Sun Valley Branch Library

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

My Cost: FREE!

7935 Vineland Avenue

Sun Valley, CA 91352
www.lapl.org/branches/52.html

I had to take my kids to the library today to track down a missing book. Last week I had a book to return, but hadn't wanted to go to the trouble to get both kids out of their car seats and into my heavy double stroller just so I could hand a book to the librarian and leave, so I had rolled the van window down and given the book to a woman who was walking into the library with her daughter. I was pretty proud of my inventive solution until this morning, when I got a notice that the book had still not been returned! Eek! I had some bad thoughts about the woman, and imagined her stealing a library book, but luckily I found it right on the shelf where it's call number said it would be. She must have just set it down somewhere, and not actually handed it to a librarian. But, at least it's solved now! (And now I know where the outdoor return slot is so I can return books myself without having to get the kids out of the car seats.)

As long as we were there, I let Vivi play for a bit in the children's book area. Sun Valley Branch Library is the closest location to where we live (walking distance,) and it also has a decent children's area. There is a small set of risers (only two levels) for kids to sit on, an animal rug, an activity cube, several giant stuffed animals (that most parents seem to agree are probably filthy with germs,) and two small tables with chairs. It's not as awesome as Valley Plaza Branch Library (my current favorite,) but it isn't as bare as Sherman Oaks Branch Library (at the bottom of my list.) Here are a few pictures:

Alex, who can almost sit up unassisted, enjoying the cube!

Vivi got to do some climbing up and down the risers.

Showing about how long the set of risers is. Glad there were
no toe-holds anywhere or she would have climbed even higher!

Rug, some of the stuffed animals, and one of the tables & chairs.

Valley Plaza Branch Library

Thursday, August 16, 2012

My Cost: FREE!

12311 Vanowen Street

North Hollywood, CA 91605
www.lapl.org/branches/57.html

After we left Travel Town, (previous post,) I decided we might as well stop by the Valley Plaza Branch Library story and craft time, since it is so close to home. I wasn't sure if it would be a good fit for us because Vivi is only 18 months old, so a "craft" would probably be too hard for her, and she only pays attention to stories about half of the time. Plus, it was already 4:00, so I knew we would be late and probably miss the story, but there was a small chance that the craft would have been something Vivi was capable of. And at the very least I would get a look at the library, since we have never been there before.

It turned out we did miss story time, and the craft was too complicated, (making paper sack puppets,) but I was so glad that I got to see that children's section! Valley Plaza is now my number one favorite library (move over, Lake View Terrace.) 

The children's section is in a separate space from the rest of the library. It is a round room, and you can even see the round roof of the round room from outside. The wall on one side is lined with nine computers just for the Kid's Path, and the opposite side is lined with cushioned benches. There are lots of activity cubes and bead mazes, and they do a great job of decorating! At the moment they have star-covered paper lining the walls for an outer space theme.

I also noticed they have a lot of activities at this library:

I'm sure we'll be back. Especially since I shop at the Smart & Final around the corner!

Meet Miss Melodee at Sherman Oaks Branch Library

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

My Cost: FREE!

14245 Moorpark Street

Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
www.missmelodee.com
www.lapl.org/branches/51.html

An added bonus of all these cheap outings is that the kids get nice and tired! Alex took a super long nap this morning, and Vivi went to bed before 8:00 tonight! Gotta love that! So since we were all tired, we only took a very short outing today. We went to the Sherman Oaks Branch Library at 4:00 pm to see Miss Melodee. I learned about this activity using two of the sites I have linked under "Find Places to Go": FreeThingsToDoInLA, and Ready. Set. Grow! Family Events.

Meet Miss Melodee!

The Meet Miss Melodee! activity was described on the library website as follows: "Miss Melodee is a fairy princess and loves to dance and sing. Join us in welcoming her to the library for the first time." I wasn't sure what to expect, and I had never been to that branch of the library before, so I figured we'd be surprised! (Turns out I would have had a better idea of the activity if I would have read about it on Patch.com here.)

