REPORT: The challenge was made. Six teams answered. Sadly, one team cancelled when the captain got sick the day before. Trivia Night at the Library: Holiday Edition was Friday, December 13. Don we did our gay apparel, oh yes we did, and the player with the most festive garb, Kylee Bergstrom, fa la la’d her way home with a lovely winter popcorn tin. The questions were fun and challenging, the competition was fierce, and two teams rose to the top at the end of 10 rounds. The tie-breaker was determined by the pregame question, “What score (out of 100) do you predict your team will get?” Team 4 was the closest to their prediction, taking home the gaggle of goodie bags, and in some cases reclaiming their champion standing from last September’s Trivia Night. We had a blast Friday night, and we want to thank all of our participants for coming out and joining us in making things merry and bright! Special thanks to our Christmas Queen and Moderator, Kate Haynie, and our Jolly Judge and Score Keeper, Cathy Enneking for all they did to make the night a success! Keep your eyes peeled for future Trivia Night announcements starting shortly after the new year!
Dee Lizzol to Read on Morning of Christmas Eve! (Tues, Dec 24)
Freshly added to our Christmas schedule, on the morning of Christmas Eve (Tuesday the 24th) our very own Dee Lizzol will be doing three short pop up reading sessions at 10:00 AM, 11:00 AM, and 12:00 PM.
Join us for “Dee Reads: Christmas Classics and Personal Favorites,” an all ages mini-event series and our gift of cheer and joy to you. Drop in for one or all three of the reading times, sure to entertain and brighten your spirits.
ANNOUNCEMENT: Due to unforeseen circumstances, Cooking with Kids for December 19 has been cancelled. We are reviewing policies and registration guidelines to ensure that safety and productive learning experiences are our top priority for this fan favorite program. Stay tuned for our program return in 2025!
REPORT: Librarian Deb Haverkamp brought the Christmas Cheer with holiday music in the background, a Christmas classic on the menu, and a touch of Christmas (TV) Magic to make the time limitations doable. Without any intention involved, the Cooking with Kids crew even managed to make Gingerbread Folks on National Gingerbread Day! Who knew? To kick things off, Deb had the kids make the cookie dough using the recipe as normal. But cutout cookies require a solid hour or more of chill time to ensure they keep their shape after being cut and baked. (Cookies baked without this step tend to spread on the pan while they cook, a positive where peanut butter or chocolate chip cookies are concerned, but not so much for cutouts.) An hour is a long time in kid language and in library programming time. As a very wise woman once said, “Ain’t nobody got time for that.” So Deb premixed a batch of the same cookie dough and chilled it overnight for the kids to cutout and bake without missing a beat! This time-saving magic even gave the kids a chance to practice using a pipette and frosting bag to frost and decorate their cookies! The kids were able to divide up the freshly mixed dough and take it home with them to share their new skills with their families. Thanks to our Cooking Crew for making this such a fun time and special thanks to Deb Haverkamp for making this amazing program possible!
REPORT: Cooking with Kids hit a sweet note in Thursday’s session! Deb Haverkamp gave them a reason to be Thankful for pumpkin as they mixed and baked Pumpkin Cookies! They even made their own almond butter in the food processor and maple cream cheese icing to frost the cookies with. And I gotta tell ya, folks, these cookies were G-O-O-D! They’re like happiness in a tiny baked treat. While they waited for the cookies to bake, our cooking crew did clean up and made pumpkin smoothies. It was originally Deb’s hope to teach the kids how to make pumpkin pie, but sadly, oven limitations and time constraints made it too restrictive to do. Hopefully our young master chefs will get a chance to help with pies over the upcoming holiday! You couldn’t ask for better help than our cooking kids! We look forward to hearing about their culinary adventures when we come back from break in December. Special thanks to our participants, and especially to Deb Haverkamp for making this another awesome event!
Want to give the pumpkin cookies a try? Visit sallysbakingaddiction.com/pumpkin-cookies/ for the recipe! (It’s there, I promise, just go to the print friendly version to get around all the fluff and filler.)
REPORT: This Thursday’s Cooking with Kids brought back breakfast for dinner! (11/7/2024) Deb Haverkamp started the kids off by making home style breakfast burritos with browned sausage, scrambled eggs, and home shredded cheddar topped with fresh cut avocado and salsa. (Take notes, adults, we’ve got kids that can de-stone an avocado like a pro!) Once the first round of dishes were done, the kids went back to work making strawberry and banana smoothies with Greek yogurt, peanut butter, oatmeal, and honey. The kids had a blast and this librarian is lucky to share that the breakfast burritos were awesome and the smoothies were creamy and delicious. Great job, kids! And special thanks to Deb Haverkamp for teaching another installment of this fan favorite program!
