Jerissa

Children’s Cello Concert Recap

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We were pleased to host Nathaniel Pierce, cellist and tenor, at the library for the second time on March 3! Nathaniel has performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and has been a featured soloist with numerous symphonies around the country. He is the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of the Anchorage Chamber Music Festival in Alaska as well as the Founder and Director of the UWEC String Academy.

During this playful and interactive concert, families enjoyed both classical and contemporary pieces. Children happily marched around the room during a performance of Laurie Berkner’s “We Are the Dinosaurs” and giddily buzzed like bees during a lively rendition of Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Flight of the Bumblebee.” We are grateful to Nathaniel for sharing his time and talent and to all the families who participated.

Did you miss this event? Sign up for our our family newsletter to keep track of free family fun at your library!

Group of children, looking at camera
Kelly K

Free Communication Screenings at the Library

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Group of children, looking at camera

Is your child meeting their speech and language milestones? Do you have questions about their communication development? We’re here to help!

Join us before or after Toddler Storytime at L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library for Free Communication Screenings with speech-language pathologists from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s Center for Communication Disorders. These screenings are a fantastic opportunity for children to have their speech, language, and communication skills assessed in a fun, relaxed, and supportive environment.

📍Where: L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library
📅When: Thursday, February 29 | 9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
🎯Who: Children ages 2-5
❓Why: Personalized feedback from speech-language professionals, Early identification of speech or language delays, Peace of mind for parents and caregivers, Fun and engaging experience for children

These quick, informal screenings can help identify potential speech or language concerns early on, giving families valuable insight into their child’s communication development. Whether you have specific concerns or just want peace of mind, this is a great way to check in with experts—for free!

Walk-ins are welcome as time allows, but pre-registration is encouraged to secure your child’s spot. Call 715-839-5007 today to sign up for your child’s 15-minute screening

Julia

Get Creative with Afterschool ARTmobile!

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The library is an important place for having hands-on, creative experiences like making art. For this reason, we are so excited to partner with our friends from the Pablo Center for a brand-new Afterschool ARTmobile drop-in art program, open to young artists of all ages and their grown-ups! Afterschool ARTmobile will run the First Tuesday of the month February-May (2/4, 3/4, 4/1, 5/6), 4:30-5:30 pm, in the Youth Program Room. You can also catch ARTmobile at the library after Family Storytime on Saturdays.

Our ARTmobile friends, Hannah, Morgan, and Allison, are inspired by their work with young artists. “Kids are so full of possibility and energy,” Hannah explains, adding that children are able to find infinite potential in the materials and their imagination. She notes that she loves to hear the stories that kids share about their art. Allison also shares that “art is this wonderful part of being human where you observe and process the outside world, or your inner world, and transmute your thoughts and feelings about it into a creation that other people can interact with. It’s kind of magical!”

According to Hannah, ARTmobile provides free art education to the community. All projects include an educational component, with lessons about science, culture, music, and more incorporated into the creative experience.

“Families can expect to have the opportunity to engage in different types of art and projects,” explains Morgan. ARTmobile has offered many different types of projects over the years, such as hanging mobiles with leaves, crowns, drums (made from balloons and cups), and more. Kids are welcome to follow their own inspiration, though, and may use supplies freely. Allison shares, “often projects can be customized and have wiggle room to be as simple or complex as people desire. Sometimes kids take the projects we provide to an imaginative unexpected place, and we love to see that!”

ARTmobile strives to make their projects accessible to children with all abilities, offering tools like ergonomic scissors if needed.

Learn more about the Pablo Center ARTmobile and find fun projects to try at home at their website: https://www.pablocenter.org/learn/artmobile.

Jerissa

We Want to Hear from You

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On behalf of the Youth Services staff at the library, THANK YOU to all of the children, teens, and families who participated in “Summer at the Library.” More than 2,000 youth, ages 0-18, participated in our reading program and more than 5,700 people attended more than 100 library events between June 1 – August 15! Your support and engagement in the public library help make programs like these possible. Please consider sharing your thoughts about “Summer at the Library” with us by completing this this brief survey. Your feedback will help us continue to improve our summer programs and events. Thank you, and we look forward to seeing you back at the library for events, activities, and great books all year long!

https://www.ecpubliclibrary.info/kids/summer-survey/ 

Jerissa

Supporting Your Child’s Reading Development

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Parents and caregivers, do you want to help your child get ready for and succeed at reading but aren’t sure where to start? We’ve got you covered! Join us at the library for two evenings of discussions with UW-Eau Claire professors about science-based strategies for supporting your child’s reading development at home.

