Trick or Treat!

This Saturday, October 31st, bring your children to the library for a spooky storytime. Give your children the opportunity to dress up and trick-or-treat in a safe and warm environment. Storytime is 10:30-11. After naptime, check out the Halloween celebration at the Kokomo Events Center beginning at noon! Have a safe and Happy Halloween.

Fall Programs

Summer Reading Club is over, so now what? Well, new programs begin on September 1st! Storytimes will start the first week of September. Regular storytimes will be held on Wednesdays for five consecutive weeks, except for the baby/toddler storytime, which will go for 10 consecutive weeks. Here is a week at a glance:

Tuesday 2-2:30 pm: Baby & Toddler Storytime

Wednesday 10-10:30 am: 2s & 3s Storytime (registration required)

Wednesday 1:30-2 pm: 4s & 5s Storytime (registration required)

Thursdays 1:30-2: All ages Storytime

Family storytimes will be held one Monday evening per month from 7-7:30 pm. The dates are 9/14, 10/5, and 11/2.

Our after school girl's reading club, Circle of the Rose, will continue. Please sign up at the reference desk. You sign up for Fall, so please make sure you can make the meetings. They will be held the second Tuesday of each month. The dates and themes are as follows:
9/8: What's Cooking?
10/13: Stories that go Bump in the Night
11/10: A Royal Pain
12/8: Bake N Shake

NEW! Family Book Club! This is a book club for the whole family. The meetings will be held on Saturdays from 2-3. We are reading books that can be read aloud as a family. Each family gets one copy of the titles chosen. Sign-ups begin one month before the meeting. The first book we are reading is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Sign-ups begin September 1st. You'll need to sign up at the Reference Desk to pick up your copy of the book. The meeting will be October 3rd.

Special events will include our annual Trick-or-Treat Storytime on October 31st from 10:30-11 am and annual PJ Storytime on December 15th from 6:30 to 8 pm.

For more information, check your mailbox starting September 1st for our Fall newsletter or www.khcpl.org.

Babies and Toddlers Storytime

Haven't heard of Mother Goose on the Loose, yet? It is the first baby and toddler storytime offered at the South Branch Library. We use puppets, musical instruments, songs and nursery rhymes for a fun lap-sit program. Worried your child won't sit on your lap? Not a problem! We have all ages and levels of mobility coming to the program. See what MGOL is all about on Tuesday @ 3.

Movement & Dance

We only have two summer storytimes left! Get ready to shake and shimmy for a storytime all about movement. Then, make a craft that can be used for celebrating or just playing.

Tuesday @ 2

Paint me a picture...

This week is all about using color and paint. Three mice explore their world through primary colors. We'll also play games with color, go on a color hunt, and paint a picture without using paintbrushes.

The craft this week is squish paint art. It is fun to make and you never know how the picture will look at the end.

Tuesday @ 2

Going on an Adventure!

We are going to explore the ocean, the jungle, and the outback! Bring your goggles, bug spray, and safari hat to be prepared for an adventure. We may even make it to the moon and back before storytime is over. Make a boomerang for your adventures to Australia!

Tuesday @ 2

Make me laugh!

Summer Reading Club (SRC) has started. We are into our second week already! Storytimes at South are every Tuesday at 2 all summer long. All ages are welcome. This week, we are going to laugh. Think about what makes you laugh. I like silliness and jokes. Then, learn to send your friend a secret silly message.

Tuesday at 2

New Baby Program!

Mother Goose on the Loose is finally here! The South Branch Library will be offering a program just for babies (birth to 24 months) for the first time. Mother Goose on the Loose (MGOL) is a nursery rhyme program that lasts about 30 minutes. It is a fun program that aids with speech development and motor coordination while helping children gain prereading skills, such as matching words with objects and becoming familiar with books.

After the program, please stay to chat with other parents while your children play. We will start at 3 on Tuesday.

Shake Your Hands, Tap Your Feet: Body Parts

Next storytime is all about the body. We will do activities, including shaking and wiggling, that span from the head down to the toes. This will aid your child in self awareness and learning the parts of the body. Practice at home by doing the Hokey Pokey, which is an all-time favorite. Then, come to storytime for Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes. Do it fast, do it slow, here we go!

Last Drop-In storytimes are Wednesday 1:30-2 and Thursday 10-10:30. Don't miss it!

Alligator

Chomp! Chomp! Chomp! Watch out for the alligator! This week, we'll be having fun at the swamp. Just be sure to watch where you step. Hear stories about friendly and mischievous alligators.

Fairies

It is our last girl's reading club meeting for the season. We won't meet again until Fall, September 8th. We've had lots of fun this semester. My favorite project was making homeade play dough using Kool-aid to add color and scent. If you try this project at home, DO NOT USE lemon-lime Kool-aid. It really stinks. The girls and I found out the hard way!

We will be discussing our fairy books in our last meeting. We will unscramble some fairy words, ask a fairy for advice, and make our own magical wands. The fantastical fun begins Tuesday at 4:30.

Mother's Day is this Sunday!

Mother's Day is fast approaching. But don't worry, dad, it is not too late to make a gift from the heart with your child. Come to a celebration of mothers and for mothers this Friday and make beautiful cards. Parents can even make one for their mother.

Friday at 10 we will be sharing stories about special mothers, playing games, and making crafts at the end. Your child can volunteer to be the "mother" to save the "babies" from falling off the parachute!

Barnyard Antics

Next storytime takes place in the barn. Listen to some funny stories about barnyard animals! Tilly drives the other barnyard animals crazy with all her silliness. But after she stops, will the barnyard ever be the same?

Be ready to shake and sing with barnyard animals. We will also have a puppet show starring some of them! To join the action, bring your favorite barnyard item. It can be a stuffed horse, a shovel or tractor. If you can find it on the farm, bring it to share!

Wednesday from 1:30-2 and Thursday from 10-10:30.

Yummy, Craft!

Make a chef's hat, then decorate treats. You need a stapler, tape, tissue paper, and construction paper. You can use all white items, but colors look cute too. Cut a head band for each child. Cut 6 inch strips of tissue paper and tape to the head band. Hold band with taped side facing out, and wrap around child's head to measure and mark. Staple with the tape side facing in. Gather the tissue paper at the top and tape. Then, push the tissue paper through the band and poof out. Wear the chef's hat for the next craft.

Instead of decorating your own treats, save this step for the children at the party! Bake up some cupcakes or cookies. Then, set the table with different colors of icing (just add food coloring), sprinkles, and candy. Or you can do this with fruit for a healthier variation.

Birthday Activities

"London bridge is falling down" Play this game to hand out favors. Two adults or children, maybe the birthday child and a sibling, hold hands up high while the other children walk underneath. On the last line, capture the child under the "bridge." Give the child a favor.

London bridge is falling down,
falling down, falling down,
London bridge is falling down,
Happy Birthday!

"Pass the present" There are two variations on this game. Instead of playing musical chairs, use the concept to pass several presents around in a circle. They should all be wrapped in different color paper. When the music stops, the child holding the present must say the correct color. Alternately, use just one present with lots of layers of wrapping paper. Each time the music stops, the child unwraps one layer. At the end of both games, give treats out to all the children.

Birthday Party Storytime

Happy Birthday to you,
You live in a zoo,
You smell like a monkey,
And you look like one, too!

Bring your favorite stuffed animal to storytime this week to celebrate its birthday! We are going to make a special birthday hat to celebrate each child's age. Learn some fun games to play at your next birthday celebration.

Wednesday at 10 or Thursday at 1:30