Fall 2015 Children's Programs at Barbara Frum

Summer is nearly over and it's already time to start planning ahead for Fall. We have some great programs coming up for children of all ages and we would love to see you there! Please register in person or by calling 416-395-5440.

Preschool Programs:

Baby Time: Bouncing and tickling rhymes, songs and stories for babies from birth to 18 months with parents or caregivers. Tuesdays, September 29 - November 3 2015, 10-10:30 am, 3rd floor, Room B. Register in person or by calling 416-395-5440. Registration begins Tuesday, September 1, 2015.

Toddler Time: Bouncing and tickling rhymes, songs and stories for children 19-35 months with parents or caregivers. Tuesdays, November 10 - December 15, 2015, 10-10:30 am, 3rd Floor, Room B. Register in person or by calling 416-395-5440. Registration begins Tuesday, September 1, 2015.

Pyjama Time: Stories, songs, rhymes & activities for children ages 5 & under with parents and caregivers. Don't forget to wear pyjamas and bring a cuddly friend. Tuesdays September 8-29. Please register in person or by calling 416-395-5440.

Back to School Family Story Time: Join library staff for stories, poems and crafts with a school theme. Saturday September 12, 10-11 AM. Please register in person or by calling 416-395-5440. 

PJ Plus - Parent and Me Jewish Fun: A 10 week parent/tot program of hands on Jewish fun! PJ Library stories, music 'n movin', arts and crafts, puppets for you and your child to have an educationally fun experience while embracing Jewish values. For ages 18 months - 2.5 years beginning Oct. 15th from 10 - 11:15am. Fee - $135.00 For registration and more information contact Adina Lipson at 905-303-1821 x 3258, or register online at www.srcentre.ca

School Age Programs:

After School Club: Looking for something to do after school? Join the after school club! We meet every Tuesday to make stuff, play games, do crafts, talk about books, and more! Take a look here to see what it's all about. Tuesdays September 15 - December 15. For kids ages 8-12. Please call 416-395-5440 for more information and to register.

BF Kids' Book Club: Learn about new books, talk about your favourites, and participate in fun activities. Ages 8-12. Mondays September 28, October 26, December 7, 2015. Please register in person or by calling 416-395-5440.

Halloween Puppet Show: Tailypo: A puppet show performance of the book, "Tailypo" by library staff.    This story is about an old man who eats the tail of a strange creature called the tailypo. Tailypo then returns to seek revenge. Schools please call ahead to book your group.

Swallowing Clouds: A dance and literary workshop: Working with professional dancers, musicians and authors, workshop participants will be guided through an inspiring creative journey leading up to an exciting performance. Presented in partnership with Princess Productions. Ages 9-12. Mondays & Thursdays November 2-19, 4-6 PM. Snacks will be provided. Please register in person or by calling 416-395-5440.

MAP Family Saturdays - Black Creek Pioneer Village Visits Barbara Frum: Learn how wool from a sheep's back turns into a shawl or sweater. Tease, card, spin wool and take home your own woolen bracelet. Suitable for kids ages 5-12. Space is limited. Please register in person or by calling 416-395-5440. Registration starts Tuesday, October 6, 2015.

Capoeira at Barbara Frum Branch

Are you between 12-18 years old? Are you interested in music, dance, or martial arts? Join us at Barbara Frum on Monday July 13^th, 2015 at 2:00 PM for an amazing introductory workshop to Capoeira run by Axe Capoeira Toronto. Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art that combines music, dance and martial arts. Complex and beautiful, Capoeira is fun and a great workout!

Come out and try this rhythmic, intense and powerful art! Register in person or by calling 416-395-5440.

Also check out some of these great resources on Capoeira:

     

          

 

Celebrating the End of a Great School Year with the After School Club at Barbara Frum

Barbara Frum had a great time this year in our after school club - the kids made some awesome things like puppets, altered books, LED bracelets, Banana pianos, and stop motion movies. Check out some of the kids' amazing work below!

Summer Reading Club Mural:
Everyone worked really hard designing and colouring this beautiful mural for this year's summer reading club.

Puppets: 
Everyone got creative making and decorating sock puppets and gloves!


    

       

Altered Books:
The kids turned unwanted and damaged books into new works of art and functional items like treasure chests. This was such a popular program we are offering this again this summer on Thursday July 23rd at 2 PM. Please register in preson or by calling 416-395-5440.

 

LED Bracelets & Pocket Lights:
Using foam, coin cell batteries and mini LED lights we made bracelets and pocket lights.

