Southbury Public Library Children's And Teen Programs For January 2026

Press release from the Southbury Public Library:

12/18/2025

The Southbury Public Library Youth Services department is pleased to announce its event list for January for children and teens. All programs are generously sponsored by the Friends of the Southbury Public Library. For more information and to register online please visit our website: www.southburylibrary.org/events.

Children’s Programs:

I Spy Bear Hunt (All Ages) – January 2-31, Upstairs, No Registration Required. The bears have escaped from the books! Can you find all the bear characters from children's literature? It's time for an I Spy Bear Hunt. Find all the bears hidden throughout the Youth Services department, complete the form and you'll receive a small prize. Forms are available in the Youth Services department.

Take or Make Craft (All Ages) – Saturday, January 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, Second Floor, While Supplies Last. Stop by the Youth Services Department on Saturdays this month to make a thematic paper craft. Make it here or bring it home. Crayons and glue available in the library. Appropriate for all ages. Young children may need assistance.

Drop-In Storytime (All Ages) – Monday, January 5, 12, 26, 10:30-11am, Kingsley Room, No Registration Required (The library is closed January 19). Join Jen for an all-ages storytime! We'll share books, rhymes, and songs, and a small craft will be available to make with us or take home.

Babies & Books (Ages 6-24 months) – Tuesday, January 6, 13, 20, 27, and February 3, 10, 10:30-11:30am, Kingsley Room, Registration Required - Space Limited. Babies & Books is a six-week series lapsit storytime for children 6 to 24 months and their parents/caregivers. Listen to short stories and songs.

Create with Cursive (Grades 3-5) – Tuesday, January 6, 13, 20, 27, and February 3, 4:30-5:30pm, Kingsley Room, Registration Required - Space Limited. Learn to write in cursive! Practice the letters and create your own signature with this weekly class that runs for five consecutive weeks.

Family Giant Games Night (All Ages) – Thursday, January 6, 6-7pm, Youth Services Department, No Registration Required. Join us for an evening of Giant Games! Drop in between to enjoy a variety of traditional, larger-than-life, board games. This event is perfect for families or a group of friends; if a team is not made of middle schoolers and above, an adult must be present.

Tunes & Tales (Recommended for Ages 5 & Under) – Thursday, January 8, 15, 22, 29, 10:30-11am, Kingsley Room, No Registration Required. Join Jen for a morning filled with music and stories! Children will sing, dance, and enjoy a thematic craft.

Makerspace Morning (Ages 5-12) – Saturday, January 10, 10-11:30am, Brown Room, Registration Required - Space Limited. Join us to explore, think, and create in our mobile makerspace! Choose from a wide range of materials to create something new and unique, or complete a craft project using provided instructions.

LEGO Club (Grades K-5) – Tuesday, January 13, 4:30-5:30pm, Kingsley Room, Registration Required - Space Limited. Join us for an afternoon of LEGO fun! We’ll provide the LEGO bricks, and you bring the creativity! You can free build, or work off of instructions.

Tiny Art Show: Drop-In Painting (All Ages) – Saturday, January 17, 1-2pm, Brown Room, No Registration Required. Work on a painting for our 2026 Tiny Art Show in a supportive group environment! All supplies provided. Please wear clothing you don’t mind getting dirty. This session is for children, teens, and families. There will be two other sessions for different age groups in the Brown Room on the same day: 12-1pm for adults and 2-3 for tweens and teens in Grades 6-12.

Stuffie Library Storytime & Sleepover (All Ages) - Tuesday, January 20, 6-6:30pm, Kingsley Room, Registration Required - Space Limited. Grab your PJs and a stuffed friend and join Miss Jen for a special PJ Storytime with your stuffie! Listen to bedtime stories, songs & rhymes and complete a small craft. After storytime, you can choose to leave your stuffie here at the library for a special sleepover. The next day, you can pick up your stuffie and receive a letter and photos of their amazing adventures at the library!

Family Trivia Night (All Ages) – Friday, January 23, 6:30-8pm, Kingsley Room, Registration Required - Space Limited. Join us for another Family Trivia night! Work together as a family team to answer our trivia questions! We'll have a variety of topics, including kid-centric knowledge, general information, and questions aimed at parents, too. The family who answers the most questions correctly will win a $100 gift card to Riverview Cinemas!

Teen Programs:

Family Giant Games Night (All Ages) – Thursday, January 6, 6-7pm, Youth Services Department, No Registration Required. Join us for an evening of Giant Games! Drop in between to enjoy a variety of traditional, larger-than-life, board games. This event is perfect for families or a group of friends; if a team is not made of middle schoolers and above, an adult must be present.

