3 Days till our 5K Fundraiser!

The weather predictions are out, and Saturday will be beautiful! It's the first day of summer, and it'll be the perfect day to go for a run. So make sure you sign up for our 5K Fundraiser Fun Run!

It's going to be an awesome event for the whole family! We'll have a Health and Fitness Expo going on inside the library beginning at 8:00 a.m. where you can get tons of great info about local wellness opportunities. At 8:30 a.m., a yoga instructor will lead us in pre-run stretches. An of course, the highlight will be when the race itself begins at 9:00 a.m.!

PLUS we'll have a delicious visit from the Paris Creperie Food Truck, and you'll be able to grab some yummy crepes to refuel after your run, or while you're cheering on friends and family who are running!

If you haven't signed up yet, there's still time. Visit our 5K website and click on Register.  You'll also be able to sign up the morning of the race if you make a split-second decision.

For those of you who've already signed up (or who sign up right now, directly from this blog post!), be sure to pick up your race bib and your T-shirt.  You can stop in to the library to get them:
- Friday, June 20 from 11am to 7pm
- Saturday, June 21 from 8:00 to 8:45am

And a special thank you to all of the local organizations providing their support!!

• Fitness Together in Belmont
• Hulafrog
• Ameriprise Financial
• Greater Boston Running Company in Newton
• Synergy Personal Fitness Training in Waltham
• Action Athletics in Newton
• Boston Sports Club in Watertown
• The Little Gym of Boston in Waltham
• All One Yoga in Boston
• Oak Square YMCA

We're gearing up for Summer Reading!

Summer Reading starts June 23!

We've started getting ready by decorating the Children's Department! The next time you come in, you'll see a giant robot gracing our windows. He's getting ready for you to put gears on him with your name on them when you sign up! You can start signing up at our Kick Off event on Monday, June 23 at 3:30pm, and then anytime after that for the whole summer.

How does Summer Reading work?

When you sign up, you'll put your name on a reading log and you'll set a personal reading goal. You'll keep track of how much time you spend reading and, every time you come to the library, you'll get to stamp your log for every fifteen minutes you've spent reading. This year, we'll even have special reading logs for kids who are not reading yet, on which they can stamp for time they spend doing any literacy-related activities like singing, rhyming, looking at pictures in books, and attending library programs.

What are we reading for?

We're keeping track of the time that all the kids in Watertown spend reading on our reading meter. When we reach certain goal levels, we'll donate animals to Heifer International. These animals will go to hungry families all over the world. You'll get to celebrate when you reach your personal reading goal, AND when we reach our collective goals together. Here are our goals:

• 500 hours: A flock of geese
• 1000 hours: Honeybees
• 2000 hours: Rabbits
• 3000 hours: A Goat!

That's a higher goal than we've ever had before! Do you think we can do it?

Looking for more information about Summer Reading? Check out our website, complete with suggested reading lists from the Watertown Public Schools. Or stop in to the library to grab a brochure or ask us about it in person!

Support the WFPL and get fit at the same time!

Saturday, June 21 at 9:00 a.m.

WFPL 5K Fundraiser!

In a little less than two weeks, the Watertown Free Public Library will be hosting our very first ever Fundraiser 5K Run/Walk!  This is an awesome opportunity for the whole family to get a little fresh air and run around Watertown together.  Plus, you'll be supporting the library by helping us raise money for the Building Committee, who helps us pay for some of our programs and fun extras that we all enjoy throughout the year. You won't want to miss this awesome event!

To register, visit our website at www.watertownlib.org/5K. Registration is $20 for adults, $15 for youths (18 and under), and kids under 6 are free!

Not an avid runner?  Don't worry! Runners, walkers, stroller-pushers, and dog-walkers alike will find others moving at the same pace.  Plus, we've got some fun programs going on to help us train together!

Watertown Walks: Mondays, June 9 and 16, 12:00 noon
Join us on the patio in front of the library for a walk through Watertown together! All ages and ability levels welcome!

Watertown Jogs: Thursdays, June 5, 12, and 19, 5:00 p.m.
A personal trainer from Fitness Together will lead us in an easy jog. Meet on the patio in front of the library. All ages and ability levels welcome!

