We’re going to be away at the Ontario Library Association Super Conference for a few days, so storytime and babytime are cancelled this week.
Don’t worry, you can still sign up for next week by calling 257-2702. We’ll be excited to get back at it. As usual, however, if the buses are cancelled due to poor weather conditions, we don’t run programs. Please listen to your local radio station for more details, or watch here on Facebook for a post.
See you next week!
No, I don’t mean we’re starting from scratch. We’re just getting back into our regular programs. It’s going to be a fun year!
First up this week is Storytime. We still have spaces for the 9:30am session, and the 10:15am session, so give us a call right away to save your place. And as always, if the buses are cancelled, please remember there will be no storytime session that week.
And we’re welcoming babies back on Thursday, January 8th! This is a six-week session only, Thursday mornings at 9:30. Don’t worry, you don’t have to attend all of them (babies are very unpredictable), but try to make it to one at least. You’ll meet other parents, and your babies will have a chance to socialize. Once again, give us a call to register, and watch our Facebook page in case of bad weather adjustments.
We’ve had a great fall session, but storytime, babytime and toddler time are finishing up for the end of the year. This week, we’ll have the last storytime and toddler time meet-ups, and then we’ll take a break until 2015.
If you have been attending on a regular basis, we’ll make an announcement when you’re here this week regarding registration for 2015. If you can’t make it, please watch this space, as well as the library Facebook page for more information. For most of it, we’ll start registering in early December.
It’s been a wonderful fall, and we can’t wait to see all of our favourite faces in the new year!
We’re gearing up for the fall, and that means programs for the youngest members of our community! Yes, Babytime will run from Sept. 11 through Oct. 16th…every Thursday morning at 9:30am.
This is a wonderful program for children aged 0 – 12 months and their parents or caregivers. Come with a coffee, if you like, and join us for songs, rhymes, tickle games and much more! It’s a wonderful way for parents to bond with baby, and to meet other parents and their children. Many great friendships have been made during babytime at the library, so we hope you’ll plan on attending!
Call us to register today. We’ll give you a quick reminder call in September, and then we’re off to the races!
We’re getting ready for a new season of babies at the library! This is such a fun program for parents and babies, both. It only lasts about 20 – 30 minutes, but then there’s plenty of time for everyone to sit and chat. The babies love to interact with other babies, and it’s a time for parents to talk with other parents and maybe make some future bonds. After all, your children will probably be going to school together eventually, so this is a great time to get to know one another.
This is a literacy based program, but really, it’s about songs, tickle rhymes and stories. We’re going to have some EXTRA fun this time round, too, with a clothing exchange and much more. So, if you have a child who is 0 – 12 months, you can call right now to sign up, or drop by the library. We can’t wait to see you in May!
The beginning of the year is a great time to get started on new things. Maybe you’ve taken up a new workout regime. Or maybe you’ve decided to read more books this year. Whatever you’ve taken on, it’s nice to have someone help out on days when you might not feel quite as inspired. Even if you haven’t started anything new, there are plenty of fun things you can try on a daily basis, such as taking a photo and posting it on Instagram, or using a writing prompt to come up with a fun blog or Facebook post.
WordPress, the blogging format we use for this blog, has a great area for daily or weekly challenges. You can choose from photographic challenges, writing challenges or anything in between. And if you’ve started your own inspired challenge, why not submit it there so that others can play along?
I decided to try the Daily Prompt, which looked like a lot of fun. When I started writing this post, it was Monday, Jan. 13th, so the challenge was this:
Click over to whatever website you visit most frequently to get news. Find the third headline on the page. Make sure that headline is in your post.
Photographers, artists, poets: show us a CURRENT EVENT.
For me, the website I use most for news is CNN.com. The third headline on the page reads:
All right, this is a controversial little headline, isn’t it? I wasn’t sure if this was supposed to be something I “showed” through a photo, poem or drawing, as stated in the prompt, but after reading through quite a few of the linked posts, there seemed to be plenty of options. People wrote opinions, shared a memory from the past or included photos and drawings.
After thinking about it for a while, I realized that churches and libraries have many things in common. They are places of refuge, public buildings where anyone should be welcomed, quiet spaces used for reflection and knowledge. But as with many public places, a wide variety of people will congregate there, and when you have people of different ages and backgrounds, you’ll also get a lot of conflicting ideas about what is acceptable in that space and what is not.
We don’t discourage mothers from breast-feeding at the library, but many choose to cover up when they are here. Often, they’ll bring older children as well as the baby, and so spend much of their time in the children’s area. Children tend not to even notice when a mother is breastfeeding in the library, whereas, adults will often stay clear of the couch or chair where the feeding is happening. Why is it so uncomfortable for people when it is such a natural thing? I suppose it’s because we’re not familiar with the person doing the breastfeeding—not familiar enough to disregard the nudity as “normal”, maybe?
When we began our babytime sessions at the library, a change happened that I wasn’t expecting. Many of the mothers openly breastfeed during the session, whether or not there are fathers there. They are performing a simple task—-feeding their child—not doing anything of a sexual nature, and so, they go about their “job” in total acceptance. So far, we haven’t had anyone complain or mention they don’t feel comfortable. I hope we continue to foster an environment where everyone feels safe and at ease and accepted.
Which brings me to the Church and the fact that the Pope has announced it is okay for women to breastfeed during a service. (Yay!) I must admit, for the sake of this writing prompt, I didn’t want to read anything more than the headline, but I assume that at some point, it wasn’t okay for women to breastfeed in Church for the Pope to make this earth-shattering announcement. Which makes me wonder why? Because of the partial nudity? Because breasts are also considered “sexual”? Because it made some people uncomfortable? One look at artwork depicting religious events would make one think that breastfeeding was perfectly natural and part of the religious experience. Have you ever seen a painting in any Church where a mother is feeding her baby with a bottle? No! Of course not, and so to expect mothers to either ignore their child’s hunger while in Church, or be expected to sneak out for a feeding, is asking too much. While it might not be acceptable to eat in Church, babies don’t manage their hunger around events, and isn’t this about the baby?
I’m glad that the Pope has made this rule for the Catholic Church, although I think it’s something that shouldn’t need to have been addressed at all. Mothers, be sensitive to those around you, and people in the crowd, let moms and babies go about this natural activity without shaming them. It’ll be a much nicer world overall.
Next week, we begin all of our programs for young children at the library. First up is Storytime! This year, we’ll be doing things a little differently because of all-day Kindergarten in the area. Storytime will take place every Wednesday only, from 10 – 11am, and will be for children aged 2 – 5. We’re expecting lots of kids, and we’ll allow a few more than usual to accommodate the single session each week, but we still require PRE-REGISTRATION each week. Just drop by the library or call us to book a space. It’ll be a fun hour of stories, rhymes, music and crafts. Parents stay with their children and we expect everyone to be here right on time, as we’ll start right at 10am sharp! First session is Wednesday, September 11th!
Next up is Babytime. Our babytime sessions have been so popular, we’ve decided to run them in six-week sessions each season. That means our first session will run from September 12 – October 17th. We meet on Thursday mornings at 9:30am for half an hour. There will be plenty of songs and stories, and lots of time for parents and babies to socialize afterward. We’ve got a nice list already of people who are going to attend, so please call to register before this session fills up. Babytime is for children aged 0 – 12 months. Your child must be within that range for the entire session, please. Our next session will take place in January.
Sign up for storytime or babytime today so that you reserve a place for you and your child! Hurry, the sessions will fill up quickly!
