Description: We love going to the library, and are at Alderney Gate every Saturday afternoon, however, I would not recommend the March Break programs unless you like a crowd! There were hundreds of kids at the library, playing little games and such.
Because of the crowd, the 3 year old stayed with me or my mom all afternoon. The 7 year old was free to wander about the library a bit more. (Normally I can see the kids in most of the library area without having to hold hands with the little one, but not in this crowd.)
Our first stop with the 3 year old was in the head-band decorating room. The library had pulled out all of the scraps from other crafts like stickers, wrapping paper, and feathers for the kids to glue on strips of bristol board.
One of the librarians was dressed as a fortune teller who read fortunes off a pre-printed list based on normal playing cards. The kids flipped over two cards and the librarian interpreted them. The 3 year old enjoyed this and went around saying "Tuesday is my lucky day!" for the next 2 weeks.
In another area, they had little carnival games like bean bag tosses where you could win prizes. You had to get a ticket and take it to a desk to get a prize, things like bookmarks, stickers, posters and small toys. We played some of these, but the 3 year old got a bit overwhelmed by the crowd and noise in this room.
The 7 year old loved the Sponge Bob Bingo where you could win a used book. He played this several times even though he did not win. Reading was required, so the 3 year old did not play this game.
The even was free, and at the largest kids library collection in the Halifax area, so it is very popular. We were there last year, but I don't remember the lines being quite so long.
The 7 year old had a great time, he loves bingo. The 3 year old had fun but got tired and cranky after a bit. We were there for a couple of hours, so it's not surprising. Long lines are not fun.
The library staff was great. We offered to help out before things got underway, but they said the only spot that needed someone was face-painting and not being artistically inclined, we did not volunteer for that. The staff are all very friendly and they seemed to be set up for the crowds fairly well. They had lots of prizes so everyone got something, which is nice.
We parked in the indoor parking because it was raining and being a weekday we would have to pay anyway. Total expenses were only $2, so it was worth the money. Perhaps not worth the headache though.
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