The first session: Early Literacy

  • Monday, June 24, from 6-7:30 p.m. | Carnegie Room (on the first floor)
  • How to support your child’s early literacy skills between the ages of 0-6 years
  • Led by Dr. Angela Jones and her student researchers

Dr. Angela Jones and her student researchers will discuss their model “Read with TLC,” a comprehensive resource designed to help you engage in activities that will effectively prepare your child for reading.

The second session: Emergent Reading

  • Wednesday, June 26, from 6-7:30 p.m. | Riverview Room (on the third floor)
  • How to support your child’s emergent reading skills between grades K-5
  • Led by Dr. Susan Tily and her student researchers

Registration is not required for either session. If you are an early childhood educator, completion certificates are available upon request for continuing education purposes.

“We provide practical strategies, engaging activities, and tips for cultivating a love for language and literacy in young children,” Dr. Jones says. “Whether through playful interactions, immersive experiences, or purposeful interventions, you play a pivotal role in fostering your child’s literacy skills.” We hope you will join us!

Jerissa

Learn to Play the Ukulele

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Are you a parent, grandparent, caregiver, or educator of children ages 0-5? Did you know that engaging young children in musical experiences builds connections in their brain and contributes to the development of language and math skills? The impact of music is incredible, and it doesn’t take much to create a musical experience for your children. Your voice will more than suffice, but why not add a little ukulele from time to time?

Give this simple and fun instrument a try during our introductory ukulele mini-series on Saturdays, February 24 and March 16, from 1:30-3 p.m. Learn a few simple cords that will enable you to play a plethora of traditional children’s songs for your kiddos and most certainly transform you into a rock star! Nicole Cook, who has taught music for 25 years, will be leading these classes. Her love of ukulele began in her elementary music classroom, and since then she has taught both group and private lessons.

So join us! No prior ukulele or musical experience is necessary. Bring your own ukulele or use one of ours (while supplies last)! Registration is required and seats are limited. Participants should plan to attend both sessions. Go ahead and register now!

Andria

A Library Advisory Board for Teens

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Is your teen socially-minded or do they simply love the library? Encourage them to join Teen Advisory Board!

What is Teen Advisory Board (TAB)?

The Teen Advisory Board is a volunteer-based group comprised of teens that love the library and an adult facilitator. The group works to make the library a better place for their peers in middle and high school.

What do TAB members do?

  • Attend monthly meetings, trainings, or events.
  • Suggest books and other materials for the library to purchase.
  • Promote the library to peers.
  • Assist library staff in creating events, displays, and projects for teens and kids.
  • Work with the TAB group to achieve that year’s goals.
  • Learn to communicate effectively through email and other tools.
  • Help the library grow and improve.

Who can join?

Anyone in grades 7-12 and 12-18 years old. Teens must also be a L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library cardholder (They are easy to get and are free!)

How do teens join?

Fill out this quick form. Piece of cake!

If your teen is interested in TAB, we’d love to chat with them about the group. Still have questions? Send us a quick email at ysstaff@eauclaire.lib.wi.us or call 715-839-5007.

 

TAB Projects, 2022-2023

Jerissa

How Did We Do?

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As the Summer Library Program draws to a close, we want to thank all the children, teens, and families who participated in our summer events and summer reading program! THANK YOU! We hope your children discovered great books and that your family was able to enjoy one or more storytime, Dabble Box Open Lab, Thursday Performance, teen event, etc.

Please help us continue to improve the Summer Library Program by completing this quick survey. Whether or not you participated in our program, your responses will inform what we offer during future summers. We appreciate your feedback!

 

Here’s a link to that feedback survey one more time.

