Welcome to Camp Readaway!
Summer Programs
Contests - Starting June 3
Beanstack - Track your reading on the Beanstack website or app, win four benchmark prizes through the summer and earn chances to win one of two grand prizes. The more you read, the more chances you have to win.
Support Your Cabin! - Enter this contest each time you finish a book. Your reading will count towards your assigned cabin. Can you read enough to bring the win to your team? Prizes will be drawn for all entries in this contest each week.
Find Bigfoot! - Search the library each week for our friendly cryptid. Find him and enter the weekly drawing for a prize of your choice.
Share Your Adventure - Enter our summer creative writing contest by telling us about an adventure. It can be a story of a real experience, or an adventure you make up. Drop your entry at the Children's desk with your name, age and phone number attached. Entries can be as short as you like, but should not be longer than 1500 words. Winners may get a chance to record their adventure for our library podcast. This contest is open to anyone under 18.
Programs for the Young
Sunshine Babies - Weather permitting, our Baby Bugs program may be held on the lawn, where toddlers can play in the water and experience a variety of sensory play. Kids and adults should dress to get messy. This program is part of our ongoing Baby Bugs program. Call to register.
Story Time and Baby Bugs are ongoing, see below for descriptions and call to register.
Programs for ages 5-12
Summer Reading Club - Come on a new adventure every Wednesday @ 2:00 PM and never leave the library! Starting June 5, young adventurers will meet to hear a guest talk about an amazing experience. From Space Camp to SCUBA, we have some cool things in store. We will provide hands-on activities, art projects and games to highlight each story. For kids ages 5-12, no registration is required.
Early Readers Roundup - Improve your reading skills with fun activities, stories and games. Join Miss Chrissy for a silly story time for kids in grades K-2. We will meet at 11:30 on June 6 & 12 and July 11 & 18. Please call to register.
Garden Club - Get some dirt under your fingernails by helping us plant, weed and harvest in our library garden. Learn a lesson about plants, dirt or water each week, including a science experiment, and then help tend our garden. Produce will be divided amongst our attendees. Tasty snacks are guaranteed, as long as you love veggies! For kids ages 5-12. Please call to register. Program is always held outside and will be canceled in the event of bad weather. Please dress to get dirty. Program is held every Tuesday @ 4:00 PM starting June 4.
Art Club - There's only one summer session of our popular art program, so don't miss it. Explore an art movement, artist or medium with Miss Emily, make a project to take home and contribute to an art piece that will hang in the library. For ages 5-12. Please call to register for Wednesday, June 12 @ 6:00 PM
Stranger Than Fiction - Help solve the art crime of the century! The Mona Lisa has been stolen, and only you can find her. Explore the new non-fiction book "Mona Lisa Vanishes" and join in a fun problem solving escape room type puzzle. Can you solve the mystery in time to catch the thief? For ages 5-12, please call to register for Wednesday, June 5 @ 6:00 PM
Chess Club - Join other chess players to improve your game and challenge yourself. For kids ages 8-18, please call to register. Teens can earn volunteer hours by attending and playing with younger kids, offering strategy and support. Games are run informally and players are matched up as they become available. Program will be held on Thursday June 13 & 27 and July 11 & 25 at 2:00 PM.
Trivia Challenge - Do you love trivia? Are you an expert in gaming, TV shows, sports statistics? Want to show what you know? Join us for a fun and silly quiz game. For ages 8-18, please call to register. Teens can brush up their Prep Bowl skills and earn volunteer hours by helping out younger contestants. Program will be held on Thursday June 6 and July 18 @ 2:00 PM
Mini RPG - Have you always wanted to try Dungeons and Dragons, but the rules seem way too complicated? Do you want to write your own adventure, but you want some friends to come along? Join us for a simplified role playing game set in an existing universe. The play is easy and you choose where the game goes. For kids ages 8-12, please call to register. Games will be held on Monday June 10 and July 1 at 3:00 PM.
Programs for Everyone
Raptor Hallow - Don't miss this special visit from a local bird sanctuary. Read a story about an animal and then meet that animal live and in person. Stories are geared for ages 4-7, but the whole family is welcome to join us on Wednesday, July 24 @ 6:00 PM. No registration is required. Program may be held outside, weather permitting.
Camp Out - Celebrate the summer on the lawn with fun and silly activities. We'll have a pretend camp out and enjoy games, stories and snacks. There will be fun for the whole family. No registration is required. Join us Wednesday, July 31 @ 6:00 PM.
Ongoing Program
1,000 Books Before Kindergarten
Reading together - also called shared reading - is the single most important way to help children get ready to read and become proficient readers. Reading together increases vocabulary and general knowledge. It helps children learn how print looks and how books work. Shared reading also helps children develop an interest in reading. Children who enjoy being read to are more likely to want to learn to read themselves. The more you read to your child, the more ready they will be to read on their own. Take up the challenge and read 1,000 books to your little one before they start Kindergarten. Visit our Beanstack page, create an account for your child and get started today.
Weekly Programs
Registration is required, and families can join any time. Siblings are welcome to sit in as needed.
Story Time
Story Time is offered for children ages 3 to 5. We focus on basic concepts like letter recognition, counting, motor skills and pre-reading skills. These are taught through songs, stories, games and crafts.
Baby Bugs
Baby Bugs is for children ages 6 months to two years. Caregivers will participate with children in interactive play, sensory activities and songs.
Monthly Programs
Art Club
Learn about great artists and illustrators from Claude Monet to Alma Thomas to Bob Ross. Explore their most famous works, see how they created them, and make your own masterpiece using the same style. Each month we also create a collaborative art piece to display in the library. We may use paint, ink or other mediums, so please come dressed for a bit of a mess. This program is held each month for kids ages 5-12. Please call to register.
Chess Club
Learn the basic moves of chess or sharpen your strategic skills against players of all skill levels. Younger players will get advice and support from teens who are part of the Newton Falls Jr. High Chess Club. For ages 8 and up. Please call to register.
Kids Mini RPG
Too young for Dungeons and Dragons? Try out our super simplified version of a role playing game, set in your favorite fictional universe. From Harry Potter to Pokemon, we play in a different fantasy world in each game, and provide you with a ready-made character. Bring your own dice, or use ours. For ages 8-12. Please call to register.
Winter Programs
These programs are offered each December. Check the library calendar or Facebook for more information.
Mrs. Claus
Each holiday season, the library welcomes Mrs. Claus for a special snack and story time. Preschool-age children will write a letter to Santa and bring it to Mrs. Claus for delivery and also have the opportunity to get a picture taken with her. Registration is always required.
Candyland
We turn our upstairs meeting room into a giant board game every winter break. Children can walk through Candyland collecting treats as they play the game. No registration is required.