What a start we’ve had to 2020.

We celebrated the Chinese New Year last weekend by making Chinese themed masks and enjoyed face painting with Shimmer & Shine as part of our Stickyfingers drop-in craft session.

We also continued our popular French club, where young children take their first steps towards learning the language in a relaxed and friendly environment and enjoyed furry fun at Teddy Time, the pre-school gathering where we learn all about phonics, numbers, colours and shapes.

What’s more, we’ve celebrated two of our favourite ever characters in January, marking Winnie the Pooh Day in the library to commemorate the birthday of author A.A. Milne and also bringing the magic of Disney to life with our Disney Day.

It was great to see so many people of all ages dressed up as their favourite Disney characters and taking part in our Disney quiz.

Watch this space for more information on our themed days planned over the next few months, including Peppa Pig and Pokemon, all supported by the Friends of the Library!

As you can see, now 2020 has arrived our five services-family, mobile, home, schools and Bibliotherapy-remain in great demand and each week from Tuesday to Saturday our base is a hive of fun activities including crafts, puzzles and games, all promoting reading, writing and creativity.

We also hold monthly groups aimed at anyone interested in changing their lives through the practice of mindfulness and developing positive mental and emotional health.

Bibliotherapy, which allows residents to engage with each other and keep their minds active while having friendly discussions around topics suggested by librarians, continues today (Thursday).

We are proud to have teamed up with the Women’s Institute in the island for a ’Thanks for the Memories’ initiative, showcasing the beautiful bespoke boxes the WI has produced for our bibliotherapy service.

Representatives from Alzheimer’s Society, Live at Home and osland care homes are coming along from 6pm to 7pm and anyone who works in the care profession (children’s/mental health/elderly) are also very welcome.

Then it’s back to more experiments on Saturday morning with our latest Super Science get-together.

There really is never a dull moment at the Isle of Man Family Library and we look forward to seeing lots of familiar faces and some new ones at our events. Call in to take advantage of our games collection and browse the many thousands of books!

The Family Library is next to the children’s playground in Westmoreland Road, Douglas. It operates as a charity and also runs the Mobile Family Library and a Schools Service.

To keep up-to-date on events and to find out more about the services available, check out the Family Library page on Facebook, visit www.familylibrary.im or call the library on 640650.

by The Family Library

www.familylibrary.im