Read for the Record!

On Thursday, October 6, 2011, we'll be joining with millions of others around the country who will be reading Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney.  Help us set a reading world record AND call for an end to America's early education achievement gap.

We'll all have fun -- and we'll be standing up for kids!  Join us for our special storytimes at any of the following locations this Thursday, October 6, as we participate in Jumpstart: Read for the Record.

• Children's Services, Main Library, 10:00 a.m.
• Aboite Branch, 10:30 a.m.
• Dupont Branch, 10:30 a.m.
• New Haven Branch, 10:30 a.m.
• Shawnee Branch, 11:00 a.m.
• Woodburn Branch, 1:00 p.m.
• Little Turtle Branch, 1:30 p.m.
• Grabill Branch, 7:00 p.m.
• Hessen Cassel Branch, 6:30 p.m.
• Waynedale Branch, 7:00 p.m.

Those Stuffed Animals Kept Us Up Late...

...but we all had so much fun!  Thanks to everyone who came -- we thoroughly enjoyed getting to meet and play with you and your stuffed friends.  Below are some photos we took of our adventures in the library.

It's Time for Another Stuffed Animal Sleepover at the Library!

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear,

Turn around!

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear,

Touch the ground!

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear,

Turn out the light.

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear,

Say "Goodnight".

Kids are invited to bring their stuffed animals to the Main Library in downtown Fort Wayne on Friday evening, July 22.  Wear your pajamas!  We'll have a bedtime storytime, and then we'll tuck your stuffed friends into bed for the night.  Stuffed friends may be picked up anytime on Saturday during library hours, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., along with a memory book of their overnight adventures.

Letter Play Day with Letters Q and U

Visit the downtown library this Wednesday with your preschooler!  We'll have storytime in the morning -- 9:30am for daycares and other groups; 10:30am for families -- and we'll have extra-special activities set up in the Early Learning Center, all about Letter Q and Letter U.

Learning about letters is an important pre-reading activity.  Click on the links for more Letter Q and Letter U fun!

Babies and Toddlers and Books!!

Fridays are exciting days in Children's Services. Why? Because it's Baby & Toddler Storytime day! We have storytime for Babies -- newborn through 18 months -- at 10:00 a.m. on Friday mornings, AND we have storytime for Toddlers -- 18 months through 3 years of age -- at 10:30 and 11:00 a.m.

If you have a baby or toddler, we hope you'll join us for storytime. And be sure to get them started on the Summer Reading Program! Sharing books with babies is important -- and fun!

Brush, Brush, Brush!

Join us for storytime!

On Wednesday morning, February 16, join us for stories in celebration of Dental Health Month. We'll sing songs and read books. We will have a special visitor who will talk about how to brush your teeth and will even give out free toothbrushes!

We have two storytimes for preschoolers scheduled every Wednesday at the Main Library in downtown Fort Wayne:

• 9:30 Storytime for preschool and daycare groups (Call and let us know your group is coming!)
  
• 10:30 Storytime for families (No need to call; just come on in!)

We hope you'll join us for storytime!

Learn Not To Burn!

Join us on Wednesday morning, February 9th, for a Burn Awareness storytime with special guests from the St. Joe Hospital Burn Unit/Lutheran Health Network. We'll read a story, sing some songs, and practice being safe around things that are hot. After storytime, every child will receive a free Fire Safety Activity Book and a Fort Wayne Fire Department Fire Safety Coloring Book.

We have two storytimes for preschoolers scheduled every Wednesday at the Main Library in downtown Fort Wayne:

• 9:30 Storytime for preschool and daycare groups (Call and let us know your group is coming!)
  
• 10:30 Storytime for families (No need to call; just come on in!)

We hope you'll join us for storytime!

Mischief -- Stuffed Animal Style

Have you ever wondered what your stuffed animals do at night? After storytime yesterday evening, we tucked all of our friends into bed for the night. They didn't do much sleeping, but it does appear that they had plenty of fun! Check out the photos of last night's Stuffed Animal Sleepover!



Owners may pick up their friends anytime today between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

No Storytimes at Main Library this Week

Children's Services librarians are continuing the Storytellers on the Move program this week, delivering books and telling stories to area preschools and daycares, so there will be no storytimes held at the Main Library this week. However, you can still attend storytimes at one of our branch libraries -- click here for a calendar of times and locations!

Storybook Theater Photos

Oh, what a great time we had at Smart Start Storytime this week!
Leslie Hormann from the Fort Wayne Youtheatre joined us to present
Storybook Theater.

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Leslie shared the following stories with us:

• Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
• The Mitten
• Tammy the Turtle and the Leprechaun
• The Adventures of Isabel
  

Special Storytime Guests!

Please join us tomorrow for a special storytime with the Fort Wayne Youtheatre!

