Fairy Houses Needed!

Do you have shoe boxes hiding in the back of your closet? We would love to take them off your hands, and our garden fairies would be very grateful! We are collecting shoe boxes for our fairy house building program. Please drop off any donations (with or without lids) in the Children's Room. Thank you!

The New England Aquarium Presents Tidepool Adaptations

Maris of The New England Aquarium visited the Hamilton-Wenham Library during vacation week, and we had the chance to observe a variety of coastal critters, including clams, oysters, sea urchins, mussels, snails, sea stars and a bunch of different crabs to name a few.  We learned so many fun facts about sea creatures that live right here at our local beaches.  Some of us even got to dress up as a sea star! After a dynamic presentation, we had the chance to meet and hold the animals in the touch tanks. The wiggly sea star podia, or tube feet, were really neat!

The Fairytale Characters Have Escaped!

Help! Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, plus many other characters have escaped from the pages of their books, and they are hiding in the Children's Room. The Librarians are grateful for your help in finding these beloved characters, so we can get them back into the books where they belong. Stop by the Children's Room to collect your scavenger hunt sheet, and win a wee prize.

Please hurry because Rumpelstiltskin is causing quite a bit of mischief, and he is leaving straw in some of the books.

Family Board Game Night

Family Board Game Night is on Wednesday, April 16th, so stop by the library for some old-fashioned family fun! We are hosting two sessions to try and accommodate your evening schedule. The first is 4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m., and the second is 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. We will have an assortment of games for you to enjoy together as a family. Stay for just a few minutes, or for the hour. No registration is necessary. This program is appropriate for families.

Super Saturdays

The Super Saturday crew had a wonderful time reading about art, painting, and color mixing. Ms. Katie even took out one of her GIANT books for everyone to enjoy. After listening to the stories, we sat down to paint with some pretty unusual objects: cars, toothbrushes, pom poms, shells and pipe-cleaners were just a few of the items we used to create our masterpieces. Everyone contributed to a giant mural, that will hang in the Children's Room for the month of April. Make sure you stop by the Children's Room to take a look at what we made together!

We would love to have you join us for our spring Super Saturdays. For our upcoming April themes click here. To view all of the Super Saturday dates on our complete program schedule click here. 

Waldorf School presents The Old Woman & The Mouse

Join us tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m. in the Children's Room as the Cape Ann Waldorf School presents the puppet show, The Old Woman & The Mouse, a charming tale of kindness from Sweden. After the show, stay and create a soft toy using natural materials that your child can bring home.  This event is offered at no charge and is open to the public. No registration is necessary.

Tessie in the News!

Tessie and her friend Gavin made the front page of the Salem Evening News! Tessie, a certified therapy dog, regularly visits the Hamilton-Wenham Library, and patiently listens to children as they read. Paws to Read offers a unique opportunity for children to practice their reading skills, and spend some quality time cuddling with a very sweet pup.

Tessie visits monthly, so please call or visit the Children's Room, or check the blog for upcoming Paws to Read dates!

Turn Off Your Digital Device

Celebrate Brain Building in Progress Week by turning off your digital device, and join us for some family fun. Enjoy music with Peter Stewart, arts & crafts, and meet local early education specialists. Designed for children birth through 8 years and their families. This program is scheduled for Monday, April 7th from 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Spring 2014 Programs

The weather doesn't exactly scream SPRING, but believe it or not, our spring programs are just around the corner. We have a fantastic line-up this season, plus we have a few extra special programs scheduled for April public school vacation week! Many of the programs have limited space, and registration must be in person in the Children's Room unless otherwise stated. Pre-registration begins on Monday, April 14th at 10 a.m., so please flag that day on your calendar.

For the full program schedule please click here. Hard copies are also available in the Children's Room.

Raindrops Contest Winners!!

Congratulations to

Henry, age 5
and 
Lucy, age 10

Winners of our Raindrops Guessing Contest!
There were

234

"Raindrops" in the jar.

Art Club at the Library

Do you have a budding artist in your house? Our Art Club program is the perfect opportunity to let your kids channel their inner Picasso! Betsy, our art instructor, is full of creative and fun ideas. Last session we made multimedia collages, treasure boxes, and watercolors, just to name a few. Art Club is free and open to the public, and there is no pre-registration necessary. Please pop by for Art Club on Thursday, April 24th, May 22nd, and June 19th at 3:30 p.m., and make something magnificent. To learn more about our Spring 2014 programs click here.

Check out the incredible wax and watercolor paintings our friends made during the last Art Club class.

