Children’s Programs
ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS ARE ALWAYS FREE!
1,000 Books Bonanza
Stop by the Children’s Room to sign up for 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten, and get a free canvas bag to kickstart your 1,000 book journey. Any child who has not yet started Kindergarten can participate. Reading together helps children develop a love of reading, introduces them to new vocabulary, and teaches them important early literacy skills that will help them when they enter school.
Music City Strings 2024
New London Community Orchestra is offering a new session of free violin lessons for children in grades 4-9. Instruments will be provided at no charge, and children may take their violin home to practice. Lessons are in small groups with professional teachers. Masks are required. Violin lessons are an excellent experiential enrichments activity that’s been shown to increase educational attainment. Fill out the form below to register:
https://form.jotform.com/61886278899180
May 2024
Take Home Craft Kits
Available All Month – First Come First Serve
Paper Plate Porgs: May the Fourth be with you! Celebrate Star Wars this month by making your own cuddly Porg, featured in The Last Jedi! A great craft for all ages.
Nature Suncatchers: Celebrate spring by finding flowers, leaves, and other outdoor things to include in your suncatcher! A perfect activity for older children.
Popsicle Stick Grasshoppers: Feeling buggy? Make your own grasshopper! A great craft for younger children.
Caterpillar to Beautiful Butterfly: Have you ever seen a caterpillar turn into a butterfly? Now you can! A good craft for all ages.
Interactive Movie Kits
Available All Month – First Come First Serve
Interactive Movie Kits are fun for the whole family! Kits include a list of prompts for your family to do throughout the movie plus props and crafts! Each kit comes with enough supplies for 4 people. DVD’s are available to check out on a first come first serve basis, but kits can be taken with or without the movie if you use a streaming service or have the movie at home.
May Lineup:
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back: After the Rebels are overpowered by the Empire, Luke Skywalker begins his Jedi training with Yoda, while his friends are pursued across the galaxy by Darth Vader and bounty hunter Boba Fett.
Rise of the Guardians: When the evil spirit Pitch launches an assault on Earth, the Immortal Guardians team up to protect the innocence of children all around the world.
Make it Mondays: Origami
Mondays 3pm – 5pm
Join us each week to make an Origami creation! Animals, jewelry, bookmarks, and more! Your imagination is the limit!
Homework Help!
Tuesdays & Thursdays 3:30pm – 6:30pm
Connecticut College students will be offering tutoring help at the Public Library of New London! Drop in to receive help with homework between 3:30pm-6:30pm in the Children’s Room. No registration required.
Creative Writing Club for Kids!
Tuesdays May 7th & 21st 5pm – 6pm
Are you interested in writing? Join our Creative Writing Club for Kids! We meet every other Tuesday, and we’ll be playing word games and working with writing prompts to help develop creative writing skills. This workshop is geared for kids in 3rd grade and up, but strong and ambitious writers are encouraged to stop by! No registration required.
All-Ages Story Time
Wednesdays 10am
All ages story time and playgroup! Enjoy stories, songs, and a chance to play! Best for children ages 4 and under. No registration required!
Baby + Me
Fridays 10am
Join us for a story time and play group! Baby + Me is designed for babies to socialize and for caregivers to meet each other! We will do a short lap story and then turn on the music and take out the toys for time to socialize. A great opportunity for new parents to meet and babies to play!
Children’s Chess Club
Saturdays 9:30am – 12pm
Chess Club is now available in the Children’s Room! Children are still welcome to participate in the Adult Reading Room, but this space is reserved for just children and their families. All skill levels are welcome!
Yarn Birds
May 1st 10am – 5pm
Come to the Children’s Room to make your own springtime companion!
Cooking for Kids!
May 2nd 4pm – 5pm
Are you a Star Wars fan? Bring out your inner Jedi with our Star Wars-themed cooking class!
Please indicate any food allergies upon registration and bring a hat & apron to class. For ages 3-10!
Star Wars Celebration
May 4th – May 10th
Help us celebrate Star Wars Day with a weeklong celebration! Swing by the Children’s Room to build your own lightsaber, make a droid, and complete a scavenger hunt!
Saturday Morning Storytime
May 4th 11:30am – 12pm
Join Miss Meghan for a very special Saturday Morning Storytime!
Songwriting Workshop with Liz McNicholl
May 7th 5pm – 6pm
Have you ever wondered how to write your own song? Now you can learn! Join us for a very special Creative Writing Club meeting with special guest and local musician, Liz McNicholl!
