Book Swap and Chessfest
To help kids avoid what educators call the summer slide, when time away from books and the classroom leads to a loss of some of the reading skills they’ve honed during the school year, the Children’s Museum of the East End in Bridgehampton will give youngsters a chance to pick up a few new books for their home libraries on Saturday.
Kids can offer old books and walk away with new ones during a book swap from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the museum’s lobby. There is no charge to attend, but entrance to the rest of the museum is not included.
Also on Saturday, the museum and the Hamptons Chess Club will sponsor Chessfest, a morning of games and lessons for players at all levels from 10 to noon. The event is free with museum entry, which costs $12.
Unwind at the Library
Teens dealing with the stress of Regents exams have been invited to unwind for a few hours at the Hampton Library in Bridgehampton, with different activities planned today, tomorrow, Monday, and Tuesday at 2 p.m. Today it’s Nintendo Switch games and snacks; tomorrow it’s mini golf and sweets. On Monday Maria Maier will lead crystal singing bowl meditation, and on Tuesday it’ll be ice cream and a movie.
For younger kids, there’s a summer solstice Mommy and Me yoga program tomorrow at 10 a.m. Later, Kai the reading dog will be on hand to listen to new readers in 10-minute time slots starting at 3, and kids 4 and up can enjoy games and goodies at 4 that afternoon. On Friday, June 28, Nick the Balloonatic will do balloon art for all ages at 4 p.m.
At the John Jermain Memorial Library in Sag Harbor, kids in second through fifth grade can tie-dye T-shirts on Saturday at 3 p.m., working outside if the weather permits. Participants have been asked to take their own T-shirts, dress for a mess, and wear sunscreen.
The library will kick off its summer reading program, the theme of which this year is “a universe of stories,” with a party for ages 2 to 11 on Friday, June 28, at 2 p.m. David FunN, a magician, will provide the entertainment.
Strawberries will be the sweet inspiration for a story time with crafts and snacks for kids 4 to 7 on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at the Amagansett Library. On Monday, Erin O’Connor, an artist and educator, will stop in for a mythical creatures collage workshop for kids 8 to 12. This one also takes place at 3:30 p.m. Kids 8 to 12 will use T-shirts to make no-sew tote bags on Tuesday at 4 p.m. They can supply their own shirts or use one provided by the library. Advance registration has been requested for all three programs.
Butterflies and their handlers from the Suffolk County Farm will visit the Montauk Library on Saturday at 3 p.m. for a program geared to young people in kindergarten and above. The library will offer a family movie matinee on Wednesday at 2.
At the East Hampton Library, a kitty story time and craft for ages 3 and up happens on Tuesday at 4 p.m., and on Wednesday kids 6 and older can make their own rainbow bracelets, also at 4 p.m. Next Thursday at 3 p.m., the library will show “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.” Registration ahead of time is required for most library programs.
Natural Wonders
Children 6 to 8 can explore what the South Fork Natural History Museum calls the “secret life of the pond” on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. They’ll use magnifiers and microscopes to get a close-up look at some of the tiniest occupants of a pond behind the Bridgehampton museum.
On Sunday at 11 a.m., Mankh, a writer and small-press publisher, will lead a haiku poetry workshop for kids 8 and older. “Mankh will introduce haiku as a way of life, as well as a literary form,” according to the museum. Children will head outside to draw inspiration from the natural world and then write and share their poems.