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July 2023 Newsletter

6/29/2023

News from Castleton Public Library - July 2023

Notes from Our Director:

Summer is in full swing at CPL! Have you signed up for our Summer Reading Club yet? Our program is inclusive of all ages -- including babies/toddlers, preschoolers, kids, teens, and adults. Join the fun and enter to win a $25 Amazon gift certificate (we'll draw 30 winners). You can sign up all summer long either in the library or online!

A complete listing of our July events and take-home kits is below -- or you can download our Summer Reading Club guide for a full list of our events and take-home kits through the end of the summer.

Planning to visit area museums this summer? Check out one of our museum passes to receive free or reduced admission. Passes are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Click here for information about our museum pass program.

We hope you will join us for a summer full of fun and learning!

Best,

Melissa Tacke, Library Director

Download Summer Reading Guide as a PDF

Weekly Events

Pajama Storytime

Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m.

July 11, 18, 25; August 1.

Feel free to wear your pajamas or bring a stuffed animal friend to this evening storytime! Ages birth-8.

Beginner Yoga

Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m.

July 11, 18, 25; August 1.

Join us for an indoor yoga class geared toward adult beginners, with instructor Barbara Hacker. Please bring your own mat.

Learn & Play Storytime

Thursdays at 10:30 a.m.

July 6, 13, 20, 27; August 3.

Children from birth to age 5 are invited to enjoy stories, rhymes, music, and movement while building their early literacy and motor skills!

Bridge Club

Fridays at 10:30 a.m.

July 7, 14, 21, 28; August 4.

Come play bridge with us! Geared toward beginners and players who need a refresher.

Our Take-Home Kits

Take & Make Craft Kit: Rainbow Scratch Art

Pick up anytime from Monday, July 3 through Saturday, July 8.

Design your own beautiful rainbow scratch art using special paper!

Take & Make Craft Kit: Suncatcher

Pick up anytime from Monday, July 10 through Saturday, July 15.

Celebrate the summer sun by making a colorful suncatcher to hang in your window!

Take & Make Craft Kit: Collage Art

Pick up anytime from Monday, July 17 through Saturday, July 22.

Make your own unique collage using pages from magazines and picture books!

Take & Make Craft Kit: Egg Carton Caterpillar

Pick up anytime from Monday, July 24 through Saturday, July 29.

Create your own creepy, crawly, colorful caterpillar using an egg carton and art supplies!

Take & Make Craft Kit: Origami

Pick up anytime from Monday, July 31 through Saturday, August 5.

Learn how to make fun folded origami creations!

Our Other Events

July StoryWalk: Hello Summer!

Location: Schodack Island State Park, 1 Schodack Island Way, Schodack Landing, NY 12156.

The StoryWalk begins near the playground and is available anytime!

Enjoy a StoryWalk with your family! Hello Summer! by Shelley Rotner will be up all month long. We change the StoryWalk book each month.

Chalk the Walk

Saturday, July 1, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Held outdoors, weather permitting. Help bring some color to our front walkway! We have plenty of chalk - bring your imagination.

Canimals

Monday, July 3, 12:00 - 6:00 p.m.

Use your imagination and our supplies to transform recycled cans into animals!

After Dinner Book Club - Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention and How to Think Deeply Again by Johann Hari

Monday, July 3, 7:00 p.m.

Join us the first Monday of each month for a book discussion! Books available at the front desk. This month we are reading Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention and How to Think Deeply Again by Johann Hari.

Cool Science: Magic Paper Towels

Wednesday, July 5, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Learn about solubility while making cool art on paper towels - watch as colors rise from one layer of the paper towel to another!

Special Visitor Storytime: Nature Journals

Thursday, July 6, 10:30 a.m.

An environmental educator from Schodack Island State Park will join us for this special storytime about nature journaling, and then we will create our own nature journals.

Teen Time: Yarn Pom Poms

Thursday, July 6, 4:00 p.m.

Learn how to make fun yarn ball pom poms and enjoy some snacks! For teens going into 6th-12th grades in the fall.

