Free Library Blog - Posts by Jennifer W.

Summer fun starts at The Free Library!

Jennifer W. — 2011-05-26T09:10:00-05:00

We invite you to Discover the World @ your library.

Kids, teens, and adults can sign up for the summer reading game at your local Free Library branch. You earn prizes for reading and participating in library programs during the program, which runs from June 20 - August 12. Beginning June 1, you can also participate online at freelibrary.org/summerreading where you can make new friends, share book reviews, and enter to win prizes.

What’s so great about summer reading?

Well for starters, you get to choose the books you want to read and read them for fun. My love of participating in summer reading programs began in the fourth grade. A marketing genius at a chain restaurant created a program, wherein children were rewarded for reading with delicious pizza. This program really appealed to me, mostly because it combined my two loves of pizza and books. But the other aspect of the program that I found rewarding was being able to share the books I was reading with the kindly woman who worked the take out counter at my favorite restaurant.

Summer reading at the Free Library is just as much fun! You can find and borrow books you want to read and participate in library programs and make friends with other readers. You win prizes for participating. You probably won’t be rewarded with pizza, but there might be snacks. And you can win free passes to great museums like The Philadelphia Museum of Art and The Penn Museum of Archeology and Anthropology.

What do you love about summer reading? What will you be reading this summer?

Early Literacy Sparks Life Long Learning

Jennifer W. — 2011-02-01T15:33:00-05:00

Books Aloud! is the Free Library’s early literacy program. The goal of the program is to encourage parents and child care providers to READ, SING, PLAY, TALK, and WRITE with children in the early years. We also encourage adults to borrow books from the Free Library so that there are always books available for the little ones.

Attend a Books Aloud! session to learn more about early literacy. Every workshop features interactive literacy activities and a free book for participants!

Lucien E. Blackwell West Philadelphia Regional Library, 125 S. 52nd Street
The first Tuesday of the Month @ 6:30 p.m.

Joseph E. Coleman Northwest Regional Library, 68 W. Chelten Avenue
The second Wednesday of the Month @ 6:30 p.m.

Northeast Regional Library, 2228 Cottman Avenue
The first and third Wednesday of the Month @ 6:30pm

Parkway Central Library, 1901 Vine Street – Skyline Room
The third Saturday of the Month @ 1:30 p.m.

To register for the current month, please call 215-686-5372.

Puppet Show!

Jennifer W. — 2011-01-25T09:00:00-05:00

This Sunday, January 30, Wonder Spark Puppets will visit the library to present the classic tale Little Red Riding Hood. The puppet show will begin at 2:00 p.m. in the Montgomery Auditorium. This program will delight kids of all ages, so bring the little ones and the older ones, and don’t forget grandma and grandpa. Sundays on Stage is made possible by the PCI Board of Managers.

Try making puppets at home!

There are great library books to borrow that will provide direction and inspiration.

Simple Puppets From Everyday Materials by Barbara MacDonald Buetter includes easy to follow instructions that show you how to turn the junk around your house and the stuff in your recycling bin into puppets.

Make Your Own Puppets & Puppet Theaters by Carolyn Carreiro is another great book. This book includes creative ideas for sock puppets, stick puppets, shadow puppets and much more!

You can also do a quick online search for finger puppets and you will see hand crafted finger puppets, templates for finger puppets, tons of examples, and plenty of inspiration to make your very own puppets.

Fun filled learning!

Making and playing with puppets is so much fun. An added bonus is the early literacy skills that your child develops as a result of this activity. When children act out stories by using puppets they develop vocabulary, the ability to tell a story, and an understanding of the sequencing of stories.

Visit the Free Library’s Books Aloud page to learn more about early literacy http://www.freelibrary.org/libserv/booksaloud.htm.

Sundays on Stage

Jennifer W. — 2010-10-04T14:51:00-05:00

The Sundays on Stage fall season got off to a stellar start on October 4, when the Philadelphia Capoeira Arts Center performed the unique Afro-Brazilian art form known as Capoeira. The artists appeared to defy gravity as they jumped, flipped, and cartwheeled through the air. Mestre Doutor, the founder and artistic director of the group, invited the audience to join the group on stage to learn and experience Capoeira in action.

Don’t miss the next Sundays on Stage performance on October 17 at 2 p.m. We are honored to welcome Kinobe and the Soul Beat.

http://www.kinobemusic.com