EBRPL Archives - Baton Rouge Family Fun

The East Baton Rouge Parish Library is a hub of activity and resources for kids, teens, and adults alike. Find a full list of East Baton Rouge Parish Library Happenings and programs offered in March; there is always something new to discover and learn. From storytime and arts and crafts for young children to coding classes and book clubs for teens, to technology workshops and author talks for adults; the library provides a welcoming and engaging environment for all ages. In addition to these events, the library also offers an extensive collection of books, DVDs, and online resources, making it a valuable resource for the entire community.

East Baton Rouge Parish Library Happenings

Ready, Set, Read! Press Start Program

This program provides a new monthly booklet for 3 years, packed full of family fun! The tips and activities in these booklets are designed for use with things already found around the house without the need to buy anything. Each booklet includes Community Connections, an insert with a selected list of community events, and the EBRP Library Children’s Storytime schedule for you to post on your refrigerator.

Completing all 12 booklets each year earns your child a FREE book of their choice and an entry into the annual gift card drawing, courtesy of the Patrons of the Public Library.

Pick up your booklet in the children’s room at any of our 14 locations!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Read Across America and celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday by joining in on these fun programs! *Indicates registration required. Call Library location directly.

• Wednesday, March 1 – Sunday, March 5, all day Jones Creek Regional Branch
Pick up a Dr. Seuss activity packet, ages 6-11

• Wednesday, March 1 at 10:30 a.m. – Zachary Branch
I Am the Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss Cat in the Hat craft, ages 2-5

• *Wednesday, March 1 at 4 p.m.
Pride-Chaneyville Branch
Imagine That! How Dr. Seuss Wrote The Cat in the
Hat by Judy Sierra ® “I Love to Read” necklace, ages 5-10

• Thursday, March 2, all day – Delmont Gardens Branch
Live readings of Dr. Seuss books Striped hat craft, ages 3-7

• *Thursday, March 2 at 4 p.m. – River Center Branch
Bartholomew and the Oobleck by Dr. Seuss Oobleck craft, ages 6-11

• *Thursday, March 2 at 4:30 p.m. – Baker Branch
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss Fish bowl craft, ages 3-7

• *Thursday, March 2 at 4:30 p.m. – Fairwood Branch
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss Decorative fish bowl, ages 4-11

• *Thursday, March 2 at 5 p.m. – Greenwell Springs Road Regional Branch
Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss
Horton Kindness Bracelet, ages 5-11

Artsy Smartsy Saturday
Saturday, March 11 at 10 AM | Pride-Chaneyville Branch

Kids ages 6-11 are invited to Artsy Smartsy Saturday at the Pride-Chaneyville Branch on Saturday, March 11 at 10 a.m.! We will read selected chapters from the book Green Gravy by Beverly Lewis and make a St. Patrick’s Day shamrock hanger using tempera paint markers and a craft tube stamp. Registration is required. To register, please call 658-1560.

Hands On Baby Time
Saturday, March 11 at 2:30 PM | Main Library at Goodwood

Join the Main Library at Goodwood on Saturday, March 11 at 2:30 p.m. as we read Hello, Farm! by Maddie Frost and learn about farm animals and the sounds they make. Then, have some fun with some hands-on sensory items and baby-safe percussion instruments. This program is for babies, birth-12 months. Registration is required. To register, please call 231-3760. Sorry, no groups.

STEM Playtime
Wednesday, March 29 10:30 AM & 4 PM | Zachary Branch

The Zachary Branch will host STEM playtime on Wednesday, March 29 at two different times. Younger children are invited to join them at 10:30 a.m. to play with Mega Bloks and Bee-Bots. Older children can stop by after school at 4 p.m. to create with Snap Circuit kits.

One Book One Community
Sunday, March 19th, 4-6 PM | Main Library at Goodwood

East Baton Rouge Parish Library’s 17th annual One Book One Community initiative will highlight Chris Thomas King’s book, The Blues: The Authentic Narrative of My Music and Culture. as well as many other blues-inspired programs for all ages throughout the Library system. We will explore such topics as blues music; Baton Rouge and Louisiana’s music culture/history; songwriting and poetry; black history; and the lives of music legends.

To kick off six weeks of programs, book discussions, and other opportunities for community connection, EBRPL will have a FREE Kickoff Party at the Main Library at Goodwood on Sunday, March 19, 4-6 p.m.! Attendees will enjoy live music from The Michael Foster Project, a special appearance by author Chris Thomas King, delicious local food, crafts, games, and engagement with community organizations. It will be an outdoor celebration for all ages on the Plaza! In the case of inclement weather, it will be held inside the Library. For more information about One Book One Community, please visit ReadOneBook.org.

Sounds of Science Series – Family Event
Saturday, March 25 at 1 PM | Main Library at Goodwood

Join the East Baton Rouge Parish Library in collaboration with the LSU School of Music, the LSU Department of Astronomy and Physics, and the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication for the Sounds of Science series on Saturday, March 25 at the Main Library at Goodwood. Starting at 1 p.m., there will be activities for children and adults, including the LaSPACE/MARS Truck, Storytimes, and Interactive Music Making. At 7 p.m., a Sounds of Science panel discussion and musical performance will be held in the large meeting room. For more information, visit ebrpl.co/soundsofscience.

