Children’s Event Schedule over the Summer

Kia ora koutou! The summer holidays are a great time for you to relax, spend some time with whānau, and bask in the sunshine with a good book. Our librarians sometimes like to do this as well, so there will be some changes to our regularly-scheduled events and programmes during Christmas, New Year’s, and January. You can find out where and when everything is happening at the Event Calendar, or the children’s What’s On webpage, but here are the basics for you:

Baby Rock and Rhyme:

Our rockers and rhymers will be taking a break at most sites from the 11th of December, and making a glorious return from the 24th of January. However, if you’re itching for that musical fix in your life, the wonderful team at Te Awe Library on Brandon Street will keep running Baby Rock and Rhyme until the 23rd of December, and return on the 9th of January. Karori and Cummings Park Libraries will resume from the 7th of February.

Preschool Storytime and Kōhunga Kōrero

These will run until the 11th of December at most sites for all your storytelling needs, and our storytellers will be returning from the 24th of January. At Te Awe Library, Preschool Storytime will be running right up until Christmas, and will be back from the 9th of January. At Karori, Cummings Park and Khandallah Libraries, storytime will return from the 7th of February.

LEGO® programmes:

Some Let’s Go LEGO® and LEGO® Time programmes will be cancelled over December and January, and some will keep running. It’s best to check the event calendar to see what’s on where.

Term-time programmes:

Our term-time programmes including Code Club, Tech Time, and CRAFTerschool will mostly be starting up again after Waitangi Day 2023, to give you all time to adjust to being back at school before diving back in to library events. Check the event calendar to be sure!


Don’t forget that our Summer Reading Adventure is running until the 31st of January 2023! Visit this page to learn more and sign up now. There are also plenty of special holiday events happening for children and families during the festive season — visit our blog post to find out more!

If you have any questions, feel free to contact your local library, or you can email the Children’s Librarian to find out more.

Children’s Programmes Returning at Orange!

Warning: this post is intended to be read by parents and other adults. Kids read on at your peril!

Kia ora koutou! We are so excited to let you know that next week, from the 7th of June, some of our popular children’s programmes are returning to our libraries! It’s been some time since we have been able to run these events in a consistent way for you all, so we thought we’d lay out the current schedule for you below. We can’t wait to see you there!

With COVID -19 still in the community, please remember that all of these days and times are subject to staff availability, and we may need to change them from time to time. The library’s event calendar will always have the right days and times!

We’re so excited to be welcoming back our Storytimes and other events for tamariki and their whānau!


What’s on and where?

Here is the current programmes schedule for Wellington City Libraries. We’ll be adding to this over the coming weeks, so keep checking back or subscribe to our eNewsletter for the most up-to-date info:

Arapaki (Manners St) Library

Cummings Park Library

He Matapihi (Molesworth St) Library

Johnsonville Library

Karori Library

Mervyn Kemp (Tawa) Library

Miramar Library

Newtown Library

Ruth Gotlieb (Kilbirnie) Library

Te Awe (Brandon St) Library

Wadestown Library


Frequently-Asked Questions

Do I need to wear a mask while attending an event at the library?

Yes — if you are over 12 years of age, you must wear a mask while visiting one of our libraries, including while you are attending a library event. Our staff will also remain masked. For more information, please visit our COVID-19 FAQs page.

Why haven’t you restarted every programme you used to run pre-COVID?

We do aim to bring our wonderful programmes back across the whole library network, but we’ve chosen to restart at our larger branches first so that we can take the opportunity to give newer staff some valuable experience working with their colleagues before they take that knowledge back to their home library to share with their community. Keep an eye on our event calendar and social media platforms to keep up to date with programmes resuming at our other locations.

I feel uncomfortable visiting if I know there is going to be a large group of people there. What are you doing to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19?

At all times we are adhering to New Zealand Government guidelines for the running of events in public venues. We will be continuing, as far as possible, to encourage physical distancing between groups of attendees; we will continue to require the use of facemasks for those visiting our libraries; and we will be carefully cleaning spaces and equipment used for our public programmes between sessions. You can help too, by ensuring that you stay at home if you or your child are feeling unwell or have recently been in contact with a COVID-positive person. If we all work together, we can continue to keep our community safe!

I still don’t think I will come to storytime in person just yet. Is there some way our whānau can still participate in library activities without physically coming to a library?

You’re in luck! On our YouTube channel, thanks to the generosity of New Zealand publishers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, you can find playlists of special storytimes and Baby Rock and Rhyme sessions to keep your whānau entertained without needing to come to the library. Also, the Johnsonville Library Facebook page is a great place to find videos for sensory activities, and musical and crafty sessions to keep your little ones engaged.

I would like some more information about a programme at my local library. Who should I ask?

You can always get directly in touch with your local library by giving them a call or by emailing us. Alternatively, you are welcome to get in touch with the Children’s and Youth Services Coordinator directly with your queries.

Upcoming changes to our children’s programme schedule

If you live in Karori, Ngaio, or Khandallah, you might notice that there are a few changes coming to our schedule of events for children and families, starting in the first week of May!

Our extra-special monthly storytimes at Khandallah Library will feature a special theme and fun activity for tamariki and whānau to get stuck into as well — contact the library (or chat to a friendly librarian!) to find out about what’s happening each month.


What’s changing?

