Things to do with kids

Staying around the Bay Area this holiday week? Looking for something to do with kids that doesn’t involve shopping on Friday morning? Why not take a trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium?

The aquarium is located in beautiful Monterey, CA on historic Cannery Row. The street itself has many fun shops and restaurants, as well as beach access (if you are brave enough to sit in the cold!) The Monterey Bay Aquarium offers plenty of activities for everyone in the family. You can watch daily animal feedings, watch live presentations with some of the animals, visit the tidepools and touch some of the wildlife and more.

My favorite exhibit for many years has been the jellyfish exhibit. I love sitting and watching the jellies float through the water (and their colors are just amazing!)

The new exhibit at the aquarium is amazing as well - The Secret Lives of Seahorses. The variety of seahorses and sea dragons is amazing in and of itself, and watching the creatures move about their tanks is fascinating.

So even though it is a bit of a drive down to Monterey, it is well worth the trip. The aquarium is still one of my favorite places to visit, and if you still want to get in a little holiday shopping, the stores on Cannery Row are sure to have something you’ll enjoy.  

  (All photos taken by Mary Ayers).

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2011 Kids Library Camp at Centerville Library

The very popular Kids Library Camp at Centerville Library was held on June 21 and 23.  As some kids said in their surveys: “This camp rocks!!!!”, “I liked the camp, it was fun!”, “Library camp was very fun!”, “I like this library a lot. It is the best library ever!”

During this 1-and-half-day fun-packed camp, kids learned about how their library works for them and where to find homework resources, discovered cool Internet websites and how to keep themselves safe, enjoyed very interesting booktalks, had a very tense and exciting Jeopardy game, and made creative paper-weaving crafts.

Watch more videos of our fun moments on Centerville Library’s Facebook or YouTube Channel.

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Check Out the Tree Collage at Centerville Library!

As part of the Art IS Education 2011 program, Centerville Library’s kids and teens were busy having fun creating their collage trees in March. This 20 x 4 ft. art project is now completed and on display in the Children’s Area in celebration of this year’s theme—“Creating Solutions for the World We Share.” Excellent job done! Come check it out, it’s beautiful!

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Working, working…

Completed!

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Tree Collage at Centerville Library

   Create a Tree Collage update…

 As part of our Art is Education program we are creating a collage art project made from recycled materials at the Centerville Library. 

Check out the progress so far on our Create a Tree Collage.  It is looking good! We still have quite a bit of work to do.  So if you like to recycle, have an artistic flair, or just want to be part of a collaborative art project drop by Centerville Library and have some fun! 

This collage project is open to everyone and all materials are provided.

Program is open for public participation during these hours:
Tuesdays, March 1, 8, 15, 1-3 PM, 5:30-7:30 PM
Thursdays, March 3, 17, 11 AM-2:30 PM, 5-6 PM
Thursday, March 10, 11 AM-2:30 PM

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What’s happening at Centerville Library in March

Lots are happening at Centerville Library in March! Besides two on-going reading programs–Read-With-Me and Read-To-Me, and the monthly Kids Book Club and Mandarin Parenting Class, we are also offering three special programs to make this month a very eventful one.

*Click on the picture on the left to see the program flyer.

	Create a Tree Collage Day: March 1 – 17 Time: Click on the picture on the left for public participation hours. As part of the Art IS Education, an annual showcase of youth arts learning in Alameda County, kids, teens and their family are invited to stop by Centerville Library to create tree collages with old magazines, candy wrappers, shopping bags and other recycled materials. After it’s completed, the 3′ X 15′ project will be on display in the Children’s Area to honor this year’s theme–”Creating Soluntions for the World We Share”.
	Library Bucks Day: March 1 – April 26, 2 P.M. Time: Library Open hours. The popular Library Bucks are back! Kids read library books to earn Library Bucks. The more your read, the more Library Bucks you earn! The more Library Bucks you earn, the better chances to win your dream prizes at the Kids Auction! The auction is scheduled at 3:00 P.M. on April 26, 2011. Small items will be for sale after the auction. A balloon artist will also be onsite making balloon figures for you to purchase. All sales are Library Bucks only. Pick up a reading log and start reading, there’s no time to wait! *To watch a video of last year’s auction, click HERE.
	Duct Tape Crafts for Teens Day: Tuesday, March 15. Time: 6:30-8 PM. Join us for the fun of making a colorful wallet entirely out of ordinary duct tape! Supplies and materials are provided. Seats are limited, a free ticket is required to attend. Tickets are available beginning at 6:00 pm at the Information Desk.

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Happy New Year from Centerville Library!

Click on the present to see what’s inside!

Many of the pictures in this multimedia poster have a link to the video of the event. Click on some of them and enjoy!

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2009 Summer Programs at Centerville Library

Click HERE to download a complete summer programs flyer.

