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Fells Branch hosts Brain Builders event

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By James Kinneen
Hometown Weekly Reporter

The Fells Branch of the Wellesley Library hosted Brain Builders on Thursday afternoon, April 4. The program is an interactive play event designed for kids ages 2-6. Past Brain Builders events included using masking tape to create a hopscotch course, using cardboard tubes to launch ping pong balls into cups, building things with popsicle sticks, and making decorative hearts, which could be seen hanging from the ceiling off the library itself.

This week’s event was all about tangrams, a puzzle made up of seven shapes of flat blocks that can be used to create patterns or images. As a way of giving the kids and parents a little variety in their Brain Builders toys, cups and other blocks were brought out, as well.

A child works on her tangrams.  Photos by James Kinneen

A child works on her tangrams. Photos by James Kinneen

It was interesting to see how the kids and parents chose to interact with the items. At one point, a child created a tower of all the cups, which had the room on edge - especially because his sister continually crept dangerously towards it.

A girl who was too small to understand anything picked up a cup and used it as a phone, causing her mother to say “hola!”

At another point, one of the adults lined up a bunch of blocks and tried to show a little girl how to dominos work. Unfortunately, when the woman knocked the first blocks over and showed the girl the chain reaction, the little girl cried.

Music played a big role in Brain Builders, as well. Quincy Knapp explained that she used to play Mozart, but was playing dance club music at the moment. She explained that she doesn’t like to play “anything with words in it, which might be distracting.” Towards the end of the day, she switched to a Sesame Street CD, which featured songs in all sorts of different languages, including Spanish, French and Dutch.

One mother said that Brain Builders was the activity her son most looked forward to every week, while others echoed the sentiment, furthering the idea that it is an event the kids especially look forward to.

For Knapp, the program isn’t just one she enjoys doing, but one she is proud the Wellesley Library has. “I’m proud of how we have regular programs that encourage interaction, play and having fun,” she said.

Brain Builders events are held every Tuesday and Thursday from 3:30 to 4:30.

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