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Monday, August 16, 2021   |   View in browser

Back to School Time!

District 65 goes back to school August 25, with private schools in Evanston starting even sooner. To get ready, read a great book from our Fun Books for Back to School Reading booklist! 

Reading together can also be a great time to talk about concerns on your child's mind. 

• See the advice from our new Library Social Worker at the end of this newsletter on helping kids cope with Back to School issues.
• Check out this terrific Kids Emotional Health booklist.
• These quick Back to School mindfulness exercises are easy to do; regular mindfulness practice in kids leads to better social/emotional skills, reduced attention problems, and mitigates the effect of bullying.

The very best and cheapest school supply to get?  Library cards for your kids so they can each check out up to 150 items at a time, for free! If kids show us a new or existing physical library card, they get a one time trip to the treasure chest to pick out a small gift, starting Tuesday, September 7, and continuing for the month of September, at both the Main Children's Desk and the Robert Crown Branch Library.

Support your student's learning via the Evanston Public Library's online resources. We are a hub for research, learning and exploring with our many research databases, online journals, ways to discover new books, and sites that allow you to borrow ebooks, all free with your library card.

What To Do During Your Last Week of Summer!

National Black Business Month Raffle: August is National Black Business Month! Enter the library's raffle by visiting a minimum of five participating Black-owned businesses with our punch card and make a purchase or answer a trivia question. You could win a $50 gift certificate to one of the businesses! Punch cards available both at the Main Library or the Robert Crown Branch Library, along with bookmarks about the businesses.

Celebrate Pollinator Species!

• National Honey Bee Awareness Day on August 21st celebrates the ecological importance of bees. Check out our new Bees and Honey Booklist with books for toddlers to middle school! Listen to Honeybee by Candace Fleming. Find out how bees communicate in this fun "waggle dance" activity with PBS Kids. For older kids, the Bee Conservancy offers a list of 10 things you can do to help save the bees during National Honey Bee Awareness Day. For some edible fun, make honey apple slice "cookies."
• International Bat Night. Celebrate International Bat Night on the evening of August 29th! While bees are better known pollinators, bats  play a role in pollinating plants. They are also great at eating mosquitos: up to 1000 in a single hour! The Lincoln Park Zoo has monitored the Chicago bat population and shares the five most common bats here. The closest Bat Night hike is in Willow Springs, but try an evening party or sleepover with a short night hike and then create fun bat headbands and bat decorations!

Check out these library services:

• Log your summer reading progress through August 31. Visit us when you finish to design your own multicolor scratch name plate for our Wall of Readers.
• Get a Museum Adventure Pass from Evanston Public Library for a suburban museum or garden, like Brookfield Zoo or the Chicago Botanic Garden. One pass per week per family. We can now accept pass requests online!
• If you're looking for a personalized list of books tailored to your child's age and interests, fill our our LitMatch form.

Great Virtual Library Programs for Kids!

Outdoor Library Programs for Kids!

• LENA Start Virtual Information Sessions: You are your baby's first teacher! Find out about a 10-week virtual parent program that helps build your little one's cognitive development. In English and Spanish. Evanston residents only, please. Monday, August 16, 7 pm: Register; OR Saturday, August 21, 10 am: Register.

• Acción Diferida para los Llegados en la Infancia (DACA): Presentadores abordarán el historial y el estado actual de DACA, así como la elegibilidad para las solicitudes iniciales y de renovación. La presentación será seguida por preguntas y respuestas. Miércoles, el 18 de agosto, a las 6 de la noche: Registrarse.

• Little Explorers: Nature: Young explorers are welcome to join us as we explore trees, plants, and other outdoor elements. A fun way for younger children to explore STEAM! Ages 3-5 with a parent. Thursday, August 19, 10:30 am:  Register. 
• Microwave Cooking Class – Dessert: Ms. Kim is back with another great microwave cooking class, geared toward rising K-5th graders. An ingredient list will be sent out ahead of class so you can make the recipes in real time. Thursday, August 19, 2 pm: Register.
• Family Reading Night: Join your favorite EPL librarians on Zoom! Put on your PJs, get comfy on the couch, and join us for stories and songs. Books are geared toward 3-5 year olds, but all are welcome. Thursday, August 26, 6:30 pm: Register.
• NEW! Young Scientists Book Club: COG! Join this fun, interdisciplinary twist on book clubs where kids will read challenging yet engaging STEM-focused books. This month, we'll discuss COG by Greg Van Eekhout. In this book, a young robot boy recruits a team of four other robots on an adventure to reunite with his creator. Find an ebook copy available on Hoopla here. (To learn more about Hoopla and how to use it, click here. Or reserve the book.) Thursday, September 9, 4:30 pm: Register. 
• Zoom Time for Twos: Zoom story time filled with songs, picture books, puppets, and rhymes for children who are 24- to 36-months old with parents, grandparents, or caregivers. A four session class. Starts Tuesday, September 7, 10:30 am: Register.
• Zoom All By Myself: Virtual storytime and craft for children ages 3-5. A Zoom link will be emailed each week before the program to all registered participants. If you'd like to do the craft in real time, a list of supplies needed for all four crafts will be emailed the Friday prior to the start of the session. Starts Thursday, September 9, 11 am: Register; OR Thursday, September 9, 1:30 pm: Register.