REPORT: Thursday’s Cooking with Kids was wickedly wonderful! (10/24/2024) Deb Haverkamp led our cooking crew through how to build a frightfully festive veggie tray and they made their own ranch dip from scratch (without even using a ranch seasoning packet!). Deb said she even plans to use this recipe at home from now on instead of using the season packets, everyone liked it so much. They also made popcorn balls and learned first hand how humidity and temperature variations can impact cooking. Special thanks to Librarian Deb Haverkamp for hosting another fun and educational Cooking with Kids event!
REPORT: Cooking with Kids hit the harvest season running on Thursday, September 26. They made chili cheese dogs in honor of fall sports, apple cake from scratch, and fresh applesauce with zero additives. The kids had so much fun mashing apples in the sieve they didn’t want to go home at the end of the session! Special thanks to Deb Haverkamp for hosting yet another fantastic session of Cooking with Kids! This session, we also extend an extra special thanks to the Knapp family for sharing their orchard fresh apples and inspiring this week’s cooking projects!
REPORT: Deb Haverkamp and the Cooking with Kids crew went full meal prep on September 19. They started with Deb’s daycare-famous goulash recipe, chopped and mixed a classic broccoli salad with real freshly fried bacon crumbles, and topped off the session with toasted garlic bread. This crew could open a restaurant if they had the mind to. They did such an awesome job! It looked great and tasted amazing, as evidenced by the extras they shared with this lucky librarian. Bravisimo, kids! And a special thanks to Deb Haverkamp for hosting yet another fantastic session of Cooking with Kids!
REPORT: Cooking with Kids returned September 12 in the corniest way possible! Librarian Deb Haverkamp and the kids popped into harvest season with all things corn. They started with a baking project and made some amazing cornbread. Next they shucked full ears of corn and boiled them for corn on the cob. Then they learned three different methods for making popcorn which included air popped, machine popped, and stove top popping. Because the kids did such a great job following instructions and keeping up on the cleanup, they even had enough time to practice making oven baked CARAMEL CORN! And let me tell you, I’m not a big fan of most caramel corn, but this lightly glazed batch was pretty darn tasty and had a great texture. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to try it! And you can too with the recipe shared in the images below! Special thanks to Deb Haverkamp for hosting this class and all of our participants who made it possible!
REPORT: Librarian Deb Haverkamp hosted the last summer program session of Cooking with Kids on Thursday, August 8, 2024. The threatened rain held off and the overcast skies made for a perfect day to do another round of campfire cooking! This time they made breakfast with camp sausage patties and pancakes from scratch over wood coals. The kids had a great time and the library took on an aura of camp nostalgia as the smell of burning wood trickled in from outside. It was a great way to wrap up our season of adventure before the kids go back to school for the fall semester. Thank you to our participants, and a big thanks to Deb Haverkamp for providing our young chefs with these amazing experiences!
REPORT: Cooking with Kids met on Thursday, July 25, with Librarian Deb Haverkamp leading the group. Plans had to pivot rather quickly for this session as it was determined that cooking the kids along with the menu items outside would be an unfortunate side effect of the unanticipated spike in heat. Instead, Deb and the kids made snickerdoodle cookies in the community room that came out with a delightfully crisp and airy texture as well as a warm and light flavor! As you can see in the pictures, the kids were eager to add creativity to their culinary skills today. Great job kids! (And thanks for sharing!)
REPORT: Thursday, July 18, 2024’s Cooking with Kids session with Librarian Deb Haverkamp was a summertime home run! The kids took to the campfire again and made Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler! The librarians working the circulation desk were fortunate enough to get to try the results, and I think everyone agrees, the results were super good! Great job kids, and special thanks to Deb Haverkamp for stepping up each session and coming up with fun and exciting new things for the kids to try!
REPORT: Cooking with kids took a turn for the rustic on Thursday, June 20, 2024 as Librarian Deb Haverkamp brought the crew outside for a session of camp cooking! Deb brought in a portable fire pit and set up in the rock parking lot behind the building. She pre-fired a batch of coals to be ready for the kids to arrive. The kids diced onions and peppers while the hamburger browned in the Dutch Oven on the coals. Once the meat was cooked, they added their vegetables and tomato sauce, and finally stirred in some cubed Velveeta. The final result of the Hamburger Corn Casserole looked amazing and it was a great experience for the kids to try a new cooking technique!