Teen Crochet Club (Grades 6-12) – Tuesday, January 6 & 20, 6:30-7:30pm, Brown Room, Registration Required - Space Limited. Join us for our crochet (and knitting) club, open to both new and experienced crafters alike. If you’re already working on a project, bring it with you. If you’re new to knitting and crocheting, get started with us! We will have basic knitting and crocheting supplies available. Attend one or both meetings.

Food Explorers: Chocolate Stuffed Pupusas (Grades 6-12) – Tuesday, January 13, 4-5pm, Kingsley Room, Registration Required - Space Limited. Join us to make another tasty recipe with Food Explorers! We’ll be making pupusas (corn flour pockets similar to a bun or pancake) that we’ll fill with a delicious chocolate filling, all from scratch! This recipe is nut free but may contain eggs, dairy, and gluten.

Tiny Art Show: Drop-In Painting (Grades 6-12) – Saturday, January 17, 2-3pm, Brown Room, No Registration Required. Work on a painting for our 2026 Tiny Art Show in a supportive group environment! All supplies provided. Please wear clothing you don’t mind getting dirty. There will be two earlier sessions on the same day in the Brown Room: 12-1pm for adults and 1-2pm for children, teens, and families.

Midterms After Hours (Grades 9-12) – Wednesday, January 14, 5:30-9pm, Whole Library, Registration Optional. We’re opening up the whole library (minus the Brown Room) after hours just for high school students studying for midterms! In addition to all the usual library space and tables on both floors, we’ll also have extra white boards, snacks, candy, pizza, and cute animals to de-stress with (including bunnies, chinchillas, snakes, lizards, and more!). This coincides with Pomperaug High School’s midterms, but 9–12th graders from other schools are also welcome to attend. Registration is optional, but will help us plan how much pizza and snacks to get.

Cute Animals Hangout (Grades 6-12) – Thursday, January 22, 6-7pm, Brown Room, Registration Required - Space Limited. Come hang out with a variety of cute animals, both furry and scaly! Meet, interact with, feed snacks to, and pet a variety of animal friends including bunnies, ferrets, sugar gliders, snakes, a bearded dragon, and more.

Family Trivia Night (All Ages) – Friday, January 23, 6:30-8pm, Kingsley Room, Registration Required - Space Limited. Join us for another Family Trivia night! Work together as a family team to answer our trivia questions! We'll have a variety of topics, including kid-centric knowledge, general information, and questions aimed at parents, too. The family who answers the most questions correctly will win a $100 gift card to Riverview Cinemas!

Reading Programs for Children & Teens:

January Monthly Mini Reading Challenge (Grades K-12) – January 1-31, In Person and Online at southburylibrary.beanstack.com. Join us on Beanstack for our next Mini Monthly Reading Challenge, themed Fall into Reading! Read for five hours (about 1-3 books for elementary, middle, and high school readers) and get a SurPRIZE. New this month: you can track your reading on a paper bookmark instead of on Beanstack and adults can join in, too!

1000 Books Before Kindergarten (Birth to Entering Kindergarten) – Ongoing, On Paper and Online on Beanstack. Read a book (any book!) to your newborn, infant, or toddler and keep track with a paper log or on Beanstack. Repeats count! 1000 books may seem like a lot, but if you read 1 book a day for 3 years, that’s 1095 books! 10 books a week for 2 years is 1040 books, and 3 books a day in one year is 1095 books. Every book you read you get one sticker, and if you finish you can get a certificate, small prize, and your picture on our wall of fame if you’d like! Pick up a paper log from the children’s department or visit southburylibrary.beanstack.com to get started online. For 0 to Entering Kindergarten.

100 Books Before Graduation (Grades 9-12) – Ongoing, Online at Beanstack. Read 100 books before High School Graduation! 100 books may seem like a lot (and it is), but it works out to about 1 book every 2 weeks. When you sign up, get a special tracking bookmark to fill out as you read. Make it to half way and get a $5 Gift Card to Dunkin' or The Bakery. Read 100 books and get a special throw blanket! Every 10 books you read, pick out something from the prize box (pins, pens, animal sticky notes, and more!).

Please visit the Southbury Public Library website at www.southburylibrary.org/events for program details and registration information. Visit our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/SouthburyLibraryYouthServices/

This press release was produced by the Southbury Public Library. The views expressed here are the author’s own.