9:30am storytime for groups (please register by calling 421-1220)

10:30am storytime for families

After storytime, be sure to visit the Early Learning Center, where we will be celebrating Letter T Day!

Ballet Dreams

Today we were excited to welcome a special guest to storytime!

Miss Lucia Rogers of the Fort Wayne Ballet joined us for a story, she taught us some dance steps, answered our questions about dance, and then some of us had our picture taken with her!

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Thanks, Miss Lucia! We loved having you visit storytime and tell us about Ballet!

It's Smart Start Storytime Day!

Preschoolers -- join us at Main Library at 10:30 today! Hooray! We'll be reading stories, singing songs, making a pumpkin craft (glue alert!) and playing with the little sounds that make up words. Grown-ups call that Phonological Awareness because they like to give big names to the skills kids need to learn to read when they're older. We just call it Storytime Fun! Click here to find the days and times for storytimes at all of our ACPL locations.

Pre-Reading Skills

There are six early literacy skills that your child must master before beginning school in order for them to become proficient readers. Once you know what the skills are, incorporating them into your daily interactions with your child is easy!
Bringing your child to the library for storytime is one easy way to reinforce those pre-reading skills. We explain briefly what the skills are and then we model using them in fun and exciting ways!
Join us every Wednesday morning and Friday morning for storytimes at the downtown library!
Our storytimes are fun and they really will help prepare your child for reading!
Please join us!

Smart Start Storytime for Preschoolers
Wednesdays at 9:30 am for preschools, daycares and other groups
Wednesdays at 10:30 am for children and their adult caregiver
Storytimes for Babies
Fridays at 10:00 am
Storytimes for Toddlers
Fridays at 10:30 am
Fridays at 11:00 am

Storytime with the New American Youth Ballet

Make plans now to join us for a special storytime on Tuesday afternoon, October 5, at 2:00, in the Globe Room at the Main Library.

The New American Youth Ballet will bring a portion of the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to share with us.

The ballerina portraying Snow White will be here and some of the Seven Dwarfs as well. It promises to be great fun for younger children and their families! (We will also have lots of books about Snow White available to check out.)

We hope you can join us!

When: Tuesday, October 5 at 2:00 pm

Who: Kids in preschool through 2nd grade and their families

What: Special Snow White storytime featuring dancers from Fort Wayne's own New American Youth Ballet

Language and Literacy Begin at Birth!

Children begin learning about language and literacy from the moment they are born -- and these early experiences affect their ability to learn to read as they get older.

Check out this 5-minute video, provided by Zero to Three, that demonstrates some of the ways early experiences affect children's language and literacy development.

Storytimes at the library are developed to reflect these important experiences. We offer storytimes for babies, toddlers and preschoolers as a fun experience for young children, but more importantly, to provide adults with ideas and information to help them provide these experiences for their children when they are not at the library.

Questions? Ask us -- we'll be more than happy to help!

Stuffed Animal Sleepover Photos

We sure had a rip-roaring time with our stuffed animal guests at our Stuffed Animal Sleepover! After story time, we tucked the animals into bed for the night, but we caught them out of bed on several occasions! On Saturday, all of our stuffed guests went home with their families, with a memory book and friendship bracelet to share.

Animals at the Library?!? WHAT?!?

Tonight is our Stuffed Animal Sleepover!

Friday, August 27 5:00 pm

Wear your pajamas, bring your stuffed friend and listen to a bedtime story at 5:00 pm tonight.

After our story time, you will tuck your stuffed animal into "bed" and wish her sweet dreams. While you return home to your own snuggly beds, your stuffed pal will get to have fun in the library overnight! Who knows what they will do ~ where they will go...

Come back on Saturday morning at 9:00 am to pick up your friend and "hear" about all the mischief they got into after hours at the library!

All stuffed participants will take home a photo memory book of their overnight adventures in the library.

Babies and Books!

Did you know that every Friday morning, we have three storytimes for babies and toddlers at the Main Library?

Did you know that all of our Branch Libraries also provide storytimes for babies & toddlers?

Have you ever wondered WHY we dedicate so much time to children this age? Well, we want to tell you why!

Come to Babies, Books and Brain Development and find out...
**WHY reading with babies and toddlers is so important
**WHAT kinds of materials and resources the library has for your baby
**HOW you can help your children learn to LOVE books and reading from a very early age

Babies, Books and Brain Development
Monday, August 23, 2010
7:00 p.m.

**All participants will receive a free gift and a certificate of completion. **

Smart Start Storytime Fun Fun Fun

Check out the fun that was had at our Smart Start Storytime last Wednesday ~ we sing, we dance, we read, we laugh, we rhyme and we have fun!
Please join us tomorrow or any Wednesday for our Smart Start Storytime!

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