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Inspiring curiosity
October is set to be a busy month!
Hot on the heels of Green Libraries Week, we'll have some exciting Family Learning Festival and Get Online Week events.
We ran 248 events for children and families and 209 adult activities last October, and a staggering 8,472 people took part over the month!
We're sure there'll be something to inspire you this autumn!
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Come and take part in our free family fun events, running between 14th October and 5th November - all part of the Campaign for Learning's Family Learning Festival.
Most libraries will be running family activities such as STEM events. Add some movement to your LEGO creations and make them come to life with Spike LEGO, or make movies using LEGO stop motion. You can get crafty with our 3D pens, or even go on safari with Mini Sphero - and much more!
Spooky family craft and story activities are running in most libraries during half term.
Keep an eye on your library's webpage or Facebook for details.
Our family events are not just for kids - we have adult only craft and learner sessions running at Macclesfield Library, so bring your favourite adults along to enjoy an intergenerational afternoon.
Not able to visit for an event? No problem!
Drop into the library at any time to read together or take part in putting together our community jigsaw puzzles.
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We're so excited about our micro:bit packs - completely free to borrow!
As featured on the BBC, a micro:bit is a tiny, pocket-sized computer. It's an easy introduction into coding and electronics, providing simple and fun projects - such as creating a temperature sensor, basic games, or LED displays.
For more details, ask at your local library - or click on the link below to place a hold on a micro:bit pack, containing everything you need to get started.
Calling all budding scientists
Fancy a fun and easy science experiment?
Our exciting themed boxes are filled with everything you need to try your hand at an experiment: a step-by-step activity sheet, a book, and lots of interesting bits and bobs to bring your experiments to life.
Choose from: Simple Machines, Animals, The Moon, and Invisible Nature.
Ask at your local library, or click on the link below to place a hold on a Reading Sparks box.
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Homework help
Returning to school always brings homework - and we're not sure if it's harder for the children or for the adults. Not to worry - help is at hand!
Your local library has a fantastic range of information books created specifically for children of all ages, helping them to find out about the world around them - whether they're researching their favourite footballer or computer game, looking up fun recipes or craft activities, or delving into ancient history.
We cover traditional homework topics - from maths and science, to history and geography, even trying out another language, or learning about nature and how the body works.
Whilst we love a good story, we often find that reluctant readers enjoy information books on topics they're already passionate about - whether that's Minecraft, outer space, animals, or (secretly our favourite) dinosaurs.
Did you know, children can print their homework projects and materials for free? - please ask a staff member.
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Reading Well for health and wellbeing
Have you seen our Reading Well collections of helpful and informative books for children and teenagers?
Chosen by professionals - such as carers and health experts - and children themselves, these specially selected books help children to understand their feelings.
Suitable for all ages, with picture books and chapter books, a range of themes are covered, including: mental health, dealing with tough times, and what it’s like to have a health condition or disability.
These books help children to cope with worries and feelings, and help them to empathise with friends or relatives who may have a health condition or disability - or to discover that there are other people sharing the same situations and they are not alone.
The books will also help children to verbalise how they’re feeling and why, and when shared with your child they are a good way to start discussions around sensitive subjects such as bereavement.
Teenagers have their own dedicated Reading Well collection which contains age-appropriate books on a wide range of themes, such as neurodiversity, sexuality and gender, mental health and wellbeing, and using social media.
The books provide young people with useful information written and researched by experts and also by teenagers with lived experience of the issues they are discussing.
There are additional digital resources that can be accessed by using the button below.
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Early years development
We love LEGO - but our LEGO clubs and Mini Builders are not just fun for all of the family; building with blocks is important for development.
These sessions help to develop fine motor skills, hand-eye co-ordination, spatial awareness and reasoning, cognitive flexibility, language skills, problem solving, critical thinking, social competence, engineering skills and creativity - and if that isn't enough, you also get to make a unique creation to be proud of!
All of our regular pre-school activities help with early years development: Rhymetime, Baby Bounce, and Stories and Song.
These sessions help to develop communication skills and build confidence - as well as fostering a love of reading and supporting wellbeing, and they help with achievement later in life.
It's not just good for children - for parents, grandparents, and guardians, it's a chance to meet other adults caring for similar aged children, and to strengthen the bond with your child while having fun and picking up tips for helping them to learn.
It's not just children who can benefit from library activities. There are opportunities for family members of any age to learn something new.
Adults can enjoy chess, board games, arts and crafts, music, languages, writing and family history research. There are book groups based around cookery and gardening, or perhaps you'd like to put the world to rights at a current affairs discussion group?
Some libraries host other organisations such as the U3A, lip reading, Tiny Talk, games clubs, and Yoga classes - and you can find out more by contacting your local library.
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Get Online Week
We know that if you're reading this, you're online already - but don't miss our special events during Get Online Week (16th - 22nd October).
