Passport to Discovery – Poetry

Passport to Discovery – Poetry

Calling all young explorers! Your next adventure starts today! This month’s Passport to Discovery theme is poetry. Poems are everywhere, from the nursery rhymes you sing with your family, to the lyrics of a song you know on the radio, to a jingle from a commercial. 

Let’s get started:

  • Pick up a Take & Make Kit to grow a poem! Write a poem using the first letters of each word on the flower pot. Then decorate the pot with some flowers.
  • Using the page from a discarded book, skim the page, lightly circling the words or phrases you like. Using a black crayon or marker, draw a circle around those words and blackout the rest of the words on the page. Read through your final poem.
  • Write a Spoonerism Scramble. Runny Babbit speaks a topsy-turvy language of his own called spoonerisms, a deliberate play on words in which corresponding letters are switched between two words in a phrase, often with a funny outcome. Imagine if you spoke entirely in spoonerisms—what would you sound like? 
  • Read one of these poetry books from our collection.
  • Download this month’s activity sheet if you prefer to get started from home.

Explorers are welcome to join the program at any time. Here’s how it works:

 

  • Pick up a passport from your local branch to begin a full year of learning, reading, doing, and having a whole lot of fun!
  • Visit your local branch each month to pick up a themed craft kit and activity sheet.
  • Complete at least one of the activities
  • Return to the branch to get your passport stamped and ballot entered into a grand prize draw that will take place at the end of the program in February, 2024.
Spring Craft Swap

Spring Craft Swap

Calling all crafters! Love crafting and seeing others enjoy what you make? Join the Huron County Library Spring Craft Swap where you will be partnered with another crafter in Huron County! Make your partner a custom craft while they do the same for you! All crafting mediums are welcome – knitting, crocheting, sewing, candle making, pottery, scrapbooking, needlefelting, etc. The sky is the limit!

AGES: This program is open to crafters of all ages! Adult crafters will be partnered with a fellow adult crafter, and children will be partnered with children.

GUIDELINES: We ask that you craft TWO small items or ONE medium sized item.

  • Medium = A scarf, a wallet, a set of notecards (4), a reusable shopping bag
  • Small = A piece of jewelry, a bookmark, a washcloth, a facemask, a small candle

Please note that a library staff person will be in touch with you March 23 to 27 to assign your partner. You will have the entire month of April to craft. Please drop your completed craft off to your local Huron County Library branch between April 25-May 2 (or earlier). You will receive a notification from library staff when the craft from your partner is ready for pickup at your local branch. Watch for email reminders along the way so you don’t miss any of the deadlines listed below. Please ensure that crafts do not exceed the size of a standard tote box (28” x 17” x 15″).

*Should a partner not complete a craft, an alternate partner will be arranged. Should multiple partners not complete a craft, individuals may be paired with one another. Pre-completed crafts will be used in reassignments (no need to make an entirely new craft!).

IMPORTANT DATES:

Registration: March 1-22
Partner Assigned: March 23-27
Crafting: March 27-April 24
Craft Due: April 25-May 2

REGISTRATION: Huron County Library Spring Craft Swap | Huron County Connects (connectedcountyofhuron.ca)

 

Huron County Library receives Minister’s Award for Innovation for In Your Backyard program

Huron County Library receives Minister’s Award for Innovation for In Your Backyard program

The Huron County Library is honoured to be this year’s recipient of the Minister’s Award for Innovation in recognition of the In Your Backyard program.

Presented to library staff at the Ontario Library Association Super Conference on Feb. 2 in Toronto, this Ontario Public Library Service Award recognizes successful new approaches that demonstrate a positive impact to the community and are of continued value to public libraries. 

In the spring of 2022, library staff hosted In Your Backyard, a virtual local travel series that highlighted several hidden gems found across Huron County. Inspired by Ontario West Coast’s tourism program which ran during the pandemic, staff worked with local municipalities to invite participants to learn more about the communities and businesses found right in their backyard. Building on the popularity of the program, the library partnered with the County of Huron’s Economic Development department to offer an exciting summer giveaway that further encouraged people to get out and explore these hidden gems for a chance to win a Huron County weekend get-away. Locations represented each municipality in the County and were chosen to ensure they were accessible and free for everyone to enjoy.

“I am so proud In Your Backyard was recognized for its efforts to collaborate with our local communities to highlight all of the incredible things available so close to home,” said Beth Rumble, County Librarian and Director of Cultural Services. “The program provided the opportunity for the library to support our communities and businesses who were in a state of rebuilding after the pandemic, and to give people the chance to safely get out and explore Huron’s hidden gems.”

