Mary Lambert visted Carleton Place this week!

We had a great time on Thursday morning at the Carleton Place Town Hall Auditorium.  As part of our Survive the March Break program, we had musical entertainer Mary Lambert drop by with her show “Monkey Sing, Monkey Do” and close to 170 people showed up for a morning full of laughter, music and dancing. (The funny thing is, in the following pictures, you can’t even see Mary Lambert.  It’s all about the audience!)

And one of the favourite numbers that morning was the Tooth Fairy, played by a good sport Dad in the audience.  You just never know what your day might bring!

Teddy Bears Everywhere!

We had a great morning with almost 20 little kids and their teddy bears during the March Break!  Everyone poured in on the bright morning and we had stories, dancing (with our teddy bears), crafts and snacks.  We always have a great time during storytime, but this was an especially fun morning and we can’t wait to have a special day again soon.  If you’re looking for something to do with your children ages 2 – 5 , we run storytime each Wednesday and Thursday morning from 10 – 11am at the Carleton Place Public Library.  Just call us to register and we’ll save you a space!

Our little teddy bear faces

Tuesday ‘tooning

We had a fabulous cartooning day during the March Break for kids aged 6-9.  Although most were beginners, everyone went home with a stack of cartoons and hopefully some new ideas for creative drawing. (Okay, so they were only mildly impressed with my crazy pig and cow, but they all had a try at making some silly animals.)

If you are looking for a fun website that is all about drawing, one of my favourites is Drawn.ca, the illustration and cartooning blog.  They always have some fabulous new art, and it was there that I discovered Blue Apple Books and Comics to Go which features a whole line of cartoons that you can download and finish yourself.  This is worth a look if you are trying to find something for your young ones to do during the March Break or on a rainy day.  The drawings are neat and inspired, with lots of selection for boys and girls and no need for real talent.  Just follow the frames and you’ll have ideas!

We are all looking forward to our next craft night at the library which will be held with an Easter Theme on Tuesday, April 7 from 7 – 8pm.  Kids aged 7 – 10 can sign up now by calling us or stopping by the front desk to register.  Hurry….it will fill up FAST!

We survived!

The first day of our  Survive the March Break at the library was great!  Sixteen castaways from ages 10 – 13 joined us for an hour and a half of Library Survivor!   They arrived to the strains of the Survivor theme and we began by dividing up into teams, handing out team supplies as well as team names and colors and off they went to their first task.

Working on rafts and leaf hats!

The teams really worked well together, solving problems like making a raft out of sticks and twine, drawing maps of the library and collecting fish, all the while getting to know how to use our library catalog and find books on the shelves.  There were some really great teams and I think a few surprises.   We didn’t make it through all the tasks, but everyone had a great time and we were excited that we had such a great turnout for an age group that we previously didn’t have events for during the March Break.

One of the rafts!

All in all, it was a fun afternoon and everyone went home with a few treats, a souvenier and hopefully, some new friends.

Survive the March Break at the library!

We’re getting ready for our March Break at the Carleton Place Public Library and this year, the theme is “Survive the March Break”!  We’re planning some great events for the week and we’re including all ages this year.  Registration for each special day is required so give us a call early. We’re filling up fast! Here’s the schedule as planned:

Monday, March 16th, 2009 :    Library Survivor for ages 10 -14, 1 – 2:30pm

All library castaways who wish to attend should be prepared to work in teams, share their library (and general) knowledge, and most of all, get ready to survive the March Break by having some fun!  The afternoon will be shaped after the Survivor series on TV with challenges, rewards and even an immunity idol.  So get your friends together and form a team!

Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 :  Tuesday ‘Toons for ages 6 – 9, 1 – 2:30pm

Kids who like to draw or doodle will enjoy this fun afternoon.  We’ll learn all sorts of great tricks to make your drawings into fun cartoons. Be ready for some laughter and lots of creativity!

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 : Teddybears Everywhere! for ages 2 – 5, 10am

Bring your favourite teddy bear to this fun storytime morning.  We’ll have games, stories and do a craft to take home.  We’re expecting lots of kids this day and they’ll have time to pick out some books to take home as well. Watch for our pictures of the kids with their teddy bear masks!

Thursday, March 19th, 2009 : “Monkey Sing, Monkey Do” with Mary Lambert, 10am, CP Town Hall

Musical entertainer Mary Lambert will be joining us in Carleton Place for a fun-filled morning of music and laughter for children ages 3 – 10.  “Monkey Sing, Monkey Do”  will tickle your funny bone and have you up dancing and laughing.  Tickets are on sale now at the Carleton Place Public Library for $3 each, or you can get them at the door on the morning of the event for $4 each.

So if you’re going to be around during the March Break, why not sign up for one of our programs!

Shhhh…it’s a secret!

Today is the last day of our March Break programs. We have had such a great time this week during March Mystery Madness, and today will be no exception! We are going to be working on Secret Codes today, learning about Cryptology and even doing a few secret handshakes, I think. We’ve had over 50 kids here this week, so its been a great success!

Next week, we’ll have one special evening for the kids on Tuesday, March 18th from 7 – 8pm. Easter Craft Night should be fun for those kids ages 7 -11 who love to craft and have some fun. I hope the Easter Bunny makes a visit!

And finally, yesterday, we had Issie visit with the little ones, sharing her wonderful brand of humor and excitement in her music and stories. Thanks again, Issie! You were fantastic!