By: Mars Bourke
It’s finally fall. There’s a chill in the air, the leaves are changing, and it’s time for some family fun! With it getting colder going to parks and doing oth
er outdoor activities begin to dwindle for the season, so The Library has something to combat this. If you and your little ones are interested in spending a fall-themed day together, consider joining The Library at their Happy Harvest event this November.
The Happy Harvest program is a new fall family program taking place once a week during the first three weeks of November. It will occur at three of the Dauphin County Library System locations, Johnson Memorial Library, Alexander Family Library, and Madeline Olewine Memorial Library. Families with children of all ages are invited to attend and participate in the fall fun!
This program was thought up by Dauphin County Library System’s own Youth Service Specialist, Sam Hulbert. Hulbert wanted to create a fall program that focuses more on the season instead of the fall holidays that occur in October and November. “We chose to run this program due to it being in between Halloween and Thanksgiving,” she said, “due to the fact that not all families celebrate either holiday and it would be seasonal rather than holiday based.”
Happy Harvest offers plenty of activities for young patrons to participate in. Some examples being making paper plate sunflowers with real seeds, picking apples off the paper apple tree, and trying their hand at a pumpkin ring toss. Children can also play and mold with apple cinnamon playdough, which Hulbert states can “help with social development, fine, and gross motor skills.”
Children with sensory issues can have a blast playing around in the corn sensory bin. There, “children are given the option to use digging tools/toy trucks and tractors to participate in pretend play. Like with the playdough activity, this also has the benefit of helping with gross motor skills and social developments.
If this sounds like something you and your family would enjoy, consider visiting one of The Library’s participating libraries this November! Stay warm this fall and come and enjoy this fun, fall-themed program this season.