Tie Dye Party with the Girl Scouts: K-4th graders are invited to join us in person at this event, co-hosted by the Girl Scouts. Listen to Summer Color! by Diana Murray, learn about color theory, see a demonstration of color blending, and make your own tie-dye creation with permanent markers. Evanston residents only, please. Tuesday, August 17, 2 pm, Twiggs Park: Register.

LEGO Club: Student who will be in grades 3-5 are invited to come build with LEGO bricks, outside! We supply the LEGO bricks; you supply the creativity and positive attitude. Bring water, sunscreen, and a face mask. We'll call you if we cancel due to weather. Friday, August 20, 1 pm, Levy Center Courtyard: Register.

Gather in the Garden: Drop by the Robert Crown Branch Library Reading Garden for physically-distanced, masked, outdoor activities. Best for families with kids ages 3-8, but all are welcome. Thursdays, 10:45 am, August 19 and August 26: More Information.

Crown Adventures Ocean Stories and Collage: Join us at the Robert Crown Branch Library Reading Garden for a story and collaborative art project. We'll be reading ocean stories and working on an ocean collage. No registration required. Saturday, August 21, 10 am: More Information.

EPL in the Parks:

• AntiRacist AF at Kamen Park: Attendees will participate in a "Give and Take" activist community art piece using origami birds. Saturday, August 21, 1 pm: More Information.
• Ultimate Frisbee at Kamen Park: Come join the library for some ultimate frisbee games and other socially-distanced activities. We'll have books to give out and check out as well! Saturday, August 28, 1 pm: More Information.

Seeking Young Filmmakers

Ready, set, film!  The 90-Second Newbery Film Festival is an annual video contest in which young filmmakers (18 and under) create short movies that tell the entire story of a Newbery-winning book in about 90 seconds. Adult help is OK; this could make a great family project! Weird twists are encouraged: think Charlotte's Web as a horror movie, or Holes as a Lego stop-motion musical.

For the past ten years, the 90-Second Newbery has featured the best movies in big screenings in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Boston, and other cities, co-hosted by kids' author James Kennedy (The Order of Odd-Fish) and other bestselling kids' authors like Jon Scieszka, Katherine Applegate, Rita Williams-Garcia, and M.T. Anderson!

The deadline is January 14, 2022, so start reading and planning now. Find out more about the 90-Second Newbery, including help for first-time filmmakers. This contest is a great way for kids who are curious about filmmaking to flex their creative muscles and try it out!

The 90-Second Newbery Film Festival is also an opportunity for you and your kids to read a Newbery Award winner or Newbery Honor winner. For further inspiration, check out this fun adaptation of A Wrinkle In Time!

Evanston Public Library Social Worker on Back to School!

School is starting soon and the return to in-person learning may have kids of all ages feeling worried and experiencing increased stress.

Here are some suggestions for helping kids cope with feelings of worry and nervousness with the return to in-person learning:

• Encourage students to talk about their worries and learn more about mental health and healthy coping. Validate their feelings and remind them that they can handle big feelings.
• Create and follow a routine for children to provide stability during a transitional time.
• Find ways to find the positive throughout the day, such as meeting new friends, being outside on a sunny day, and learning new things.
• Practice gratitude, breathing exercises, and mindfulness to work through feelings of stress, worry, and nervousness.
• Focus on what you can control, such as wearing your own mask, washing your hands, keeping distance, being kind to others, managing big feelings, etc.
• Take it one day at a time. Stay flexible and adaptable, as things may change throughout the school year.
•  If the transition appears turbulent for the student or you notice new behavioral concerns or more severe mental health symptoms, speak to your child’s doctor about their mental health and accessing mental health services. 

All the best, Tabitha Ledbetter