By Isabell Macrina
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Winter break during the school year can be a tough time to entertain and educate children, who wants to learn when there’s snow on the ground? Walpole Public Library took (WPL) a fun approach to give kids fun activities and a way to encourage more reading, family bingo! The community room became a bingo hall filled with kids eager to win prizes and parents to cheer them on.
Miss Nikki, the children’s program coordinator, set up the event and ran it with enthusiasm. The prize table was filled with books, ranging from picture books to early chapter books. There were engaging options for everyone there to choose from!
Then it was bingo time! The ball spinner was set up front along with a whiteboard, so Nikki could write down all the numbers and the kids wouldn’t miss any numbers. Kids started crossing off numbers and the hum of excitement took over the room. At the first bingo, a little boy cheered and went to go pick out his book, a graphic novel called “Amulet.”
That’s when Nikki had a special announcement; there would be three winners every round! So they didn’t clear their boards and excitement kept building. Kids kept winning and picking out books. One boy found the next book in a series his teacher was reading, another picked up a new picture book about snowmen. Everyone seemed to find a book perfect for them.
By the last couple rounds, they rose to five winners a piece. The books, having been donated by friends of the library and residents, all went to loving homes. Family Bingo was a great way to get books to loving homes where they will be read, and a fantastic way to encourage kids to read even when they are not in school. Maybe one of them went home that day with a new favorite book.
