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Monday, May 23, 2011

Library Day!

I may have mentioned that I have the best job in the world. I am a kindergarten teacher. I get to spend my days at work surrounded by children ages 4 to 6, with gaps in their teeth, crooked pigtails, freckles and scrapes, and lots of stories about things unconnected to the topic of discussion. We sing and count, say sorry and pray, grow things and play in water and sand. We build and figure stuff out. I use a pink pen to draw smiley faces on their work, and sit in a tiny chair to listen to them read.

I feel very blessed to call my classroom my "workplace".

Because my job is part time, it means I'm home with my kids on Tuesdays and Thursdays, doing the other best job in the world: being a mother. Tuesday in our house is Library Day. We scrounge around the shelves and under the couch to find the books we borrowed last week, rewind the videotapes that need to be returned, and drive into town to the Bonnechere Union Public Library.

Our village is on the small size; the population sign reads 1300. So, a visitor to Eganville might be surprised at the beauty of our little library. Everything one sees says, "Welcome!", from the warm red walls to the cozy chairs pulled up to the gas fireplace.

Paintings and sculptures by local artist Andy Adach (who can often be found sketching in one of these chairs) adorn the walls and corners.

I treasure our visits to the library, where gathering information, cuddling into beanbag chairs for a story, and trying a new computer game add variety and colour to my children's lives.

The littlest readers are always welcome, even if they read a book like this: "Ho ho ho, Cwismas, The End!" Perhaps they're welcome BECAUSE they read like this! The library staff know our names, and we know theirs.

In addition to learning resources, our library offers a Knit Night, support for homeschooling families, readings by local authors, a film club, and book clubs for teens and mothers/daughters, coffee houses featuring local musicians, and more.

In addition to teaching kindergarten, the best job in the world is mothering. What makes it even better are the days when I say, "Let's get ready to go to the library!", and my words are met with a resounding,
"Yaaaaay!" from my kids.

If you're a visitor to the Eganville area and your kids need a break from driving, stop by the local library, and tell them I sent you!  If it's a Tuesday, you just might see us there.

Share the love...tell me about your local library! How can you support this essential community service...volunteering? Donating books, CDs, or movies? Teaching a class or sharing a skill?

10 comments:

  1. What a cool library, I love my local one, they know my name also. Thanks for your kind comments about my needle felt art. cheers from New Zealand, Marie

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  2. I also love our library days! We have ours on Wednesday's. Carleton Place also has a nice, well lit, cozy library where the librarians are always welcoming and are eager (or rather do a good job pretending!) to answer all my 3 year old's many, many questions! When I was finishing school to become a nurse practitioner I spent many, many hours studying there. Being surrounded by books improves my thinking capacity!

    Gorgeous pictures BTW!

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  3. We love visiting our library too. It's amazing how excited the kids get going from aisle to aisle picking which books they will be.

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  4. Um, do overdue fees count? They're a donation. Kind of.

    Okay, kidding aside, public libraries are a priceless gift. They hold the magic of words, and community.

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  5. I spent most of my high school days as the student employee at that library. I *still* remember the library card numbers of about half the members who went there! The library looks like it's changed a lot since I was there last. Very nice!

    Our local library in Stittsville is a treasure, too. My kids love to go there, but even though they love to be read to, they're usually more interested in the fish tank than in the books.

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  6. Eganville is such a lovely library. I wish it were closer.

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  7. I asked Lola what she wanted to do on her "Mommy and Lola day" We could go to the Zoo, a special lunch or a special park. Her choice? The library. I hope it lasts forever!

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  8. Interesting.....I got the thought in my head TODAY to check out our public library which is around the corner form our house. I need to force myself to start reading more fiction.
    The Eganville library is top notch, though.

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  9. I believe we single-handedly supported the Owen Sound Public Library for many years on our over- due fines alone! It is still one of my most favourite places in the world. It feels like the whole world is there in words and pictures for me to explore.

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  10. I love taking my kids to the library, but I cannot get past my youngest and his need to remove books from the shelves, stand on the tables, run UP the ramp and almost out onto the street, and doing everything but sitting and reading books with me. Although the librarian doesn't seem to mind, I find it overwhelming to say the least. I figure I have to wait a little while for his muscles to calm down and his mind to open up. But, I am always open to suggestions on a solution that might work - even in the least. There is no lack of reading in our house, but sometimes a new place like the library is more interesting for everything other than for the books themselves. (I can occupy him with the computer for 3 to 5 mins at a time while my daughter explores, but that is the best I have been able to do. *sigh*)

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