REPORT: Thursday, June 13, 2024 the Cooking with Kids crew got one of their biggest wishes fulfilled. They made their own pizzas, with crust from scratch, homemade sauce, and their choice of freshly browned hamburger, sausage, pepperoni and cheese. The aroma coming from the pizza oven was out of this world amazing. Everyone was super excited with this cooking project and it sounded like they had a lot of fun as well!
REPORT: Thursday, May 9 2024 Deb Haverkamp and our cooking with kids crew made fruit pizza!
This is where the gallery would go if our social media guy had remembered to post the pictures he and Deb took from the event. They were some really good pictures. But here’s an example of what the kids made, “borrowed” from the internet instead:
REPORT: Thursday, April 25, 2024 the Cooking with Kids crew made Corn and Black Bean Salsa, fresh Guacamole, and Blackened Fish Tacos. Librarian Deb Haverkamp admitted the kids were a little tentative about the tacos at first, but once they tried them, the majority agreed they were a hit. Going in for pictures early on, the salsa smelled and looked amazing. And you know the kids loved what they made when the circulation desk workers don’t even see any leftovers!
Stay tuned for future Cooking with Kids Sessions with Deb coming up in May. She’s already got the wheels turning on what she wants to do next with the crew!
REPORT: Thursday, April 4th Cooking with Kids featured spaghetti with homemade meatballs and sauce! It looked and smelled amazing. These kids have skills and keep learning new things each time! Special thanks to Librarian Deb Haverkamp for running this program and making it as fun and successful as it is!
As a reminder, we only have a total of 6 spaces for each Cooking with Kids session due to space, safety, and supervision reasons. Slots are filled on a first come, first serve order, as much as we hate having to turn anybody away for a session. Make sure your little chef is signed up well before the class starts. This isn’t a class we can slip in a last-minute addition as much as we might want to.
REPORT: Cooking with Kids had another full turnout on Thursday, March 21, as Librarian Deb Haverkamp taught the class how to make biscuits and gravy from scratch! The kids had a great time working together and Deb reported that the biscuits and gravy were a big hit with everybody. Great job to our chefs in the making and Deb Haverkamp in cooking up a classic this session!
REPORT: Thursday, February 22, Cooking with Kids met for another learning experience in food and fun, this time baking coffee cake and trying out an assortment of smoothie recipes. The entry smelled like fresh baked cinnamon, drawing comments of delight from patrons and librarians alike.
REPORT: Thursday February 8 Cooking with Kids was busy making Ham Loaf, Meat Balls and 7 Layer Salad! Don’t come on these days, if you are hungry, it’s hard to resist the aroma.
Let’s get messy.
The pictures below are from the January 11th class making Chicken Noodle Soup.
Making noodles!Cooking chicken and dicing veggies.Enjoying the results.
All Strings Attached: Thread Collective to Meet January 14, 2025
A new year means new programs and a motivation to try new things. Starting in January, Seneca Free Library is eager to introduce: the Thread Collective! If you or someone you know knits, crochets, embroiders, cross stitches, or does handwork with yarns or threads, this initiative is for you! Bring your current projects and work beside fellow stitchers while sharing tips, tricks, techniques, and your love of the craft. Solo crafts are great when you need the personal time for yourself, but sometimes it’s nice to just have somebody to chat with while you do the activities you love (especially when they love them too!).
The first meeting of the Thread Collective will be Tuesday, January 14, 2025 and will run from 6:45 PM – 8:00 PM. We can’t wait to see what you’re working on!
For more information call the library at 785-336-2377.
Winter Break Will Include Game Days at SFL December 27 and January 3!
GAME ON!!!!
On December 27 and January 3, Seneca Free Library is cracking open our Game Vault for an Official Game Day from 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM. These game day events are free to area kids and adults ages 7 and up. It’s an open attendance event so participants can come and go during this time as their schedule allows. You can play an assortment of games through the afternoon or just drop in to play a few quick rounds of your favorite game between appointments or errands!
Children 6 and under must be accompanied by an Adult (school age siblings do not count as sufficient supervision in the library). While library staff will be present to facilitate this activity, babysitting services are not available during this time. As typical with any library event, please provide us with contact information relevant to the times of the event schedule or give your child a written copy of this information to deliver to us when they check in. Please be advised, if participants exhibit disruptive or inappropriate behavior, we reserve the right to remove them from activities. A parent or guardian may be contacted and requested to pick them up.