 While the program ended in September, 2022, Huron’s hidden gems are still available to explore! 

During the conference awards ceremony, the Huron County Library was also presented with a certificate for reaccreditation as an Accredited Ontario Public Library. This designation was granted by the Ontario Public Library Guidelines Monitoring and Accreditation Council in recognition of excellence in library service. A library is judged and rated on more than 175 guidelines that evaluate library services, resources, planning and policy. Completing the accreditation process is an opportunity to highlight a library system’s capabilities and to identify areas for improvement. Huron County Library achieved an overall score of 98.3 per cent. Library accreditation is an optional process of which only 40 other Ontario libraries have successfully completed. Achieving this standard demonstrates that Huron County has an exceptional library system.

Tiny Art Show

Tiny Art Show

Get creative this winter by participating in the Clinton Branch‘s Tiny Art Show! Pick up a 5” X 5” board from the branch and get creative with your tiny artwork. Use your own art supplies to decorate your board (paint, draw, decoupage, collage, sew, etc.) or attend an in-person decorating event taking place on Saturday, Feb. 25 or Saturday, March 18, 1-3 p.m. We will have an assortment of art supplies available.

The deadline for submissions is Monday, March 20. The Tiny Art Show opening will be held on March 30, 7 p.m. Artwork will be displayed in the library from March 30 to April 28, 2023. Tiny refreshments will be served.

Download an entry form and return to the Clinton Branch along with your piece by March 20. Entry forms are also available from the branch.

Art Show Rules:

  • One board per person or group. Available while supplies last.
  • Teens and adults may participate.
  • No candles or electrical devices, including battery operated.
  • Objects, paper, and materials of any kind, except food, may be glued to the canvas, but artwork must remain 5” X 5” and must be able to hang flat against the wall.
  • Please write your name on the back of the canvas and include an arrow to show which way is the top.
  • After the show opening on March 30, artwork will be displayed until April 28. Art will be available for pick-up beginning Friday, April 28 at the Circulation Desk. The last day to pick up your artwork will be Friday, May 5. Please note, any artwork not picked up will become library property for use as we deem fit.
  • The Huron County Library reserves the right to refuse any work considered unsuitable and/or does not meet these guidelines. Or if it cannot be accommodated safely or comfortably within the library space.
  • By participating in the Clinton Branch Tiny Art Show, you agree to allow Huron County Library to publicly display and photograph your art for promotion and engagement.
The Art of Journaling

The Art of Journaling

How many people have started a journal, wrote enthusiastically for one or two weeks, and then missed a few days, only to abandon it as a lost cause? How many have started journaling for mental health only to stare at the blank page, stressing about what to write? How many people know someone who journals, wishing you could be that person? How many people have a stack of pretty notebooks bought with good intentions but didn’t get past the first page?

I proposed to host Saturday Scribblers at the Clinton Branch because I believe so strongly in the power and the joy that journaling can bring to your life. And I hope to help people find ways to fit a journal into your life and for the practice to become something you enjoy, something you look forward to, and something you will treasure for the future.

I am a life-long journaler, but don’t think that I have a shelf of perfectly matched volumes lined up with each year embossed on the binding. It doesn’t work that way. I have used every kind of notebook you can think of – expensive ones, dollar store ones, sketchbooks, dedicated day books, a yellow legal pad of loose paper…it all works. Different times of your life require different ways to record it.

It’s not about the pretty diary with the little lock that some of us may have had in elementary school. What is the difference between a diary and a journal, you might wonder? For the duration of this workshop series, they are the same thing. There is a lot of debate about this but I don’t think it really matters what we call it. Do you call the evening meal dinner or supper? Is it a couch, sofa, or chesterfield? All the same in the end. So I’ll use the term journal the most because that’s what I call what I do…but saying keeping a diary is totally fine.

My History of Journaling

So like many of you, I started journaling in my pre-teen years, using it as a place to pour out all my woes. I was in need of a friendly ear. In this way, I was much like one of the most famous diaries of all time – Anne Frank. In the first entries of her famous book, she is just a young girl in need of a friend, naming her diary “Kitty”. I was on and off successful and most of the ones I still have are frankly embarrassing to read. But I persisted and continued to try and “fail” many times, often getting hung up on the rules.

