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
August 2025
Take Home Craft Kits
Available All Month – First Come First Serve
Cardboard Roll Pikachu: Who’s that Pokemon?! A wild craft for younger children.
Handprint Crayon Box: Of course you need crayons to go back to school! A colorful craft for all ages.
Paper Plate Lion Craft: In the jungle, the mighty jungle… A roaring time for younger children!
STEAM: DIY Sundial: Did you know you can use the sun to tell time? A fun experiment for older children.
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.
August Lineup:
Sing: In a city of humanoid animals, a hustling theater impresario’s attempt to save his theater with a singing competition becomes grander than he anticipates even as its finalists find that their lives will never be the same.
Finding Dory: Friendly but forgetful blue tang Dory begins a search for her long-lost parents and everyone learns a few things about the real meaning of family along the way.
Make it Mondays: Origami
Mondays 3pm – 5pm
For July and August Make-It Mondays, join us each week to make origami! Make flowers, animals, fortune tellers, and more! Your imagination is the limit!
Dungeons & Dragons for Kids!
Tuesdays August 5th & 19th 4pm – 6:30pm
Is your child looking for an easy, beginner- and child-friendly roleplaying game? Look no further! This summer, we’re running Dungeons & Dragons for Kids!
During the months of July and August, our group will meet biweekly for one-shot fairytale-themed adventures. We will leave time for snacks, character creation, and any questions at the beginning of the session. Then, our adventure will begin promptly at 4:30!
This group is geared towards kids in 3rd-6th grade. Registration is not required. Snacks will be provided for participants.
All-Ages Story Time
Wednesdays 10:30am – 11:30am
All ages story time and playgroup! Enjoy stories, songs, and a chance to play! Check out our schedule to see what theme is happening each week!
Best for children ages 4 and under. No registration required!
8/6: Farm Fresh
8/13: Pajama Party
8/20: Storytime with Traveler
8/27: Back 2 School!
Cooking for Kids!
Wednesdays July 9th, July 23rd & August 6th 1pm -2pm
Join Food For Your Soul LLC. for a summer of fun cooking classes! Each class will be focused on something different!
This program is best for children ages 3-10! Please indicate any food allergies upon registration and bring a hat & apron to class.
Registration is required for each individual day.
7/9 Registration: https://plnl.libcal.com/event/14199253
7/23 Registration: https://plnl.libcal.com/event/14199254
8/6 Registration: https://plnl.libcal.com/event/14199255
Art Class with Miss Dana
Thursdays 5pm – 6pm
Do you love creating art? Try coming to the library on Thursday evenings to take an art class with Miss Dana! Each week, we’ll be working on a new project, so be sure to swing by! No registration required.
Thursday Morning Movies
Thursdays July 3rd, July 17th, July 31st & August 14th 10am – 12pm
Join us on select Thursdays this summer to view some of the most popular children’s movies of the past year!
7/3: The Wild Robot (PG)
7/17: Moana 2 (PG)
7/31: Harold and the Purple Crayon (PG)
8/14: Despicable Me 4 (PG)
Baby + Me Playgroup
Fridays 10:30am – 11:30am
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 Board Game Club
Saturdays 9:30am – 12pm
Do you love playing board games? Join us every Saturday for Board Game Club in the Children’s Room! In addition to chess, we will be including board games like Sorry, Battleship, Trouble, and more! This space can be for both children and their families. All skill levels are welcome!
Level Up at Your Library Themed Weeks
June 20th – August 9th
Level up at your library this summer! For each week of Summer Reading, we will have a different video game theme! Stop into the library to make a craft, attend an activity, or both to celebrate each themed week, and cross of a box on your bingo sheet! Check out the theme of each week below:
Week 1: Animal Crossing (6/20 – 6/28)
Week 2: Roblox (6/30 – 7/5)
Week 3: Super Mario Bros (7/7 – 7/12)
Week 4: Lego Games (7/14 – 7/19)
Week 5: Minecraft (7/21 – 7/26)
Week 6: Y2K Games (7/28 – 8/2)
Week 7: Pokémon (8/4 – 8/9)
Perler Bead Workshop
August 2nd 10am – 12:30pm
Want to try to make your favorite 8-bit video game character? Or do you want to try to make a cool design? No matter what you want to try, swing by and make a perler bead creation!
Animal Homes
August 7th 4pm – 5pm
Learn about the different types of homes that animals build and live in with Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center. From trees, burrows, nests, and more, discover the unique way animals engineer safe places to live. Meet live animals and test your skills at building your own animal home craft.
End of Summer Reading Celebration
August 8th 1pm – 4:30pm
Celebrate the End of Summer Reading with us all afternoon at the library with party pigs, giant board games, ice cream, free books, and more! Best of all, bring in your summer reading materials and get prizes! Check out the schedule below! We can’t wait to celebrate with you!
1pm – 2pm: Gilbert the Party Pig and his Sisters!
2:30pm – 4:30pm: Giant Board Games!
3pm – 4pm: Ice Cream Truck with Jumping Cow Ice Cream!
Saturday Morning Storytime
August 9th 11:30am – 12pm
Join us for another round of Saturday Morning Storytime with Miss Meghan!
Nintendo Meetup for Kids!
August 12th 1pm – 5pm
Are you looking for a buddy to play Super Mario Bros with? Visit a new friend’s Animal Crossing Island? Somebody to battle in Pokemon? Do you simply just want to play games together with other people? Swing by the Children’s Room to level up together!
Please bring your own device to participate!
