Free Family Fun

No cash to travel? No problem! Here are some free activities your family can enjoy this summer.

Family fun is important. I’ll never forget the day that a friend gave my family free passes to a carnival. It had been a hot and angsty summer in our house full of teenage girls, but by the second shrieking roller coaster ride, the tension had melted away like an ice cube on the pavement.

You don't need a roller coaster to rejuvenate. The key to family fun is a low pressure situation and something to laugh about. Here are some activities with minimal cost and stress, to get your family laughing this summer:

Take a family bike ride. Check out the Des Plaines River Trail at Algonquin and Campground Rd. for peaceful, traffic-free ride through the forest. Click here for a map.

Rock out to Radio Disney at the Library’s free Dance Party on Friday, August 23rd, from 6:30 to 8pm. Click here for more details.

Get crafty. This can be as simple as coloring together or as complicated as paper mache. Check out the library's craft books in the 745 Dewey range for ideas.

Watch an outdoor movie. The Des Plaines Park District will show Cinderella in the Lake Park Memorial Pavilion on Friday, August 9th, at dusk. Click here for more details.

Drop everything and play. One day my dad came home from work with a playground ball, marched us out to a park, and taught us to play kick ball. 20 years later, I still remember it. Need inspiration? Find a new game in one of the library's outdoor activity books. Click here for a list.

Hold a family game night. Play your favorite board game, or keep each other guessing with charades. Even the little ones can act out simple phrases like “Daddy mowing the lawn.” Let the hilarity ensue!

Read aloud together. It's a great bonding experience, and a good way to get the kids ready for school. Here are some funny family read-aloud titles that appeal to boys and girls of all ages and parents too. Read a chapter every night and laugh yourself to sleep.

The Magic Fingerby Roald Dahl

Mr. Stink by David Walliams

You Read to Me & I'll Read to You:
20th-century Stories to Share

Have Book Will Travel . . . to Peoria

Yes, you and your family can play in Peoria. I know that is not quite how the saying goes, but there are lots of fun activities for families. Besides, Peoria is close enough for a quick weekend vacation. Here are some destinations to consider.

The Caterpillar Visitors Center is a fantastic new facility on the riverfront, and it has nothing to do with butterflies. There are interactive displays and exhibits for all ages, and lots of photo opportunities with giant construction and mining equipment. Admission is very affordable, but the center is closed on Sundays

Wildlife Prairie State Park is a 2,000 acre zoological park that is home to 50 animal species that are native to Illinois. Animals such as bison, wolves, cougars, and sandhill crane can be seen in a natural landscape.

Wheels O' Time Museum features displays of vintage and classic autos, gas engines, fire engines, airplanes, tractors, musical instruments, juke boxes, toys, and dolls. There are many hands-on displays that make it fun to learn about the past.

Be sure to check the museum websites for updated information, and peoria.org for lots of other ideas.

 

Here are some books you might want to take along for the ride.

Earthmovers by Linda Williams

Old Cars by Melissa Abramovitz

 

Illinois, the Prairie State by Rennay Craats

 

 

Leave a comment about your adventures if you visit Peoria, and have a great trip.

 

It's A Butterfly's Life

Summer is the time to appreciate…butterflies!  If you haven't seen many winged beauties yet, and want your kids to learn everything about them, take the family on a field trip to a butterfly garden!

Happily, there are four such special exhibits in the area this summer where, for a small admission fee, you can see hundreds of butterflies native to Illinois and the Midwest or even exotic ones from around the world. In Chicago, the Judy Istock Butterfly Haven at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum  maintains 500 butterflies of a dozen different species. On the North Shore, in the Butterflies and Blooms tent at the Chicago Botanic Garden you can watch exotic butterflies from Asia, South America, and Africa emerge from chrysalises to feed on flower nectar. In the western suburbs, the Butterflies! is an annual exhibit at Brookfield Zoo, and Peck Farm in Geneva, Illinois hosts the Butterfly House.

  (Reminder: Chicago Botanic Garden and Brookfield Zoo also offer discounted admission to the main park through our Museum Pass Program.)

But,where are two of the best blooming places to see butterflies flying free? Your neighborhood parks and your own backyard! Why not make it a summer and fall family project to build a simple butterfly feeder or plant new flowers to attract more butterflies, and watch them come to you! Finally, on sizzling hot days, why not cool off at the library, enjoying the amazing color photographs in our exciting butterfly books (J 595. 789).

Exploring Irish Culture

Taking your children to visit the land of their ancestors can be expensive. Fortunately, if your heritage is Irish, this is a great weekend to explore your culture without the cost of a plane ticket.

The 2013 Irish Fest is July 12-14 at the Irish American Heritage Center in Chicago. This festival features music, dance and family activities to explore Irish culture. Admission is a mere fraction of the cost of flying to Ireland.