Shannon

If Kids Built a Library…

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By now you are probably well aware that we are moving our library back downtown in August. We are looking forward to so many fun features in our newly renovated building. (An expanded Dabble Box? A larger Storytime Room? Waaaay more space for books and activities and fun?? Yes. Please.) We know kids and families are going to love our new space…but we started wondering: What if KIDS designed a library? What sorts of features would they include?

So, we asked them!

This summer, we invited kids of all ages to describe and draw their dream libraries, and we’ve been collecting their ideas on our wall. Turns out kids have a LOT of ideas.
I took some time recently to look over the designs. And, while there were many familiar suggestions (books, toys and crafts, cozy places to read), I saw a lot of delightfully surprising ideas too! I’ve pulled together a few of our favorites to share with you here. If you are inspired, leave your own ideas in the comments—we’d love to see your suggestions too!
Books, play area, dance party room, place to learn and read – Max, 6
A petting zoo for animal lovers like me – Nadia, 12
A pool, a play, a zoo, a book, a fun – Ella, 8
It would have a lot of books. Ten thousand books. And it would have a play place that you could swing and slide with monkey bars! And it would have chairs for the grown ups to sit on. – George, 6
Water park library! – Amelia, 7

A big lounge area where people could sit and read, a shelf where kids could make books and set them for others to read, and a small play area (with supervisors) where parents could drop their kids off and go look for books!! – Georgia, 11
Lots of books and comfy chairs to sit on – Ella, 9
A squirrel petting zoo and only books about squirrels – Emmy, 10
There would be a display case where a couple kids of different ages and different interests could recommend books they like to other kids – Megan, 12
A playground! – Violette, 7

Bunnies – Kinley, 6
A sweet little bathroom with a bouquet of lilacs, a snack room, a play area, a playground, a pool area with a hot tub (ages 9 and over), a computer area (with kids games on it), an area with books to check out, and a checkout area! – Arieanna, 9(1/2)
Cotton candy, ice cream, kitties, drawing stuff, books, scooters, blue walls, water slides, hop scotch, fun – Elyse, 8
Fish, animals, jungle gym, snacks, food, really comfy areas – Evelyn, 12
A zoo, a playground, books, toys, a fake post office, and computers – Summer, 8

Lots of gymnastics books – Holly, 10
Comfy places to read – Allison, 12
A whole section of just scary books (just a thought) – Ashlyn, 10
Dinos, lollipops, cats, parrots – Charlie, 7
It would have a place where people could write stories, and every month a book someone wrote would be available to read – Noura, 10

Heart shelves – Lilly, 7
A treehouse shaped like an elephant! A petting zoo with fawns, baby horses, and more! – Everlee, 7
Fish tank – Juniper, 4
A special shelf for books with animals and it would also have a book drop that looks like you’re feeding a monster – Ellie, 10
A waterpark! – Claire, 7

Jerissa

NEW! In-Person Storytime

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Storytime Song (Tune: London Bridge)

Monday morning storytime
Owen Park, Owen Park
It’s in-person storytime
Come and join us!

That’s right, folks! In-Person storytime* returns at 10 a.m. on Mondays, July 12 – August 9 at Owen Park (1st Avenue) near the playground. Enjoy playful stories, songs, rhymes, and movement. This storytime is great for families with children ages 0-5, but the whole family is welcome. No registration required.

Safety: We ask that kids stay with their adults to help with social distancing. We’ll mark off sitting areas to help ensure enough space between groups of attendees. We highly encourage wearing masks while in large groups, even at outdoor events such as Storytime in Owen Park.

Important! If you are experiencing COVID symptoms, please stay home. If possible, consider attending our virtual Storytime.

Extra! Extra! Our BookBike will also be in Owen Park near the playground on Monday mornings (9 a.m. to noon) and our Dabble Box staff will be on hand to offer creative play and projects such as coding and robotics, water coloring, button making, and more. While you’re at it, enjoy a story while you stroll through Owen Park with our new, permanent StoryWalk®.

In-Person Storytime, BookBike, and Dabble Box activities are all weather permitting.

*Virtual storytime on Zoom will continue through July 28 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 10 a.m.