With that all being said, we are very excited to offer this activity option to the calendar and to see our collected game vault put to good use!
Week of December 9, 2024 is BUSY for Seneca Free Library!
THIS WEEK is CRAZY at the Library!!! Don’t Miss Out!
Last chance to preregister your creative kiddos for the Free Ornament Making Craft Event TOMORROW, Tuesday, December 10, 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM after school. 3 ornaments to make and take home, plus additional projects available to copy and/or take home to build! Ages 1st-4th grade.
Cooking with Kids Returns THIS THURSDAY, December 12, 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM after school! We still have five (5) slots open for festive chefs to join Deb and see what she’s got cookin’ in the kitchen! Ages 8-11 years old. New participants will need a waiver/permission sheet signed at the desk before joining the session.
Last call for Trivia Night at the Library on Friday, December 13! We’re still accepting teams of 4-6 Adult(ish) players for this fun and festive event! Snacks and Non-alcoholic drinks encouraged. Prizes for the top team. Fun and Surprises for all! $10 per person entry fee payable at the door. Doors open at 6:00 PM (Main entrance) for teams to set up. Game starts at 6:30 PM. We are super excited to see everyone for this festive holiday edition of Trivia Night at the Library!
Call 785-336-2377 or drop in at the circulation desk to register for one or more of these awesome events!
Seneca Free Library is Starting a Games Initiative
…but we need your help!
We are starting a table games initiative for library game day events and regular in-house use (sorry, no checkouts from the library), but we need some help in building our game library. Right now we’re especially short on games for younger kids. With the program just starting, we hate to sink a lot of money into acquisitions and storage for something that might not see a lot of use right away. If you have a chance to look through your board and card games at home and find some gently used options that just don’t make it out of the box anymore (or ever), we’d love to see them here! If you have some common games (or what’s left of them) that are missing pieces and ready to be replaced, we could always use some spare parts on hand in case a die rolls away or Professor Plum’s token bounces off the table and disappears into the stacks. (Don’t even get us started on the Monopoly Dog chasing the car or the havoc of the Candyland Gingies. Oh, the humanity!)
Ideal games for library use are ones that don’t require a large amount of setup and that can be learned and taught to the other players in five minutes or less. Games that require batteries to operate are less ideal (due to ongoing cost) but will be considered. Games that make a mess (i.e. Pie Face) or pose sanitary concerns (i.e. Speak Out) are not appropriate for library use, as entertaining as they might be at home.
Our Current Inventory Includes:
(Updated 11/18/2024)
5 Second Rule (Standard Ed., 3 or more players, Ages 10+) (x2 copies)
Animal Dominos (Kids Ed. 2-4 players, Ages 3+)
Apples to Apples (Standard Ed., 4-8 players, Ages 12+)
Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? (Standard Ed., 2-4 players, Ages 8+)
Battleship (Standard Ed., 2-player, Ages 7+)
Bunco Party (Standard Ed. 2-12 players, Ages 8+)
Candy Land (Standard Ed., 2-4 players, Ages 3+)
Chess/Checkers (Standard Ed., 2-player, Ages 5+)
Clue (Original Ed., 3-6 players, Ages 8+)
Clue (Card Game Ed, 3-4 players, Ages 8+)
Connect 4 (Classic Grid Ed., 2 Players, 6+)
Disney Princess Card Games (Old Maid, Go Fish, Crazy Eights, Memory Match), (Player Count varies by game, Ages 3+)
War (Game specific card set for War and Memory, 2-4 players, Ages 3+)
Yahtzee (Standard Ed., 2-10 players, Ages 8+)
Gerald and Tess ask Sherri and Nelson for Recommendations“So many options!”
Games We Are Currently Looking For Include:
Chutes and Ladders (or Snakes and Ladders)
Hi-Ho Cherry Oh
Jr. Editions of most games
Memory (We have the Original edition, but would consider variant theme editions)
Settlers of Catan
Sorry
Guidelines for Using Library Games
Games and game pieces are not available for checkout. They are meant to be played inside the library (or meeting room for special events).
You are responsible for any game that you sign for and borrow. Lost pieces or damage to the game board or cards may result in fees necessary to fix or replace game components.
