DECEMBER 2022
Anticipation of first snowflakes
Fire crackling in the hearth
Peaceful crystalline night skies
December
We hope that everyone who registered for a Holiday Gingerbread House enjoys decorating it! Please email photos of your masterpieces to marisfrey@stoningtonfreelibrary.org. Donations from Tom’s News Stand made this program possible this year, so please sign our Thank You card when you pick up your house.
Our early literacy reading challenge, 50 to Grow On, begins on December 1 and will end on March 31. It is open to all children ages 7 and younger and is a perfect read-to-me format for those cold winter nights. We have chosen 40 books and you choose 10. Registration and activity logging is available on
Beanstack.stoningtonfreelibrary.org.
We will have many of the books available on our YouTube channel if your children enjoy listening!
In January, we will have a reading challenge for older children, so watch our website. Monday Story Times will also resume in January.
NOVEMBER 2022
Tom’s News Stand Has Done It AGAIN!
There are no words that can adequately express the depth of our gratitude to Tom and his unending generosity to the Stonington Free Library and the children of our community. For the third time since June, Tom has designated a collection bucket at his popular store for donations to Children’s Programming at the library. He delivered another $1240.40 last week, bringing the total this year to $4,387.16. That is the total for 2022 alone!
Supporters like this are valued for their commitment to our programs, their community spirit, and their confidence in our dedication to our youth. Tom and the support of our entire community keep us moving our programs forward and reaching further into our town. Please be sure to personally thank Tom the next time you are at the News Stand.
He is a true pillar of the community.
October 2022
A month with a small nip to the air
Changing leaves beginning to crunch underfoot
Apples, pumpkins, and cinnamon
Boo!
We are very excited to bring back in-person story times beginning Oct. 3 at 10:30. Each meeting will be about 30 minutes long with stories, finger plays and songs with time for an easy project and socializing afterward. Most appropriate for ages 1 – 5, but all ages and siblings are welcome. If this is your child’s first experience with a group, we are most understanding of age appropriate behavior. Out of respect for all, if your child is having a meltdown, please feel free to leave the story time area and return when “big feelings” have calmed. Also, when you do leave, please move into another room, so as not to distract the rest of the group – thank you very much for understanding!
We will have our Grab & Go on October 3 beginning at 11 am (AFTER Story Time). This month, we have ghosts made of Tootsie Pops! These are available while supplies last.
Finally, we have the third graders visiting the library in October, so the Children and Teen Rooms will open at 10:30 on October 14, October 18, and October 19.
We look forward to seeing you!
September 2022
Summer 2022 made us feel that things were moving back toward normal. We appreciate everyone who joined our Summer Reading Program and hope that you had fun reading, shopping in the store, finishing your challenge if you were a Little and getting your prize, and deciding where to put your basket raffle tickets. We continued a “Give Back Summer” with many gift card purchases (and some donations!) from our local business friends who have supported us in the past. Still a wonderful experience to step up and help those who have been so generous to us. Those Mystery Bags just kept flying out the door!
Many thanks to Tom’s News who collected TWO jars of contributions to the Children’s Room totaling $3,146.76! We are also very proud to announce that SFL won an honorable mention in Beanstack’s Summer Reading Challenge with an award of $250. Thank you for helping the library achieve this distinction.
September will bring a new reading challenge for all ages – NASA’s Artemis Project: To the Moon, Mars, and Beyond! Read a little, try out some fun activities, and log everything in your Beanstack account. Registration opens August 29 at stoningtonfreelibrary.beanstack.org. If you are posting to social media, use the hashtags #STEAMinLIB and #BeanBlast to help us win a circulation backpack of STEM activities from the Space Science Institute. We also have some very cool space-related prizes for raffle winners here at the library!
Monthly Grab & Go kits will be available on the first Monday of the month, beginning Sept.12 (due to the holiday). We have two different choices in September to cover everyone from ages 2 – 13. In person Story Times will resume in October on Mondays at 10:30 – we are excited to see you here again!
