ICfL staff members have had their eyes out for relevant stories, tools, and tricks so you don’t have to. Topics and resources for this month include winter holidays, free virtual events, holiday gathering guidelines, programming ideas, and lifelong learning sources. We hope you find these resources useful and inspiring. Enjoy!
Editor’s Note: This series of blog posts is about a year old. Can you believe it?! With this in mind, it seemed like a good time to check in to see how these posts are meeting your needs. Here’s a brief survey (5 questions) to let us know how we are doing and how we might do better.
Calendar
Editor’s note: In response to some good feedback, calendar items will focus on events at least one month out. This is to give you more time to plan events and displays. Keep those ideas and suggestions coming!
- Winter Holidays Around the World including Christmas (December 25th), Diwali (November 4), Hanukkah (Nov. 28 – Dec. 6), Kwanzaa (Dec. 26 – Jan. 1), Las Posadas (Dec. 16 – Dec. 24). A list of festivals and holidays in November and beyond.
- December is “Write to a Friend Month”
- December is “Learn a Foreign Language Month” which makes it a great time to share pronunciator, the free LiLI language learning tool
Programming Ideas
- Mountain Home Family STEAM night
- Libraries partner with clubs to create “fidget quilts” for patrons with dementia
- Not enough staff to provide adult services programming? SeniorPlanet hosts daily online programs for free!
- “Rethinking Winter Holidays” resources from Learning for Justice
Resources
- Division of Behavioral Health launches survey to find out how Idahoans are faring in the pandemic
- The CDC has updated the guidelines for having safe holiday celebrations
- The FDA wants consumers to be able to buy a hearing aid without a prescription
- 3 Ways to Prepare for Medicare Open Enrollment
- Delivering successful programming to veterans aged 55+ living in state run residences – Lifetime Arts is working with The Idaho Commission on the Arts and the Division of Veterans Services