     

Makey Makey Banana Piano: 
We learned about circuits and had an amazing time making a piano out of bananas.

Lego!:  

     
   
  


Stop Motion Animation:
The kids used plasticine, lego, and the Stop Motion App on iPads to create their movies.
 

   

  
After school club will take a break for the summer, but will return in September and run all year long on Tuesdays from 4-5 PM with more great free activities for children ages 8-12. Please call 416-395-5440 for more information. We hope to see you there! 

Are you Keeping up with the Kardashians?

Even if you're not, I’m sure you’ve heard about Bruce Jenner and the transformation into Caitlyn Jenner. After years of battling a gender identity crisis, Jenner finally got the courage and announced the decision to undergo gender transformation surgeries. You can see the beginning of her cosmetic transformation on the cover of July's Vanity Fair. Can't wait that long? Check out other magazines like People, Us Weekly, Cosmopolitan, and GQ. We have copies in branch or use Zinio and browse hundreds of magazines from the comfort of your home, free with your library card. Interested in other transgender celebrities? Check out our LGBTQ collection. The Toronto Public Library values diversity and equity and is proud to once again be participating in this year's Pride Parade taking place on Sunday, June 28th, 2015.  For more info click here.

 

Bright sparks in the book world

                        

Enjoy the delights that only a truly well-written book can offer - all of these titles have either been recently nominated for major international awards or have actually won them. Book Club reading, anybody?

A Girl is a Half Formed Thing by McBride, Eimear

Americanah by Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi

Burial Rites by Kent Hannah

The Lowland by Lahiri, Jhumpa

The Undertaking by Magee, Audrey     

The Death of Bees by O’Donnell, Lisa

How to be Both by Smith, Ali,                               

The Lives of Others by Mukherjee, Neel

Nora Webster : A Novel by Tóibín, Colm,               

The Sound of Things Falling by Vásquez, Juan G.abriel

Absolution by Flanery, Patrick

The Detour by Bakker, Gerbrand

The Light of Amsterdam by Park, David

The Spinning Heart by Ryan, Donal

Traveler of the Century by Neuman, Andrés

The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Flanagan, Richard

To Rise Again at a Decent Hour by Ferris, Joshua

We are all Completely Besides Ourselves by Fowler, Karen

The Woman Who Lost her Soul by Shacochis, Bob

The Back of the Turtle by King, Thomas (Canadian)

My October by Rothman, Claire (Canadian)

The Opening Sky by Thomas, Joan (Canadian)

Sweetland by Crummey, Michael (Canadian)

All my Puny Sorrows by Toews, Miriam (Canadian)

The Betrayers by Bezmozgis, David (Jewish Book Council Award) 

          

 The Ever After of Ashwin Rao by Viswanathan, Padma (Canadian)

Tell by Itani, Frances (Canadian)

Kicking the Sky by De Sa, Anthony (Canadian)

The Hungry Ghosts by Selvadurai, Shyam (Canadian)

The Wondrus Woo by Leung, Carrianne (Canadian)

This is War by Moscovitch, Hannah (Canadian)

Cataract City by Davidson, Craig (Canadian)

The Mathematician’s Shiva by Rojstaczer, Stuart  (Jewish Book Council Award)

Computer Basics at Barbara Frum Library

Ever wanted to learn how to search the Internet to find accurate and reliable information? Need help with computers but were too afraid to ask? We've got you covered! Barbara Frum Library now offers free computer classes in its brand new Le@rning Centre.

Barbara Frum Library's Le@rning Centre

We offer a variety of hands-on computer classes to help newcomers, seniors, adults, teens & children (grades 2-6) learn more about the Internet, online resources, and research databases:

• Computer Basics for Seniors
• Web Basics
• E-mail Made Easy
• Microsoft Word Basics
• Microsoft Excel Basics
• Microsoft PowerPoint Basics
• Social Networking
• eBooks & OverDrive
• Homework & Research Help

For the monthly class schedule, please visit or call the branch at (416) 395-5441. Tickets are distributed on a first-come first-served basis, 30 minutes before each class at the second floor reference desk. Space is limited. See you there!

After School Programs at Barbara Frum Branch

Are you looking for something fun to do after school? Come to Barbara Frum branch on Tuesdays from 4-5 PM! We have tons of great activities planned for kids ages 8-12. Each month we will feature a different theme like Lego Challenges, Gaming, Animation, Maker activities and more! All programs are free! Please call 416-395-5440 for more information and to register.

Upcoming After School Club Activities:

Puppet Making: Tuesday February 17, 2015:  Join us to make sock puppets!

