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Encourage a life-long love for reading and join us for Story Time. While we are in our temporary facility, we will be hosting a condensed version of story time with simple stories and songs. The program is designed for pre-school children. Children must be accompanied by a parent or responsible adult. Free to attend and no registration is required. Start Date: September 12, 2017 Day of the Week: Tuesday (weekly) Time: 10:30am - 11:00am Location: Strathmore Library (116 - 3rd Ave.) Website: www.strathmorelibrary.ca/storytime
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Get crafty with us! This FREE afterschool kids program is designed for children in grades 1 - 6. Younger children are welcome to participate with adult assistance. No registration is required. Start Date: September 11, 2017 Day of the Week: Monday (weekly) Time: 4:00pm - 5:00pm Location: Wheatland Society of Arts Studio/Gallery (115 - 3rd Ave.) Website: www.strathmorelibrary.ca/crafternoon
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GoFund Your New Library! The library has a small dedicated budget to furnish our renovated space, but it is not enough to give you the library that you deserve. We want to build the love of reading in your children by providing them a fun and educational space to learn. With new children’s shelves and fun furniture, you will see your child’s eyes light up with excitement as they walk into the library! Picture the soft light of a fireplace as you sit with your friends, drinking tea or coffee from our beverage station, and talking about your new favourite book! Or imagine a new trendy teen zone, where your teen will have a safe space to relax, visit with friends, or work on homework. Last, picture a large meeting room with a small kitchenette to host your child’s next birthday party or group meeting you’ve desperately searched for space to host. With your support, these dreams can become realities and we can make the library a beautiful, viable, and welcoming space for you and your family. If you would like to donate to the library, or get your name up on our donor wall, check out our GoFundMe page at www.gofundme.com/building-the-library-you-deserve, or drop by the library for more information.
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Director's Corner - Rachel Dick Huges
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Our hot summer has flown by, and it has been a busy one! We are settling in to our temporary space. Thank you again to everyone who helped us move, and to all of you for your patience and understanding during this renovation process. We appreciate the way you share the space and are making the best of things right along with us. Due to our space constraints, we do not have quite the fall programming lineup that we are used to. We are beginning a modified Story Time for preschoolers Tuesday mornings at 10:30 as of September 12th. We plan to see how this goes in our little space, and hope to soon add Baby Rhyme Time and Night Time Tales if possible. Thanks to our wonderful friends at the Wheatland Society of Arts across the street, we will be running our Monday Crafternoon program in their space beginning September 11th. Come and be inspired by their beautiful art as you make your own creations! And we have a new program starting up just for teens! To learn more about our Teen Advisory Council, join us on September 12th at Wheatland Society of Arts from 6-8pm. During this transition time, we will be dreaming about and planning for new programming possibilities that our expanded space might offer. Thanks to those who have provided ideas and suggestions. If you have some feedback about changes you would like to see for our existing programs or new programs you would love, please let us know. Now to books! If you are anything like me, your hopes for reading this summer may have exceeded what was possible in reality! The stack by my bedside is taller than ever. I did finish one book on vacation last week (only one!) called A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding by Jackie Copleton. This book tells the tragic fictional story of a woman who lost her daughter and grandson in the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. A man claiming to be her grandson appears at her door one day, bringing with him letters from the past and reminders of family secrets. If you enjoy historical fiction and debut novels, this book is a good choice. Another interesting book of historical fiction is The Paris Architect by Charles Belfoure. This book reminded me of the film Inglorious Bastards, both for the subject matter and the suspenseful storytelling. It contains some graphic violence and is not for everyone, but it tells a fascinating story of a timid and self-interested architect who reluctantly becomes an expert at designing hiding places for Jews on the run during the Nazi occupation of Paris.
For a unique and quick read, try Jenny Offill’s Dept. of Speculation. It follows the ups and downs of a marriage through the perspective of a narrator referred to only as “the wife.” If you are a new parent, you may enjoy one of my favourite quotes from the book: “And that phrase – ‘sleeping like a baby.’ Some blonde said it blithely on the subway the other day. I wanted to lie down next to her and scream for five hours in her ear.” This book is both witty and moving, and I really enjoyed it. As summer turns to autumn and new routines begin, may you find quiet moments to enjoy a good book!