Keep reading, my friends!
Maris Frey
June 2022
Change is in the Air
We are finally seeing beautiful spring weather, with summer just around the corner. Our very popular Summer Reading program begins on June 20 and this year, we have some changes that we hope will make things even more exciting and user friendly.
We have eliminated all paper raffle tickets – no more having to write names and phone numbers! All raffles have photos on the Beanstack site and you just choose where you want to place your chance. We have also made the Middles and Bigs a 20 minute goal to earn a Camp Buck. Additionally, they will also automatically get a raffle entry at every 40 minute increment. Middles and Bigs will earn both Camp Bucks to spend in the store and raffle tickets until they read 30 hours. At that time, all reading time will earn raffle tickets up to 90 hours. That will conclude the program for them. Remember to log reading time online, as that will determine how many Camp Bucks earned when you come into the library. There will not be a limit on Mystery Bags this year, as long as supplies last.
Littles will log books read online – every 5 books wins a raffle ticket and after 30 books, they will earn a completion prize. Additionally, Littles can complete 5 activity badges that earn an additional 5 raffle tickets. Their raffle prizes are pictured online. Super easy to log books for Littles – just scan the barcode on the back cover as you finish the book.
Registration is online beginning on June 20th. The Library is closed that day to observe Juneteenth, but that is the beauty of an online program – you can register from home at stoningtonfreelibrary.beanstack.com
We will have some fun programs this summer and our calendar is also here, along with Parent Letters for our programs – Littles and Middles/Bigs. And to start the month off, we have a Grab & Go Fire Breathing Dragon for ages 3 – 8 to pick up June 6, while supplies last.
Can’t wait to see everyone!
May 2022
It’s May! It’s May!
Let’s welcome the beginning of spring (in New England) with some fun growing activities. On May 2, our Grab & Go bags are a perfect way to celebrate the upcoming growing season – Make Your Own Seed Balls! You will get everything you need to make some lovely and easy to plant flower seed balls that are environmentally friendly. They are made possible with our Seed Library and are a great tie-in with our Pollinators Kit that you can check out. Our Grab & Go bags are available while supplies last.
Summer Reading is coming up soon with registration opening on June 20 (we are closed this day in honor of Juneteenth, but that is the beauty of online registration!) The Store will open on June 27 and we have worked hard to streamline and improve your experience with Beanstack. We have also made some exciting changes to our program and we have Parent Letters explaining what to expect. Monday Outdoor Story Times will begin on June 27 (weather permitting). Please bring a blanket and chairs to be comfy. We will have Grab & Go activities on Thursdays June 23 – August 4 and Noreen Kepple will be here to direct a garden activity for ages 4 – 8 on June 28 (this one will require registration). We are also welcoming back Judi the Hula Hoop Queen on July 7 with a rain date of July 12. Her program, Dancing with Hoops, is fun for all ages and we do need registration so we have enough hoops for everyone!
We are looking forward to a wonderful summer program with popular Mystery Bags, exciting new raffle prizes, and a Store filled with awesome options. We just may have a few surprises up our sleeves so join us to start a fun-filled reading journey.
April 2022
We will have some great poetry books on display this month in honor of National Poetry Month – drop by and find something fun.
Our Reading Challenges, 50 to Grow On for ages 7 and younger and Family Reading Challenge for students in grades 1 – 8, will both end on April 4.
Our Grab & Go this month will tie in with National Library Week and what better way to celebrate than with books! Come to the Children’s Room from April 4 – April 10 and choose a book to keep! We have origami bookmarks to make or pop-art bookmarks to color. And there’s a snack to enjoy with your new book.
We are in the process of finalizing plans for our Summer Reading Program 2022. More details will be upcoming in next month’s eLibrarian!
