Children’s Programs

*Mother Goose on the Loose: A new program for children under age 2 and their parents, Mother Goose on the Loose is an award-winning early literacy program we will begin offering next month.

The 30-minute sessions include traditional rhymes, songs, music, movement, flannel board activities and simple books.

No registration is required. The program began April 1 and will meet weekly in the meeting room on Wednesday mornings at 10 through May 13.

*Easter Craft: Children ages 6 and up are invited to make a spring craft with Mrs Walker on Saturday, April 4, from 1 to 2 pm.

A $3 materials fee is due upon registration, which needs to be done in person.

Young Adult Programs

*Chess Club News: Rocky Placella of Danbury won last Saturday’s tournament, which was open to all Chess Club players. He finished with a 3-0 score.

Junior members Tristan Villamil and Brendan Gregory tied for second, with two wins and one loss each on March 28.

The Chess Club meets every Saturday afternoon from 1-5 on the third floor. All ages are welcome. Boards and pieces are provided. Drop in anytime.

*Chess Lessons: A series of five one-hour lessons will begin Saturday, April 18, at 11:30 am. They will be led by Glenn Budzinski, who runs the Saturday Chess Club at the library.

There is currently a waiting list for this program, which has a $25 fee. Call or visit the library to get onto the waiting list.

*Creative Writing – Fiction: Signups will open in early April for a five-week series for young people in grades 6-8, led by Wally Wood.  It will meet weekly, April 27 to June 1, with preference given to Newtown students and residents.

For Families & Adults

 *Picturing America — Introduction to Watercolors: Please note that this class, which will improve your ability to use watercolor with the assistance of art history, has been temporarily postponed. Our instructor has been called out of town unexpectedly.

The new dates will be announced once we reschedule them.

 *Poetry Reading: On Sunday, April 5 , at 2 pm, poet and former Newtown resident Amy Nawricki will read selected poems from her chapbook, Potato Eaters. The chapbook is a very personal record of growing up and finding out who you are.

Amy currently lives in Hamden, and teaches English and Creative Writing at the University of Bridgeport. She grew up in Sandy Hook and attended Newtown High School. She was the winner of the 2008 Litchfield Review Writing Contest and a finalist for the 2007 Codhill Press Chapbook Competition.

Refreshments will be served and reservations are requested; call the library.

*Wednesday Afternoon at the Movies: Join us on April 8 at 1 pm for Simon Birch, which is loosely based on the John Irving novel A Prayer for Owen Meany (the final book to be covered in the Great Fireside Reads series… see below).

*Historical Society at The Diner: In those Good Old Days before fast food began to dominate the landscape, there was perhaps no more iconic symbol of American floodways than the roadside diner.

Newtown Historical Society will stop for a bite of the icon on Monday, April 13, at 7:30 pm, in the meeting room of the library. Christopher Dobbs, the executive director of The Noah Webster House, will offer a program he’s calling “Architecture and History of The American Diner: From Wagon Wheel to The 20th Century.”

 *Great Fireside Reads — The Novel in the 19th and 20th Centuries: Study great authors who created tales with memorable characters, gripping plots, vividly detailed settings, and moral questions that are as relevant today as when they were first published. Programs are led by Julie Stern. The reading and book discussion series will conclude with A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving on April 21.

*Job Search Workshops: Cheryl Schwartz, MS, MSW, LCSW, CRC, who has been a consultant and coach to individuals and organizations for over 20 years, will offer three Job Search Workshops. Each meets on a Thursday afternoon, from 3 to 4:30 pm.

The next session, April 23, will cover job search strategies, and May 21 will concern interviews.

Registration is required for each workshop, which can be taken individually or as the full series, and can be done in person or online.

 

C.H. Booth Library is at 25 Main Street in Newtown. Call 426-4533 or visit CHBoothLibrary.org for information on these and future programs and offerings.