Bored, Nothing to Do? Come to the Library!

While the summer reading program at the library is over (if you still have your reading log out, bring it in now), summer vacation is far from over. There are still about six weeks left until school starts and kids are starting to get bored. Vacations and a trip to grandma’s house might kill a few of those weeks. But when you are in Liberal trips to the library can fill in some of that boredom. Here are three boredom busters for kids in Liberal.

#1 Programs at the library. Story times on Mondays and Thursdays at 11:15 and Tuesday evenings at 6:00 will be opened up to children of all ages, so come on the day of the week that is most convenient. We have another movie at the library (with tons of hot, fresh popcorn and cold lemonade). We are playing Pictionary, forming a book club for those in grades 3-6, playing sports on the lawn of the library and starting up chess at the library again. For younger kids we have a special toddler music hour with musical instruments, songs, dance and movement. To get a calendar, stop by the library, look online for the dates and times or call the library at 626-0180.

 #2 Tumblebooks. Just because summer reading is over, doesn’t mean that kids should stop reading. To encourage reading, Liberal Memorial Library now has access to Tumblebooks as part of the Kansas EZ Library databases. Tumblebooks are ebooks with audio for kids. You can access talking stories in English or Spanish with any computer, cell phone or tablet that can access the Internet through the library’s website. If you are waiting in line at the grocery store or stuck in an airport with your kids, go to lmlibrary.org and click on the Tumblebooks icon to begin listening to stories.

 #3 Books. We have so much great fiction for children of all ages at the library that sometimes our non-fiction section gets overlooked. Summer is a great time to encourage readers to pick a topic and learn more about it. If you are playing baseball this summer, check out a book improving baseball skills. We have books on crafts, disgusting animals, dinosaurs, the outdoors, famous people and how-to and building books. Why not try to break a world record this summer? I always wanted to break a pogo stick jumping record, but sadly never achieved pogo greatness. Copies of the Guinness Book of World Records are always flying off the shelf. Stop by the library to pick up a July calendar, check out books or just hang out. For more information call us at 620-626-0180 (extension four for the children’s department).