As always, stay healthy and safe,
Maris Frey
March 2022
Spring into a New Season
Women’s History Month
Our Reading Challenges, 50 to Grow On for ages 7 and younger and Family Reading Challenge for students in grades 1 – 8, are ongoing. They will both end on April 4, but there is still plenty of time to participate. In fact, you need to read fewer than 2 books a day to finish 50 to Grow On! Join the fun today! If you already have a Beanstack account, you can register online and if you don’t, you can create an account at stoningtonfreelibrary.beanstack.org. There is an app for your devices that makes it very easy to log your progress.
Stop by and see our Women’s History Month displays and learn something new! We will also have St. Patrick’s Day and spring books spotlighted.
Our March Grab & Go is very special this month – we have desk pets and habitats for you to put together and decorate. Pick yours up on March 7 while supplies last. This month’s project is for ages 4 – 10.
As always, stay healthy and safe,
Maris Frey
February 2022
A Season for Caring
Valentine’s Day and Black History Month are both celebrated this month. We are reminded of the many ways we can show kindness, whether it is a hug or kiss for our family, a sweet card with friendship wishes, or expanding our awareness and appreciation of Black contributions to our world.
We have two Grab & Go options this month: sticker scenes for ages 2 – 8 and Valentine Make a “Love” Pet Craft for ages 5 – 12. Both will be available on February 7, while supplies last.
We have many books by black authors on display this month, so be certain to browse for something new. Some recent staff favorites in Young Adult authors are Tiffany D. Jackson and Angie Thomas, Jason Reynolds, Brandy Colbert and Kwame Alexander for teens and middle schoolers and Gaia Cornwall, Nikole Hannah-Jones and Winsom Bingham have wonderful picture books. And anything illustrated by Jerry Pinkney or Kadir Nelson is going to be magnificent. So many new and exciting voices to discover in children’s literature!
Our Winter Reading Challenges are ongoing. You can register for 50 to Grow On (ages 7 and younger) and Family Reading Challenge (grades 1 – 8) online on your Beanstack app or you can create an account at stoningtonfreelibrary.beanstack.org. There are selections from both challenges on our YouTube channel, so tune in!
As always, stay healthy and safe.
Maris Frey
January 2022
We are offering our Winter Reading Challenges and you can register now. 50 to Grow On (ages 0 – 7) and our Family Reading Challenge (grades 1 – 8) will begin on January 3 and run through April 4. Registration is online through Beanstack and all logging can be done online. We do have paper logs and stickers for 50 to Grow On if you would like to pick one up to bring home. All completion prizes for 50 to Grow On will be picked up at the library and your raffle ticket should be entered virtually for a chance at a stuffed animal by April 4. Family Reading Challenge participants earn a virtual ticket for each book read and they are entered for a chance for a Kindle Fire tablet. Look at our YouTube channel for books being read aloud for these challenges. We will also have copies on display in the library for check out. It’s a fun way to try out some new titles or authors and discover new favorites. Remember we always have curbside pickup available.
Grab & Go bags will be available January 3 with a sparkling snowflake to create for ages 4 – 12 and a little surprise for a healthy New Year from our own Millie Donovan. They are first come, first served while supplies last.
Thanks to the generosity of Tom’s News, we are trying out a new program, Zoom Minecraft Mania, on January 28, 4:15pm – 6pm. We are teaming up with the Mystic Noank Library and grades K – 5 can join our Zoom and play Minecraft from home. Space is limited for this program and registration will be online and open January 10. You can link to the registration by scanning the QR code on the flyer. We will send out the Zoom link a couple days before the event. We hope this is a successful program and that we can offer it again. Please join us for a fun Friday afternoon.
As always, stay healthy and safe.
Maris Frey
December 2021
The holiday season is upon us and with it comes joy, anticipation, and a celebration of family traditions. We are offering a fun activity and reading challenge, Holidays Around the World, that enriches knowledge of different cultures. You can sign up online through stoningtonfreelibrary.beanstack.org. All logging is online through Beanstack. The Grab & Go bags on December 6 will have many activities for this challenge included – first come, first served.
