The theme for the Thursday, Oct. 1 Story Time at Perry Memorial Library is Firefighters and Youth Services Librarian Melody Peters has lined up the perfect “show and tell” afterward – a shiny red firetruck courtesy of the City of Henderson.
The story time is at its regular time of 11 a.m. and the firetruck will be parked in the Winder Street parking lot outside the library at 11:30 a.m. Peters hopes lots of kids will come to the story time and then head outside to explore the truck.
Later that day, Henderson native Curtis M. Harvey, Jr. will bring his latest children’s book to the afternoon Story Time crowd at 4:30 p.m. “The Roots of Rhythm,” Harvey’s third children’s book, explores the history of Black music in the United States.
“It’ll be a busy week,” Peters told WIZS’s Scout Hughes on Tuesday’s segment of The Local Skinny.
Other activities during the week include the September Read-Out at Fox Pond Park. The community is invited to come out to the park, located at 467 Vicksboro Rd., and celebrate the joy of reading between 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. The bookmobile will be on site, and there will be free books and coloring sheets to share. This program is a collaboration with the Henderson-Vance Recreation and Parks Department, the city of Henderson and Pathways 2 Peace.
A couple of new programs are on the calendar for the fall, including a Writer’s Workshop from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on the second Tuesdays of each month. The first one will be Tuesday, Oct. 6 in the Maker’s Studio. It’s for young people of all ages, Peters said.
And then the library is hosting some “lounge” sessions for middle schoolers that will focus on mental health.
Peters said research and new ideas are pointing to the need for young people to have a more relaxed setting to talk about their feelings. In collaboration with the Poe Center in Raleigh, Peters said the “lounge” time will provide that relaxed setting to learn and share about topics ranging from mindfulness to navigating social media.
The topic of the first session on Wednesday, Oct. 7 is Mind 101, a discussion about navigating the concept of mindfulness. Other sessions include discussions about online safety and social media, media mythbusting, standing up to bullying and more.
Peters said today’s young people face a barrage of information coming at them, and it’s vital that they have the critical-thinking skills needed to tell what is real from what is not.
“It’s a whole different world,” she said. “I want to be able to give kids these skills – in a safe space.”
Visit www.perrylibrary.org for a complete list of programs and events the library offers.
CLICK PLAY!
