Worthington Libraries in Worthington, OH

Another guest post from the awesome iCate. Cate is currently a SAHM who was laid off from corporate America two years ago. She used to work project plans – and now spends her days building forts, managing play-doh and legos, and reading countless books with her kids. She never watches TV and dreams of ways she can reorganize and streamline to create more open space in her world. Her husband fears that one day she will sell him on craigslist. If her knees cooperate, she is hoping to run the Cbus half marathon this spring, her first since her pre-kid days. Cate resides in Worthington with her two children and fab husband. She also blogs over at iCate.

We are library rats. Between myself, my husband and the kids, we visit almost daily and easily have +120 items checked out at any given moment. We live in Worthington which is home to the 2007 Library of the Year! If you haven’t heard, Worthington has amazing branch locations, helpful and friendly staff members, a plethora of offerings, and fabulous events!

On top of this, I am super cheap. I like activities that are free or near free. The library and I get along very well. On facebook last week, I noticed an upcoming Family Art Adventures class for toddlers and preschoolers. I called the library to register and they emailed me a registration confirmation which was nice. I was secretly hoping they’d offer glitter since I would never be able to manage that at home. No such luck! The class started at 11am on Saturday at the Old Worthington Library, and we arrived just in time. The room was packed with kids and adults! The event was well organized chaos, but most activities with kids this age tend to be more chaotic so this was expected.
There were three work tables set up for the kids. The first table had several sets of watercolors and paper and the second table had paper plates with chunks of clay along with an assortment of random objects (ex pine cones, tongue depressors) that could be used to mold and decorate the clay. The third table had plastic string and many beading objects to make necklaces/bracelets/etc.  Also on each table was a placard highlighting the different learnings that the children could take away from that table’s activity. If you were lucky enough as a parent to sit for a moment, you could read these and try to incorporate these ideas into the conversation you were having with your kids. I was only able to sit down with the kids once so this didn’t work so well for me. However, library staff members were overseeing every table and ensuring that kids were utilizing materials and getting any help they needed.
My 4Y and 2Y blasted through all three tables in 30 minutes. All the kids seemed to move through the tables at a similar pace.  Everyone seemed to have fun and kids were proudly carrying out their art work and new bead pieces. As a special bonus, the library provided all participants with their own set of new watercolors to take home. My kids were elated! They have painted at home almost every day since then. Happy kids = happy mama.
Worthington Libraries mails an event calendar to all residents, but you can also follow them on facebook or check the Worthington Library online calendar for events.

Check out the Worthington Libraries website for hours, locations, directions, and tons of learning resources!

Old Worthington: off High Street in downtown Worthington
Northwest: off Hard Road between Smokey Row and Sawmill
Worthington Park: off Worthington Centre Drive in the little mall area
Tips:
  • You do not need to be Worthington residents to take advantage of Worthington Library facilities and events.
  • If the event requires registration, make sure to do so. Although the library rarely turns people away, registration ensures that the space doesn’t get too crowded and they have enough supplies for participants.
  • Pay attention to which branch location is hosting the event as there are three locations (Old Worthington, Northwest on Hard Road, and Worthington Park. You don’t want to arrive in the wrong location for an event! Trust me, I have done this and had disappointed kids to deal with!

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