Write Time! with Boo Milton
March 7 & April 4th at 6 PM | River Center Branch

Join us on Tuesday, March 7 at 6 p.m. at the River Center Branch for Write Time!, a FREE poetry and general creative writing session for adults ages 18-33. Beginners and seasoned writers will enjoy creating poems and spoken word pieces while connecting with other creatives. This event is hosted by media personality Boo Milton with a live DJ and refreshments. And mark your calendar for next month’s Write Time! session on Tuesday, April 4 at 6 p.m.! Register for any or all of these monthly sessions at ebrpl.com/calendar or by emailing programs@ebrpl.com.

Saturday Science – Teens & Adults
Saturday, March 25 at 3 p.m | Main Library at Goodwood

Teens and adults are invited to the Main Library at Goodwood on Saturday, March 25 at 3 p.m. for Saturday Science, LSU’s free public talk series connecting the community to science and technology. This month, learn about the first exciting discoveries of the James Webb Space Telescope!

Children’s Books and Music Series featuring The Kids’ Orchestra
Saturday, March 11 at 11 AM | Main Library at Goodwood
Saturday, March 25 at 2 PM | Jones Creek Regional Branch

Collect new musical skills! Discover new library books! Experiment with new dance steps!
Kids’ Orchestra invites children, ages 5-11, to an experiential program that combines library books with music education. Each month, children will explore a theme as they learn about an instrument, sing a song, explore a dance, and play a game – all inspired by a book in the East Baton Rouge Parish Library collection.

In March, learn about Trombone Shorty, a musician who grew up in Louisiana, and the instrument he played (a trombone, of course!). Hear the trombone and find out how it works. Learn some “second line” dance moves. Play an instrument naming and imitation game. Sing “When the Saints go Marching in” as we celebrate Louisiana music and culture. There are two opportunities to attend this fun program! See dates and times below. All children under the age of 9 must be accompanied by an adult. Registration is required.

Saturday, March 11 at 11 a.m. – Main Library at Goodwood To register, please call 231-3760.
Saturday, March 25 at 2 p.m. – Jones Creek Regional Branch To register, please call 756-1160.

Practice ACT Test
Saturday, March 4 at Noon | Main Library at Goodwood
Saturday, March 11 at 9 a.m. | Bluebonnet Regional Branch

Teens, brush up on your ACT test taking skills! These practice tests are organized to run like the real ACT test to give teens experience in the type of questions to expect as well as the testing environment. Please bring sharpened number 2 pencils, a permitted calculator, and a snack for the break. Space is limited. Registration is required. See date, time, locations, and registration details below.

Saturday, March 4 at Noon – Main Library at Goodwood To register, call 231-3770.
Saturday, March 11 at 9 a.m. – Bluebonnet Regional Branch To register, call 763-2270.-more-

Baton Rouge Concert Band Spring Concert
Sunday, March 26 at 5 PM | Main Library at Goodwood

Grab your passport and join the Baton Rouge Concert Band on Sunday, March 26 at 5 p.m. at the Main Library at Goodwood for their spring concert, “A Musical Passport through Europe and the British Isles.” There will be marches, jigs, folk songs, and more. From Norway and Belgium through the Balkans and Germany into France and on to the British Isles, your feet will be tapping and your heart will be singing!

2nd Annual Edible Book Festival
Saturday, April 1 at 2 PM | Main Library at Goodwood

The Edible Book Festival is an international celebration of books, food, and bad puns, held on or around April Fools’ Day each year. Participants are invited to choose a book and create an edible representation of its title or a wordplay on its title. Join us as we gather at the Main Library at Goodwood on Saturday, April 1 at 2 p.m. to view the bookish fare concocted to amuse, amaze, or, yes, even disgust onlookers and fellow participants. Vote for your favorites in categories such as Best in Show, Wittiest Wordplay, Least Appetizing and more! Winners will be announced at 4 p.m. and prizes will be awarded! To submit an entry, just bring your punny, edible creation to the Library at 1 p.m. to be displayed! Here are a few of last year’s winners. Can you top them?

Virtual Author Talk Series

The Library continues its Author Talk Series with three new authors in March! Each live, virtual event features a different bestselling author, along with an interactive Q&A session where participants can ask questions directly to the author. See March selections and dates/times below. Visit libraryc.org/ebrpl to register for these virtual events, learn about other upcoming conversations with bestselling authors, and view previous author talk recordings. For more information about these and other virtual events, visit ebrpl.com/virtual.

Free Saturday Tutoring

The Baton Rouge Magnet High School Beta Club will offer FREE tutoring services each Saturday in March, 9:30-10:30 a.m., at the Main Library at Goodwood! Beta members will tutor elementary, middle, and high school students. See subjects offered below. Only 60 spots are available each Saturday. Registration is required. Register online at ebrpl.co/tutor or call 231-3770.