Looking for more info? As above, check out our 5K website. Or visit our Facebook Page! And of course, you can stop in at the library or call us at 617-972-6435 to talk with us about it.

We can't wait to run or walk with you!

Not one but TWO sculpture programs this week!

Children in grades 1-5 have TWO opportunities to try their hands and creating sculptures this week!

Wednesday, May 21 is a half day for Watertown Public Schools, and at 2:00 p.m., educators from the Institute of Contemporary Arts in Boston will be here!  They'll teach kids a little about sculpture and the awesome stuff going on at the ICA, followed by hands-on fun making their own sculptures!

Then on Saturday, May 24 at 10:15 a.m., learn about another kind of sculpture.  Kids will have an adventure with plaster!

Both of these programs require registration but, don't worry, there are still spots left! So stop in or call 617-972-6435 to register!

Preschoolers: Learn to Sign!

Did you know that children who know sign language when they're young tend to be better at spelling and have a larger vocabulary when they're older?*

Many of you use baby signs with your children, and we had lots of grown-ups and babies attend our recent Baby Signs classes here at the library.  Now we're offering sign language for preschoolers too!

Unlike their younger baby-signs counterparts, most preschoolers have mastered verbal language.  But their inclination is still to use their body as part of their communication, and using sign language can help them do that.  For many kids, especially children who prefer to learn kinesthetically, vocabulary and letters are much easier to learn when there's a physical movement attached to it.

So, we're offering a four-week sign language class for preschoolers!  Sessions will be held each Wednesday from May 14 to June 4 at 3:30pm.  (This class was originally scheduled to begin one week earlier, but we've moved it back a week.)  We're bringing in a sign language instructor from WeeHands to instruct your 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds with basic vocabulary and sentences focusing on a range of useful topics.

Registration is required, but there's still lots of space available!  Stop in or call 617-972-6435 to register!


*Zuckerbrod, Nancy. "Start Signing! Why Kids Should Learn Sign Language." Parents Magazine. 2011.

Typing Software Now Available!

Most kids are comfortable using computers, but can they confidently type?  The ability to type with ease and accuracy will be essential as they move forward in school, and it's not a skill kids learn by just using the computer for everyday activities.  Kids need targeted training in where to place their fingers, along with lots of practice before they can type quickly and comfortably.

To help with this, we've installed Type to Learn software on the PCs here in the library!  This program is geared toward children in grades K-5 and has over 100 lessons to teach children typing skills.  Each lesson follows a cycle where they review, view a demonstration, do a practice activity, and then take a quick assessment.  The lessons and practice activities focus on skills like left/right hand coordination, speed, accuracy, and typing cadence.  And the activities are designed to be fun and engaging to keep children interested.  This software is aligned to the National Education Technology Standards for Students, and it's the same program that the Watertown Public Schools use.

If your child has already created an account at school, they can use that same one to track their progress.  If you'd like to create an account, see a librarian and we can help you do so.  Or if you just want to try out the program without keeping track of the activities your child's completed, we've got logins you can use for each grade level.  These are posted on little signs attached to the computer screens here in the Children's Department.

Want to find out more?  You can check out a demo video about Type to Learn and learn all about the program on the company's website.

So come on in and give it a try!  It's a fun way for children to learn a skill that will prove essential for them in their education and throughout the rest of their lives.

Happy Children's Book Day! Celebrate El día de los niños with us!

Every year, libraries and schools across the country celebrate El dia de los niños, or Children's Day.  The event is also known as El dia de los libros, or Book Day.  Officially it's celebrated on April 30, but celebrations span the end of April and much of May.  It's a day to highlight the beauty and excitement of literacy for children and families of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

This year, we're celebrating Dia de los niños during our usual Toddler Story Time hour.  On Tuesday, April 29, at 10:15 a.m. we will have a multicultural story time for one- and two-year-olds.  The program is geared toward the little ones, but kids who are a little bit older (maybe 3 or 4) would enjoy it too and are welcome to come.  We'll sing songs in multiple languages and we'll read stories from cultures all over the world!

Happy Children's Day! ¡Feliz dia de los niños!