Lansdowne Public Library ONLY.  You may return the pass, in the green envelope, in the video return drop or directly to the front desk staff
• Holds are not permitted on Museum Passes.  You may call ahead on the day you wish to pick-up the pass and it will be checked out on your card and held for two (2) hours or until closing, whichever occurs first.  If you do not pick up the pass within that time it will be removed from our hold shelf ard and made available to another user.

·         Daily Overdue Fine: 

• $10.00 per day up to the cost of the museum membership.
•  Lost /stolen membership card fee:  the cost of the Membership ($150) plus a $10 processing fee.  
• You will be charged a $5.00 processing fee if the envelope the pass circulates in is not returned.

With your passes you are invited to celebrate dinosaurs and their closest living relatives—birds—with a holiday weekend of family fun at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University. Talk turkey with Academy experts, touch real fossils, play dinosaur detective, and more. Dinosaur Days are Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 28, 29 and 30, and are free with museum admission.

There will be fun games and crafts, guaranteed to enlighten everyone from the wisest to the youngest dinosaur experts in the family. 

For a full schedule of events, visit the Dinosaur Days event at ansp.org. 

Highlights of the event:

·         Academy Animal Ambassadors
Meet some of the Academy’s live animals and find out what you can do to help protect them during this live animal show.

·         Dinosaur Detectives
Do you know what makes a dinosaur a dinosaur? Can you tell a fossil from a fake? Put your skills to the test during this interactive stage show and meet a live animal that has some things in common with the extinct stars of the show.
·         Story time
Visit Outside In for an interactive dinosaur story featuring a live animal.

A hot chocolate bar featuring different kinds of hot cocoa and delicious toppings will be presented for purchase by 12th Street Catering from noon to 2 pm each day, as a special part of Dinosaur Days. Just in time for the cold weather, the warm beverage bar coincides with the current exhibit Chocolate: The Exhibition.

Chocolate: The Exhibition, presented by Mars Chocolate North America, features the intriguing story of this “food of the gods” from its origin as a rain forest plant to America’s favorite sweet. There is a $5 fee to enter Chocolate.