	Tuesday, June 23, 1:30-5:30 P.M. Thursday, June 25, 10:00 A.M.-4:00 P.M. Kids Library Camp A 2-day camp for cool kids entering 4th-8th grade. Classes include the library and library jobs, resources for homework help, Internet surfing and safety, movie-making, YouTube, carfts and more. Registration required and is already full. Update: We had so much fun! Check out the camp video posted on July 28, 2009.
	Tuesday, June 30, 2 P.M. Movie-making for Beginners For ages 9 and up with some computer knowledge. Learn basics of Windows Movie Maker and how to upload videos to YouTube. Seats are limited. A ticket is required to attend this class. Free tickets are available at the Information Desk 1 hour prior to the event.
	Thursday, July 2, 2-4 P.M. Family Movie Time–Bolt Rated PG. Seats are limited. A ticket is required to watch this movie. Free tickets are available at the Information Desk 1 hour prior to show time.
	Thursday, July 9, 2-3 P.M. Puppet Show–Just So Stories Come watch three fun stories: “How the whale go his throat”, “The elephant child”, and “How the Rhinoceros got his skin”, presented by P&T Puppets. This puppet show will be held outdoors in the library’s patio. Some seating areas may not have shade. You are advised to wear a hat to shield the sun.
	Thursday, July 16, 2-3 P.M. Origami Fun for Kids Join us for creative origami making. Presented by Christie’s Creative Cupboard. Young children must be accompanied by an adult. Seats are limited. A ticket is required to attend this event. Free tickets are available at the Information Desk 1 hour prior to the event.
	Thursday, July 23, 4-5 P.M. Line Dance! Presented by Amy and Friends Line Dance. For ages 3-103. Everybody can dance! Please wear sneakers or comfortable shoes. Young children must be accompanied by an adult.
	Thursday, July 30, 2-3 P.M. YouTube Video Showcase Come watch videos made by you and your friends. Upload your home-made videos on YouTube to share with us. Find out details at the Information Desk.
	Tuesday, August 4, 2 P.M. Dan Chan Magic Man and Kat the Acrobat Magic+acrobatics+juggling+more. Dan and Kat are back with new tricks! Don’t miss it! This show will be held outdoors in the library’s patio. Some seating areas may not have shade. You are advised to wear a hat to shield the sun.

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Calling kids entering 6th to 9th grade!

Summer volunteering opportunity for incoming 6th – 9th graders!

Kid Power volunteers are wanted at Centerville and Irvington Libraries.

Help younger children play the Summer Reading Game and assist with special library events. It’s fun, it’s great, and you earn work experiences, too!

Sign-ups start first week of May. Please print out the application packet from one of the links below and turn it in as early as possible before all the spaces are taken.

Application packet for Centerville Library–
Kid Power application packet (pdf format)
Kid Power application packet (doc format)

Centerville Library is located at 3801 Nicolet Ave., Fremont, CA 94536. For more information, please contact Beth Buchanan (510) 795-2629 or email ebuchanan@aclibrary.org

Application packet for Irvington Library–
Kid Power Applicaiton Packet (pdf format)
Kid Power Application Packet (doc format)

Irvington Library is located at 41825 Greenpark Dr., Fremont, CA 94538. For more information, please contact Sally Kusalo (510) 795-2631 or email skusalo@aclibrary.org

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Come talk Books !

We have so many things going on ! On January 14th at the Irvington library we will  watch Tuck Everlasting at 3pm . Then on January 28 at 330 we will compare the book to the movie. Sign up for the book club and get a guaranteed seat at the movie. Everyone else - show up 1/2 hour early for a ticket.

Here is the movie trailer:

Call 795 -2631 or email Bethfor more more information.

This week on January 8th at 4pm we will be discussingThe View from Saturday at the Centerville Library.Questions to think about:

Would you ever want to compete in an Academic Bowl?

Have you ever been embarrassed by a parent or grandparent?

Have you ever been compared to an older sibling or relative or even another kid in your neighborhood? How did it make you feel?

For more information call 795- 2629 or email Beth .

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Heir Apparent

Heir Apparent by Vivian Vande Velde is the book we are reading for The Centerville Kid’s Book Club ( Thursday 4-5). I was going to give a quick description, but Unshelved, a library on-line comic, give a great description here. Actually , if the you are between the ages of 10-15 and are looking for something to read , check out the book club pages at Unshelved every Sunday.

If you join us for the book discussion on Thursday,here are some questions to think about:

If you could have one of the magical objects in the game, which would you choose?

Do you think games can be dangerous? Why or Why not? Who should protect children from dangerous or violent games?

Jannine gets a number of chances to try again. Each time she ‘dies’ ,she does better. Have you ever wanted a ‘do-over’ ? Do you think you would do better if you had a second chance?

Join us Thursday form 4 to 5 at the Centerville Library.

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