Ten o'Clock is Baby Time at Ashe Library

Baby Bounce, for children 18 months and younger, is back by popular demand. This program takes place at 10:00 a.m.  every Monday and is a 30-minute story time that features finger plays, songs, rhymes and books. Believe it or not, by the time babies reach their first birthday they will have learned all the sounds needed to speak their native language. The more stories you read aloud, the more words your child will be exposed to and the better he or she will be able to talk.  But perhaps the most important reason to read aloud is that it makes a connection between the things your baby loves the most — your voice and closeness to you — and books. Spending time reading to your baby shows that reading is a skill worth learning. And, if infants and children are read to often with joy, excitement, and closeness, they begin to associate books with happiness — and budding readers are created.

From our very first Baby Bounce session, it was clear that we were filling a huge need for parents as well. Young families often feel stressed, and isolated. Baby Bounce connects these families with the library, introduces them to other families experiencing similar life events, and provides a relaxed outlet for exchanging information, talking about concerns and forming lifelong friendships. From time to time, local child development practitioners and experts are invited to answer questions in parenting issues they might have. The result is an informal social program in which young children and their caregivers interact with the library and their peers in the community.   

Our youth service librarians truly enjoy chatting about the events of the past week, celebrating children’s milestones and hearing all the latest family news.  “We love the relationships we’ve formed with our youngest patrons and their families, and it’s a joy to watch them grow.”

Dates to remember in October:

Children’s Programs

• Baby Bounce is every Monday at 10:00 a.m. for birth to two year-olds.  Bring your young ones for stories, rhymes, bounces, and songs with “stay and play” social time afterwards.

• Tot Time is a fun-filled time for 2 & 3 year-olds, featuring stories, art and music at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesdays.

•  Story time for 4 & 5 year olds feature ABC Adventures at 10:30 a.m. on Thursdays, beginning September 8.

• Special Read for the Record Storytime takes place at 10:30 a.m. on October 27.

• Celebrate Hispanic Diversity month -share a craft  that you can use to decorate your dinner table, a recipe for your meal, and use as a conversation starter from 11 a.m. -1:30 p.m. on October 1.

• Build, create, and make new friends at a Lego Block Party (for 1st to 5th grades) at 4:00 p.m. on October 18.

Tween Programs

•  Gamers Unite for food and gaming: Minecraft, Pokemon Go, board games and more at 4:00 p.m. on October 6.

•  Tween Takeover! Meets at 4:00 p.m. on October 13 and 27.  Share books and be part of Tween Video Book Reviews.

• Tween Takeover! invites tweens to join the Leaders Planning Group. Come and share ideas about what you want to see in your library.

Teen Programs

• What’s your geek? What’s your game? Meet, hang out, game, and eat every Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. with the Geeks & Gamers. 

Adult Programs

• For all your tech troubles, book and appointment with our friendly reference librarians.  Call 336.846.2041 x227
•  Get Career Help @ the Library from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. on Tuesdays.  Learn valuable job skills, create a solid resume, prepare for an interview, get help with your job search, and more.  Make an appointment for individualized help.  
•  Visit the Poetry Café at 4:00 p.m. on October 13 and share original or favorite poems over coffee.
• Yoga Club meets in the library’s downstairs meeting room at 5:30 p.m. on Mondays.
• Homegrown Author: Carl Jenkins recently published “Jurassic Station” in a Journey of Words.  Meet him at the library at 11:00 a.m on October 3.

• Meet “The Ultimate Cheapskate,” author Jeff Yeager at 1:30 p.m. on October 12.  Jeff specializes in an offbeat blend of original humor and practical advice for living a better life with less.

• Visit the Poetry Café at 4:00 p.m. on October 13 and share original or favorite poems over coffee.

• Author Bill Finger leads a “Spirit Writers' Workshop” using poetry and simple drawing prompts to lead participants into writing on some part of their spiritual journey at 1:30 p.m. on October 21.

• Brouhaha Book Club meets at 5:30 p.m. on October 31 in Boondocks Restaurant for “Books, Beer and Bookworm Babble.”  Come and find out what everyone has been reading lately! Try the new Ashe Bookworm Porter!

• The Coloring “Book” Club celebrates reading (and coloring) as a group experience at 5:00 p.m. on October 25. Relax with adult coloring books while listening and discussing a different short story audiobook each month.

 All Ages

• Get Crafty and learn to “Crochet Your Way Through the ABCs” at 10:00 a.m. on October 8. You can make an alligator, a bear, a cat, ...you get the idea. Project materials are provided.

•  The Community Drum Circle meets at 5:30 p.m. on October 11 and 25.  Join the celebration of drums, while exploring the soul and spirit of music!

• Mountain Music Slow Jam will meet from 5:30-7:00 p.m. on October 7 and 21 in the downstairs meeting room (after-hours access through side door on lower parking lot).  Get together with other musicians and jam.  Songs are explained as to timing, breaks, etc… and played in slow time.  Designed for beginners, all skill levels are welcome.

• The Read Around the Clock Book Club meets at 10:00 a.m. on October 10 to discuss any book with the number “ten” in the title.  Skpye with author Wendy Wax, author of Ten Beach Road.

Special Events

• Gary Reid will portray the life of Carter Stanley in a production of A Life of Sorrow at 3:00 p.m. on October 15.  Gary is a two-time International Bluegrass Music Association nominee. Join us for a performance full of history and music.
• Stop in the upstairs art gallery for a special reception to introduce an exhibit by Ashe County's Piecemakers Quilt Guild at 4:00 on October 14.
• Trick or Treat at the library from 3:00 – 6:00 p.m. on Halloween, October 31.
• The Library Tent will be out during the month at the Ashe Museum of History for the Autumn Leaf Festival on October 1, the Walter and Annie Cook Memorial Park for the Todd New River Festival on October 8, Mount Jefferson State Park for their 60 Year Celebration on October 15, and at Riverview Community Center on October 21 to christen a NEW Library Twig!