Southwest Branch Welcomes Karla Giraldéz

Hello!

 My name is Karla Giraldéz, the new On-site Coordinator for the Southwest Branch Library.  I will have been with the Brown County Library ten years in December.  Before coming to Southwest I worked at the East Branch as the Children’s and Youth Librarian doing storytimes including the bilingual storytime in English and Spanish; planning programs and special events including the Summer Reading Programs for children and teens;  and working with the schools and daycares in that area.  I enjoy reading fantasy, children’s and teen fiction.  I play the guitar, speak Spanish, and am a big fan of Kakuro (cross addition puzzles).  I am very excited about being part of the close-knit Southwest Branch community.  I look forward to meeting everyone and providing the personal customer service for which this branch is known. Please stop in and introduce yourself!

 Karla Giraldéz

¡Feliz Cumpleaños!

Our Spanish-English Conversation Group provides an opportunity to improve listening, speaking and comprehension skills during ‘real’ conversation in an informal setting. People learning English come to practice English with native speakers and those learning Spanish come to practice Spanish with native Spanish speakers. At each meeting we have a theme to keep conversation flowing. Conversations range from simple ice breakers to describing the most unusual vacation experience you’ve had.

The group originated at Brown County Library’s Central location 5 years ago as the Spanish-English Language Exchange/Intercambio Inglés e Español. Initially, the group met once a month. Over the years our group has evolved to meet twice a month and is now called the Spanish-English Conversation Group/Grupo Bilingue de Conversación. We meet once a month at the East Branch Library and once a month at the Southwest Branch Library. It’s been a pleasure to form friendships and watch language skills grow over the years.

Whether you’ve been attending for years or haven’t checked us out yet, help us celebrate our 5th year of the Spanish-English Conversation Group this Saturday, July 18th, noon-1 p.m. Enjoy bilingual conversation, birthday cake, Lotería and refreshments.
All people learning Spanish or English are welcome. No pre-registration is required.

Have a Preschool Cinco de Mayo Fiesta

Here are some ideas for celebrating Cinco de Mayo with young children! Click on Cinco de Mayo Fiesta for Preschoolers  (Word doc) to download a listing of things (songs, crafts, games) to do. Have fun!

• Describe a day in Mexico.
• Use a globe to show where Mexico is. Talk about how long it takes to get there by car or plane.
• Show and talk about pictures of Mexico: people, places, etc.
• Teach children simple words in Spanish. For example: count to ten, colors, days of the week or month, common food items, etc.