“With the new school year underway, now is a great time to find out how to incorporate practical and nutritious snacks into your child’s diet,” said Library Director, Molly Scanlan, in this week’s O’Fallon Weekly. 

Snacks for Kids is today, Saturday, August 18 at 2 PM.  First Fitness Certified Wellness Coach, Carol Simpson will discuss practical snacks that taste great using fruits and vegetables. There is still space available so please register for this free event.  Children are welcome when accompanied by an adult.

Molly also invites patrons to a showing of The Wizard of Oz Sunday, August 19, at 2 PM. “Snacks and beverages will be provided,” Molly said, “and stay for a discussion of this timeless classic after the show.”  This is a free, all ages event.  But children need to be accompanied by a parent or adult caregiver.

Molly also reminds parents that our popular Toddler Tales and Book Babies returned this week after a summer break. “It is never too early to introduce a child to the magic of books and reading!”  Molly said. Book Babies meet Wednesdays and Fridays at 9:15 and Toddler Tales meets at 10:15 am.  Please register for either the Wednesday OR Friday  session per week.  We are NOW registering week by week beginning the Saturday prior to class.

Bring your own flour, salt, and yeast next weekend, August 25, at 1 PM, for Homemade Breadmaking class. Learn the tips and techniques that you can rely on for consistently turning out a host of great breads. Base temperatures, mixing types, shaping, fermentation, and baking are the keys to understanding the art of baking. Students put this into practice with hands-on learning that applies basic skills in bread and pastry production. Understanding chemical interactions of the fermentation process is also emphasized. We will go over flours and how to choose flours to get the right texture. Stirring, kneading, folding, mixing will all be actions covered by this course. We will go over different types of yeast, as an essential leavener and flavor builder in your bread. We will make 1 beginner dough, and discuss shaping techniques for different types of bread such as pain au levain, pain de campagne, sourdough, baguette and ciabatta. We will also go over the basics of sweet raised breads and quick breads that do not require yeast. Please register for this class.

As always, you can catch the latest issue of “Library News & Notes” each Wednesday in the O’Fallon Weekly.

• The Librarian’s Guide to Notable Nonfiction
• Managing Your Mental Health One Day at a Time 
• Ashley is history
• Coming Soon!
• Fun Finds on the Holds Shelf