Children's Room News
Celebrate Black History Month with Us!
February is Black History Month. It is a time to honor the rich and complex past while learning about how it has led to an equally important present, which in turn is the foundation for the future of Black people and their role in U.S. History. Springhurst Library Media Specialist Lauren Rodriguez, Middle/High School Library Media Specialist Ellen Elsen, and K-8 Literacy Coordinator Michelle Yang-Kaczmarek have teamed up with Dobbs Ferry Public Library Children’s Librarian Gina Elbert to create this resource list to help your classes dive deeper into Black History Month. Our hope is that this history will not just stay in February but will be celebrated all year long highlighting Black joy and excellence.
Below is a link to a sampling of resources available at the Dobbs Ferry public schools and in the DFPL; it is not an exhaustive list. If you would like help finding more, please contact your librarians.
Click here for our Black Pasts, Presents, and Futures Resource Guide for Families!
Upcoming Programs
Take & Make Craft Kits for Kids: Traffic Light Craft – Limited Supply / Contact the Library to schedule a pick up
Saturday, February 4
All Day
Ages 3 and up.
Pick up a kit containing a craft that you can do at home – supplies are limited!
This Week’s Craft – Traffic Light Craft
Call 693-6614 to schedule a pick up time.
Paws for Reading with Buddy in the Library
Saturday, February 4
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Ages 4+
Children read one-on-one with Buddy, a specially trained Reading Education Assistance Dog (R.E.A.D.) and his handler, Dobbs Ferry resident Marty Kanengiser. Children will select a book to read to Buddy before the program begins, and they will spend 10-15 minutes reading aloud. They are also welcome to ask questions about Buddy, a 12-year-old rescued black lab who loves children, other dogs, and reading.
Register with dobchildref@wlsmail.org — please indicate the title and date of the program you are registering for!
#DeWasteDobbs Community Kickoff in the Community Room
Saturday, February 4
2:30 pm - 5:00 pm
All Ages
Come help kick-off a year of De-Wasting Dobbs with a wild afternoon of monsters, food tossing, and more!
Featuring:
- Build-a-Trash-Monster
- Earthy Story Time
- Compost Rind-Toss Challenge
- Children’s Book Swap (bring your reusable books to donate or swap)
- Learn about the 0.6 lb. Pledge!
- Free Gourmet Popcorn
- Exclusive Offer from Hudson Compost
For more info or to take the pledge, go here.
Stuffed Animal Field Trips – Ongoing from the Children’s Room
Sunday, February 5
All Day
Ages 3 and Up
The library’s stuffed animals want to go on field trips! Check one out, bring them home, and add to their personal scrapbooks by writing about and taking pictures of the fun things you do together. When you’re at the library, you can visit the animals who have made it back to home base and see what they’ve been up to. Stuffed animals may be periodically rotated out based on condition.
Baby Songs & Stories in the Community Room
Monday, February 6
10:30 am - 10:50 am
For parents and caregivers of babies up to 24 months.
Join children’s librarian Gina to learn songs, fingerplays, and more that you can do with your baby. Each meeting will leave time for open discussion and connection with other parents/caregivers.
This program will be socially-distanced. Please make sure you and everyone in your family over the age of 2 wears their masks for its entirety.
Email dobchildref@wlsmail.org, call (914) 693-6615, or stop by the children’s room for information and to sign up.
Online Resources
February is Black History Month. It is a time to honor the rich and complex past while learning about how it has led to an equally important present, which in turn is the foundation for the future of Black people and their role in U.S. History. Springhurst Library Media Specialist Lauren Rodriguez, Middle/High School Library Media Specialist Ellen Elsen, and K-8 Literacy Coordinator Michelle Yang-Kaczmarek have teamed up with Dobbs Ferry Public Library Children’s Librarian Gina Elbert to create this resource list to help your classes dive deeper into Black History Month. Our hope is that this history will not just stay in February but will be celebrated all year long highlighting Black joy and excellence.
Below is a link to a sampling of resources available at the Dobbs Ferry public schools and in the DFPL; it is not an exhaustive list. If you would like help finding more, please contact your librarians.
Click here for our Black Pasts, Presents, and Futures Resource Guide for Families!
Women’s History Month is a time to celebrate ordinary and extraordinary women, explore women’s achievements and struggles throughout history, and acknowledge all the amazing contributions of women to our society. The 2022 theme for Women’s History Month is “Providing Healing, Promoting Hope” as a tribute to the ceaseless work of caregivers and frontline workers during this ongoing pandemic and also to recognize the thousands of ways that women of all cultures have provided healing and hope throughout history. This theme proudly honors those who, in public and private life, provide healing and promote hope for the betterment of all.
Springhurst Library Media Specialist Lauren Rodriguez, Middle/High School Library Media Specialist Ellen Elsen, and K-8 Literacy Coordinator Michelle Yang-Kaczmarek have teamed up with Dobbs Ferry Public Library Children’s Librarian Gina Elbert to create this resource list to help your classes dive deeper into the contribution of women to society. Our hope is that this history will not just stay in March but will be celebrated all year long, highlighting the determination, courage and perseverance of women.
Click Here for the 2022 Women’s History Month Resources List
Indigenous peoples are often overlooked by the dominant forces in contemporary American society. They’re a vital part of our past, but also of our present and future. Springhurst librarian Lauren Rodriguez, Middle/High School media specialist Ellen Elsen, and K-8 literacy coordinator Michelle Yang-Kaczmarek have teamed up with Dobbs Ferry Public Library children’s librarian Gina Elbert and teen librarian Allee Manning to create the below resource list to help you dive deeper into indigenous literature for kindergarten through 12th grade. While it focuses on the indigenous peoples of the United States, it also contains a short section acknowledging native peoples of other countries in the Americas. These stories span contemporary life as well as historical fact and are part of a growing movement in publishing to better represent marginalized voices. Many are about Native Americans of the continental United States, but Native Hawaiians and Alaskans appear too. This is a sampling of available resources and not an exhaustive list. If you would like help finding more, please contact your librarian(s).
Every year, from mid-September to mid-October, Americans recognize National Hispanic Heritage Month by honoring the culture, histories, and contributions of Americans whose ancestors came to the country from Spanish-speaking countries in Europe and the Americas. The first celebration took place during one week in mid-September of 1968, with the timeframe chosen to honor independence day celebrations in many Spanish-speaking countries, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua (all on September 15), Mexico (September 16), and Chile (September 18). In 1988, the celebration was expanded to last a month, from September 15-October 15 each year.
Springhurst Library Media Specialist Lauren Rodriguez, Middle/High School Library Media Specialist Ellen Elsen, and K-8 Literacy Coordinator Michelle Yang-Kaczmarek have teamed up with Dobbs Ferry Public Library Children’s Librarian Gina Elbert and Young Adult Librarian Allee Manning to create this resource list to help your families dive deeper into the contributions and culture of Latinx and Hispanic Americans.