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
July 2024
Take Home Craft Kits
Available All Month – First Come First Serve
Pizza Box Solar Oven: Learn about solar energy while making your very own solar powered oven to heat up a delicious snack! A great kit for older children.
Create Your Own Compost: Master the art of composting as you learn how organic matter decomposes. Explore how animal and insect agents help to break down waste and return nutrients to the earth. A fun kit for all ages!
Nature Scavenge Hunt & “Bug Hut” Build: Investigate the environment around you as you complete a fun, outdoor scavenger hunt. You will take what you have collected from your adventure and build a miniature house and habitat. An adventure-filled kit for all ages.
Bee Bots: Explore why bees are so important in nature from the flowers we see to the food we eat. Make your own bee robot to discover the world of the pollinator. A buzzing kit for older kids.
Food Web Board Game: Explore food chains and ecological communities as you become a game engineer, designing your very own environmentally themed board game. An exciting kit 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.
July Lineup:
Frozen: Fearless optimist Anna teams up with rugged mountain man Kristoff and his loyal reindeer Sven in an epic journey to find Anna’s sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom of Arendalle in eternal winter.
Zootopia: In a city of anthropomorphic animals, a rookie bunny cop and a cynical con artist fox must work together to uncover a conspiracy.
Passport to New London
Monday July 1st – Friday August 16th
It’s easy! There are eight locations to choose from. Each time you visit a location, make sure you get a picture or a brochure, and then come back to the Children’s Room at the library to show us and receive a corresponding sticker for your passport. Once you visit all the locations and complete your passport, you win a prize!
Swing by the Children’s Room to grab your passport today!
Make it Mondays: Yarn Crafts
Mondays 3pm – 5pm
Join us each week to make yarn crafts! Learn how to weave, finger knit, make bracelets, and more!
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!
Art Class with Miss Dana
Tuesdays 10am – 11am
Do you want to pick up a new hobby this summer? Try coming to the library on Tuesday mornings to take an art class with Miss Dana! Every Week, we’ll be working on a new project, so be sure to swing by!
Thursday Morning Movies
July 11th & 25th 10am – 12pm
Swing by the library every on select Thursday mornings in July and August to cool off and watch a movie!
7/11: Lilo & Stitch (TV-PG)
7/25: Noelle (G)
Sailors’ Skills and Ropemaking for Kids and Teens
July 2nd 2:30pm – 3:30pm
In this program for children and teens, we will learn about the importance of rope manufacturing in New England seaport towns and make rope right in the library. Attendees will practice their rope skills and learn how to tie a variety of common knots used on land and at sea, such as a square knot, bowline, and clove hitch.
Recycled Butterflies
July 3rd 10am – 5pm
Do you have old magazines and newspaper pages lying around? Create a beautiful butterfly with them!
Saturday Morning Storytime
July 6th 11:30am – 12pm
Join Miss Meghan for another round of Saturday Morning Storytime!
Forgotten Socktopus
July 10th 10am – 5pm
Do you have a missing sock you don’t know what to do with? Come make an octopus out of it!
Nature’s Recyclers with DPNC
July 11th 4pm – 5pm
What happens to nature’s trash? Learn about vultures, insects, and other decomposers and the important role they play in our environment. Search through leaf litter to see if you can find one of nature’s recyclers!
Picnic with PLNL at Fort Trumbull
July 12th 12pm – 3pm
Hang out with Public Library of New London staff for an afternoon at Fort Trumbull! Come celebrate summer with us with a storytime, crafts, and outdoor activities! Food will be provided.
StickTogether: Read, Renew, Repeat
July 15th – July 22nd
Swing by the Children’s Room this week to take part in our Community Art Project! Help us place 3,996 stickers into a special summer reading themed collage!
Family Trivia Night: Popular Books
July 16th 5pm – 6:30pm
Are you a fan of books and love to read? Do you think you know the most about your favorite books? Put your knowledge to the test in our next Family Trivia Night!
Seed Bombs
July 17th 10am – 5pm
These little balls of wonder are like mini-planting machines, perfect for unleashing a wave of color and life into any outdoor space!
Sustainability with Submarine Force Museum
July 18th 3pm – 4pm
Our world has so many natural resources for us. By protecting them and using only what we need, we will be able to keep these resources longer. The Navy has done their best to study and work in protecting these resources. Come learn all about it!
Bilingual Storytime with Miss Dana
July 20th 11:30am – 12pm
Come attend another Bilingual Storytime with Miss Dana this summer!
Save the Animals with DPNC
July 23rd 4pm – 5pm
Many animals are facing the threat of extinction, but you can help! Meet live animals and learn how you can help their species with some simple tips!
Seashell Ornaments
July 24th 10am – 5pm
It’s Christmas in July! Swing by to reuse your beach seashells and create a beautiful ornament!
Olympic Crafts
July 26th 10am – 12:30pm
It’s the first day of the Olympics! Come celebrate and make some fun Olympic-themed crafts!
DIY Nature Paintbrushes
July 27th 10am – 12:30pm
Come find out how to create your own paintbrushes using materials you can find out in nature!
