SUMMER AT THE LIBRARY!

Registration for Summer Storytimes 

begins on Monday June, 2nd at 7:00 AM. 

All programming begins on Monday, June 16th. 

You can also sign up for the Online Summer Reading Club 
and begin logging books now. You can start collecting prizes and 
your t-shirt beginning on Monday, June 16th. 

All the registration links are in the side bar 
and all programming is listed below. 
Instructions for the Online Summer Reading Club 
are also included below. 

Please call me at 610-543-0436 with 
any questions or visit me at the library. 

Happy Registering!

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Online Summer Reading Club Information

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May Days!

May Days! Register Now!

Build-a-Beach Workshop (Ages 4-9)
Kids take over the activity room and work together to transform it into a beach! Parents and caregivers can enjoy the results when they return to collect their kids.

Monday, May 12th
4:00-5:00 PM


Baby Formal (Birth-2 yrs.)
Another excuse to dress up! Get out your formal attire and come down to the library for a baby formal with singing, bubbles, toys and snacks! Social time on the lawn after (weather permitting).

Tuesday, May 20th
10:00-11:00 AM


Teddy Bear Picnic (All Ages)
Bring your stuffed friends and your lunch and join me on the front lawn for our annual Teddy Bear Picnic (weather permitting)!

Thursday, May 22nd
12:00-1:00 PM


Infant Playtime (Babies up to12 mos. no siblings over 12 mos. of age please)
Playtime and socializing time for new babies and their parents or caregivers.

Wednesday Mornings - May 7, 14, 21 & 28
10:00 AM-12:00 PM

No Storytimes on Monday, March 3

Well, it looks like our first day of SPRING storytimes has been ruined by snow. Enjoy the day and I will see you next Monday!

Spring Storytimes!!

Spring 2014 Storytimes (March 3rd-April 24th)

Registration begins on Tuesday, February 18th at 7:00 AM. Registration links are in the sidebar. Call the library at 610-543-0436 with any questions!

Infant’s Only
(Birth to 12 months with
parent or caregiver)
No siblings over 12 mos.
Books, Puppets, Lap Rhymes,
Fingerplays, Songs and Playtime
Wednesday 10:00-10:45 am

Wee Read
(Birth to 24 months with
parent or caregiver)
Books, Puppets, Lap Rhymes,
Fingerplays, Songs and Playtime
Tuesday 10:00-10:45 am
Tuesday 11:00-11:45 am

Toddler Tales
(Ages 2-3½ with
parent or caregiver)
Books, Puppets, Fingerplays,
Songs and a Simple Craft
Monday 9:30-10:15 am
Monday 10:30-11:15 pm

Preschool Storytime
(Ages 3½-5)
Books, Games, Songs and a Craft!
Tuesday 2:00-2:45 pm
Wednesday 1:00-1:45

Afterschool Storytime
(Kindergarten-Grade 3)
Books, Games, Songs and a Craft!
Monday 4:15-5:00 pm 

Sunshine Storytime
(Ages 2-5 with parent or caregiver)
A sensory storytime in a supportive environment for children on the autism spectrum, with sensory processing disorder, language delays or other developmental needs.
Thursday 10:00-11:00

A sensory storytime in a supportive environment for children on the autism spectrum, with sensory processing disorder, language delays or other developmental needs. - See more at: http://www.eventkeeper.com/code/events.cfm?curOrg=DELCO&curKey1=Swarthmore%20Public%20Library&curMode=ADMIN&fRef=105622&edEvtID=undefined#4/24/2014

A sensory storytime in a supportive environment for children on the autism spectrum, with sensory processing disorder, language delays or other developmental needs. - See more at: http://www.eventkeeper.com/code/events.cfm?curOrg=DELCO&curKey1=Swarthmore%20Public%20Library&curMode=ADMIN&fRef=105622&edEvtID=undefined#4/24/2014

Winter 2014 Storytimes!

Registration begins on Monday, December 23rd at 7:00 AM!

Winter FUN!!

Upcoming Events!
Register Now!
Links are in the sidebar!
Call 610-543-0436 if you have any questions or problems.

Snow King and Queen Makeovers! 
Thursday, December 19th
3-5 PM (Drop-In Anytime)
All Ages

Wear your sparkliest and snowiest outfit and join us for icy makeovers! We'll make sparkly crowns and hats and jewels and wands. Bring your camera for a photo shoot when your done!

