Summer Reading Program: Week 1

The first week of our Summer Reading Program is in the books! We had a successful kick-off celebration with ice cream courtesy of the Common Man Restaurants followed by an amazing performance from Magic by George. We have so many questions about how the magician did some of his tricks, including suspending one of our young patrons in the air! Wow!

Thursday's Storytime was music-related, with stories like Bugtown Boogie by Warren Hanson, about a child who happens upon an all-night dance party in a tree trunk in Bugtown. We also read Bats in the Band by Brian Lies, with bats setting up an concert in an empty theater. Our last book was Froggy Plays in the Band by Jonathan London, where Froggy forms a marching band in hopes of winning a prize in a community parade. Our craft was maracas, made with plastic eggs and spoons for handles. We filled the eggs with rice, popcorn, or beans, depending on what sort of sound we wanted our instruments to make. Then we taped the eggs to the bowls of the spoon and wrapped it with lots and lots of masking tape. We decorated the tape with crayon to make the maracas colorful! Then we danced and shook our instruments to some lively music! We had so much fun, there was little time for photos.

Our first Movie Night was a success, with several families enjoying popcorn and the movie Coco.

Our Drop-in Lego time found four friends, ready to share and build with Lego. A big thank you to the Kane Family for their donation of a huge new set of bricks for the library!

Kids are returning their reading logs and adding musical sticker-notes to our bulletin board staff for books read. It's only the first week, and already I'm wondering if we just may run out of room! If we do, we have a Plan B. So let's keep having reading fun!

Finally, here are two readers with prizes from the Prize Bowl - a recorder and a cowbell to take home along with the maracas they made! There's going to be lots of music in this household!

Summer Reading Sign-Up Celebration!

What a wonderful opening we had to our "Libraries Rock!" Summer Reading Program! What was advertised as a "drop-in" event turned into hours of fun! We signed up so many readers for the Summer Reading Program. Kids received bookmarks, schedules, reading logs, and a folder to keep their materials in. They had a chance to peek in the prize bowl, full of weekly prizes for reading. Every participant who wanted one received an impressive and intricate balloon creation to take home.

Thanks to Hannaford of Bristol, Hitching Post Primitives, and Dunkin' Donuts of New Hampton for providing refreshments for the event.  The coveted LEGO door prize was purchased through a generous donation from Hitching Post Primitives in New Hampton - and the lucky winner was Beck!

Finally, many, many thanks to Mo the Clown for his donation of time and "Balloon Buffoonery". What a fantastic presentation, with balloon hats or jewelry for all and lots of interesting information on balloons, clowns, and more! We even had an impromptu lesson on how to sail a balloon across the room! There sure were lots of laughs at the Gordon-Nash today!

If you were unable to be here to sign up, you can still do it when you come to an event or drop by the library. Just be sure to join us for some summer reading fun! 

It's Summer!

It's the first day of Summer! So we read books about summer things and we made fans to keep cool! We read a non-fiction fact-based book about animals in summer, then read two books with beach settings. Ladybug Girl at the Beach by David Soman told about Lulu's first experience at the ocean and how she overcame her fear of water. Bats at the Beach by Brian Lies was about bats who went to the ocean at night for all sorts of summer fun.

Next, we made paper fans! Using colorful markers, we drew scenes on two paper plated circles, then added some stickers as embellishment. We taped a craft stick handle to the back of one circle, then glued on the second circle. Then we fanned ourselves, and were so cool!

Why Read? Celebration

Each June the Friends of the Gordon-Nash Library sponsor the Why Read/Why Write essay contest at the New Hampton Community School. Gretchen Draper, New Hampton resident, Gordon-Nash Friend, and teacher-consultant for the National Writing Project in NH, organizes the contest which is open to all fourth and fifth graders at the New Hampton Community School. The theme of the library's Summer Reading Program is the basis for the writing and drawing that the students do, and, after judging, their finished work is displayed at the library during the summer months.

This year, students wrote about why "Libraries Rock!" Books, CDs and DVDs, programs, after school program connections, and helpful staff were some of the things students wrote about in their essays. Writers also created posters to accompany their essays. Judging was very difficult this year - there were many wonderful ideas and well-worded essays.

An assembly was held at the school, where all writers received a Certificate of Participation and a Why Read Why Write bookmark. First place winners in each grade level were awarded their choice of book purchased by the Friends. Students' essays and posters will be on display upstairs at the Gordon-Nash during the Summer months. Stop in to see them!

