Spring is here and the Moose Jaw Public Library is more than prepared to welcome the season with a handful of new activities, including a city-wide Easter egg hunt.
Beginning March 25, the library is inviting Moose Jaw to take part in the Neighbourhood Easter Egg Hunt, by crafting a paper Easter egg and hanging it in their windows for egg hunters to find.
The idea is to create a big community-wide hunt, so participants can get outside and take on the adventure of finding as many eggs as they can.
There are no specific prizes for the egg hunt, but children's librarian Tina Dolcetti encourages people to share their photos and egg counts with the MJPL on social media — and to get creative in how they hunt.
“Get out and check to see if you can find some beautiful-looking Easter eggs in your neighbour's windows,” said Dolcetti. “[And it’s a way] for families to get outside, get active, and be in the community.”
The egg hunt will be on until April 30, and anyone in Moose Jaw can take part. The MJPL even has an Easter Take ‘n’ Make craft kit available with all the supplies needed to create an egg or two for the event, or people are encouraged to put their own creative spin on the activity.
The MJPL usually hosts an Easter egg hunt inside their building for kids, which is so popular that as many as 80 participants attend each year, so Dolcetti is hoping the neighbourhood hunt will offer some of that same magic.
“We definitely miss having children and families visiting the library, so this is a way of being welcoming for everybody,” said Dolcetti. “And anything that keeps our city looking bright and beautiful for longer, we’re more than up for that.”
Additionally, beginning in April, the MJPL is also launching two new book challenges for kids to take on over their spring break.
Spring Into Reading, aimed for ages up to six years old, features a month’s worth of activities for families to continue building literacy at home throughout April. Finished calendars can be returned to the MJPL for a prize, while supplies last.
Book Bingo is also happening throughout April, with kids aged 6 to 12 invited to grab a book bingo card and read or write their way to a prize.
Both of these reading challenges can be picked up from the MJPL, as well as the Easter craft kit, at no cost. Dolcetti said that the MJPL has been seeing lots of interest in the take-home activities offered over the last few months, and she encouraged people to stop by earlier rather than later to get their kits.
All of the library’s take-home kits are focused on encouraging reading skills using crafts, which Dolcetti said she sometimes calls “stealth literacy.”
“It's not actually what you would think of as being reading, but we’ve got instructions for how to make our crafts [and] figuring out how to do things is one of the best ways of teaching kids,” said Dolcetti. “Reading isn’t just books, it’s also being able to navigate your environment and read a recipe or instructions, [and] that teaches kids about the importance of literacy in your everyday life.”
She also added that individuals do not need to have a library card to pick up any of the kits and activities from the MJPL, and staff can arrange to do a curbside pickup, just like for any other library materials.
For more information about any of the upcoming events at the MJPL, contact the front desk by calling 1 (306) 692-2787, email ask@moosejawlibrary.ca, or visit moosejawlibrary.ca.
