Library branches have reopened and we’re excited to see our youngest members browsing our shelves and picking out their favourite titles. Some Library branches are offering modified programming, where space is available, including physical distancing and increased safety measures. Check out some of our wonderful take home activities like Storytime Kits and Take & Make Crafts!
Children’s Programs
Ongoing Children's Programs
StoryTime
StoryTime is a fun mix of reading, crafts, songs and meeting new friends. Participating in early literacy activities is one of the best ways to prepare your child for school. We offer Fall, Winter and Spring StoryTime sessions at all six library branches for ages 3 to 5.
StoryTime is currently available at the Caledonia, Cayuga, Dunnville, Jarvis and Selkirk Branches with a limit of 4 participants per session. Participants are required to wear masks, physical distance and not share supplies or materials.
Please contact your local branch for StoryTime dates and times.
Try StoryTime at home! Check out a Take Home StoryTime Kit or follow these links for read-along picture books for parents and children to enjoy together, including YouTube video StoryTimes with your favourite library staff:
StoryTime with Haldimand County Public Library staff
TPOC Storytime – with Therapeutic Paws of Canada
Ukulele Club
Want to learn to play an instrument? Now is your chance! The Ukulele Club is open to all ages and levels of experience. All that we require is a wiliness to learn. Weekly classes are offered in Dunnville.
The Experienced class meets at the Optimist Hall. The Adult Beginner class is cancelled (with members moved to the experienced or afternoon school class). The After School class meets at the library, is limited to 4 participants. Participants are required to wear masks, physical distance and not share supplies or materials.
Interested? Contact the Dunnville branch for more information and to register.
Don’t lose your chord! Check out these online resources to help you keep your skills fresh and even learn new ones:
Red Cross Babysitting Course
Do you like feeling responsible and reliable? Do you enjoy spending time with children? Then a career in babysitting may be right for you! Your first step? Take the Red Cross Babysitting Course!
The Red Cross Babysitting course is for youth ages 11 years or older who interested in gaining more confidence while looking after children. The course is taught by a certified instructor and covers how to deal with difficult behaviors, providing safe environments for play and providing appropriate care in an emergency, along with other useful topics. The course is taught through hands on, text book and role playing instruction. If you are interested in a babysitting course, please email Katrina, the Community Outreach Coordinator at kkrupicz@haldimandcounty.on.ca
The course runs Monday to Friday evenings for 75 minutes each day. Participants must complete all 5 days in order to complete their certification.
Courses are limited to 4 people per session. Participants are required to wear masks, physical distance and not share supplies or materials. During lockdowns, the course is offered virtually on ZOOM.
Take Home StoryTimes
Bring StoryTime home with Take Home StoryTime kits! Each themed kit included 4 books, a craft, a coloring page and an activity page. There are many themes to explore! All kits checkout for 3 weeks. Be sure to let staff know how many kids will be enjoying the StoryTime so that we can include enough supplies for everyone.
Take & Make Crafts
Your library has fun and easy Take and Make Crafts for kids, including easy to follow instructions and supplies. Check your local branch for this months new Take and Make Craft!
Activities
The Internet has thousands of sites with amazing ideas for keeping your children occupied and learning. We want to highlight seven sites that we found particularly fun and engaging:
Road Trip from Home: Virtual Field Trips
Virtual School Day Over 100 free live K-12 classes all day long, brought to you by Varsity Tutors.
Virtual Summer Camps Free half-day summer camps with enrichment-based classes in subjects like foreign language, chess, theatre, coding, and even Minecraft! Offered by Varsity Tutors.
Curio : (Educational programs, documentaries, audio and archival material from the CBC)
Virtual Museum Tours (includes many Canadian Museums you can tour from home!)
Discovery Education Virtual Field Trips
Crafts
Looking for some innovative, one-of-a-kind craft ideas using things you already have around the house? Make the most of old tin cans, cardboard boxes, paper and glue:
We Are Teachers Earth Day Crafts
Colouring Pages
Put your crayons to the test and take advantage of this time-tested activity. One, Two, Green!
eBooks
Find hundreds of children’s ebook titles on OverDrive and CloudLibrary, the Library’s ebook lending services. OverDrive also offers many digital audiobooks for children and teens.
AudioBooks
OverDrive Audiobooks aren’t just for adults – there are hundreds of children’s titles available too!
Music Downloads and Streaming
Freegal offers thousands of song tracks by you child’s favourite artists, all available for free downloading or streaming.
Math Can Be Fun. Really. We mean it!
Tumble Math activities make a game of numbers and are educational at the same time.
- If you don’t yet have a library card number, simply complete the online email request form at the bottom of our Databases page, providing us with your full name and home mailing address, and we will issue you a card right away so you can get started.
COVID & Your Kids
Explaining what’s going on in the world right now to a young child can be challenging. We’ve found some excellent videos from reputable sources to help you out:
Unicef Australia
You may be seeing signs of worry, anxiety or stress in your child during these times. The resources below will help you alleviate some of this, both for your child and for you as well:
