Train's Coming! All Aboard!

What can a family do for weekend fun now that the pools are closed and the kids are boarding the school bus? Why not take a train ride to a destination-- real or imaginary!

Although Des Plaines is known for its many freight trains, we are fortunate to live in a town with a Metra Train Station for commuters. Special  $7 fares are available for the entire Saturday-Sunday weekend! You can travel downtown and back again, or head out to explore a different northwestern suburb.

Better yet, the library offers a Museum Pass discounted admission to the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois, a truly amazing place with huge barns of locomotives and  passenger cars and a real two mile train ride.

If you cannot make the trip right now on either one, just get "on track" with some amazing train books and DVDs.

Radio Disney at Des Plaines Library

Congratulations to all of our Summer Reading Club participants! Over 2,000 children from birth - 6th grade (some 7-8th graders are also included in this count) registered for the club with over 16,896 hours read!

Have a 7th- 12th grader working on summer reading assignments? Have the reading count by joining the Teen Summer Reading Club (continues until Saturday August 31st). Read 4 books or 20 hours and earn a $5.00 gift card and a chance to win an iPad mini. The Adult Summer Reading club also continues until Saturday August 31st. Every time you read a book, you can enter for a chance to win an iPad mini!

In celebration of all the summer reading in our community, join us for our end of Summer Celebration event- a dance party with Radio Disney! Kick back and relax with ice cream and lemonade while the kids dance, play games and more!

Radio Disney End of Summer Celebration
Friday,  August 23
6:30 - 8 pm
on Library Plaza
Limited seating, bring your own chairs if you like

Generously funded by NorthShore University HealthSystem, Friends of the Library and Sam's Club

Have Book Will Travel . . . Reading Patch Bingo

Completing activities to earn our Summer Reading Club patch allows every child to learn by doing.

Reading Patch Bingo cards are still available in the Youth Services Department. To play, complete two rows of activities. Turn your completed card in by August 30 to receive your patch.

 

Since each child is unique, we included a range of activities to appeal to a variety of learning styles.

 

For the singer in your family, check out a CD and sing along. Try Ozomatli Presents Ozokidz. The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) named it to the Notable Children's Recordings list.

 

Dancers will love our last Reading Club event for the summer, the Radio Disney celebration August 23. The whole family can dance and sing along on the plaza.

 

The chef in your house can make an recipe from one of our international cookbooks. There are lots of pictures and easy recipes in the International Cookbook for Kids.

 

Making a paper airplane is fun, as our Teen Advisory Board learned at their recent lock-in at the library. If you want to work on your technique, check out The Kids' Guide to Paper Airplanes.

 

These are just a few of the 25 different squares that you can choose for your 10 activities as you enjoy the last few days of summer.



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.