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Teen Advisory Council Comes to the Library! - Karla Mallach
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Empowering teenagers and believing in their potential gives them agency in their own stories and in the lives of those around them. This mindset is the foundation for developing a Teen Advisory Council (T.A.C) here in Strathmore. Teen Advisory Council is a unique opportunity for teens to be involved in their local library and empowered to help shape their community. Every group looks different, and here in Strathmore we want to centre ours on the needs and interests of our group members. Practically speaking, we want our T.A.C to be involved in decorating the new teen space in our renovated library, to be part of choosing our YA book collection, and to be actively involved in maintaining the space for years to come. We want our teens to be empowered in leadership opportunities; to help us develop clubs & activities that make a safe and engaging space for teens to connect. Ultimately, we want our T.A.C to be active in the community as well, and hope that our teens will feel encouraged to step into other leadership roles around them. Teenagers truly have the capacity to shape this world in incredible ways. T.A.C is not just about loving books or advocating for libraries. It is about the community investing in teens and teens having an opportunity to invest back into the community. It is a program for teens, designed and run by teens, where we want to make a space for teenagers to create a library experience they love!
Our Open House Hang Out is September 12th @ 6-8 pm at the Wheatland Society of Arts Studio. Stop by and learn more about how you, or someone you know, can get involved!
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Summer Reading has come to a Close - Genista & Alicia
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It must be true that time flies when you’re having fun, because the Summer Reading Program just wrapped up for another year, leaving us all wondering "where did summer go?!" With fall upon us, we thought that a look back at the summer might be in order: This year the TD Summer Reading program theme was Canada’s 150th Birthday! We channeled the theme into our reading goal, which was to read our way across our country. All of the groups did an impressive amount of reading and, in total, we read over 1200 hours in the seven week program!! Each week we talked about a province, territory, or region in Canada through the selections of books and activities for each day, including making Orca crafts to learn about the West Coast, creating walruses out of paper plates to learn about Hudson’s bay, and reading Anne of Green Gables to get a feel of Prince Edward Island. Friday Fun Days were also a highlight. These were busy and fun-filled, with all ages participating. Some our favourite ones were Bunsch-of-Munsch day, when we celebrated the amazing (and CANADIAN) stories of Robert Munsch, and our mural painting day, where we worked on canvas pieces for a collaborative mural that will be a part of the newly renovate library! The opportunity to learn about our country with the kids through the program and to be able to share our love of reading was so wonderful for us coordinators and volunteers. We had a blast! It truly was an awesome and amazing summer for us and we hope it was for everyone else as well!
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Building Skills by Reading Aloud with Children - Heather Ulmer
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Over the summer, many of our young library patrons were delighted to participate in the TD Summer Reading Program. One of the best aspects of this program, besides the endless fun, is the reading material that Genista and Alicia shared with the participants. Because the SRP’s theme was Canada 150, there was an opportunity each week to read books aloud with the children that demonstrated culturally or ethnically diverse story lines, settings, and characters, as well as showcasing different human experiences. It is necessary to share diverse stories with children because they will begin to learn about other people’s lives and relate to the characters. This will teach children the importance of empathy and kindness. As kids head back to school and a normal routine sets in, parents or caregivers have a great opportunity to read with their children at a set time every day. Perhaps this will come in the form of a bedtime story, or an after school reading. When a parent makes time to set a reading routine, it conveys that books are important and valuable. Reading books aloud to your child that are slightly above their reading level, even after they have learned to read independently, will help them stretch their vocabulary and understanding of different themes, as well as encourage them to improve their own reading skills. Do not substitute or skip over challenging words because they create an opportunity for learning. Don’t be afraid to put the story on pause to explain things or ask your child questions about what they think is going on. Reading aloud helps develop listening skills, inspires imagination, and builds closeness with caregivers. If you are unsure of what to read to your child, or struggle to find books that they like, we are more than happy to help you out here at the library! It is often beneficial to allow your child to select their own books because they know what they prefer and will typically enjoy these the most. Some of my current favourite picture books include “Don't Wake Up the Tiger” by Britta Teckentrup, an interactive and intriguing story; “Leaping Lemmings!” by John Briggs, an adorable story about being unique; and “I Want My Hat Back” by Jon Klassen, a book with simple language and a humourous twist. Book series are a wonderful device for encouraging children and teens to become attached to characters and plots, while inviting them to continue reading on. Harry Potter, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Magic Tree House, The Hunger Games, Silverwing, and The Chronicles of Narnia are some popular titles that a range of kids will enjoy. We have many of these available at our library, but because a large portion of our collection is in storage while we are in our temporary location it is a great time to try ordering books through www.tracpac.ab.ca. Simply login using your barcode and pin number (the last 4 digits of your phone number) and search through our enormous catalogue. Your order will be shipped to our library for easy pickup. As always, if you need assistance ordering, finding appropriate reading material, or a variety of other helpful services, do not hesitate to stop by and ask!
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