Snowy Sparkly Dance Party!
Monday, December 23rd
10 AM
Ages Birth-2 (but siblings are welcome to join in)

Wear your winter whites and sparkly gowns and join us for a baby dance party! Enjoy songs, dancing, scarves, bubbles, playtime and socializing for the grown-up! Baby snacks at the end!

Movie at the Library!
Monday, December 30th
10 AM
Ages 4 and Up (and playtime for babies)

Join us for a movie on our big screen! We will be watching Shelley Duvall's Fairy Tale Theatre: The Snow Queen (Rated G). The storytime room will be open with toys and crafts for younger kids and their grown-ups.

November-December Storytime!

November 12th-December 18th

Infant’s Only
(Birth to 12 months with parent or caregiver)
No siblings over 12 mos. of age please.
Books, Puppets, Lap Rhymes, Fingerplays,
Songs and Playtime
Wednesday 10:00-10:45 am

Wee Read
(Birth to 24 months with parent or caregiver)
Books, Puppets, Lap Rhymes, Fingerplays,
Songs and Playtime
Tuesday 10:00-10:45 am
Tuesday 11:00-11:45 am

Toddler Tales
(Ages 2-3½ with parent or caregiver)
Books, Puppets, Fingerplays, z
Songs and a Simple Craft
Monday 9:30-10:15 am
Monday 10:30-11:15 am

Preschool Storytime
(Ages 3½-5)
Books, Games, Songs and a Craft!
Tuesday 2:00-2:45 pm
Wednesday 1:00-1:45

Afterschool Storytime
(Kindergarten-Grade 3)
Books, Games, Songs and a Craft!
Monday 4:15-5:00 pm

Sunshine Storytime

A Sensory Storytime for children on the autism spectrum.
Join Miss Kristin and Miss Karen on Thursday mornings at 10 AM for stories, songs, scarves, instruments and other sensory toys. We will finish with a themed craft and playtime for the kids and socializing time for grown-ups. If you have any questions or suggestions call the library anytime at 610-543-0436. Hope to see you there!

Register for Summer Programs and Online Summer Reading Club!

Registration for Summer Storytimes and Summer Specials begins on Monday, June 3rd at 7:00 AM. The registration links are in the sidebar. Call the library at 610-543-0436 with any questions or problems. See below for a listing and description of all available programs.

Don't forget to register for the Online Summer Reading Program!
This program is open to kids and babies of all ages! After registering, stop in the library to pick up your prize pack (this contains small pieces so it's best for older children)! Log books online as you read. For every 5 books you read you can add a jewel to our buried treasure! Read 20 books and get a free owl t-shirt! Reach the goal of 100 books and add a golden doubloon to the treasure and be entered into a drawing to adopt a meerkat and get a meet-and-greet with an animal of your choice at the Philadelphia Zoo! (If you are reading chapter books you can add a jewel for every book you read, collect your t-shirt after reading 8 books and add a golden doubloon and be entered into the drawing after reaching the goal of 25 books.)

To sign up for Online Summer Reading just click on the links in the sidebar.
-Choose Read to Me if your child isn't reading yet.
-Choose Dig Into Reading! for readers in grades K-6.
-Choose Beneath the Surface if you are in grades 7-12.

Science in the Summer 2013

Bioscience
For children entering Grades 2-6
Monday, July 29th– Thursday, August 1st
Registration will take place Wednesday, May 1st through Friday, May 31st

SIGN UP FOR SCIENCE IN THE SUMMER

Science in the Summer is a program sponsored by the GlaxoSmithKline Foundation and the Delaware County Library System. The program introduces students entering grades 2-6 to the fun of science. Brief, experiment-oriented courses are taught by certified teachers at the Swarthmore Public Library. Children will learn as they participate in fun, hands-on science activities and experiments. This year’s theme is Bioscience.

Explore the world of one-celled and many-celled living things using microscopes. Examine plant and animal cells and discover how they are similar and different.  Make your own slides to observe microscopic animals, onion cells, and aquatic herbs. Dissect a flower and examine each part.  Learn about bacteria and find out why some bacteria are helpful and others are harmful.

Science in the Summer will be held at the Swarthmore Public Library from Monday, July 29th through Thursday, August 1st. Each child will attend one 45 minute class (either morning or afternoon session) Monday through Thursday. The class schedule is as follows:

AM
Level 1 (Grades 2-3) 10:00 am – 10:45 am

Level 2 (Grades 4-6) 11:00 am – 11:45 am

PM
Level 1 (Grades 2-3) 2:00 pm – 2:45 pm

Level 2 (Grades 4-6) 3:00 pm – 3:45 pm

This program is free for participants but space is limited. Selection will be done by lottery. Children entering grades 2-6 are invited to register for the lottery. Parents must complete a registration form in person at the library for each child. Registration will run from Wednesday, May 1st through Friday, May 31st. 