Foam Paint Fun

Friday, July 7, 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Held outdoors, weather permitting. Make a unique piece of art using special puffy foam paint!

Perler Bead Crafts

Saturday, July 8, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Come make something awesome out of perler beads!

Emoji Pillows

Monday, July 10, 12:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Do you love emojis? Create and decorate your own special emoji pillow! No sewing is required. Recommended for ages 5 & up.

Cool Science: Ice Cream Science

Tuesday, July 11, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.

In this delicious science experiment, we’ll learn about chemistry while we create a tasty treat to eat when our experiment is finished!

Minecraft, Your Craft

Wednesday, July 12, 6:00 p.m.

Do you like Minecraft? Do you want to write adventure stories? Minecraft book author Nick Eliopulos will talk about how he looks to games for inspiration when writing his books, he’ll discuss how Minecraft provides the perfect “building blocks” for exciting stories, and he’ll provide you with a “crafting formula” for creating characters to populate your own stories! Ages 7-12.

Special Visitor Storytime: Dance

Thursday, July 13, 10:30 a.m.

Join us for a special dance-themed storytime with Isabelle School of Dance!

Paper Bag Kites

Thursday, July 13, 12:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Create and decorate a fun, homemade kite using paper bags, string, streamers, and popsicle sticks!

Marble Run Fun

Friday, July 14, 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Design & build a unique maze for a marble to go through, then drop a marble in and watch it work!

Bird Story and Craft at Schodack Island State Park

Friday, July 14, 4:00 p.m.

Location: Riverview Pavilion, Schodack Island State Park, 1 Schodack Island Way, Schodack Landing, NY 12156

Pre-registration required - call 518-732-0187. Join an educator from the park and staff from the library to learn all about birds! We'll read a short story about birds, create a bird craft, and be able to touch real feathers and skull replicas! Age range 2-12.

Giant Connect Four

Saturday, July 15, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Bring a friend or family member to play a game of Connect Four using our giant set.

Reptile Adventure

Monday, July 17, 6:00 p.m.

Enjoy a hands-on, interactive educational program with live tortoises, lizards, and snakes! Participants will get the opportunity to touch and hold some of the animals, and they'll be able to watch some of them eat. We'll discuss topics including ecology, adaptations, and invasive species. Funding for this event provided by the Castleton-Schodack Kiwanis Club.

Cool Science: Code Your Name

Tuesday, July 18, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Learn about binary code and use colorful beads to make a bracelet or necklace that represents your name in binary code!

Knock Hockey

Wednesday, July 19, 12:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Play tabletop hockey at the library with your friends or family!

Afternoon Book Club - All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

Wednesday, July 19, 1:00 p.m.

Join us the third Wednesday of each month for a book discussion! Books available at the front desk. This month's title is All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque.

Special Visitor Storytime: Tri-City ValleyCats

Thursday, July 20, 10:30 a.m.

After reading a story about baseball, we’ll get to meet some special visitors from the Tri-City ValleyCats! All ages welcome.

Teen Time: Dungeons & Dragons

Thursday, July 20, 4:00 p.m.

Pre-registration required -- call 518-732-0879 or email [email protected]. Join us for a D&D roleplaying adventure! No previous experience necessary. For teens going into 6th-12th grades in the fall.

Bubbles!

Friday, July 21, 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Held outdoors, weather permitting. Make unique 3-D bubble wands and see what kinds of bubbles you can create!

Tie Dye

Saturday, July 22, 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Held outdoors, weather permitting. Bring your plain tees, socks, or anything else that needs brightening to the library and twist some color into your life!

Family Magic Show

Monday, July 24, 6:00 p.m.

This exciting show by MagicMan is filled with conjuring, comedy, and audience participation! Funding for this event provided by Stewart’s Shops Holiday Match Program.

Kids Cook: M&M Peanut Butter Cookies

Tuesday, July 25, 4:00 p.m.

Learn to make delicious, no-bake cookies with mini M&Ms, oats, peanut butter, and honey.

