Greenwich Library celebrates the return of spring with free, virtual programming throughout April that will have our youngest patrons stretching, reading, dancing, cooking and crafting. The online programming will include singalongs, storytimes, book groups, STEM programs, poetry reading, and more.
As April is National Poetry Month, Cos Cob Library is excited to host a virtual visit with acclaimed poet and author, Janet Wong on Tuesday, April 6, at 4 p.m. Wong is the winner of the 2021 NCTE Excellence in Poetry for Children Award, the most prestigious lifetime achievement award that a children’s poet can receive. She is the first Asian-American winner and the first awardee who not only writes poetry but has also created a successful publishing company (Pomelo Books). Wong will share her stories and inspiring words to encourage young people to view themselves as writers, too!
ArchforKids and Greenwich Library will celebrate Earth Day on Thursday, April 22 at 4 p.m., and ask, How Does Your Garden Grow? Children in grades 3 and up are invited to join virtually to make a tabletop greenhouse. Participants will learn about structure, framing and shapes in architecture and will plant seeds and bulbs in the working greenhouse they create!
The Friends of Byram Shubert Library presents a virtual yoga session for children with long-time yoga instructor Kristin DeGroat on April 27, at 4 p.m. Yoga can benefit children by helping improve focus, study habits, and sleep—all of which are helpful during this highly unusual year. Greenwich Library is also hosting yoga for little ones ages 2-6 every Thursday morning in April at 9 a.m.
Registration for all of the above programs, and those listed below, are available through Greenwich Library’s online calendar at greenwichlibrary.org.
VIRTUAL – Budding Buddhas Kids Yoga (Ages 2-6)
Held five Thursdays this month! April 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29, 9 – 9:30 a.m.
Experience the joy of yoga presented by Budding Buddhas. Miss Lindsay and Miss Sue will lead parents and children (age 2-6) in a 30-minute fun-filled class via Zoom that combines yoga poses, music, and mindfulness activities. The class concludes with “peacetime” (final relaxation).
VIRTUAL – Fiesta de los Cuentos! Bilingual Storytime
Held five Thursdays this month! April 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29, 10 – 10:30 a.m.
Join us for a Spanish and English storytime live via Zoom! Toddlers and preschoolers sing songs, listen to stories, and enjoy this bilingual program
VIRTUAL – Storytime with Ms. Lauren
Held four Mondays this month! April 5, 12, 19 & 26, 10 – 10:30 a.m.
Join us virtually for music, movement, puppets, and stories with Greenwich Children’s Librarians! Toddlers and preschoolers (and their parents) register for our live stories via Zoom. We will send you an email invite to storytime. Greenwich Librarians can’t wait to see you!
VIRTUAL – Author/Poet Talk with Janet Wong (Cos Cob Library)
Tuesday, April 6, 4 – 5 p.m.
Join us for a virtual visit with acclaimed poet and author, Janet Wong! Wong is the winner of the 2021 NCTE Excellence in Poetry for Children Award, the most prestigious lifetime achievement award that a children’s poet can receive. She is the first Asian-American winner and the first awardee who not only writes poetry but also has created a successful publishing company (Pomelo Books). Wong will share her stories and inspiring words to encourage young people to view themselves as writers, too.
VIRTUAL – Storytime with Ms. Melissa
Held four Wednesdays this month! April 7, 14, 21 & 28, 10 – 10:30 a.m.
Join us virtually for music, movement, puppets, and stories with Greenwich Children’s Librarians! Toddlers and preschoolers (and their parents) register for our live stories via Zoom. We will send you an email invite to storytime – we can’t wait to see you!
VIRTUAL – YA Cooking: No Bake Chocolate Cheesecake Bars (Grades 6-12)
Thursday, April 8, 5 – 6:30 p.m.
Join Food Explorers to make some delicious No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake Bars! You’ll be making the crust and creamy filling from scratch, and you’ll need the following ingredients: Oreos, butter, one “brick” cream cheese, heavy cream, 8oz dark chocolate (chips or bar) + 1/2 cup chocolate chips, salt and any additional toppings, like sprinkles!