Our annual Gingerbread House Decorating workshop on December 9 (as a take home activity) is currently filled, but we are making a wait list. Life happens and we often have some unclaimed houses. Please email marisfrey@stoningtonfreelibrary.org with your family name, children’s ages, email, and phone number. We will call if there is an opening, but as always, we do not leave voicemail messages. The call will come from the library or my cell which has a 774 area code.
Our 50 to Grow On and our Family Reading Challenge will begin on January 3rd and run through April 4th. Registration is online through Beanstack and all logging can be done online. We do have paper logs and stickers for 50 to Grow On if you would like to pick one up to bring home. All completion prizes for 50 to Grow On will be picked up at the library and your raffle ticket should be entered virtually for a chance at a stuffed animal by April 4. Family Reading Challenge participants earn a virtual ticket for each book read and they should be entered for a chance for a Kindle Fire tablet by April 4.
As we move into January, we will have books from both challenges available on our YouTube channel playlists.
November 2021
November is a month for gratitude – from Veterans Day to Thanksgiving, we recognize the many things we are thankful for in our world. There is always something that shines in our lives, sometimes we just have to pause and take a silent moment to find and acknowledge it. Let’s try to do that every day this month.
Thanks to all who participated in our first Hallow – Read challenge. We loved seeing your photos and hope you had some fun! We certainly did as we chose badges and activities. Our next challenge, Holidays Around the World begins on November 29. This one is for ages 4 – 12 and we will again include lots of fun activities for the challenge in our December Grab & Go Bags on December 6th. All registrations and badges are on stoningtonfreelibrary.beanstack.org.
We have a fun Grab & Go Bag this month, filled with a Thanksgiving Family Jeopardy game along with sticker scenes and coloring for the young family members. These are while supplies last. You can always email me to check if we have any left – marisfrey@stoningtonfreelibrary.org. Don’t forget to stop in or arrange curbside pickup for some great Thanksgiving books!
Registration opens November 19 for our VERY popular Gingerbread House Decorating program with a pickup on December 9! This is a free activity to enjoy at home and we do limit it to ONE per family. You can sign up online. We will send an email the week of the event to the address you provide, which will require a confirmation. We always have a wait list for this program and we do try to accommodate as many families as we have houses. We are SO grateful to Vesta Bakery in Westerly for making the cutest, most delicious gingerbread houses and we have so much fun buying all the goodies to decorate them! Please remember to email photos of your finished masterpieces to marisfrey@stoningtonfreelibrary.com.
Enjoy the month of Thankful.
October 2021
Lots of things are happening downstairs as we move into autumn!
Registration for our new Hallow – Read challenge opened on Sept. 27; go to BEANSTACK to sign up. All registration and all logging will be online. This program is for children ages 2 – 8 and will run until November 1. There will be activities and crafts, so be sure to pick up a Grab & Go bag at the library on Oct. 4, while supplies last.
Remember we have a new story time posting on our YouTube channel every Monday morning, with the United Way doing a special read aloud on Oct. 4 online. Look under the playlist Story Time with Mrs. Frey, but check out other options in the Picture Book Story Time playlist. On October 18 and 25, we will have Halloween Story Times (no Story Time Oct. 11).
Mark your calendars now to pick up your Grab & Go bag on Nov. 1, with a Thanksgiving Jeopardy game for the family to play and a Thanksgiving sticker scene and coloring sheet.
Enjoy apple season and fall foliage!
September 2021
Due to the Labor Day Holiday, our first Monday of the Month Grab & Go Bags will be available on September 13th. We are offering a Fall Leaf Craft for ages 2 – 6 and a Back to School Stress Ball for ages 7 – 12 (this was one of our most popular over the summer, so we are giving those who missed out a second chance). Both of these are available while supplies last.
Virtual Story Times will resume on September 13 on our YouTube channel on Monday mornings. We will be starting off with two brand new books, Noah’s Seal by Layn Marlow and Don’t Worry, Little Crab by Chris Haughton. Tune in and watch whenever is most convenient for your family.
