By Jan Pease
When you come to the front desk area of the Litchfield
Public Library, you will notice many Lego creations that cover the top of
nonfiction shelving and the shelves in the beautiful cabinet given in memory of
Rosann Lorenz. These highly imaginative
pieces of art are made each week at Brickheads, the kids who like to build with
Lego bricks.
I love to listen to the young people as they tell the
story of their creations. Sometimes
there are vehicles, sometimes space stations, and sometimes houses for families
to share. Some of the Lego characters
are good guys, some are bad guys, and some are aliens or walking skeletons. Or
Zombies. Each creation is given a title
with the name and age of the artist.
Some of the dads and moms have as much fun as the kids as we chat and
build. Brickheads is offered every week
at 6:30 on Thursday nights for ages 4-14.
I think Brickheads is more than just a fun time. Young people sometimes seem surprised by the
good time they’re having without being connected to a device. Conversation happens, and social skills are
practiced. Imaginations soar! It’s more important than ever for our
children to develop the ability to connect with each other. Sometimes I feel like standing with a
loudspeaker telling everyone to “step away from your phone! Step away from your
phone!”
Beginner Book Club is a program that is probably more fun
for me than for the students. We have
been slowly working our way through the C.S. Lewis classic, “The Lion, the
Witch, and the Wardrobe.” They are
conquering a very difficult book and I’m proud of them. The subject matter of this book, coupled with
how very British the language is, makes this a challenge. These are readers from grades 1-3, and they
have remarkable insights. Beginner Book
Club meets once each month, third Thursdays, at 3:00.
Each of these programs has had children “age out” and
could use more members, and we have plenty of room for friends to attend
together. Both programs will continue
through the summer and fall.
Summer will be here before we know it. All of the Meeker County libraries are
participating in “Reading by Design.” This
reading theme will include a lot of hands on fun. As the summer unfolds, our goal is always to
keep children using their reading and math skills. Please encourage your children or
grandchildren to be part of “Reading by Design.” Watch for news later in May, and I’ll see you
at the library!