VIRTUAL: Mad Science Fire and Ice
Saturday, April 10, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Step into our Mad Lab where our Mad Scientist has been busy cooking up some science experiments about fire and ice! Discover science secrets and learn about dry ice and how it allows us to make bubbling potions, catch a rainbow in a tube and hear a spoon scream. Enjoy crazy fire reactions that will explode and crackle, and also witness an indoor cloud.
VIRTUAL: Make it Monday (Grades K-2)
Monday, April 12, 4 – 5 p.m.
Students in grades K-2 will learn new skills and create a unique craft each month. No experience necessary; all materials provided. Craft materials will be ready for pick up before each program. Participants will receive an email with the Zoom link and a notification to pick up materials a week before the event. Space is limited and registration is required. We ask that families please sign each child up individually to ensure we have enough supply kits for each child.
VIRTUAL – Audubon: Sights and Sounds of Spring (Grades K-2) (Cos Cob Library)
Tuesday, April 13, 4 – 5 p.m.
As plants and animals emerge from their winter slumber, there are many sights, sounds, smells, and other amazing signs of spring to be discovered. Join Ryan MacLean from the Greenwich Audubon Center as he tells us what we can be using our senses to look and listen for in nature as we welcome spring! We will read a special story about some of our favorite animals emerging for spring and you will even meet a special live reptile!
VIRTUAL – Robert Rogers Puppet Company: “Bugtown Follies” (Byram Shubert)
Tuesday, April 13, 4 – 5 p.m.
Master of Ceremonies, grasshopper Bugsby Berkeley, heads a cast of all-star insects who perform in the craziest Vaudeville show ever! Acrobatic ants, jumping fleas, tap-dancing spiders, cavorting caterpillars…even a butterfly beauty pageant are all part of the fun in this supersized, imaginative close-up look at some of nature’s wonders.
VIRTUAL – Audubon: Backyard Animals in Spring (Grades 3-5) (Cos Cob Library)
Thursday, April 15, 4 – 5 p.m.
With changing seasons come changes in the ways animals behave in nature. Join Ryan MacLean from the Greenwich Audubon Center to celebrate the return of spring, as he tells us about the special events taking place in our backyards this time of year. Birds migrating back to their summer homes, amphibians and reptiles awakening from hibernation, and spring wildflowers blooming on warm sunny days are just a few of the incredible happenings in the natural world that you can witness yourself. As part of this program, we will even take a virtual tour to a pond to look and listen for emerging animals and other signs of spring!
VIRTUAL – Friday Fun: Play Kahoot! (Grades 4 – 5)
Friday, April 16, 4 – 4:45 p.m.
Come have fun and play Kahoot! together. Do you love animals, sports, movies, or food? Find out fun facts about all of these things and more! We’ll change it up each time and take votes for future topics.
VIRTUAL – Sing Along with Tom Weber
Saturday, April 17, 10:30 – 11 a.m.
Join us for music time with performer Tom Weber. Tom’s high-energy performances are filled with interactive movement, props, singing, dancing, and lots of energetic fun! His repertoire includes original songs as well as traditional favorites. Tom’s music gets children moving, singing, feeling confident, and having fun!
VIRTUAL – Food Explorers: Lemon Blueberry Pop-Tarts (Grades 2 – 8) (Cos Cob Library)
Wednesday, April 21, 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.
Join Food Explorers to make Lemon Blueberry Pop-Tarts! You’ll be making the pastry, filling and glaze from scratch. You’ll need the following ingredients: flour, one stick butter, 1-2 lemons, blueberries, powdered sugar, white sugar, milk, cream cheese and optional vanilla. You will need a rolling pin. Register to receive the attendee join link and password. Space is limited!
VIRTUAL: Earth Day! ArchforKids Presents “Make a Working Greenhouse”
Thursday, April 22, 4 – 5 p.m.
ArchforKids and Greenwich Library celebrate Earth Day and ask, How Does Your Garden Grow? Join us as children grade 3 and up will make a tabletop greenhouse, learning about structure, framing and shapes in architecture. The children will plant seeds and bulbs in their creation of a working greenhouse. Arch for Kids provides young people with dynamic, hands-on, minds-on learning experiences—grounded in architecture, design, engineering and urban planning.
VIRTUAL – Family Music Night: “Keltic Kick”: A Post St Patrick Musical Celebration (Byram Shubert Library)
Thursday, April 22, 7 – 8 p.m.