Storytime with Traveler the NLPD Wellness Dog!
May 8th & May 22nd 10am – 11am
Swing by the Children’s Room to have story time with Traveler and Officer Christina! You can pet Traveler while listening to great stories and learning about the New London Police Department!
Children’s Book Club: Savvy
May 9th 5pm – 6pm
Do you love reading and talking about books? Join the Children’s Bookclub! We meet every 2nd Thursday of the month during the school year from 5pm-6pm. Books are geared for grades 3-5, but strong readers are encouraged to join! Copies of the monthly book, snacks, and crafts provided.
This month we’re reading: Savvy by Ingrid Law
StickTogether: Grouchy Ladybug
May 13th – 19th
Swing by the Children’s Room this week to take part in our Community Art Project! Help us place 3,996 stickers into a collage and try to make this ladybug happy!
Yarn Wrapped Flowers
May 15th 10am – 5 pm
‘Tis the season for flowers blooming! Come to the Children’s Room to make a flower that lasts forever!
Tips for Increasing Happiness for Grades K-5 and their Parents or Caregivers with Dr. Wendy Hurwitz
May 16th 4:30pm – 5:30pm
Did you know that researchers have found that every person has an individual baseline of happiness, and that this baseline of happiness can be raised? Come learn tips and techniques to raise your happiness setpoint and enhance well-being.
A graduate of Yale University School of Medicine, Dr. Hurwitz is a nationally recognized expert on stress. A former medical researcher for ABC News, Dr. Hurwitz is an expert in two fields: Mind/Body Medicine and Energy Medicine. She teaches both professionals and students in medicine, psychology, and the allied health professions, and has lectured at Harvard Medical School, Yale University School of Medicine, Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, NYU, and Fordham University. Dr. Hurwitz is the author of the chapter Energy Medicine in the textbook Micozzi, M(ed): Fundamentals of Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2nd Edition, Churchill Livingstone, Philadelphia, 2001. She has a forthcoming book on stress.
Please Note: Out of respect for those with allergies, we request audience members to refrain from wearing perfume or cologne if possible. Thank you for your consideration.
Fairy Houses
May 18th 10am – 5pm
Fairy folk need places to live too! What better location than your own garden? Swing by the Children’s Room to build your own fairy house!
Cozy Yoga for Kids with Amie Meacham
May 23rd 5pm – 6pm
Looking for a way to unwind after school? Join us for cozy yoga with YTT200 Certified yoga instructor Amie Meacham! Bring your own mat or towel, and get your zen on!
This program is best for children in grades 1-5.
Paper Plate Spring Wreaths
May 29th 10am – 5pm
Need some outdoorsy decorations? Look no further! Either bring in your own flowers or cut some paper ones out to make an awesome springtime wreath!
June 2024
Take Home Craft Kits
Available All Month – First Come First Serve
Ice Cream Handprints: I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! A sweet craft for all ages.
Popsicle Stick Mermaid Tails: I wanna be where the sea people are! A swimmingly good craft for younger children.
STEAM: Design-A-Maze: Always follow your own path! An a-maze-ing craft for older children.
Paper Fruit Fans: Prepare for the warm summer weather with your own fan! A fan-tastic craft for all ages.
Interactive Movie Kits
Available All Month – First Come First Serve
Interactive Movie Kits are fun for the whole family! Kits include a list of prompts for your family to do throughout the movie plus props and crafts! Each kit comes with enough supplies for 4 people. DVD’s are available to check out on a first come first serve basis, but kits can be taken with or without the movie if you use a streaming service or have the movie at home.
June Lineup:
Inside Out: Prepare for Inside Out 2 coming out this month! After young Riley is uprooted from her Midwest life and moved to San Francisco, her emotions – Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness – conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house, and school.
The Emperor’s New Groove: Emperor Kuzco is turned into a llama by his ex-administrator Yzma, and must now regain his throne with the help of Pacha, the gentle llama herder.
Make it Mondays: Origami
Mondays 3pm – 5pm
Join us each week to make an Origami creation! Animals, jewelry, bookmarks, and more! Your imagination is the limit!
Creative Writing Club for Kids!
Tuesdays June 4th & 18th 5pm – 6pm
Are you interested in writing? Join our Creative Writing Club for Kids! We meet every other Tuesday, and we’ll be playing word games and working with writing prompts to help develop creative writing skills. This workshop is geared for kids in 3rd grade and up, but strong and ambitious writers are encouraged to stop by! No registration required.