Recently I learned that July 12 is a major holiday in Northern Ireland. That day is Orangemen's Day which commemorates the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. I also learned that people in in Ireland eat bacon and cabbage to celebrate St. Patrick's day, not the corned beef we eat here. Of course I learned those facts, and many others at the library.

Check out these resources to help you with your explorations.

Foods of Ireland by Barbara Sheen is a great book for learning more about Irish culture through its food.

Ireland by Colleen Sexton is a great introduction for young readers.

Ireland by Melanie Waldron provides a broad overview of the country for slightly older readers.

Irish is one of the languages you can learn online through Our Mango Languages database.

Slán leat. Goodbye for now.

Exploring Polish Culture

Living in Chicagoland, there is a unique connection to Polish culture for many and in fact Poles have been a part of this country's history with important contributions and influence. This area is home to the largest population of Polish ethnicity (over 1 million people) outside of Poland and as such, learning and experiencing Polish culture is promising. Perhaps you noticed the statue in front of the Adler Planetarium of Copernicus, the Polish astronomer who identified a heliocentric model of the solar system. Perhaps your child learned about the American Revolutionary War general Casimir Pulaski in March or even had the day off school. Perhaps you tasted a paczek on Fat Thursday from one of many Polish bakeries or perhaps you know that October is Polish American Heritage month. The Polish culture is closer than you think! For more ways to experience Polish culture, try out this list of places to visit.

Places to visit in Des Plaines

Visit the library to explore both adult and children collections that include books, music and dvds. Drop in for Dual Language Storytimes in Polish/English in the months of September through April. Join us on July 10th for Explore Poland, geared towards families with children  ages 2-8. Come early for free tickets to the program.

Take a look at the Des Plaines Park district  offering Polish cultural programs for children.

Interested in your child attending a Polish Language School? Starting this Fall, Des Plaines will be home to the Polish language school of Feliksa Konarskiego at the Parish of St. Stevens.

Head over to Shop n Save and explore the selection of meats and prepared hot foods in the deli as well as desserts in the bakery and also an isle dedicated to Polish food. Nearby in Mount Prospect (On Golf Road) is Wally's market.

Chicago
Visit the Polish Museum of America in one of the oldest Polish areas in chicagoland. It features permanent and visiting exhibits of art, history and culture of Poland and of the Polish American community. In the neighborhood are restaurants and other headquarters of Polish associations

Looking for theater, annual Polish film festival, concerts, Christmas specials, children's events and more? Chances are they will be held at the Copernicus Center. The Copernicus foundation also sponsor's Taste of Polonia, the largest Polish fest in the US.

Some noteworthy events throughout the year

• May: Polish Constitution Parade (downtown) and Polish Fest (Copernicus Center)

• July: Try perogi from Kasia's Deli (booth #12) at the Taste of Chicago

• September: Taste of Polonia (Labor Day Weekend at Copernicus Center) 

Do you have a great place to experience Polish culture or others? Where do you like to go to experience a bit of home, history and culture? Share with us!

Summer Travels

This summer, many of our patrons are taking vacations to many different places.  Even staff members are headed off for vacations.  Yesterday, at our program,  we sent 18 Flat Stanleys off to places around the country. 

What is a Flat Stanley, you ask?  Flat Stanley is a book by Jeff Brown.  In it, a boy (Stanley) gets smushed by a bulletin board one day, and travels to California because he is flat and can fit in an envelope!  

In the same way, our Flat Stanleys will travel in an envelope to visit with various relatives across the country.  Those relatives will take a picture of Stanley doing something fun with them and send it back here to the library.  

The pictures and a description of what each Stanley did while he visited will go up on display in the library.  Look for our Stanleys' adventures here in the library later in the summer, but in the meantime, check out the book Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown to read with your family.  Have older kids?  There are Flat Stanley chapter books to read as well. You can even create your own Stanley and send him for a visit with someone else.  

Remember to have fun this summer, no matter what you do.  Even if you can't travel, your Stanley can!

Hooray First Day...of Summer!

It's June 21, and that may mean axis tilts and orbits and stars and changing seasons for some, but for us it means IT'S NOT TOO LATE to register for summer reading! I am so happy to tell you that Have Book Will Travel already has over 1500 kids participating. Everyone is reading, logging their time, participating in programs, and having a great time. Come to the library and join in the fun. It's raining outside today, on the first official day of summer, but that's a perfect reason to come in and visit the library. Can't make it today? That is STILL not a problem. You can register to participate in summer reading ANY TIME we are open, and the program goes all the way to August 4.

Interested in checking out a program? Many of our programs are open to the public and require no advance registration. Come one, come all! Some do require registration or free tickets, so be sure to check the details our schedule of activities so you don't miss out. There are still LOTS of programs to come this summer! See you soon.