We were a little late (maybe 10 minutes,) and I was afraid there would be no room for us, but the activity was held in the library meeting room, so there was actually plenty of room (which is great, because I roll with a pretty big double stroller!) It turns out Miss Melodee is a singing dance instructor who runs her own dance studio in Tarzana. You can check out the website at www.missmelodee.com. She read from her own original children's book - "Adventures with Miss Melodee and Friends: Dancing In The Rain." It is illustrated with Miss Melodee's photo superimposed over drawings, and the "Friends" are different dance shoes like a tap shoe and hip hop shoes. At different points in the story Miss Melodee would have all the children stand up and try the dance styles of the different dance shoes. She sang original songs whose lyrics would lead the children through the choreography in a fun, non-technical way. For example, she described classic ballet postures using the description of "having tea" at the ballet barre. I was quite impressed at the amount of preparation she put into designing these teaching aids!

She had several props for kids to try (silk flowers, handkerchiefs and pompoms,) and she brought her own sound system, (the conveniently portable Fender PA - musicians will know the one - and a headset mic,) to amplify her presentation, so all the kids could hear and participate. A man (her husband?) emceed the activity, and played all the backing tracks to her songs. I also thought the best part of the presentation was that he knew all the choreography and danced along! He wasn't as technically proficient as Miss Melodee, but he sure was fun to watch! I wonder if he teaches at the studio... There were also two older dance students in leotards on either side of Miss Melodee demonstrating the choreography along with her. There were large standing posters of Miss Melodee on either side of the "stage", and she had a sheaf of postcards available, so she did a great job of promoting her brand. Luckily, Vivi isn't old enough to beg me to enroll her in Miss Melodee's studio, ha ha! (Although there are classes for kids as young as 18 months, so it might be worth looking into.)

Here are my pictures of the afternoon:

A page from "Adventures with Miss Melodee and Friends" and some of her props.

Vivi watching Miss Melodee read.

Vivi was interested, but obviously didn't understand a lot of what was going on, lol!

Kids and Miss Melodee's helpers dancing with pompoms.

Where's Vivi? Standing in front of the Miss Melodee poster looking uncertain.

Sherman Oaks Branch Library

After Miss Melodee, we went to the library section of the building to survey the children's area. So far, my favorite is the Lake View Terrace Branch (see my August 8th blog post), but I wanted to see how Sherman Oaks compared. In a nutshell, it's just okay. There are plenty of books, a long cushioned bench, and two kids sized tables with chairs, but I've seen several other libraries in the area with a lot more in the way of fun accessories like rugs, stuffed animals, and activity cubes. So I wouldn't go out of my way just to visit this library, although they did have a pretty full schedule of volunteer story readers.

I did like this sign - very cute!

Vivi perched on the end of the bench rifling through books.

Lake View Terrace Branch Library

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

My Cost: FREE!

12002 Osborne Street

Sylmar, CA 91342
www.lapl.org/branches/62.html

After our drive through the Hansen Dam Recreation Area, we finally reached the target of our destination: the Lake View Terrace Branch Library. The actual library portion is only half of the building. The other part looks like classroom facilities, and I don't know what they are used for. 

Of course, our destination is always the children's area, and despite the small size of the actual library, the children's area is quite nice. There is an alcove lined with a shelf containing lots of books, and just underneath the shelf, a cushioned bench. The bench surrounds a round rug (I was able to lay Alex on the rug and let him stretch out a bit), and a giant activity cube is in the center of that rug, along with lots of stuffed animals. There are two long shelves nearby with more children's books, and two low tables with small chairs lie in between those shelves. There is even a shelf of oversized children's book classics, although the website did not indicate that they have a story time. Also, it was not at all busy. There was only one other child there, despite the fact that kids are still out of school.

Here are the pictures that I got:

Checking out the activity cube!

Baby Alex makes a rare appearance outside the stroller.

The blur definitely captures the way she ran around the library like it was an obstacle course!

Oversized "story time" books!

We had to leave after about a half an hour because Vivi was just getting too wild. But if you have kids who will sit and read quietly, this would be a nice place to let them do it. There's a good playground just out back, and lots of space to take a nice long walk too! Pack a picnic lunch and go for the day! You can get some books at the library, then go lay in the grass and read for a while, and then take a walk, or even go for a swim!