Firefly Suncatchers
August 13th 10am – 5pm
See how your firefly lights up using the power of the sun!
Bilingual Storytime
August 16th 11:30am – 12pm
Join us for another Bilingual Storytime with Miss Dana!
Storytime with Traveler the NLPD Wellness Dog!
August 20th 10:30am – 11:30am
Join us to have a special storytime with Traveler and Officer Christina! You can pet Traveler while listening to great stories and learning about the New London Police Department!
Cardboard “Sand” Castles
August 22nd 10am – 5pm
Have you ever built a sandcastle and wanted to bring it home? Well, now you can!
Back to School Week!
August 25th – August 29th
Summer might be ending, but that doesn’t mean the fun has to end too! Stop by every day for a new activity to celebrate the start of school!
8/25: Personalize Your School Supplies!
8/26: Pencil Toppers
8/27: Worry Stones
8/28: Bookmarks
8/29: Pencil Holders
September 2025
Take Home Craft Kits
Available All Month – First Come First Serve
Mushroom Paper Plates: Don’t want to forage? Just make your own! A woodsy craft for younger children.
Papel Picado Flag: Celebrate Hispanic Heritage this month! A colorful craft for all ages.
Secret Message Coding Bracelets: *Hacker voice* I’m in! A secret craft for older children.
Paper Reading Buddies: Everybody needs a buddy! A friendly 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.
Septemeber Lineup:
Bad Guys: To avoid prison, a gang of notorious animal criminals pretends to seek being rehabilitated, only for their leader to realize that he genuinely wants to change his ways.
Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse: Teen Miles Morales becomes the Spider-Man of his universe and must join with five spider-powered individuals from other dimensions to stop a threat for all realities.
Make it Mondays: Perler Beads
Mondays 3pm – 5pm
For September and October Make-It Mondays, join us each week to build with perler beads! Make coasters, keychains, your favorite characters, and more! Your imagination is the limit!
Creative Writing Club for Kids
Tuesdays September 9th & 23rd 4pm – 6:30pm
Are you interested in writing? Join us for Creative Writing for Kids! We’ll be playing word games and working with writing prompts twice a month 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 10:30am – 11:30am
All ages story time and playgroup! Enjoy stories, songs, and a chance to play! Check out our schedule to see what theme is happening each week!
Best for children ages 4 and under. No registration required!
9/3: Love Your Library!
9/10: Don’t Let the Pigeon Run Storytime!
9/17: Storytime with Traveler!
9/24: Happy Fall!
Art Class with Miss Dana
Thursdays 5pm – 6pm
Do you love creating art? Try coming to the library on Thursday evenings to take an art class with Miss Dana! Each week, we’ll be working on a new project, so be sure to swing by! No registration required.
Baby + Me Playgroup
Fridays 10:30am – 11:30am
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 Board Game Club
Saturdays 12:30pm – 3pm
Do you love playing board games? Join us every Saturday for Board Game Club in the Children’s Room! In addition to chess, we will be including board games like Sorry, Battleship, Trouble, and more! This space can be for both children and their families. All skill levels are welcome!
Duct Tape Library Card Holders
September 2nd – September 6th
Celebrate National Library Card Sign-Up month by making your own handy dandy library card holder! Now, you’ll never lose it!
Family Bingo Night
September 2nd 5pm – 6:30pm
Come on down for a night filled with bingo boards, snacks, and books to win! Who will be the next person to get BINGO?!
The Pigeon Puppet
September 10th 10am – 5pm
Don’t let the pigeon drive the bus! Don’t let the pigeon stay up late! What CAN the pigeon do then? Swing by the Children’s Room to make your own pigeon and take him on the adventure of a lifetime!
Bilingual Storytime
September 13th 11:30am – 12pm
Join us for another Bilingual Storytime with Miss Dana!
Children’s Book Club: Planning Meeting
September 16th 5pm – 6pm
Do you love reading and talking about books? Join the Children’s Book Club! We meet every 3rd Tuesday of the month during the school year from 5pm – 6pm.
This first meeting is a Planning Meeting, where we will be deciding what books we read for the whole year! Books are geared for grades 3-5, but strong readers are encouraged to join! Copies of the monthly book, snacks, and crafts provided.
Storytime with Traveler the NLPD Wellness Dog!
September 17th 10:30am – 11:30am
Join us to have a special storytime with Traveler and Officer Christina! You can pet Traveler while listening to great stories and learning about the New London Police Department!
Art Class: Hispanic Heritage Art Spotlight
September 18th – October 9th 5pm – 6:30pm
Do you love creating art? Try coming to the library on Thursday evenings to take an art class with Miss Dana! For Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 – Oct. 15), we’ll be working on a new project inspired by a Hispanic artist, so be sure to swing by! No registration required.
9/18: Amelia Peláez del Casal
9/25: Belkis Ayón
10/2: Joaquín Sorolla
10/9: Remedios Varo
Talk Like a Pirate Day
September 19th 10am – 5pm
Argh, matey! Ahoy! It’s talk like a pirate day! Set sail to the library to make your own pirate essentials!
Saturday Morning Storytime
September 20th 11:30am – 12pm
Join us for another round of Saturday Morning Storytime with Miss Meghan!
Autumn Equinox Celebration
September 22nd 10am – 5pm
It’s fall, y’all! Celebrate the first day of autumn with a cozy craft!
Space Week!
September 29th – October 4th
All week, we’ll be having space-themed activities and crafts leading up to International Observe the Moon Night on October 4th! Swing by for some astronomical fun and to look at our super awesome display!
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
