Tag: kids activities

Updates and Looking Ahead to Summer

Posted on by Laura Daugherty

Over a year has passed since we began to respond to the challenges of COVID-19, and we appreciate your patience, support, and willingness to comply with our best efforts to keep our staff and community healthy. We are excited to share even more updates with you that may remind you of pre-pandemic days.

We have returned to regular operating hours!

Stop in and see us:
Mon-Thurs: 10-7
Fri: 10-1
Sat: 10-2

ALL stacks are open for browsing!

We trust that you will continue helping us with our sanitizing efforts by utilizing our sanitizing stations and placing books that you no longer wish to check out on the designated tables.

You will also have a few more seating options as we slowly add well-spaced furniture pieces. We are thrilled to see everyone safely browsing the shelves and enjoying the library space. As always, we are here to help if you need assistance locating items or accessing our services.

 

Along with our cleaning and sanitizing procedures, there are a few other precautions that will remain. First, we strongly encourage all library visitors to wear a face covering regardless of vaccination status, until further CDC guidance is received. Next, computer station/time limits and our curbside pickup service will remain. Finally, we will continue to restrict in-person programming based on the number of participants and space. Here’s what you can expect for summer programming:

    • A blend of virtual and outdoor programming
    • The Summer Reading Program includes MANY fun events. Some will occur virtually while others will be held either outdoors at the library or at Cedar Creek Park. Details about these events can be found on our Summer Reading Program website page. All registration, logging, and tickets is now on Beanstack.
    • Growing with Gardens Club will be held outside on the library patio (weather permitting).
    • Miss Judy will hold chalk days once a month for her Tiny Tykes. If you are signed up for Tiny Tykes, you will receive information about this through your email.
    • We are now offering one-on-one how-to sessions on E-mail, Microsoft Word, Google Chrome, Google Search Engine, and Power Library. Click here to schedule your session.
    • Masks and social distancing encouraged. At all events, we appreciate your efforts to be socially distant and wear face coverings.

Whether it’s been a virtual basket raffle, Facebook guessing games, live videos, or take-home packets, you have been there to support us. We appreciate your continued support as we plan upcoming programs and resources for the community to enjoy.

 

Bringing You a Virtual Library

Posted on by Laura Daugherty

These past few weeks have been a scramble to make decisions and adapt resources. As a result of the outbreak of COVID-19, our physical location is closed until further notice. Thankfully, the digital library world is taking some time to shine. Besides the physical items available in our building, we have access to an abundance of eBooks, audiobooks, databases, and other digital resources. Our goal in this time is to share those with you so you can continue learning and enjoying.

Our new website page At Home Resource Collection is an archive of all the websites and activities we have been sharing on our Facebook page. Artists and organizations have showed astounding generosity and support through the materials they have chosen to freely share.

We at Rostraver Library have also been trying to provide you with remote programs. Check out what we’ve tried so far:

Thursday Storytime and Crafts

Each Thursday, Miss Kelly will alternative between Storytime and demonstrating a craft. The supplies for the craft will be posted ahead of time so you can follow along with prepared materials. Tune in at 10:30AM!

Crafts:

April 9th – Easter Gnome Sock Bunny

April 23rd – Bottle Cap Flower

Storytime:

April 16th

April 30th

Dance Around the World

Dance Around the World has moved to Facebook Live!

So far, we’ve virtually explored Irish Step Dancing and Tap. Miss Laura gives a little bit of history on the dances, demonstrates steps, and puts together a combination to get you moving at home! Dance Around the World occurs monthly, so stay tuned for the next dance in May.

Growing with Gardens

Our garden club has started, and you can find all the videos in our Growing with Gardens Facebook playlist.

Start the series by making your own Garden Journal. After that, move on to learn about seedlings, plant seeds, and listen to the birds.

Don’t forget to stay caught up with our updates on how the plants are growing. Along the way, make crafts, hear stories, and do experiments! This uncertain time may prevent us from working on the library garden together, but it provides the perfect opportunity to get outside, start a garden, or observe plants indoors at home.

Virtual LEGO Club

Do you miss our monthly LEGO club meetings? Try out an online version through our Facebook page.

A weekly LEGO challenge will be posted on Facebook to inspire your creations! If you send us a picture of you and/or your child’s creation, we will share it in our LEGO Club album.

This is open to ALL ages, and we welcome building supplies other than LEGOs! Just like our monthly LEGO club meetings, the goal is to encourage creativity, ingenuity, and fun.

 

We will continue adding to our existing programs and thinking of new ways to maintain our community of learning, growing, and connecting. Please share any feedback and ideas with us. If you’d like to see us try something virtually, let us know in the comments!

We miss interacting with all of you, and we are grateful that we can still reach some of you through social media. Thank you for your ongoing support.

If you would like to see this level of programming continue, please make a donation to Rostraver Public Library. You can donate directly by clicking this link.

Keep up with our services and events by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Library Tour: Challenge Room/Makerspace

Posted on by Laura Daugherty

At Rostraver Library, we strive to fill our space with opportunities to advance learning, community, and discovery. Sometimes, a standard walk through the library doesn’t offer patrons the full picture of our resources and creative nooks. This post is the first of a series that will shine a spotlight on different sections of the library. First up – the Challenge Room/Makerspace!

This area is located in what patrons commonly know as the Book Sale Room. You can find it by making the first right as you walk into the building. The room is past the bathrooms at the end of the hallway, and it is free to use during library hours. Although this room is packed with different uses and purposes, there is still ample space for exploring the book sale or working on a project.

Walk down the hallway to find the Book Sale/Makerspace/Challenge Room

When you walk in, you may see the shelves crowded with bins and boxes. These are organized and labeled so you can have easy access for your creative project. Some of the supplies include crayons, markers, paint tools, tape, scissors, paper towels, stamps, and more. On the far right shelf, we have various puzzles, mazes, building sets, and activity packs available for in-library use. All of these materials on the wooden shelves are part of the Makerspace and can be used in projects.

Our Makerspace materials

The metal shelves on the right half of the room contain the Challenge Trays and other technology for learning opportunities. Currently, we have four Challenge Trays along with other assorted robotics and materials. The concept behind the Challenge Trays is to develop STEM learning and provide opportunities for children and their families to learn together.

The Simple Machines Challenge Tray

An example of our Challenge Trays is the Simple Machines tray. This green wooden bin contains a reference sheet with learning prompts, resources, and explanation on simple machines. From there, participants can explore the box of activity cards that lay out the different types of simple machines and challenge the learner to build them using the simple machines kit. In addition to these central pieces, there are various machine parts (slinky, clasps, etc.) to foster more building possibilities.

One of the activity cards in the Simple Machines Challenge Tray
There are instructions/reference sheets in each Challenge Tray

Thanks to generous donations, we are able to provide Simple Machines, Builder, Lego, and Paper Craft Challenge Trays. We also offer patrons access to Dash and Dot robots and a Snap Circuit kit. Dash and Dot is geared towards ages 6+ and Snap Circuits are for ages 8+, but ages can vary depending on the participant. This technology must be used within the library and the patrons are responsible for them while in use.

We also have a large mobile white board that offers patrons the opportunity to share what they learned or tested during their time with the Challenge Trays and other activities. This place for feedback is important for developing a sense of community and ongoing discovery, so please offer your comments and results after you’re finished!

As you look around the Challenge Room/Makerspace/Book Sale Room, you can spot more and more ways to stretch your imagination and build learning experiences. This room invites exploration, so carve out some time and delve into this creative space!

Call 724-379-5511 with questions, and check out our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates.