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As the clouds parted yesterday afternoon, a friend and I quickly planned a playdate at the Forestry Farm Playground. Little J and I made it there at around 3:15 p.m. and were able to get some fun in before the clouds started building in the west. By 4 p.m., my friend and her kids had arrived and so had the torrential rain.
We somewhat soggily regrouped at the Alice Turner Branch Library just down the street. I had visited this branch for one of its regular BabyTalk sessions for newborn to 18-month-olds once upon a time, but had not taken time to really explore the library itself.
What a great place to visit! In addition to its extensive children's section that includes board books, picture books, book and cassette kits, DVDs, CDs, children's magazines and French selections, it also has a fun play area. Our toddlers were occupied at the little puzzle desk for quite some time. They also enjoyed playing with the trucks and the cooking supplies in the toybox. 
The ledge by the toybox is also a great place to watch the current expansion construction going on -- if it isn't raining. The weather has postponed the completion date until next summer, but when it is finished, it will become Saskatoon Public Library's largest suburban branch.With the large, south-facing windows, radiant heat flooring and self-adjusting lighting, Alice Turner Library was the first energy-efficient library of its kind in Canada. It will meet the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards and be something for our city to take great pride in upon completion.
The Alice Turner Branch has the following regularly scheduled events to check out:
~ Mondays at 10:30 a.m. ~ Family Story Time for all ages
~ Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. ~ Toddler Time for ages 18 to 36 months and Preschool Time for ages 3 to 6
~ Fridays at 10:30 a.m. ~ BabyTalk for ages 0 to 18 months
I didn't know about that expansion project - but that will be great - I usually only use this branch as a quick run in for returning books when I'm running errands in the area. Caryle King is my local(& favourite) branch.
ReplyDeleteLove that this branch will be expanding. My mom and sister live in the area, so we go often - on the way home from their house or the forestry farm. Our favorite libraries are the ones with toys. Not necessarily because my kids gravitate towards them, but more so because it invites kids to be kids - and kids are sometimes not so "library quiet" :)
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