Thanks to our new software, Beanstack, we will offer a fun month-long program – Hallow-Read! The program will begin on September 27 and run through November 1. You will sign up online via the Beanstack website or app (a tip – the app is much easier to use – download it now). If you already used Beanstack over the summer, please use your same user name and password to avoid duplicate accounts. There are activities, a playlist of music, crafts, videos and books to enjoy. Our Grab & Go Bags on Oct. 4 will have materials for crafts and some will even have a little surprise. These will be available as supplies last. Have some spooky fun!
I am also happy to report that overall, 79% of the children and teens registered for our Summer Reading Program participated by reading this summer! I hope everyone enjoyed themselves and found some good books.
Keep reading, my friends!
Maris Frey
August 2021
August brings an end to our Summer Reading Programs for Children, Teens, and Adults. We welcomed enthusiastic readers and shoppers to our Store and Basket Raffles and we were energized by your excitement. A second “Give Back Summer” involved many gift card purchases (and some donations!) from our local business friends who have always supported us in the past. It felt great to step up and help them through some tough times these last two summers. Those Mystery Bags just kept flying out the door!
If you are interested in our last few activities, stop in to pick a Stress Ball Grab & Go Kit on Monday, August 2 and be sure to sign up online for Teen Aromatherapy which is a ZOOM program led by Kim Larkin on Thursday August 5 @ 4:30 (ages 10+). Kits for this program are available to pick up in advance.
All Basket Raffle winners will be telephoned August 9. Please be sure to check your messages if you miss our call.
Looking ahead, we will offer monthly Grab & Go kits on the first Monday of the month, beginning Sept.13 (due to the holiday). Online Story Times will resume in September and they will be posted to our YouTube channel on Mondays. Thanks to our new software, Beanstack, we will offer a fun month-long program in October – Hallow-Read with books and activities to suit the season. Watch our website and social media for further details.
Keep reading, my friends!
Maris Frey
July 2021
Sum, Sum, Summertime!
Many things are happening this month for children and teens! Remember to sign up for Summer Reading if you haven’t had a chance to yet. Our new software, Beanstack, is proving to be a popular resource. You can sign up (all ages) at stoningtonfreelibrary.beanstack.org and then track everything when you download the Beanstack app. As a heads up, as the parent, you are creating the account for the family in your name (the “driver” or account creator) and everyone else is an additional reader in your “car”. That way it’s only one account, one user name, one password. The app is simple to use, colorful and fun without being too busy, and also has a built in timer! In this transition year, we are still offering paper logs and money to give everyone the opportunity to visually track their reading and reinforce their math skills.
Hula Hoop Dancing is back on the lawn July 7 at 1pm, weather permitting with a rain date of July 14. Online registration opens June 25. We have a ZOOM Chocolate Tasting Workshop on July 15 at 4pm for ages 8 – 14. Space is limited and online registration opens July 8 with kits available for pickup at the library beginning that day also. Candy Sushi will be a Grab & Go on July 29 with online registration beginning July 17. This program will be for ages 7 – 11 and also ages 12+. Again, space will be limited. A Zoom Teen Aromatherapy Workshop with both botanical pillow and soap making will be August 5 with registration opening July 24. This workshop is for ages 10+ with limited space. Kits will be available for pickup beginning July 28. Mondays will be our Grab & Go days with Placemat Coloring (ages 2 – 7) July 12, Kool Aid Playdough Making (ages 3 – 8) July 19, Candle Decorating (ages 7 – 14) July 26 and Waterbead Stress Balls (great for back to school!) (ages 7 – 14) August 2.
The last day for all Summer Reading redemptions is August 6 by 5pm.
Happy Reading!!
June 2021
Summer is Coming . . .
We paid close attention to all your comments in our survey last summer and with them in mind, we have a new, exciting, user friendly experience to offer this year. Our new software program, Beanstack will make participating in our summer reading programs faster and easier. You can register your entire family with one login and password and use a simple app on your mobile devices to log reading time. We will have paper logs for your child to keep track of their time and paper money to reinforce those math skills. The store will be back with social distancing guidelines and all patrons age 2 and older will need to wear masks covering their noses and mouths in the library. This is to keep everyone healthy and safe.