Julia Cameron

But in the mid-1990s, I came across a book in a used book store, The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. At the time it was fairly new, before she became the Godmother of journaling. The book was set up like a course and she had “rules” guidelines – assignments that made it feel like I was teaching myself how to do this “right”.

Her basic tenants are to do three “morning” pages of stream-of-consciousness writing. It’s not about creating beautiful prose, it’s about showing up every day and pouring out the contents of your brain onto the page. It’s about creating a habit, being comfortable, and finding your voice. She also recommends a weekly “Artist Date” to fill your creative well and she has gone on the write many many books on the subject.

It was about this time I used the lined yellow pads and dutifully did my three pages a day. I do credit my morning pages with creating the habit, but also it helped me find my voice, and what I wrote became useful to me. This was during a difficult period of my life and when I had a stack of pages to look back on, I could see things from a different vantage point and had a lot of “ah-ha” moments.

But then I moved on…and that’s okay too.

Rules of Journaling

Rule #1: It needs to be dated. Whatever you are writing or preserving is “of this moment”. The difference between journaling and many other forms of writing is that it is something recorded concurrent to the events happening in your life and keeping a record of it. That being said, how precise a date is up to you, but years from now you may want to look back and remember the day. But a general summing up of your week every Sunday morning in your jammies, with a warm beverage, may work for you.

Rule #2: Really, there are no other rules. Journals can come in many shapes, forms, and processes. Many of us envision a leather-bound tome with gilded edges but that is not the only one that counts. Do you want to keep a daily record on your laptop? Or a sketch a day in your daytimer? A few words of gratitude every night before you go to sleep? It all is okay. As are the many reasons that people journal, it might be for a set period of time – like a pregnancy journal, for a trip, or to track a health journey. It all counts. And to get to where you feel like you have found the right one may take time and several attempts.

Learn More

  • Saturday Scribblers: Whether you are looking to get started with journaling or are an avid journaler who would love to find a journaling community, all are welcome.
  • Check it out: Visit our online catalogue to explore more resources about journaling.
In Your Backyard winner announced!

In Your Backyard winner announced!

With the end of summer came the end of our In Your Backyard Summer Giveaway, where one lucky winner took home a $1,400 weekend get-away prize pack! A huge congratulations goes out to Lauren Hayward – we hope that you not only enjoy your prizes, but also got to learn more about Huron County’s many hidden gems!

Looking to learn more about Huron County? It has never been easier, thanks to Ontario’s West Coast – which features everything and anything across the county from family friendly activities, to art galleries, to our many farmers markets! Don’t forget! You can pick up a copy of the Ontario’s West Coast at your local Huron County Library branch!

Without further adieu, we present the answers for our In Your Backyard Summer Giveaway! Don’t forget to check out the last question, to find even more hidden gems! Did you have a favourite? Share it with us at #HuronCountyLibrary or #OntariosWestCoast!

McNaughton Park, Exeter

  • Q: What famous Exeter critter might you find roaming in the park? White Squirrel

Fairy Door Trail, Brussels

  • Q: What was your favourite fairy door along the trail? Your choice!

Heritage Trail, Vanastra

  • Q: What year did the Air Force Base RCAF No. 5 Clinton close? 1971

Huron Historic Gaol, Goderich

  • Q: What is the hashtag found at the bottom of the Gaol selfie station? #HuronHistoricGaol

Lions Harbour Park, Goderich

  • Q: What category of tornado struck Goderich? F3

Light Tunnel, Clinton

  • Q: What was the message at the end of the tunnel? A sun and three waves!

Naftel’s Creek, Central Huron

  • Q: What is the trail surface a combination of? Boardwalk and natural surface

St. Joseph Heritage Park, St. Joseph

  • Q: Who was the founder of St. Joseph? Narcisse M Canton

Reading Garden, Bayfield

  • Q: What permanent board game can you play in the Reading Garden? Chess/Checkers

Gairbraid, Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh Township

  • Q: Dr. William ‘Tiger’ Dunlop was an army surgeon during what war? War of 1812

Alice Munro Literary Garden, Wingham

  • Q: What book is the statue of the young girl in the garden reading? Fairytales

Blyth Festival Art Gallery, Blyth

150th Celebration Garden, Gorrie

  • Q: What is one native plant found in this garden? Crab apple, Sphaeralcea, milkweed and more!

Stevenson Tract, Brussels

  • Q: How many trees were planted on the Stevenson Tract from 1952 to 1966? 140,000

Your pick! Share your favourite spot from anywhere in Huron County