Scams Awareness sessions with Cheshire Constabulary are running at Congleton and Holmes Chapel libraries, and we're delving into today's technology with a smart speaker workshop at Macclesfield Library.
If you're new to our online resources, then Get Online Week is the perfect time to dive in. Simply ask a member of staff for help to get started with our digital collections of: e-books, e-audiobooks, e-magazines and online newspapers.
Of, if you're an expert already, don't forget to tell your friends and family.
If you know someone who needs help to get started online, most libraries have a volunteer IT Buddy. Sessions are free but need to be booked in advance.
Learn my Way provides short self-guided online courses from computer basics to finding health information or shopping and managing money online. Crewe and Middlewich libraries offer sessions with staff on hand to help.
Need a device? Borrow an iPad
Crewe Library hosts Connect All, a free digital support service run by Age UK Cheshire. They hold drop-in sessions on alternate Wednesday afternoons, and a programme of Learn How sessions on key topics.
You can also borrow an iPad with tuition if you live in the Crewe area. Home visits may be possible in the Crewe area.
For further information about Connect All call 01606 720 431 or visit the Age UK Cheshire website using the link below.
And last but not least - getting digital isn't just for adults!
Congleton Library has a regular Code Club for children - here they are happily showing off the Christmas tree decorations they designed and had 3D printed.
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Hublets
 Hublets are special tablets held at Crewe and Nantwich libraries which are completely free to use within those libraries, connected up to our wifi.
Hublets are loaded with a huge range of apps - from newspapers to Wordle, consumer advice such as Which? reports, family history resources, coding, social media, travel information, and much more - not forgetting our very own digital collections for reading.
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Members of the William Clough family of Fair Mead, Knutsford.
(Photograph courtesy of Cheshire Image Bank, ref c13389)
Did you know that your local library can open the doors to your own family history?
If you're keen to learn more about your family, we offer free access to Ancestry and Find My Past on our public computers, as well as other digital family history resources. We also have physical collections, including a range of local history information, such as local newspapers, directories, and book collections.
Speak to a member of library staff and see what you can discover about your ancestors who lived and worked in the local area.
If you're brand new to family history, or if you're experienced and you've hit a wall with your research, some of our libraries provide groups or one-to-one sessions with expert volunteers who can help you to take the next step.
Check your local library’s website for more information or pop in and ask at your local library.
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Thanks for the memories
Our themed collection of memory boxes are used for reminiscence activities by local groups, day centres, and elderly people's homes, enabling people to take a trip down memory lane with friends and relatives.
Carefully designed to trigger memories and to spark conversation, these special boxes include a range of materials, including objects, photographs, poetry, smell boxes, music, and books.
There are 22 different themes, including family life, days out, Cheshire gardens, Cheshire home front, crafts, sports & hobbies, and music & film.
Alsager Library hosts a Memory Cafe, and there are regular community coffee mornings at Alsager, Handforth and Nantwich libraries where people of all ages can come and chat or reminisce over refreshments.
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Bookstart Bear Club
We love Bookstart Bear Club - and it's relaunching in libraries from Monday 2nd October, with more fun and more rewards!
Bookstart Bear club is a free club for pre-school children. Children receive a bear paw stamp each time they borrow books from the library - and for taking part in library events, e.g. Rhymetime.
For every 6 stamps collected, your child will receive a superb certificate. There are 10 certificates to collect, as well as other treats and surprises along the way!
Bookstart Bear Club aims to encourage a love of books, stories, and rhymes - all key for child development, and Bookstart Bear Club is delivered by your local library in partnership with BookTrust.
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Let's get ready for school
If your child is a little older - having just started school, or you have little ones due to start next year, why not borrow one of our excellent 'Let's Get Ready for School' book bags from your local library?
Our Let’s Get Ready for School book bag collection has been specially designed for parents and carers to share with younger children to help them to cope with change and prepare them for school.
Families also find them useful during the early months after starting school as they deal with topics such as such as making friends, building confidence, and overcoming worries.
Each bag contains helpful ideas and information as well as 4 picture books, including a wordless book for parents and children to enjoy creatively together.
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Lifestyle change is an important element of keeping healthy.
We offer a wide variety of activities to support mental wellbeing, and to help you to connect with your local community, and we provide self-help books for a range of health conditions.
So, we're keen to share a new tool - Lifestyle on Prescription - that you can find on Cheshire East council's website, which links to local and national support.
If you have been diagnosed with a new long-term condition, started a new medication, or you just want to make that first step in thinking about changing elements of your lifestyle, the Lifestyle on Prescription tool could help by pointing you in the right direction.
Behaviour changes, however small, can add up. Click on the link or use the QR code below for more information.
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We hope to see you soon!
We always welcome feedback about our services. If you have enjoyed this newsletter or have any suggestions for improvement, please send us an email to libraries@cheshiresharedservices.gov.uk.
Alternatively pop into your local library and let the staff know. Thank you.
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