While going to get my passport settled for the next phase of my life, I had the joy of seeing how much my son loves our local library. I do too, mostly for the friendly staff and ability to obtain nearly any book... Today I want to highlight something through smaller eyes though...
The magical play area that lives there!
It's awesome to interact with librarians for official documents, vs. worn out state employees... It's even better when your kiddo can have some fun at the same time! Ah, the joys of the library systems in the US! A rare bureaucratic "treat"!
What would you see at my local library if you were a kid?
An abundant and inviting space that highlights various geographical locations (If maybe with many faults). I think this space is a bit dated, but also allows kids to explore. The books are nestled into the play area, leaving them (mostly) safe from rampaging kiddos.
This is probably my son's favorite room at this location, and I can get why.
Along with this train table, there are a variety of activities in this portion of the kid's area.
I couldn't photograph most of this space, as the last thing I want to do is make other families uncomfortable, or snap photos of other people's children...
I do want to appreciate our library though, and what it means that my community has this area provided to them.
We have educational workshops for kids here, help for those acquiring citizenship, meetings for clubs of all sorts... As you walk in the door you see a sticker signifying that it is a safe space for all, I think that's cool.
It's nice to see community spaces geared around the more articulate parts of humanity.
This one is meant to be a post office of sorts as far as I can tell.
It's funny, because inside it looks like it was meant to be a restaurant, which lives in a different area.
The restaurant/ play kitchen is labeled as an airport though... all odd, and all so fun for little ones who cannot nitpick over such things.
Here is a view of the other airport(?)/ kitchen area, where my son made me "tea".
I will note that his methods were wild.
He dipped various play foods into the tea pot, then proceeded to serve me invisible mugs. Emory would then prompt me to sip my "tea", making a "ssssssup" sound. 😂
Another thing I like about this space is the nudge to clean up after yourself.
I think in American society, some important things are forgotten... Signage here reminds folks that this space is a gift, and librarians are not maids... and the signs do it just right. I have to love the panache!
The culture of our local libraires here in the US always warms my heart..
Here is a view of what my son made me while I waited for my appointment...
Mostly I got lots of "tea".
As always, the people watching here was interesting. It can be dubious and also productive to compare what you are saying to your little ones vs. what others are.
Another kid served his father "water", to which the father replied that water was yucky! I found this... well, odd? I mostly give my kids water, what is he doing??
Aside from my burning questions, I had such a wonderful time in my local library.
After spending some time in the play area, I went to my passport appointment. Afterwards, I went to pick out some books, of course!
You know, my favorite genre is fantasy... I particularly enjoy punchy and fresh fantasy with a bit of humor. With these things in mind, and the fact that fantasy is my passion... Do you know how mad it is that I've never read a Terry Pratchett novel?!
I was excited to pick these books up. Lately I've been in a longstanding rut with my own writing. I find that exploring the writing of others can be the best aid in inspiration, and I'm excited to read a well-loved novelist at last.
I look forward to visiting the community again with my take on Snuff!
Lovely pictures! It must have been a treat for your child to run around the place, play and have fun making 'tea'. 😄 I particularly love the sticker that says "a safe space for all".
In my country, we don't have many libraries. Just few located here and there, and owned by the government. Except for schools of course. That's where I spent my play time while in school—libraries! How long do they allow you to borrow those books for? Have fun reading them.
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It's cool to hear about library experiences in another country... and to also relate across the differences- I also loved hanging out in libraries as a kid/teen!
Here we are allowed to keep the books for three weeks, which is awesome! I almost never keep them that long, but it is cool not to be rushed! 😍
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Sshhh, don't tell anyone, but I've never read a Terry Pratchett novel either! I will someday, but lately almost all my book binges have been nonfiction. Can't wait to see what inspiration you take from these!
The children's spaces in your local library are AMAZING! I've never seen such a large and varied play area in a library. Granted, the kids' areas aren't something I usually check out, and I've only visited maybe 15 libraries in my whole life. But still! It's wonderful that they have that sort of play space available, since so many kids don't have the luxury of kitchen playsets, train playsets, etc.