Homemade Photo Holders
July 31st 10am – 5pm
Have you taken any good pictures recently? Do you need a fun photo holder to display them? Come by the Children’s Room to make your own!
August 2024
Take Home Craft Kits
Available All Month – First Come First Serve
Paper Plate Peacocks: What a beautiful bird! A vibrant craft for younger children.
STEAM: Balloon Rockets: Up, up, and away! A great experiment for all ages.
Popsicle Stick Poolside Pal: Swimming is always better with friends! A chillaxing craft for all ages.
Handprint Hermit Crabs: Channel your inner Eric Carle! A crabby craft for younger 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:
Bolt: The canine star of a fictional sci-fi/action show that believes his powers are real embarks on a cross country trek to save his co-star from a threat he believes is just as real.
Moana: In ancient Polynesia, when a terrible curse incurred by the demigod Maui reaches Moana’s island, she answers the Ocean’s call to seek out Maui to set things right.
Passport to New London
Monday July 1st – Friday August 16th
It’s easy! There are eight locations to choose from. Each time you visit a location, make sure you get a picture or a brochure, and then come back to the Children’s Room at the library to show us and receive a corresponding sticker for your passport. Once you visit all the locations and complete your passport, you win a prize!
Swing by the Children’s Room to grab your passport today!
Make it Mondays: Yarn Crafts
Mondays 3pm – 5pm
Join us each week to make yarn crafts! Learn how to weave, finger knit, make bracelets, and more!
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!
Art Class with Miss Dana
Tuesdays August 6th, August 13th, & August 20th 10am – 11am
Do you want to pick up a new hobby this summer? Try coming to the library on Tuesday mornings to take an art class with Miss Dana! Every Week, we’ll be working on a new project, so be sure to swing by!
Thursday Morning Movies
August 8th & August 15th 10am – 12pm
Swing by the library on select Thursday mornings in July and August to cool off and watch a movie!
8/8: Luca (PG)
8/15: The Little Mermaid (G)
What is a Submarine? with Submarine Force Museum
August 1st 3pm – 4pm
The submarine is one of the stealthies ships the US Navy has. Children will learn how these vessels function underwater and identify the different parts of the submarine. Students will become acquainted with two key submarine inventors whose work enhanced the US navy as well as other scientific businesses and educational endeavors.
Saturday Morning Storytime
August 3rd 11:30am – 12pm
Join Miss Meghan for another great Saturday Morning Storytime this month!
Tracking Hurricanes with Mystic Seaport for Kids and Teens
August 6th 2:30pm – 3:30pm
In this program, kids and teens will create their own definitions of “weather” and climate to ultimately craft a clear differentiation between the two terms, explore how air currents and ocean currents move around/across North America, recognize that Earth has unique features that can create a variety of extreme weather conditions, compare how media coverage of hurricanes (pre and post) has changed over the course of history, and participate in tracking a simulated storm in the Atlantic Ocean, while making predictions and deciding how/when to issue different types of storm warnings.
T-Shirt Headbands
August 7th 10am – 5pm
Do you have old t-shirts you need to repurpose? Come on by to learn how to make them into headbands!
End of Summer Reading Concert with Liz McNicholl
August 9th 3:30pm – 4:30pm
Come celebrate the End of Summer Reading with us with a special storytime and concert by local musician Liz McNicholl! Bring your completed bingo sheets to get your prizes and be entered to win a raffle prize!
Mermaid Money
August 14th 10am – 5pm
You never know when you’ll meet a sea creature selling something cool in the ocean…so stop by to make your own mermaid money!
Connecticut Invention Convention
August 15th 3pm – 6pm
“Shark Tank meets Science Fair”
Invention Convention competitions provide K-12 innovators the opportunity to develop products that solve problems in their own lives!
The Connecticut Invention Convention (CIC) is an internationally recognized educational organization started in 1983. Throughout the year, educators use our curriculum to develop creative problem-solving and critical thinking skills through invention and entrepreneurship. This culminates in the final competition event where we recognize students with awards and prizes for their hard work. Today, the program is open to all K-12 students across Connecticut, and is rapidly growing. Come be a part of our project!
Registration is required. No materials necessary, just come prepared to invent!
Perler Bead Workshop
August 17th 10am – 12:30pm
Feeling crafty? Stop by to make some Perler Bead creations! Coasters, animals, mazes — your imagination is the limit!
StickTogether: Peace Sign
August 19th – August 26th
Swing by the Children’s Room this week to take part in our Community Art Project! Peace out and help us place 3,996 stickers into a sticker collage!
Cacti Rocks
August 21st 10am – 5pm
Cacti plants aren’t for everyone, but cacti rocks are! Swing by to paint your cacti collection!
Bilingual Storytime with Miss Dana
August 24th 11:30am – 12pm
Join Miss Dana for another Bilingual Storytime this month!
Family Trivia Night: Dreamworks
August 27th 5pm – 6:30pm
Do you love movies like Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar, and more? Come put your knowledge to the test in the last of our Family Trivia Night series this summer!
Sea Creature Shells
August 28th 10am – 5pm
Use the last of the shells you’ve collected this summer to create a pocket-sized sea creature pal!
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
