Turon Community Library is proud to be hosting Summer Art Camp beginning May 30.
Art Camp will be held each Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 11 pm from May 30th through June 22. If you are unsure, be sure to check out the calendar!
We want art camp to be an inclusive experience where all ages can come together and have fun (and get a little messy) creating. All projects are process based, meaning the end result is about exploring different mediums through self expression rather than producing a product through a specific set of instructions so everyone gets the same result.
We will also be learning low costs ways to make our own DIY art supplies, which is great for those “I’m bored!” cries during the long days of summer.
Please preregister. This helps us make sure we have enough supplies on hand for everyone. Feel free to use the handy form below, call, or stop in.
Summer is quickly approaching. That means summer reading programs are just on the horizon and we at Turon Community Library have lots of amazing things planned for our community!
Early Literacy: Ages Birth through Preschool
Summer Story times for the early lit group will be held on Saturdays at 11:00am beginning June 10th and running through July 22. We will feature a new book provided through the Kansas Book Festival grant, a song, and an activity (a craft or game). While anyone is welcome to attend, this program is specifically targeting early literacy and books and activities will be geared toward pre-readers, or those just learning. We will pay special attention to phenomes through books choices and songs, and activities will focus on fine motor skills.
Children: Those starting Kindergarten through those finishing 5th grade
This is the group most think of when they hear ‘summer reading’ and we have a lot of fun things planned! Programs will be Tuesday and Thursday at 11:00am starting July 11 and finishing July 27. Again, we will feature a brand new book purchased through the Kansas Book Festival grant and have an activity for the kids. We want to motivate this age group to read and develop positive attitudes about books and reading. Additionally, we want to attract new users to our library and encourage our regular users to keep coming back!
Tween/Teen: 6th grade through 17 years old
We are planning combined sessions for our tweens/teens. We will encourage and focus on independence, excitement, empowerment, and acceptance. We want our budding adults to learn how to use the library to navigate their world. Additionally, we want to provide an opportunity for tweens and teens to interact and socialize, grow by learning from their peers, and encourage acceptance of different opinions. Stay tuned for more details.
Multigenerational/Intergenerational
We wanted to offer intergenerational programming to help strengthen our community and reduce alienation, share talents and resources, dispel stereotypes about specific generations, reduce the fear of aging, and offer something the whole family can attend together – even with grandparents. We are excited to offer a summer art camp for all ages. We will focus on process art and nature, making many of our tools from scratch, getting outside, and getting messy. All ages will not only take away fun finished art projects, but will also learn art doesn’t need to be perfect or have expensive supplies to be fun and engaging. This will be held every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 11:00 beginning May 30 through June 22.
Registration
Registration is required for all programs. While you can register the day of the event, we strongly encourage pre-registration. This allows us to ensure we have enough materials for everyone.
Register for Art Camp any time by stopping in the library or calling us (620.497.6409)
Registration for the rest of our summer reading programs can be done at our summer reading kickoff on June 29th at 6pm, or by stopping by or calling, or by completing this form.
Thank you
Lastly, we want to thank all our sponsor who made our summer reading program possible:
The customer-owners on the Midwest Energy Community Fund Committees has selected Turon Community Library to receive a donation of $400 to use towards the purchase of books in support of summer reading.
The Community Fund benefits charitable, educational and nonprofit organizations in the Midwest Energy service area. Five customer committees review charitable requests and submit recommendations to Midwest Energy management for approval. Each committee allocates funds based on the number of meters in the assigned counties.
We at Turon Community Library are grateful for the generosity of the Midwest Energy Community Fund and the Committees’ hard work deciding how to fairly distribute funds. We are honored to be both considered and chosen. With this donation, we will purchase adult books recommended by the Collaborative Summer Library Program to have fresh items on the shelves just in time for those long and lazy summer days.
So to everyone involved in the Community Fund at Midwest Energy, thank you. We appreciate your investment in our library and our community.
Turon Community Library is the proud recipient of a $500 New Programs/Projects Grant from South Central Kansas Library System (SCKLS). SCKLS serves 144 participating public libraries, school districts, academic libraries and special libraries in 12 counties. The mission of the South Central Kansas Library System is to assist member libraries to provide excellent service to their communities
According to the grant guidelines, “This grant is reserved for new or special library programs that allow a library to diversify offerings or explore unique opportunities.”
Libraries are often billed as just a repository for books. A place for bookworms to come and fawn over the latest new release without having to pay for it. (And that is a significantly marvelous perk of a library – free access to books.) However, libraries, and specifically our library has a broader mission – we are repositories for information. Libraries are community centers and hubs for creativity. Granted, most library programing and use is centered around literacy – reading and writing, both digital and analog. However, libraries are evolving just as the demands of our patrons and the digital age is evolving. Other forms of literacy, creativity, and community engagement are being explored, recognized, and utilized by a growing number of libraries to better serve the needs of our communities. Let’s be honest, with the internet and the easy access to free digital books, why go to the library at all? Why do we even need the library in the first place?
Because a library is what you make it. You decide what it gets to be. You, the patron, are the one who breathes life into a library and defines it.
Right now, our most frequent and influential patrons all happen to be under the age of twelve, and love creating individual works of art.
For this reason, we will be using the $500 to start an art club and purchase supplies.
Art and the library go hand in hand for many reasons. Think about the first books you ever read. They were full of illustrations. The illustrations captivated you, drew you in, and were possibly the reason you loved or selected the book to begin with. The illustrations provided clues to help you understand what you were reading, or interpret the emotions the author was trying to convey. The illustrations filled in the gaps in the story and brought it to life.
Art is a universal language. It’s expressive and reflective properties actually develop literacy and communication skills. Not to mention how the act of using different mediums in different ways – from holding a paint brush to cutting paper with scissors – develops both gross and fine motor skills needed for other tasks, like writing. Art promotes visual literacy and verbal creativity. It also gives those who don’t like reading and writing and opportunity to express themselves and explore their world.
So it is easy to see why art belongs in the library and we are excited to be able to offer this opportunity year round.
Standby for official details when the program rolls out. And if you are a creative artist of any type, consider donating your time to teach a class at the library. We would love to host you and your work, especially if you are local.
Last but certainly not least, we want to extend a community wide thank you to SCKLS for making this possible and allowing us to explore this unique opportunity to serve our community in a new and exciting way.