#ThrowbackThursday Wii at the Library!

Last Saturday was really exciting because we finally had our first gaming program at the library! Children were invited to spend the afternoon playing a video game tournament with their friends on our new Nintendo Wii game consoles.

Children who attended got to play Wii on the big screen in the community room!  First, we went over the basics of how to use the controllers safely and what buttons to press to play. Then, we got started! The kids raced each other in Mariokart in groups of four.  Those who weren't playing cheered their friends, made Lego creations in their downtime or had some snacks while they waited.  Special helpers Emily and Julia assisted me in keeping score. 

After playing Mariokart, we started a Wii Sports Tournament, which included games of bowling and basketball.  After we finished the tournaments, everyone received a certificate of participation and left with a smile on their face.  We can't wait to host our next gaming afternoon...we hope to have up two screens with two gaming systems going at once! Check out the pictures below and stay tuned for more game afternoons!

Happy Valentine's Day From the Montauk Library!

Happy Valentine's Day from the Montauk Library! In celebration of Valentine's Day we had a Valentine's Day Dance for preschoolers.  Children were invited to dance under our disco ball to the latest tunes and show us their moves! We also had toys set up for the reluctant dancers to play with, including a kitchen set, play food, a shopping cart, a teeter totter, push toys, cars and trucks and a see-through tunnel! We also had Valentine's Day coloring sheets and crayons so the little artists in attendance could make pictures for their Valentines.  Everyone who attended got to take home a Valentine's Day balloon as well!  There was a lot of dancing and playing and everyone had a blast...check out the pictures below!

New Year - New Space! Check Out the Changes in the Children's Room!

It's a new year and there are big changes happening in the children's area at the Montauk Library! We decided to switch things up and moved some shelves in the children's room to make the space more open and airy.  This allows for more room to play, color and explore.  With the increased space we've added some fun new toys such as a full kitchen set, play food, pots, pans, cars, trucks, a magnetic board with shapes, puppets, a puppet show theater, and more!  For our little artists we added new butcher block paper and new crayons. 

There's also something for parents too - we've added some adult-sized chairs and a parents' collection to browse while children are playing, learning and exploring.  We hope you like what we've done with the space - we are still adding things everyday! Stop by and experience our new space for yourself today!

Holiday Cookie Decorating at the Montauk Library!

This past Saturday, we held a holiday cookie decorating program at the Montauk Library. So many children came that we had to run out and get extra supplies!  Everyone had a lot of fun and made some really beautiful cookies!

Every child who registered was able to create three different cookies.  The first cookies everyone decorated to look like reindeer.  We used chocolate or vanilla frosting, then used pretzels for the antlers, an m&m for the nose and either mini marshmallows or m&ms for the eyes and mouth.  The second cookie we made to look like melted snowmen! We first frosted the cookies with vanilla frosting and then used a big marshmallow for the head.  We used gel icing to draw a face on the marshmallow and then used mini chocolate chips or m&ms for the snowman's buttons.  Finally, pull-and-peel Twizzlers were used for the snowman's arms and scarf. 

Children had the option of adding a hat to their snowman as well, using a Reese's peanut butter cup.  For the third cookie, everyone got to be creative and design their own using the candy and frosting provided.  Everyone took their cookies home in a festive treat box. We all had so much fun and made some yummy creations!  Check out the pictures below and see the upcoming children's programs here.

Tis the Season...To Be Crafty!

This past Tuesday afternoon, the Montauk Library held a holiday craft program for kids after school.  During the "crafternoon" we made a bunch of different projects and enjoyed cookies and juice.  We made snowman ornaments, 3D tissue paper wreaths, reindeer hats and wooden ornaments. 

For the snowman ornaments, each child got a plastic ornament and filled it partially with fake snow.  After putting the top back on the ornament, they glued on eyes, nose, mouth and two pom poms for earmuffs.  Finally, a line of glue was applied to the top of the ornament and then the ornament was dipped in glitter to form the rest of the earmuffs.  This was a challenging craft to do, but everyone made really nice projects!

For the wreaths, children were given a foam wreath cut out with a sparkly bow and they then cut or ripped small pieces of different colored tissue paper, crumpled it up and glued it to the wreath.  This created a three dimensional Christmas wreath which looked really cool!

Many children also chose to decorate wooden ornaments with markers.  We had snowmen, Christmas trees, stars and other shapes and the kids used their own creativity and imagination to design and color in these ornaments.

Finally, everyone made reindeer hats (my personal favorite)!  Everyone colored in their own reindeer antlers and cut them out,  Then, they were fitted for a headband and attached the antlers to it. Don't for get the red nose - a red nose was added to those who wanted to channel Rudolph!  These came out so great!  Check out more pictures below and see what's happening in the children's department next here.

Gingerbread Fun at the Library!

This past Saturday we had over thirty five children come to the library with their friends and family to make gingerbread houses! Each child got their own gingerbread house kit which came with the house pieces, icing, and decorative candy. 

First, everyone used the icing to "glue" their house pieces together, which was a lot of hard work since sometimes they didn't stick and fell down.  It took a lot of icing and some help from others, but everyone got their houses up and ready to decorate!

Once the houses were put together, children applied icing to the outside of the houses and stuck candy to them to decorate.  Everyone did a really amazing job and we had some really beautiful houses when we were all done!  Check out the pictures below and see what's happening next at the library here!