October is a busy time in Libraries! It is Ontario Public Library Week (October 16-22), Canadian Library Month and Dyslexia Awareness Month!
Show your support for the CM Libraries by participating in our month-long social media challenge! See our newsletter for more information about our challenge as well as what we are doing for Ontario Public Library Week.
READ October is the International Dyslexia Association (Ontario)’s awareness campaign. The CM Libraries’ has been the recipient of 2 grants from the Dyslexia Association which we have used to purchase new decodable books. Visit readOctober.com for more details about the Dyslexia Association’s fundraising campaigns. Both branches of the CM Libraries will be using “Red Lights” as a visual reminder of Dyslexia awareness.
After a rousing inaugural meeting, we are really excited about our Library Book Club! In acknowledgement of Truth and Reconciliation Day, our first book was “Sufferance” by Thomas King. Our next Book Club meeting will be on Wednesday, October 26th at the Millbrook Branch at 3:00pm. We will be discussing the book “Ru” by Kim Thuy. Going forward, we will meet on the fourth Wednesday of the month; please contact the CM Libraries if you are interested in participating.
We are continuing with Fitness for Your Aging Brain! Join us on Wednesdays at 1:30pm to get the most out of your aging brain! In these physically active classes, you will be working on balance, coordination, cardio, and strength, while your brain works simultaneously on challenging mental tasks. The classes can be taken at home, but we thought it would be fun to show the prerecorded video on the big screen for everyone to participate at the same time. While everyone is welcome, if you are 55 years or older, then this activity is for you!
We will have Take Home Crafts for Adults available the last Wednesday of every month. Take time for yourself and learn something new! We will also be continuing on with our Community Threads if you would like to work on crafts in a social setting.
Join us at the Bruce Johnston Branch on Saturday, October 15th for a fun filled day! We’re starting off the day at 10:00am by bringing back our “Kids No Bake Cooking Club” as well as a Halloween Crafts for kids drop-in from 11:00am-1:00pm! Also, from 11:00am-1pm on the other side of the library, we will be hosting Community Threads – drop by and chat about your latest handicrafts. And lastly, we’ll be finishing off the day by having our Cookbook Book Club at 1:30pm, which will focus on ‘kitchen equipment’. Do you have an interesting piece of equipment that you would like to demonstrate?
On top of all of this we will be continuing with our many children’s programs such as Mini-‘STEAM’ticians on Wednesdays; Storytime on Thursdays & Fridays. (Please note, rather than our usual format, Storytime on October 20/21 and 27/28 will be self-led. Courtney will provide a variety of activities for your little ones to enjoy with their parents/guardians – ask at the desk for the activities.) And new Learning Trails will be put out every Wednesday at the Millbrook Branch and every Thursday at the Bruce Johnston Branch.
We’d like to hear from you! If you have any interesting ideas for fun and engaging activities, please let us know. For detailed information about these activities, check out our October newsletter on our website. Follow us on social media (search for “CMLibraries” on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter) to see our special programming notices.
By Courtney Spence, Library Programmer
