library - Melbourne Community Toy Library in Kensington, Victoria

Brilliant news for our Kensington members...We are reopening for Click-and-Collect on Tuesday 8th December. CnC will be available (by appointment) on Tuesday (K), Friday (C) and Saturdays (Both branches) all from 10-11:30am. So logon and book some toys to borrow! This means we will now be offering delivery only on Thursdays, at a cost of $5. Return toys anytime during those hours at Carlton; by appointment at Kensington.

Our staff member Sue had 2 helpful volunteers this weekend, including her lovely daughter They were working super hard to make sure every toy was extra clean for borrowing! Absolute LEGENDS! We still need volunteers for Friday & Saturday sessions in the coming weeks! If you are able to help, please sign up here: ... https://melbourne.mibase.com.au/mem/login.php ***DUE TO COVID19 RESTRICTIONS, WE ARE STILL NOT ALLOWING CHILDREN ON SITE DURING VOLUNTEER/ROSTER DUTIES***

Happy Donut Day! We're enjoying the nice weather and positive changes and starting to open back up ourselves but we need your help and are looking for a couple of volunteers to do roster duty at our Carlton Branch. Are you child-free next Friday or Saturday Morning? Can you help us out? Send us a message or sign up as usual via your account.

Just letting everyone know that the toy library will be closed tomorrow, Tuesday , November 3rd for the Public holiday :) Enjoy!!

Some exciting news this week! We will be offering $5 delivery AND click and collect to our current members Deliveries are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10-1130am. Click & Collect is offered Saturdays 10-1130am at our CARLTON branch.... AND DROP OFF - