CALEXICO — Local children dressed up in their best nighttime pajamas to attend the annual Pajama Party held at the Enrique Camarena Memorial Library here Thursday evening.
Sponsored for the second year by the Associated Calexico Teachers union, the party encouraged all kids to strut their comfy pajamas and slippers for their annual family night event.
“We want children to learn that reading can be fun and doesn’t have to be a chore,” Calexico Community Services Director Sandra Tauler said.
Tauler, along with the Camarena library staff and volunteers that included some teachers, helped transform the local library into a party, complete with eight activity stations.
The stations included games, face painting, a storytelling area, an arts and crafts station, as well as a toddlers’ section for younger learners, explained Tauler.
“We have provided activities for kids from babies to sixth-graders,” Tauler said.
The pajama night also included snacks and raffles throughout the evening for the more than 100 children in attendance, with a free book for each one.
“We want them to be able to start building their own home library because it has been proven that children that build a collection of books are more likely to become active readers,” Tauler said.
For Calexico native Letty Perez attending the Pajama Party has become a tradition in her family, having participated in past library events.
“I always bring the kids so they can have fun and participate, and then they get their books to add to their library,” Perez said as she watched her son and daughter play party games.
“It’s a good family tradition and it’s always good to expose them to books and to the library,” she said.
The next family event for the library will be Read Across America, which will be held Feb. 28, in honor of Dr. Seuss’s birthday.
For more information visit calexicolibrary.org or call 760-768-2170
Staff Writer Celeste Alvarez can be reached at 760-337-3442 or at calvarez@ivpressonline.com
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