Friday 1 August 2008

Children’s activities at Seán Lemass Public Library, Shannon

Children’s activities are a regular offering by the staff of Shannon library to their young patrons. Weekly craft sessions and story times take place in the library for children aged from 2 and 3 to 12 years old. Hour-long Craft Sessions run every Thursday afternoon. A typical craft workshop sees children make a variety of objects, often making use of recycled material. Children feel a real sense of achievement when their creations are displayed in the library. Costs are minimal but advance planning is essential.

Young children and their parents are introduced to the library through weekly story reading at Shannon Library. There’s plenty of time for sharing stories in the informal time allowed, for children from many different cultures who have moved to Shannon in recent years. Staff at the library benefit from the continued event by getting to know different families in the area and their reading preferences.

Shannon Library’s Children’s Book Club meets on the first Wednesday of every month at 4pm. Children aged between 7 and 12 years meet to discuss a book they and the staff at the library have chosen to discuss and review the month before. Children learn to talk about plot, characters, content and the language used in books at an early age which encourages them to appreciate reading more, hopefully resulting in lifelong use of libraries and enjoyment of reading.

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