Registration Week will begin June 14 and the Store will open June 21. You will be able to register for the program online at Stoningtonfreelibrary.beanstack.org beginning June 14. Download the Beanstack app to any device, look for our library and you can quickly and easily log your reading (Adult Summer Reading also!) Look for further information to come home from school and on our website. Challenging times can provide opportunities for improvements and we are excited to share some of our new features. Sneak peek – the Littles group will have their own, exclusive raffle baskets with virtual ticket entries!
Our first program will be a Grab and Go Birdfeeder kit on June 29 for ages 4 and older, while supplies last. Can’t wait to get started!
Happy Reading,
Maris Frey and Cathy Taylor
May 2021
Pequot Plant Farm donated some adorable succulent plants when our evergreen seedlings didn’t arrive in time for our Earth Day Grab and Go. Happy to report that our seedlings have arrived, so please come by the library starting Monday, May 3 to get your free tree to plant.
On the subject of Grab and Go, on May 7, we will have a great gift for the mom in your life – bath fizzie kits! Enjoy making and indulge Mom in a mini spa treatment.
We paid close attention to all your comments in our survey last summer and with them in mind, we have a new, exciting, user friendly experience to offer this year. Our new software program, Beanstack will make participating in our summer reading programs faster and easier. You can register your entire family with one login and password and use a simple app on your mobile devices to log reading time. We will have paper logs for your child to keep track of their time and paper money to reinforce those math skills. The store will be back with social distancing guidelines and raffle tickets will be digital. There will be some small changes in age groups and Littles will count books read, instead of time. We are adapting programs, as we navigate new elements that work and tweaking things to attempt to maintain the most enjoyable aspects of our Summer Reading Program. Registration Week will begin June 14 and the Store will open June 21. Look for further information to come home from school or on our website.
APRIL 2021
Spring is upon us, with the joys of emerging flowers, longer days, increasingly warm sunshine, and since we live in New England – mud.
It is a time of rebirth and an opportunity to take pleasure in all the beautiful sights around us. There is increased hope for relief from the COVID virus that has overshadowed our days. There is also a growing awareness that we have frequently overlooked the people and things that are truly most important in our lives. We have been given a chance to see that our families, our friends, and the small everyday interactions we have with those around us are truly what brings meaning to our lives. So let us move forward with a resolution to keep those “most important things” front and center in our lives.
Let’s live with
Kindness
Wonder
Empathy
Happiness
Gentle words
Acceptance
Humor
It is always a good day to see the world through the eyes of a child.
MARCH 2021
March is National Women’s History Month and a time to take note of the extraordinary and sometimes unknown roles that women have played throughout history. We have the opportunity to look at both the large and small differences women add to all our lives, every day.
We have a responsibility to reinforce to all our children that women are equal to men and to introduce them to women who have made contributions to our world. They may have worked to improve workers’ rights and safety – Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers’ Strike of 1909, perhaps they opened up education to those denied – I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Freedom and Changed the World, Beatrice’s Goat, Temple Grandin or found paths to freedom – Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom, Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad. They may have played a sport or found expression through dance – Dirt on their Skirts: The Story of the Young Women Who Won the World Championship, A Dance like Starlight: One Ballerina’s Dream, Bunheads. They might have been notable in science – The Doctor with an Eye for Eyes: the Story of Dr. Patricia Bath, Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World, Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race, A Computer Named Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Helped Put America on the Moon. We can read short synopses of outstanding female contributors in Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Tales of Extraordinary Women (Volumes 1 & 2), or Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls:100 Immigrant Women Who Changed the World, and Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History.
There are many books in the library that introduce us to famous women and also many that show us the heroism of fictional women. Rosie Revere, Iggy Peck, Ada Twist and Sofia Valdez teach us that women can become engineers, architects, scientists or presidents. It is a good month for inspiring an appreciation for the women in our lives. Reading books to our children that showcase the many and varied roles that women play in both our past and present will help guarantee equal footing for women in their future.