Please call the library at 610-543-0436 with any questions or email swcsd@delcolibraries.org.

Click Here for More Information

May Days

Spring Specials
Registration links are in the sidebar

Build-an-Aquarium Workshop (Ages 5 and Up)
Kids take over the storytime room and transform it into an aquarium. Parents and caregivers can tour the aquarium when you return to pick up your kids!

Monday, May 13th
4:00-5:00 PM

Sprouts for Sprouts (Ages 3 1/2 and Up)
Hear some stories and plant a seed to take home!

Thursday, May 16th
2:00-2:45 PM

Baby Garden Party (Birth-24 Months)
Dress up your babies for a musical party in the garden!

Wednesday, May 22nd
10:00 AM

Teddy Bear Picnic (All Ages)
Bring your lunch and your stuffed friends for a picnic on the lawn! (weather permitting)

Thursday, May 30th
12:00 PM

LEGO at the Library (Ages 4 and Up)
Join us at the library to build and create with our giant stash of LEGOs!
(if you have previously registered for this event you don't have to register again)

Last Thursday of Every Month
4:00-5:00 PM
May 30th
June 27th
July 25th
August 29th

Arts & Crafts Club (Ages 4 and Up)
Join me at the library for a special art project each month. Learn new techniques and mediums and make something beautiful to take home!
(if you have previously registered for this event you don't have to register again)

First Thursday of Every Month
(Arts & Crafts Club will not be held in July and August due to scheduling conflicts)
4:00-5:00 PM
May 2nd
June 6th

Register for Storytimes!

Registration for Spring 2013 Storytimes begins on Tuesday, February 19th at 7:00 am. To register click the registration links in the sidebar. If you have any questions or problems with registration give me a call at 610-543-0436. See below for the full storytime schedule.

                       Click on the image to enlarge/print

Snow Storytime

School-Age Storytime

Books:
Snow Globe Family by Jane O'Connor
   This is a really cool story about a little family that lives inside a snowglobe. They are waiting for the day when the big family would shake the snowglobe and make a snowstorm so they could go sledding. This is a really fun story and it led in to our snowglobe craft.

Snow by Uri Shulevitz
  The kids really liked the illustrations in this book. Especially the "creepy" television reporter who they kept asking to see again and again.

Snowie Rolie by William Joyce
   The kids also enjoyed the illustrations of the magical snowy land in this book. The story is mediocre but it kept their attention.

Activity:
Crumpled Paper Snowball Fight

Divide kids into two teams and dump snowballs in the middle. Kids try to throw all the snowballs to the other teams side before time runs out.

They had fun with this activity but I couldn't judge the winner because they kept cheating :)

Craft:
Snowglobes with couscous snow.

Snow Storytime

Preschool Storytime

Opening Song:
The Popcorn Song by Laurie Berkner

Activity/Stretch:
Small Tall

Rhyme:
With our ears we will listen,
With our eyes we will look,
It's time to read a book!
Shhhhhh!
(with appropriate signs)

Books:
Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London
   Froggy books are always a hit. Of course the kids though it was great when he forgot his underwear.
A Hat for Minerva Louise by Janet Morgan Stoeke
   I love Minerva Louise and the kids were very vocal during this book, telling Minerva Louise what she was doing wrong. There's one part that leads into a good discussion on what clothing is appropriate in the winter.
Mouse's First Snow by Lauren Thompson
   I like the Mouse books but this one was my least favorite. But a couple kids commented on how much they love this story so that just goes to show how much I know.
Red Truck by Kersten Hamilton
  A little short for preschool storytime but there is a truck in it so of course the kids liked it.

Rhyme:
Start with 5 snowmen with removable noses.

5 chubby little snowmen,
Each had a carrot nose.
Along came a bunny,
And what do you suppose?
That hungry little bunny,
Was looking for his lunch,
And he ate one snowmans carrot nose,
Nibble, nibble, CRUNCH!

4 chubby little snowmen...

Craft:
Snowglobes with couscous snow.

Snow Storytime

Toddler Storytime

Click Here for the Full Toddler Storytime Outline

Books:
Oh! by Kevin Henkes
Bunny's First Snowflake by Monica Wellington

Flannelboard:
Start with 5 snowmen with removable carrot noses.