School Visits

Yesterday and today, I visited classrooms at the New Hampton Community School to talk about summer fun at the Gordon-Nash Library. We discussed the importance of summer reading and how much fun it can be. Students asked questions about tracking reading progress and the prizes associated with reading and library visits. I described our Tuesday night family presentations and listed our Wednesday night movies. Each student received a "Libraries Rock!" bookmark to take home with a complete schedule of Summer Reading Program events printed on the back.

Since this is the summer that "Libraries Rock", I wanted to leave kids with a "rockin'" story. I chose Punk Farm by Jarrett J. Krosoczka because everyone knows the song in it! At the appropriate part of the story, I turned on my disco ball bluetooth speaker and played the Punk Farm version of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm." As music blasted and colored lights danced across classroom walls and ceilings, we laughed and sang along to the story. No photos - but here's the book trailer! Many thanks to NHCS teachers for inviting me into their classrooms at such a busy time of year!

After School Program Reading Celebration

I was honored to be guest reader for this year's New Hampton Community School After School Program's Literacy Day. I read one of my favorite stories, Clever Jack Takes the Cake by Candace Fleming. In this story, Jack a poor village boy, gets invited to the princess's birthday party so he works hard to make her a beautiful birthday cake. As he is traveling to the party, he runs into all sorts of problems - trolls, giants, magical places - lots of elements found in fairy tales! In the end, Jack reaches the party with a very surprising gift!

After the story, kids got to pick two books to take home for the summer. There were so many great titles provided by the organizers that I would have had a hard time making a choice! When everyone had their books, we sat and READ! What a great event!

Thanks to the After School Program for inviting me to be part of this wonderful afternoon!

Summer Reading Program Events

Click here for a complete schedule of events!

Summer Reading Program - 🎵Libraries Rock!! ♬

Summer’s coming!

 This year’s theme is Libraries Rock! and children’s programming will be focused on music and instruments. 

Tuesday evening programs, from 6:30-7:30, will feature performances and events for the whole family. Wednesday afternoon from 3:30-4:30, we’ll have a drop-in Lego time, and most Wednesday nights at 6:00, we will show family movies, rated PG. Our regular Thursday morning Storytimes at 10:45 will feature stories and crafts for children of all ages.

The 2018 Summer Reading Program will begin on Tuesday, June 26th with a 6:30 pm performance, "Magic, Music, Readin' and Rockin' " by Boston area magician and award-winning entertainer Magic by George. There will be exciting magic and lots of audience participation and family humor. This promises to be a high-energy, entertaining kick off to our Summer Reading Program.

Other Tuesday evening events will include “Make Some Noise!”, a drop-in event with a quick musical instrument or glow-stick craft before families start their 4th of July celebrating. Wildlife Encounters will bring real wild animals to rock the library and Concord’s “Mr. Aaron” will be presenting an interactive concert with music, instruments, and sing-along songs. Modern Times Theater will play a variety of music on some unique instruments and present an old-time puppet show for the whole family. The Summer Reading Program will end on July 31st with a Talent Show, music party, and an ice cream social.

Read, record book titles, then check in each week with your reading records to get a weekly “Prize Bowl” prize and a raffle ticket. Raffle prizes include books, gift certificates from local businesses and organizations, and other fun items. Winners will be announced when the Summer Reading Program has ended.

Registration for the Summer Reading Program will take place at the library on Saturday, June 23 from 11-1. Demonstrating his “Balloon Buffoonery” will be NH’s own Mo-Fun, balloon artist. Drop in to pick up schedules, reading logs, and other program materials. Sign up for the door prize and enjoy light refreshments courtesy of Hannaford in Bristol. The Gordon-Nash Library is at 69 Main Street in New Hampton. For questions, please call the library at 744-8061 or email Christine Hunewell, Children’s Librarian, at chunewell.gnl (at) gmail.com. For a full schedule of events, visit https://goo.gl/Lvedoh

Have a Rocking, Reading Summer at the library!

What's in the Garden?

What's in your garden? Today we read books about gardens and the sorts of plants - and critters - that can be in them! We read Round the Garden by Omri Glaser, who was only eight when he wrote this book based on the water cycle. We also read Up, Down, and Around, a rhyming book by Katherine Ayers that told about planting and crops that grow up and down. Our final book, Yucky Worms by Vivian French, was full of facts about earthworms and why they are so good for gardens.

We planted pumpkin seeds in cups, and gave them water to help them grow. Once the seeds have sprouted, they can go into gardens at home. Maybe each of us will have a pumpkin this fall!

Next we made a paper plate craft that showed crayon sky and collaged soil, cotton clouds, paper-dot rain and round yellow sun. Those are what's needed for seeds to sprout and plants to grow.

We made our paper plant "grow"out of the "soil" by pushing the pipe cleaner stem up above the paper plate soil line. It worked! We are looking forward to this happening for real in our own gardens!