Elementary students: English, Math, Science, and Reading
Middle schoolers
(6th grade – 8th grade): English, Math, and Science
High schoolers: English, Math (9th – Calculus), and Science
Upon advanced request, they will provide tutoring in French, Spanish, and Latin.

The Cookbook Club

Do you love to cook and try new recipes? Join us for a new club centered around cookbooks and cuisine! Adults are invited to the Bluebonnet Regional Branch at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 8 for our first meeting. We will discuss the club’s cookbook of choice and what recipes we will try and share with the group.

Spanish Reading Club

Do you speak or read Spanish? Perhaps you’re looking for a fun way to speak Spanish with others? If you also love reading and discussing books with others, then we have just the group for you! Join us for a new club centered around reading books in Spanish! Adults can come to the Bluebonnet Regional Branch at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 15 for an organizational meeting where you can meet other Spanish speakers and decide on future books to discuss.

St. Patrick’s Day Tote Bags

20-Somethings are invited to learn how to use the Cricut and Heat Press equipment in the River Center Branch makerspace! Join us on Tuesday, March 14 at 3:30 p.m. to make your own St Patrick’s Day leprechaun tote bags! Registration is required. To register, visit ebrpl.com/calendar or call 389-4960.

March 2023 Library Event Calendars

If you are or a parent or caregiver of a toddlers ages 2-4, you won’t want to miss out on East Baton Rouge Parish Library’s Press Start! Ready, Set, Read! Program! The program seeks to equip children with early literacy skills that will enable them to enter school with confidence.

Press Start! Ready, Set, Read! Program!

Parents and caregivers may stop by the children’s room of any Library location to pick up a booklet that focuses on beginning literacy concepts that can be incorporated into their daily routines.

The booklets are full of fun activities that the children will enjoy while learning basic concepts that build a firm foundation for math and reading. Each monthly booklet will feature a new letter, number, color or concept, while also building on the previous month’s concepts. Children begin with booklet one, work their way through the program at their own pace, and earn rewards along the way.

Studies show that early literacy development strongly correlates to later school achievement. For this reason, EBRPL Children’s Services has developed the Press Start! program to ensure its youngest patrons get off to a good start and continue to reap the benefits once they reach school-age and beyond.

EBRPL’s Children’s Services Coordinator, Tara Dearing, commented, “Our Children’s departments at each library branch will also highlight these concepts through decorative displays, book displays, and programs each month. In fact, each month will be ‘brought to you’ by a new letter, color, or concept.”

When young patrons visit the Main Library at Goodwood, they may be excited to see a stuffed Mike the Tiger wearing a circular medallion with a number upon it and a rabbit proudly arrayed with the letter of the month.

Along with the easy activities you can do at home with your little one, reading aloud in itself has great benefits – be sure to pick up some books!

Benefits of using read-aloud:

One of the most important things adults can do in preparing children for success in reading is to read aloud with them.

Listeners build listening and comprehension skills through discussion during and after reading.
Listeners increase their vocabulary foundation by hearing words in context.
Listeners improve their memory and language skills as they hear a variety of writing styles and paraphrase their understanding.
Listeners develop individual interests in a broad variety of subjects and they develop imagination and creativity: what better way to build skills which foster inquiry?

Read to your child

Reading aloud to your children will not only give them a solid reading foundation, but it will also help them discover the joy of reading.

It’s never too early (or too late) to start reading aloud to your child. One thing we can do to kick-start the road to reading is simply to read to our children and read to them often. Discuss what you have read with your child and ask questions before, during and after your reading sessions. Create a reading nook in your home and commit to reading aloud at least once daily. Keep books readily available and take them with you when you go. Reading aloud can take place anytime, anywhere.

Make reading fun

There are many different activities that will help a child build a strong reading foundation. Mastering letters and matching lowercase letters with their sound is very helpful when a child is learning to read phonetically. Let your reader make letters out of Play-Doh, whipped topping, shaving cream, sprinkles or sand. If they are learning sight words, they can create beginning sight words with noodles or pipe cleaners.

Be the example

Monkey see, monkey do. The best example we can give to our child is to show them our love of reading. It’s one thing for us to tell a child they must read each day, it’s another for them to see us reading each day.

Enjoy the journey

There might be days when you feel as though your child will never learn to read — it can be a daunting task at times. Remind yourself that you are giving your child a gift that will truly last them a lifetime. Embrace the struggles with the lightbulb moments and enjoy making sweet memories along the way.

Press Start!

Stop by the Children’s Room of any library location to pick up your Press Start! booklet! The month of February is brought to you by the letters H, I, J & K; the numbers 7, 8, 9 & 10; and the weather concept, “rainy/wet.” Each month’s booklet introduces basic concepts with fun activities for ages 2-4 that you can fit into your daily routine and that help prepare your child for kindergarten.

East Baton Rouge Parish Library Happenings – March