5 chubby little snowmen,
Each had a carrot nose.
Along came a bunny,
And what do you suppose?
That hungry little bunny,
Was looking for his lunch,
And he ate one snowman's carrot nose,
Nibble, nibble CRUNCH!

4 chubby little snowmen...

Song:
If All the Raindrops...

Craft:

Bug Storytime

Preschool Storytime

Books:
Tiny Little Fly by Michael Rosen
  This story is cute but I think the end gets a little confusing. I was waiting for something more exciting to happen.

Soup For One by Ethan Long
  The kids really enjoyed this book. They thought it was funny that the flies were in the soup and they liked the illustrations.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
  All the kids had read this and were excited to tell me about it . They enjoyed reading along with me.

Little Bee by Edward Gibbs
  This is short and sweet and the kids liked guessing what was chasing each animal/person. One little boy even guessed the twist ending.

The Croaky Pokey by Ethan Long
  I read this one last because it requires the kids to stand up and dance the hokey (croaky) pokey. This one was really fun and all the kids were enthusiastic participants.

Song:
The Itsy-Bitsy Spider
The Big Humongus Spider
The The Teensy Tiny Spider

Shaker Song and Dance:
The Ants Go Marching by Ralph Covert

Craft:
Giant Fly Eye Hats

Snowglobe Craft

We did this snow globe craft today in Toddler Tales and the kids really enjoyed it. I used CD sleeves with a blue insert. The kids decorated the insert with snowmen and trees and then we added some Israeli Pearl Couscous as the snow. I taped the back flap shut and the kids could shake up their CD cases to make it snow.

Nighttime Storytime

School-Age Storytime

Books:
Bedtime Is Cancelled by Cece Meng
   This book was mediocre. The kids didn't seemed too impressed by it but they enjoyed it enough to listen attentively.

Oscar and the Mooncats by Lynda Gene Rymond
   This book gets a little creepy when the mooncats try to get Oscar to drink the moonmilk so he will be trapped on the moon forever. The kids seemed to like this one.

Activity:
Star Search-Find stars hidden around the room.
Star Catching- Catch stars (bubbles) in a cup.

Craft:
Shooting Stars

Shoes and Socks Storytime

Preschool Storytime

Books:
Dog in Boots by Greg Gormley
   This book is a little longer than what I prefer to read in preschool storytime but I read it first and they all sat quietly. It's a cute story about a dog who keeps trying different kinds of shoes before realizing the best shoes for him are his paws. The kids seemed to enjoy it too.

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin
   I love, love, love this story. It's a perfect read aloud and the kids loved it too.

Sally and the Purple Socks by Lisze Bechtold
   This is a really cute story and we all really enjoyed it.

Whose Footprints? by Masayuki Yabuuchi
   This one is short but fun to read because the kids like to guess what animals belong to the footprints. 
Not a quiet story though, the kids will all be shouting out the answers.

Whose Shoes? by Stephen R. Swineburne
   The kids weren't very quiet for this story. They were pretty wound up from Whose Footprints? so I read it quickly and we moved on to the craft.

Fingerplay:
Start with five mice in a sock.

Hickory Dickory Dock,
5 mice inside my sock.
The clock struck one,
A mouse ran out,
Hickory Dickory Dock.

Hickory Dickory Dock,
4 mice inside my sock.
The clock struck two,
A mouse ran out,
Hickory, Dickory Dock.

Hickory Dickory Dock,
3 mice...

Craft:
Put shoes/socks on a cat.

Bumblebee Storytime

Toddler Storytime

Click here for complete Toddler Storytime outline.

Books:
Little Bee by Edward Gibbs
   This was a good length for a toddler read-aloud. Not their favorite book ever but they did listen pretty intently.

Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr.
   I couldn't find another bee book I liked and I didn't have time to order an insect book so I read this and justified it by saying it was a rhyming book (bee and see), which was a stretch. But the kids really enjoyed this book. They loved the unique animals (ie. macaroni penguin and whooping crane) and they were all excited to point out their favorites at the end of story. One little boy liked it so much that he checked it out after storytime.

Rhyme:
Start with five bees and some flowers on the flannelboard.

5 little bees buzzing through the flowers,
5 little bees buzzing through the flowers,
5 little bees buzzing through the flowers,
Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzzzzzzzz! (One little bee flies away)

4 little bees....

Song:
Bumblebee (Buzz Buzz) by Laurie Berkner
Dance and catch Bubblebees! (Blow bubbles and  pretend they are bumblebees)

Craft:
Bumble B's