Libraries host fun for children
Published 10:53 pm Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Shawna LoMonaco’s young audience couldn’t have been more attentive.
The Rivers Bend Academy children listening to her read “Some Dogs Do” and other stories on Wednesday at the Chuckatuck Library were quiet as mice.
![At Chuckatuck Library on Wednesday, Shawna LoMonaco, library assistant for Youth and Family Services, reads to a group of 9- through 12-year-olds from Rivers Bend Academy, which caters to autistic children.](https://www.suffolknewsherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2014/04/IMG_2404.jpg)
At Chuckatuck Library on Wednesday, Shawna LoMonaco, library assistant for Youth and Family Services, reads to a group of 9- through 12-year-olds from Rivers Bend Academy, which caters to autistic children.
Until, that is, the book was finished and LoMonaco led them in a dance to the song “Roly Poly.”
Storytime, as the event is called, will continue every Wednesday at 11 a.m. through May 21, experience a brief hiatus and then resume again for the duration of summer break, according to Allyson Renell, youth and library services manager at downtown Suffolk’s Morgan Memorial Library.
“It’s definitely a great way to keep their minds active during the spring break,” she said of the Suffolk Public Library System’s children’s program.
They events “are fun, but also have an educational element, so (the children) are learning and also having a good time.”
North Suffolk Library, meanwhile, has Spectacular Saturday Stories from 10 a.m., with the next installment this weekend. The monthly event is usually the second or first Saturday, depending on the availability of staff, Renell said.
While the story events are intended for children of all ages, Renell described several attractions for elementary school children, starting with Creation Exploration.
On Monday at North Suffolk Library, from 4 p.m., the younger children will explore shipbuilding, Renell said, adding, “It’s all about how ships work, how they float and the science behind that.”
Then, the same time on Tuesday at Morgan Memorial Library, Extreme Water will involve hand-on experiments and activities about the science behind water.
“We want to provide fun things for them to do at the library,” Renell said. “Most of the programs are all hands-on and explore different topics; some are science based, some are art-based, and there’s STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) as well.”
Preschool children are also included. At Morgan Memorial Library from 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Music and Movement will get them up and dancing, according to Renell, and Family Storytime at North Suffolk Library, from 10 a.m. on Tuesday, will cover the topic of spring.
From 2 p.m. on the same day at North Suffolk Library, a gardening program will run for 6- to 9-year-olds, and it will be repeated at Morgan Memorial Library at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Renell said.
Meanwhile, Spring into Art is set for the North Suffolk Library at 11 a.m. April 17, and 2 p.m. the next day at Morgan Memorial Library, where children will “explore different mediums of art, such as collage and painting, to name a few,” Renell said.
On Thursday and Friday next week, she said, a library-wide Easter egg hunt will go “all day long” on both days, with prizes up for grabs.
Renell encouraged parents to register for events, by calling North Suffolk Library at 514-7150 or Morgan Memorial Library at 514-7323, but she said walk-ins wouldn’t be turned away.
Back at Chuckatuck Library on Wednesday, the academy’s Karyn Waterfield said its students “love getting out into the community to learn, sing and have fun. Coming to storytime really creates an opportunity for our students to learn outside of the classroom.”