Haunted House Museum is a Ghostly Go!

  

Yes, yes, yes, we WILL be having a Haunted House Museum in the library again this year!  But we need your participation to make it happen.

How-to:  Take a cardboard box and cut holes in it for windows. Paint or otherwise cover the box with a seasonal color like orange, black, green or purple. Decorate the outside of your house with ghosts, trick-or-treaters, rotting trees…you don’t have to make it a house. It can be a haunted apartment building, or a haunted castle, or a haunted theater, or a haunted sports event, or a haunted library, or a haunted beauty salon, or a haunted store, or…whatever idea you have! Use your imagination! 

If you don’t celebrate Halloween, that’s fine! You can still participate.  We welcome fall houses and autumn scenes as well. 

Rules:

• No blood or gore, dismembered parts or headless dolls, sorry! We are celebrating imagination and folklore, not horror.
• Please do not attach any real food to your creation. Cockroaches are even scarier than ghosts.
• Please do not include or attach anything valuable to your creation. 
• Yes, you can work with a friend or friends or family! 
• You can light it inside with a flashlight or battery-operated lights! 
• Please ask for a grown-up’s help for cutting out windows or when using new or messy craft materials. 
• This is not an assignment for a grade. This is for FUN and open to all grade levels! 
• Remember to put the name and room number of all creators clearly on your creation.

Houses will be accepted in the library before or right after morning announcements starting on Monday, October 20 through October 30 . Students should pick up houses at the end of the day on Halloween Friday for a treat. Sorry, the library cannot be responsible for houses left in November.  

Can't wait to see the children's monsterpieces masterpieces!

Welcome Back to the School Library 2025!

Welcome back!  The books missed you...and so did I!  A special book-loving bonjour from me, your lucky librarian, Ms. Esmé, who spent the summer in Montreal learning French and reading French children's books. I brought some wonderful ones back to share with you, come ask me to see them!

Last year will be hard to top, we had so much fun!  A short recap of just a few highlights:

Arcade of Books!

Curious George College!

The Dancing Royals Reader's Theater!

Vocabulary Brought to Life!

Family Reading Night!

Crafts Galore!

Young Author Shares!

Printmaking: The Power of Words!

Fairy Tale Dioramas!

Guest Authors!

Most importantly, we shared our love of books, books, books...our circulation went up 20%, and we continue to share together in library and build a community of readers and artists.  Fasten your seat belts, friends, because the fun, learning and surprises continue in our new school year!

If you're a grown-up or older kid, please check out the School Stuff section of this website, which explains a lot about library grades, expectations and curriculum.  As a librarian, I always love to be on the same page!  The library sees all the children in the school weekly and has specialized curriculum and needs, and as such, we welcome donations of any of the following supplies: plain paper plates, brown or white paper lunch bags, baby wipes, glue sticks, and gift cards to Michael's Craft Stores and titles from our Amazon Wish List. We always appreciate flowers, which help to make the space welcoming to everyone...a garden of reading!  Stay posted for volunteer opportunities throughout the school year. 

Can't wait to hear alllll about your summer...whether far-flung or a staycation, I hope you made time for books! A reminder that your Chicago Public Library Summer Reading Program participation t-shirt is perfect back-to-school gear, come show it off for a free lollipop or bookmark and some extra credit!  

Happy to open to the first page of another great year in the Stone library!  See you soon!