Library Hosts Monthly Events That Support Elementary Students’ Education
By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor
A gathering place that supports learning of many varieties, the Dade County Public Library programs monthly events for elementary-aged children to support their education, learning, and development. These programs help children become familiar with the library as an enjoyable place to learn and play, even with activities that are not particularly focused on reading.
Nearly every Thursday at 4 p.m., there is an elementary-age targeted program. The first Thursday of each month has Kids Club, which features a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, math) activity. The second and fourth Thursdays are for Pokémon League, and the third Thursday features Lego Showdown. (Dates are tentative, so be sure to check the calendar each month to confirm and find out what that month’s STEAM activity is. Visit www.chrl.org and select “calendar,” or check at the library.)
In September, Kids Club had an egg drop challenge to work on engineering concepts. Children designed contraptions with various materials (usually recyclables) to protect raw eggs. They then dropped them to see which contraptions worked best.
In October, Kids Club painted pumpkins for an art-focused event, and November’s event will have an art section (making watercolor and leaf art) and a science section (making crystals with pipe cleaners and Borax).
Photo by Lydia Berglar – October’s Lego Showdown challenged kids to build parts of their town. They began by building houses, coming up with creations such as a tree house, a houseboat, and an all-black home.
Lego Showdown challenges kids to build something that fits with that month’s theme within a certain timeframe. September’s theme was food, October’s was town and city, and November’s is farm.
Various studies and articles tout the benefit of playing with Legos, particularly for toddlers, but the popular building blocks can help develop various skills in older children such as creative thinking, problem solving, attention span, planning, perseverance, and early math skills.
At the October Lego Showdown, Madeline Bates reported, “My oldest has played with Legos since he was a toddler. It’s one place he can go and not have to try as hard while his other learning can be challenging. Lego involves engineering, creativity, critical thinking; it’s got all the things that he loves, but it’s play. This is his favorite thing at the library.”
Amanda Scharwath added, “My daughter, Eleanor, is ten, and she loves Legos. When she’s given a problem, like they give them here at the library, she can really get her brain working and come up with something creative, whereas I would not have a clue where to begin. She’s very good at coming up with awesome inventions and ideas, and she can get lost in Lego for hours.”
Pokémon League (led by Billie Cox and Scott Laney) is a social gathering and game around the popular trading cards. Laney explained, “The trading card game is super popular with kids right now. It had a huge resurgence during COVID. I used to play, and my kids are into it, so when I saw there was a Pokémon club here, I brought my kids.”
Photo by Lydia Berglar – Pokémon League, played with the popular trading cards, encourages kids to learn to read, strategize, and use addition and subtraction.
He noted benefits for children, saying, “You have to use addition and subtraction when playing with the cards. It’s great for socialization. It’s great for reading because you have to read the cards and understand what they do.”
Cox added that the game helps kids practice planning and strategy.
Clifton Bryan, who brought his four children to the October Pokémon League, reflected, “From a parent’s perspective, I think Pokémon helps my children look at things more analytically and see things for different values, add them together, then compare them to things of a similar nature.”
His son, Henning, added, “Pokémon helps me with math. It helps me understand addition.”