Part of me wishes we had such wonderful things when I was a kid, and part of me is glad the focus was more on books, since it encouraged me to read more. Though I do remember our library having quite a few board games as well. I suspect the dearth of kid-centric stuff where I grew up is related to the fact that I grew up in an area dominated by retirees. Though you'd think they'd want nice things for their grandkids...
Anyhoo, I'm rambling, and it isn't even on my own post. 😅 Thank you for sharing!
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Oh my gosh! I am so relieved to hear that I am not the only one who hasn't read a Terry Pratchet book! It's like ONLY the coolest people who tell me to, but I've just never gotten around to it 😂
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What kinda nonfiction are you vibing with these days? Any book in particular that you loved?
Haha I ADORED the library rambling! 😍 It's so cool to hear about your experiences and connection to library spaces. I'm with you, we didn't have anything this cool when I was a nugget, or maybe I just didn't know about it either haha!
I'm so crazy grateful to have found this spot as a mom though, it's not so far away that I can't run to it on difficult days... which has legit SAVED me!
So flipping true, a train table is a few hundred dollars 😵 I looked for one secondhand for a long while, but never lucked out. Maybe it's good, it makes it that much more special when we go to the library 😄💚
Thanks for the stellar comment !LADY! 💃
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My nonfiction reads the past few months have been largely about neuroscience, tilting heavily toward the causes and effects of ADHD, and what can be done about them when you can't take stimulant meds (like me). Also, how to pull oneself out of the pit of despair that is having chronic illness. But I like neuroscience, psychology, and self-help stuff in general as well. Every once in a while I dip into stuff on the death care industry, though I don't even know why that holds my interest so well. Probably because it's still a nearly taboo subject, and yet there are so many fascinating tidbits to be learned. I also listened to a long (long, looooong) biography of Nikola Tesla a couple months ago. That man was remarkable in so many ways.
I actually want to start talking about some of the books I've read and stuff I've learned in my Hive posts, but picking just one is difficult.
I'm glad you have such a lovely library near you to "save" you. Or maybe it's just saving your sanity. :D I'm also curious what sorts of libraries you will find when you start traveling...
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What a fun library! we don't have that many library that are kid friendly. So maybe it's why kids don't really read over here 😅
I really do think that making reading fun is everything! Although, admittedly, kids don't read much here either in general haha
I do think more of a "cleaning culture" would benefit America a little bit. In Japan, schools don't have janitors. Students have to clean their entire homeroom everyday, scrubbing the desks and floors. Then once every few weeks or so they will clean the entire building the same way. Growing up cleaning like this really instills a cleaning attitude to them, which is why, for example, you see the Japanese fans cleaning the stadium after soccer games to the amazement of all. At a Japanese library you would never see the floor like that...
Anyway, yeah, I love libraries! Yours looks nice. Can you get passports at libraries now? That's awesome!
I think that taking ownership of your items is so important for kids! Although we cannot possibly clean the whole place up when other kids are actively playing, we do clean as we go for the toys we play with. I think that sharing a respect for this community space with the littles instills good values all around for the future! I also think more cleaning culture would be great here.
And yes! It's a total game changer for the passports, it was such a breeze to be able to handle it at the library!
Thanks for stopping by, it's cool to get a comment from ya! 😄
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That's an awesome play area for kids. My son would be all over the train track set as well! 😁
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Your little guy is also around two, right? It's like the coolest place for kids that age, and for adults too (I also play with the trains !LOLZ)
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My youngest is, but even my five year old still loves playing with trains, so they'd both have a blast there. 😁
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This type of local library I strongly believe will be patronised by a lot of people and this is great to see
Absolutely! It is a wonderful space for people of all ages :)
One thing I love about this local library I’m seeing is that it is conducive and one will be able to enjoy reading there coupled with being able to assimilate what he or she is reading very fast
Totally!!! It is magic when we can find a welcoming space that encourages both literary and community growth! 💚
I really love the configuration of the library. It will help the assimilation
It really is stellar! 😄
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