Keltic Kick’s unique blend of energized traditional Irish music has kept them at the forefront of the concert and club scene in the Northeast for over three decades. Join us for this virtual Irish-music concert that is bound to have you kicking up your heels!
VIRTUAL: Kripalu Cooking for Kids with Chef Jeremy Rock Smith
Friday, April 23, 4 – 5:30 p.m.
Kids, get in the kitchen, tie on an apron, and pull out your ingredients. It’s time to cook!
Chef Jeremy Rock Smith, his three children, and assistant, Mary Hammerstein, will lead families in cooking healthy kid-friendly food from scratch while addressing safe knife skills, mathematics (measurement and conversion), science (water, heat, chemistry, the food chain, plants, animals), vocabulary (the terms to understand when cooking), reading, and most importantly, mindful cleaning. Smith graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and has worked in fine restaurants here in the United States and abroad. He applied his classical training to creating healthy cuisine at Canyon Ranch in the Berkshires and joined Kripalu Kitchen in 2010. Smith, the author of The Kripalu Kitchen: Nourishing Food for Body and Soul, has had articles featured in a wide range of publications, including the Food Network blog, Vegetarian Times, Yoga Journal, and Boston Magazine. In 2019, he competed on the Food Network’s Chopped cooking show, something he hopes to repeat and win someday. Jeremy lives with his wife and three children in Western Massachusetts. Hammerstein holds a Master of Arts in Teaching in secondary English Language Arts Education. She began assisting programs at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in 2013 when she served as a residential volunteer. This series is made possible with the generous support of Friends of Greenwich Library.
VIRTUAL – Petite Concert
Tuesday, April 27, 11 – 11:30 a.m.
Petite Concerts are 30-minute live concerts for the youngest of listeners! From newborns to preschoolers, these concerts are informal and interactive and contain well known (and very short) musical selections with violinists Chi-Chi Bestmann and Chie Yoshinaka.
VIRTUAL – Yoga for Kids with Kristin DeGroat (Byram Shubert Library)
Tuesday, April 27, 4 – 5 p.m.
Join Kristin DeGroat, yoga instructor since 2012, for a fun online yoga session. Some of the ways yoga benefits children are improved focus, study habits, and sleep—all helpful during this unusual year! This program is sponsored by Friends of the Byram Shubert Library.
Food Explorers: No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake Bars (Grades 2 – 8) (Cos Cob Library)
Wednesday, April 28, 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.
Join Food Explorers to make some delicious No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake Bars! You’ll be making the crust and creamy filling from scratch. Participants will need the following ingredients: Oreos, butter, one “brick” cream cheese, heavy cream, 8 oz. dark chocolate (chips or bar) and 1/2 cup chocolate chips, salt and any additional toppings, like sprinkles! Register to receive the attendee join link and password. Space is limited.
VIRTUAL – Book Bites
Thursday, April 29, 4 – 5 p.m.
Join Miss Melissa virtually making culinary concoctions inspired by your favorite children’s books! We will share recipes and techniques to create awesome literary treats. This program is presented live via Zoom. Recipes, supply lists, and a meeting link will be emailed the week of the program.
All programs and services are made available to Library patrons at no charge through the support of the Greenwich Library Board of Trustees, through contributions by generous donors. For more information on these and other programs, visit www.greenwichlibrary.org.
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About Greenwich Library
The Greenwich Library system consists of the Main Library and its Byram Shubert and Cos Cob branches. The mission of Greenwich Library is to provide exceptional resources, programs and services that promote the joy of lifelong learning and discovery, and to offer a welcoming place for people to gather and share experiences. With over 2,000 programs and events per year, the Library seeks to serve as the cultural and intellectual crossroads of the community. Greenwich Library has a total circulation of about 1.2 million, the highest reported in Connecticut. Greenwich Library was recently named a five-star library by Library Journal for the 11th time. Greenwich Library is located at 101 West Putnam Avenue in Greenwich. Cos Cob Library is located at 5 Sinawoy Road in Cos Cob. Byram Shubert Library is located at 21 Mead Avenue in Greenwich. More information is available online at www.greenwichlibrary.org or by calling 203-622-7900.
