It’s Christmas in July this week at the Carleton Place Public Library!
Something we’ve run across more and more lately is the need for children’s services in Carleton Place. During the school year, people seem able to access various resources from their child’s school, but during the summer, we become bombarded here at our library with questions as to where to go.
First, let’s talk about what WE have to offer here at our library. From September to May, we run two story times for the little ones ages 2-5 (please see our link at the right of this page). Storytime involves both parent/caregiver and child, so we ask that people be prepared to stay with their little ones for the hour. There are stories and sometimes games, puppets, music or treats and we also manage to do a craft. Keep in mind that not only is the child going to have some fun, but hopefully, the parents will pick up on a few things as well. We try to encourage phonological & print awareness as well as inspire new vocabulary and letter knowledge, all things that you can find in the “Every Child Ready To Read” program. Storytime is not just about getting out of the house for an hour; we also encourage the children to participate and learn to enjoy books. There is always lots of time to choose books to read after each session.
We meet regularly with The Ontario Early Years Center in order to keep up with programs which are available in our community and to talk about what other area libraries are working on. They are currently working on establishing a great parent resource guide to make sure that every library in the area has the top 20 parenting books out there available. We should have something to display in the fall at our library, so keep watching. This is a great idea which should help parents who are interested in finding out how to help their children. They have fabulous resources on their website to answer parenting questions as well as provide information on where your child should be in the big scheme of development.
Open Doors is another great community program that very few people know about. The people there are interested in helping children ages 0 – 18 and their families who might be having difficulties in their lives. Often you will need a referral to access some of their programs, but they are available 24 hours a day to help with any difficult situations and will provide any information you might need in an emergency. This program is not for everyone, but for those in need, they do great work!
If you are looking for child care resources, the town of Carleton Place has many wonderful daycare locations. You can access their website here to find out about locations, times they are open, cost etc. They have fabulous daily programs as well as offering before and after-school programs.
Connections is a wonderful program that offers community based resources to aid in family development. They have many great links on their site as well for government programs, community programs and information resources.
We certainly don’t want to leave out older children. Throughout the year, the library offers many events to kids from 6 – 12. We have fun craft nights and reading programs, and during the summer, we offer the fabulous TD Summer Reading Program as well as themed events during most days of the week.
Our town has a youth center for teens called the Carleton Place & District Youth Center and you can find their website here. They have many different programs such as physical activity, leadership, career skills and development and social events.
What kinds of services are you interested in finding out about for children and families? Would you be interested in parenting workshops? Are you looking for more reading workshops for children? Let us know just what you might be looking for from your public library. We can only serve you better if you speak up!