Legomania

Wednesday, July 26, 12:00 - 8:00 p.m.

We’ll have lots of Legos out for this all-day build-a-thon!

Walking Storytime at Schodack Island State Park

Wednesday, July 26, 2:30 p.m.

Location: We’ll meet at the beginning of the StoryWalk (near the playground) at Schodack Island State Park, 1 Schodack Island Way, Schodack Landing, NY 12156.

Held outdoors, weather permitting. We’ll explore the current StoryWalk book together, then do a craft!

Special Visitor Storytime: Bees

Thursday, July 27, 10:30 a.m.

Learn all about bees at this special storytime with Bee Hollow Farm!

Cool Science: Slime

Thursday, July 27, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Get messy learning about the science behind slime, and make your own slime to take home!

Create a Chain Reaction

Friday, July 28, 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Using our special kit, set up a course of ramps, hammers, pendulums, and more, then watch the chain reaction.

Crafternoon

Saturday, July 29, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

We have lots of craft supplies – bring your imagination and make something awesome! All ages welcome.

Water Balloon Baseball

Monday, July 31, 1:00 p.m.

Held outdoors, weather permitting. Beat the heat with this exciting version of baseball using water balloons - be prepared to get wet! Recommended for ages 7 and up.

Cool Science: Baking Soda Rocket

Tuesday, August 1, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Held outdoors, weather permitting. Make a homemade rocket using a plastic bottle, then watch it launch with a combination of baking soda and vinegar! Recommended for ages 5 and up.

Birds of Prey

Wednesday, August 2, 6:00 p.m.

Come see raptors such as owls, hawks, eagles, and falcons with Silent Wings Raptor Rehab and Education. Learn about them, their unique behaviors and the conservation issues that impact them. All ages. Funding for this event provided by Stewart’s Shops Holiday Match Program.

Digital Library Resources

Check Out Our Digital Collections!

The Upper Hudson Library System hosts a great collection of ebooks, digital audiobooks, digital magazines, and streaming video, resources for research, and more! Click here to visit our page about digital resources.

Check Out Our Virtual Storytime Episodes

Did you know that we have a playlist of Virtual Storytime episodes that you can watch anytime? All episodes are created by Miss Joelle, our Youth Services Librarian.
Enjoy stories, songs, and rhymes with us, on your schedule!

For our full Virtual Storytime playlist of 74 episodes, visit tinyurl.com/CPL-storytime

Borrow a WiFi Hotspot

Did you know that we loan WiFi hotspots? They can be borrowed for 14 days -- all you need is your library card! Hotspots are available on a first-come, first-served basis and can only be checked out and returned at CPL. Call 518-732-0879 or email [email protected] for more information.

WiFi Inside & Outside Our Building

Our WiFi is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can access the public WiFi on the front lawn, or alongside the building on Stimpson Avenue (the signal is strongest near the front of the building). Just look for the network called "Castleton Public Library." There's no password to connect!

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Register for CPL's 2023 Summer Reading Club!

6/23/2023

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Registration is now open for Castleton Public Library's Summer Reading Club! All ages can participate.

Register in person at the library anytime! You can register all summer long.

Want to know what's going on this summer with our events and take-home kits? Download a copy of our Summer Reading Club guide, or pick up a copy at the library!

Prefer to record your reading online? Register and track your reading on our READsquared site. If you need some help getting started using READsquared, click here to download a how-to guide. Still have questions? Email [email protected] or call us at 518-732-0879.

Whether you record your reading on paper or online, the more you read, the more chances you earn to win a prize! This year, our prizes are $25 Amazon gift certificates. We'll draw 30 winners! Submit your reading/activity logs by 6:00 p.m. on Monday, August 28 to be eligible for our prize drawings. We'll also have special goody bags available to pick up at the library from 8/14-8/28 for all youth participants.

We're looking forward to a fun summer full of reading, exploration, and learning! Have questions about our Summer Reading Club? Email [email protected] or call 518-732-0879.

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July 2023 Newsletter

Register for CPL's 2023 Summer Reading Club!

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