All-Ages Story Time
Wednesdays 10am
All ages story time and playgroup! Enjoy stories, songs, and a chance to play! Best for children ages 4 and under. No registration required!
Baby + Me
Fridays 10am
Join us for a story time and play group! Baby + Me is designed for babies to socialize and for caregivers to meet each other! We will do a short lap story and then turn on the music and take out the toys for time to socialize. A great opportunity for new parents to meet and babies to play!
Children’s Chess Club
Saturdays 9:30am – 12pm
Chess Club is now available in the Children’s Room! Children are still welcome to participate in the Adult Reading Room, but this space is reserved for just children and their families. All skill levels are welcome!
Pride Puppies
June 1st 10am – 5pm
Celebrate Pride Month with us by making rainbow puppy art! Inspired by the book Pride Puppy by Robin Stevenson.
Drive-In Movie for Kids!
June 6th 4:30pm – 6:30pm
June 6th is National Drive-In Movie Day! Come experience the drive-in at the library: you’ll get to design your own “cars,” get snacks, and enjoy a showing of Monsters Inc.!
Friendship Bracelet Making
June 7th 10am – 5pm
Did you know National Best Friend’s Day is June 8th? Come make your best friend a friendship bracelet so you can gift it to them!
Saturday Morning Storytime
June 8th 11:30am – 12pm
Join Miss Meghan for a very special storytime on this Saturday morning!
StickTogether: Brown Bear
June 10th – 17th
Swing by the Children’s Room this week to take part in our Community Art Project! Help us place 3,996 stickers into a collage and recreate Eric Carle’s Brown Bear!
Yarn Painting
June 12th 10am – 5pm
Want to paint without using any paint? Stop by the Children’s Room and figure out HOW!
Children’s Book Club: Magyk
June 13th 5pm – 6pm
Do you love reading and talking about books? Join the Children’s Bookclub! We meet every 2nd Thursday of the month during the school year from 5pm-6pm. Books are geared for grades 3-5, but strong readers are encouraged to join! Copies of the monthly book, snacks, and crafts provided.
This month we’re reading: Magyk by Angie Sage
![Septimus Heap, Book One: Magyk [eBook]](https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780060577339_p0_v2_s1200x630.jpg)
Juneteenth Crafts
June 20th 10am – 5pm
Stop by the Children’s Room to grab a craft pack, check out our displays, and learn about Juneteenth!
Summer Reading Kick-Off
June 21st 3pm – 4:30pm
Kick off Summer Reading fun with a visit from Gilbert the Party Pig and his sisters from 3:30pm – 4:30pm and an ice cream truck provided by Jumping Cow Ice Cream from 3pm – 4pm!
Come sign up for summer reading, get your first bingo sheets, and participate in our book giveaway! We can’t wait to Read, Renew, and Repeat with you all summer long!
Family Trivia Night: Disney/Pixar Movies
June 25th 5pm – 6:30pm
Do you think you know everything about Disney and Pixar Movies? Put your knowledge to the test in the first of our Summer Family Trivia series!
Koinobori Fish
June 26th 10am – 5pm
Come to the Children’s Room to make your own Koinobori fish and learn about Japanese culture!
A Bee’s Life: The Honey Files – An Interactive Children’s Program!
June 27th 2:30pm – 3:30pm
This presentation begins with a brief introduction to the Bee Lady. Learn how and why she became a Beekeeper a she asks, what do we know about these amazing pollinators?
Then, she introduces The Honey Files, A Bees Life Movie, a twenty minute movie presentation. During this movie, learn how bees communicate, learn to fly and collect pollen. You are introduced to the honey bee colony and what a Beekeeper does. After the movie, we review the movie and demonstrate the waggle dance and the anatomy of the honey bee.
This is a very interactive presentation. The Bee Lady arrives in full uniform. She brings children’s bee suits for children to try on. Honey straws and coloring books are handed out at the end of every children’s event.
Candy Sushi
June 28th 10am – 5pm
Did you know that June is National Candy Month? Come make your own candy sushi to celebrate!
Saturday Morning Storytime
June 29th 11:30am – 12pm
Join Miss Dana for a bilingual Saturday storytime!
Children’s Room
860-447-1411 ext. 103
Children’s Librarian
Tori Congdon
vcongdon@plnl.org
860-447-1411 ext. 104
Children’s Librarian Assistant
Dana Santillana
dsantillana@plnl.org