Games must be checked out and signed for one at a time. The first game must be turned in at the desk and all pieces must be accounted for before checking out another game. The number of games borrowed on a daily basis is otherwise only limited by the constraints of library operating hours.
All games must be completed and turned in before the end of regular library hours or before the end of a gaming event. The library will not stay open late just for games to be completed.
Library staff are not responsible for teaching, moderating, or providing players for a game. Be sure to borrow games appropriate for your number of players and the players’ ages and ability to learn or comprehend the rules. If the standard rules for a game are missing for some reason, let the librarian on duty know and we’ll see what we can do about finding and printing an official copy.
Many common board and card games may have what are called “House Rules.” These are rules that modify how the original game works usually for the sake of simplification or increasing the challenge of a game. Before your group begins playing any game, be sure everyone is aware of and in agreement with any “House Rules” that may be used. Again, it is not the librarian’s job to handle or moderate rules disputes or disagreements in your game.
Games played in the main library are expected to be aware of and courteous to the other patrons using the library and the staff trying to work. Repeated outbursts or continuous disruption may result in the termination of your gaming session.
Christmas Bureau Donations Still Accepted at SFL Till Dec 6!
From now until December 6 we are accepting donations to the Nemaha County Christmas Bureau! Suggested donations include new toys for boys and girls ages infant-12, hats, gloves, socks, towels, blankets, toiletry items (shampoo, conditioner, bath gel, toothpaste, etc.), and stocking stuffers. Financial gifts may be turned in at the desk and made payable to the Nemaha County Christmas Bureau. Please do not leave monetary donations unattended in the donation box. Also, please bring all donations inside the library during our regular business hours (M-TH 9A-7P, F 10A-5P, & Sat 9A-1P). Donations left outside while we are closed are subject to theft, moisture damage, and infestation by creepy crawlies, which ends up benefiting nobody. Donations for this program are locally distributed only in Nemaha County and are considered tax deductible.
Ornament Making Session for Kids Grade 1-4 on December 10th at Seneca Free Library!
Jingle Jangle Jingle Jangle Tra La La La La….
It’s holiday time and we’ve got a kids craft program your little elf won’t want to miss!
Tuesday, December 10, we are offering a free ornament making session here at the library for kids ages 1st – 4th grade! Your creative kiddo can custom build three different ornament types for someone special or to put on their tree at home! The craft session starts after school on Tuesday and wraps up around 5:00 PM. Any unfinished projects can be taken home to be completed, and we’ll have additional take home projects available for more creative fun or for our friends who couldn’t make it to the actual session to pick up later. Call 786-336-2377 to register your little one so we know how many materials to prepare and have enough help lined up to make the event as fun and properly supported as possible.
The December Adventure Theme is “Neighborhood Game Night or Tournament”
It’s a new month, and December’s recommended library adventure is “Host a Neighborhood Game Night or Tournament!”
Maybe some of you out there already do this, or maybe you even have regular neighborhood barbecues or potlucks. Maybe (probably “likely” for many of you) you live out in the country or on the far edge of town and your closest neighbor is a solid mile away at least (and that’s how you like it). But for those of us in the middle who are neither super-social nor happily isolated, there’s some wiggle room to grow and explore new options. Hence, Adventure!
Here’s some tips to get you started:
1. Do a knock and talk around the block and extend the invitation in person. It’s more personal than a card or letter (better yet, hand deliver an invite card so they have the date and time already written down).
2. Plan a pot luck or snack buffet everyone can contribute to.
3. Pick easy to learn or broadly familiar games that can be taught in 5 minutes or less and preferably games best suited for groups of 4-8 players.
4. If you have enough players to split into even(ish) groups, try dividing them equally and then mix up the groups one or two times through the event to keep the conversations fresh and the participants mingling.
5. Keep in mind, and perhaps remind your guests, this is about getting together and getting to know your neighbors better. This is not the time to discuss property line disputes, HOA complaints, whose leaves are going into what yard, or whose dog is doing their business where. A potential benefit of an event like this is it might actually humanize the neighbors to each other and improve any trivial bickering that might normally be (at least for a while).
With wild weather and wilder people out and about these days, knowing your neighbors is more important than ever. Better to find out who they are over a game of “Apples to Apples” than when the next “gust-nado” puts your favorite tree through their living room window. It also becomes easier to call them direct and ask if the stranger doing a lookie-loo through their shed is supposed to be there or if the police need to be called.
Jingle Jangle Jingle Jangle Tra La La La La…. 