Altered Books: Tuesday February 24, 2015: Make a pop-up book, a secret treasure chest, or a 3D image from an unwanted book!

Gaming: Tuesdays March 3, 10, 24, 31, 2015: March is gaming month! Challenge your friends to an x-box or wii game, or how about a game of chess? Play computer games using playdoh and our makey makey, or join in a good old fashioned game of clue!

Animation: Tuesdays April 7-28, 2015: Would you like to try making a short stop-motion animation clip? Join us Tuesdays after school in April to write a short story, create your characters and scenery, and make your clip using an iPad. Bring your imagination!

Maker Club: Tuesdays May 5-26, 2015: Do you love hands on activities and creating? Join us for weekly projects like making a water piano with Makey Makey, an LED bracelet or pocket light, and more!

Lego & K'Nex Challenge: Tuesdays June 2-16, 2015: Do you love Lego? Use your creativity and imagination in this fun building program. Participate in our weekly building challenges!

Lego & K'Nex Fun at Barbara Frum Branch

This fall Barbara Frum ran its first Lego & K'nex Challenge Club, where kids ages 6-12 built some amazing creations. We saw great buildings, spaceships, gardens and more! Each week we had a different challenge for everyone to complete. We also looked at books about architecture around the world, space exploration, bridges and Lego construction for building inspiration. See some of the incredible designs below:

                                                                                                
        

       

       

       

       

       

       

         

       

   

Here is one of our k'nex builds in action - add a motor and you get a food processor with turning beaters!


 

Bridge Challenge:

We challenged the kids to build bridges which resulted in some pretty creative and impressive structures:

   

  

   

    

Random Card Challenge:

For our last Lego Challenge session everyone picked a card from a pile and had to complete the challenge on the card. Check out the awesome designs below:

      

      

        

      

      

      

The Lego challenge club was a great success! We will be holding another one starting in January 2015. Dates to be determined. Please check the website or call the branch for more details.

Youth Volunteers Needed at Amesbury Park Branch

Do you need to earn community service hours? Are you looking for fun and rewarding opportunities to volunteer your time? Why not volunteer for Amesbury Park's Youth Advisory Group! We are recruiting volunteers to be involved in the creation and development of teen services, programs, collections and more. You don't need to be an avid reader to volunteer with us, you just need to care about your community and helping the library.

If you are...

• between 13-19 years old
• available on Thursday evenings
• can commit 1.5 hours a month to attend meetings

...then this group is for YOU!

The group meets on a monthly basis to plan and work on teen programs and services and provide valuable feedback on our collections and space. Here are some of the awesome benefits of membership:

• develop leadership and civic engagement skills
• influence and advise the library 
• make a difference in your comnunity
• meet new and interesting people....just like you!
• gain experience to list on college, university, scholarship and employment applications 
• earn community hours

If you are interested in joining, pick up an application form in the branch. Not sure if this is for you? Why not attend a meeting to find out more about the group! Contact the branch at 416-395-5420 for upcoming meeting dates. 

Make & Wonder at #MMFTO

The Maker Movement is all the rage lately. Find out all about it at the third ever Toronto Mini Maker Faire, coming up soon on November 22-23 at its largest venue yet, the Toronto Reference Library.

According to the folks at Toronto Mini Maker Faire #MMFTO:

"Makers range from tech enthusiasts to crafters to homesteaders to scientists to garage tinkerers; they are of all ages and backgrounds. The aim of Maker Faire is to entertain, inform, connect and grow this community."

"Toronto Mini Maker Faire is local celebration of makers and the things they make.  It's a two day festival held each year where makers gather to show off their creations to the public - with an emphasis on hands-on experiences for all.  Show & Tell happens at each exhibitor table, plus there are talks, workshops, lots of opportunities to get involved!"

Last week, I attended the launch party for #MMFTO and it was mind-blowing! We screen printed t-shirts, ate Vodka Sushi creations, went on the illuminated teeter-totter, and checked out the 3-D Maker Bots.

#MMFTO Launch Party

Absolut's interactive installation. By tweeting @AbsolutCanada with the colour of your choice (I picked green), the installation automatically changes to that colour.

The illuminated teeter-totter from the Pop-Up Playground which changes colour with speed.

Laser-cut lanterns.

Read more about the launch party. And that was just the launch party. Seriously, get your free tickets now to the main event.

Also, check out Toronto Public Library's very own digital innovation hubs at the Toronto Reference Library and Fort York Branch, and the Digital Design & Technology blog for info on more maker programs offered by the library.