Paws to Read with Tessie

Sign-ups for April are open for Paws to Read. If you are in Kindergarten through 3rd grade you can register to read to Tessie, a certified therapy dog. Tessie loves to cuddle and listen to kids practice their reading skills. Tessie will join us on Thursday, April 17th. Please visit the front desk in the Children's Room to register.

Chess for Kids

Chess for Kids is back! Join Sandra Stolle, former teacher and chess instructor, on Mondays in March (3, 10, 17, & 24) from 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm to find out how to play the game, learn new moves, and sharpen your skills. Sandra will give you tips to stump your opponents! We still have space, and all skill levels are welcome. Come to all the sessions or just a few. This program is designed for kids in 1st - 6th grade and is offered at no charge. For more information check out the schedule.

A Whale of a Tale

The Whalemobile came to visit the Hamilton-Wenham Library, and it was spectacular! Cynde McInnis taught us about some of the species of whales in our area, and we listened to the different whale sounds.  We also learned about humpback whale identification...it's all in the tail!

After the presentation we walked over to the Recreation Dept. Gymnasium where we got to climb inside the belly of Nile the whale, a life-sized 43-foot inflatable Humpback whale. It was a little dark inside, but we had so much fun! We explored the vertebrae, heart, lungs, stomach esophagus, and ribs. She let us hold real whale bones, teeth, and a huge piece of baleen and let us draw our own whale tails. Thank you to everyone who joined us for this unique and exciting experience.

Time for Teeth

February is National Children's Dental Health month, and we celebrated our beautiful bicuspids with local dentist Dr. Priscilla Magnuson. Dr. Magnuson read stories about visiting the dentist, and demonstrated how to properly brush and floss to keep our smiles healthy. Everyone had a chance to care for the teeth of Skylar the horse, and we sang songs about teeth. Thank you Dr. Magnuson for our brand new toothbrushes!

Legos, Legos, Everywhere

Our Lego Club kids are so creative! We are having so much fun digging through our giant buckets of Legos and making our ideas a reality. This is a drop-in program, so the more the merrier. Check out our Lego Club schedule, and join in the fun.

Winter Fun

Thank you to everyone who joined us for Take Your Child to the Library Day on February 1^st! Willow the wallaby stopped by with author Sheila Cunningham, and shared the incredible story of Willow’s escape from the Stone Zoo. We had a wonderful time together!

Are you watching the 2014 Winter Olympics? We are hosting our own version of the Olympics in the Children's Room. Grab a scavenger hunt sheet over at our Winter Olympics display, and test your skills. When you finish, stop by the desk to pick out a prize, and make a personalized medal to take home. We already have several gold medalists. Great job!

Congratulations Snowball Guessing Winners!

CONGRATULATIONS TO:

Stella & Paloma

Winners of the Hamilton-Wenham Children's Room 2014 Snowball Guessing contest!

There were 596 snowballs.

Time to Register for Winter 2014 Programs!

Winter registration is open! We've brought back the ever popular Baby Bookworms, Music & Movement, and Rhythm & Rhyme.  In addition, Lisa Cheney of Hamilton-Wenham Early Childhood Partners/CFCE  presents a Musical Story Time Jam every Monday at 10:15 am and 11:15 a.m designed for children 0- 5 years. Pre-registration for these programs is required; please contact the Children's Room for more information. 

Drop-in dates for Lego-mania and Art Club are now available. Also, make sure you join us on select Saturdays for Dads & Donuts and Seasonal Stories & Crafts. To view the dates for our Super Saturdays click here.

On February 1st at 11:00 a.m., visit the library to hear the incredible story of Willow the wallaby who escaped the Stone Zoo in 1990. Meet author Shelia Cunningham and a life-sized Willow! (No live wallaby will be present.)

Celebrate National Children's Dental Health month on February 15th at 10:30 a.m. with local dentist Dr. Priscilla Magnuson. Enjoy stories and songs about teeth and dentists. Children will each have a chance to practice brushing on Skyler the horse. For more information click here. No registration is required.

Next, on February 20th at 3:00 p.m., explore the inside of a 43-foot inflatable humpback whale! Children K-6th grade are invited to listen to a 25 minute presentation, then tour the inside of a whale's belly. Explore the vertebrae, heart, lungs, stomach, esophagus, and ribs from the inside, and have an opportunity for hands-on examination of bones, baleen and other artifacts. Space is limited, and pre-registration is required. For more information click here.

For more information about all of our winter programs, or to view the schedule, click here.

We are pleased to welcome Katie Arey and Abigail Walzer, our new Children's Room Assistants. Many of you will recognize Katie, as she has been a substitute here in the room on some Saturdays.  Abigail joined us yesterday, and she is currently attending Simmons Graduate School of Library and Information Science and is excited to be part of our team. Please feel free to stop by and say hello!