Here is the new schedule of events for Karori, Cummings Park, and Khandallah Libraries — programmes that have changed days or times are marked with a star. Don’t forget to check in on the library event calendar from time to time to keep up to date with new programmes and special events happening in our libraries!

Karori Library | Te Māhanga

  • *Preschool Storytime: Every Tuesday and Wednesday, 10.30am*
  • *Kōhunga Kōrero: 2nd Tuesday of every month, 10.30am*
  • Baby Rock and Rhyme: Every Thursday and Friday, 10.30am
  • Let’s Go LEGO®: 3rd Saturday of every month, 2.00pm
  • Code Club: Every Tuesday during the school term, 3.30pm
  • *Free Family Movies: During school holidays and to mark special events*

Cummings Park (Ngaio) Library | Korimako

  • Preschool Storytime: Every Wednesday, 10.30am
  • Kōhunga Kōrero: 3rd Wednesday of every month, 10.30am
  • Baby Rock and Rhyme: Every Tuesday, 10.30am
  • Let’s Go LEGO®: 2nd Thursday of every month, 3.30pm

Khandallah Library | Tari-kākā

  • *Preschool Storytime: Last Friday of every month, 10.30am*
  • Let’s Go LEGO®: First Friday of every month, 3.30pm

Why are the changes happening?

We’re changing the days and times on which some of our programmes are happening so that we can make some more space in our calendar to bring some new and different experiences to tamariki and whānau who use these libraries. We also hope that the new schedule will make it easier for more families to join us for our sessions, by making sure that our events aren’t on at the same time as other, similar groups in the community!

To our wonderful families in Karori, Ngaio, and Khandallah — we look forward to seeing you soon.

Kōhunga Kōrero: Whāngaia tō Tama Toa ki te Pānui Pukapuka!

Kia ora e te whānau! Great news — Kōhunga Kōrero, our special storytimes in te reo Māori, are back for 2021! This year, in addition to Johnsonville, Karori, Miramar, and Newtown Libraries, we have Cummings Park (Ngaio) Library joining in on the fun.

Kōhunga Kōrero: whāngaia tō Tama Toa ki te pānui pukapuka! Pakiwaitara i roto i te reo Māori. E 30 meneti pakiwaitara, rotarota, waiata hoki i roto i te reo Māori nō ngā kōhungahunga me ō rātou mātua kaitiaki.

Kōhunga Kōrero: get your superhero hooked on books! Featuring stories, rhymes, and songs in te reo Māori, these 30-minute sessions are open to anyone, and are recommended for children (aged 2-6 years) with their caregivers.

Here’s the full Kōhunga Kōrero schedule for the year ahead — we’d love to have you along!

Have a go at Te Reo

Kōhunga Kōrero – monthly storytimes in te reo Māori are starting next week! Head along to the library for 30mins of stories, waiata, rhymes and fun, and it’s all in te reo.

It’s all free, lots of fun, and perfect for 2-6 year olds and their whanau.

The first session is at Miramar Library, 2pm, on Tuesday 27th January.

You can find the schedule at our children’s event’s page, also check out the library’s event calendar for specific dates.

 

Find your local Kōhunga Kōrero session:

1st Tuesday of each month at 10.30am
Omāroro (Newtown) Library
13 Constable Street, Newtown

2nd Monday of each month at 10.30am
Korimako ki Ngāio (Cummings Park) Library
1a Ottawa Road, Ngaio

3rd Tuesday of each month at 2pm
Waitohi (Johnsonville) Library
5 Broderick Road, Johnsonville

4th Tuesday of each month at 2pm
Motukairangi (Miramar) Library
68 Miramar Avenue, Miramar

 

 

What’s on today – Monday 7th October

Welcome to the October school holidays! Can you believe there’s only one more school term left this year?!

Week Two!

Here’s whats happening today:

 

Kohunga Korero – Storytime in te reo Maori:

Newtown Library at 10.30am

 

Storytimes:

Tawa Library at 10.30am

Ruth Gotlieb (Kilbirnie) Library at 10.30am

Karori Library at 10.30am

Older siblings are welcome during the school holidays.

 

Check out our Kids Events page for more information about what’s happening for children in your library.

Kōhunga Kōrero – storytimes in te reo Māori

Kohunga Korero Banner SmallPreschool storytimes in te reo Māori are on soon at a library near you. Perfect for experiencing and learning te reo, practicing the language or simply snuggling up to hear a good story.

Kōhunga Kōrero is on in the following libraries:

Newtown Library: every 1st Wednesday of each month at 10.30 am

Cummings Park (Ngaio) Library: every 2nd Thursday of each month at 10.15 am

Mervyn Kemp (Tawa) Library: every 3rd Wednesday of each month at 10.30 am

Miramar Library: every 4th Thursday of each month at 10.15 am

Information on Kohunga Korero can be found here. See you there!

Kōhunga Kōrero – Pakiwaitara i roto i te Reo Māori

Preschool Storytimes in te reo Māori

 

From February 11th you’ll be able to hear stories read aloud in te Reo Māori at 4 library branches in Wellington. Kōhunga Kōrero will be filled with stories, rhymes, songs and fun, and will be held at Miramar, Newtown, Cummings Park (Ngaio) and Mervyn Kemp (Tawa) Libraries.

 

Come along to learn some new words and test your language skills. Find out when they are happening here.

 

Suitable for 1-6 year olds and their caregivers.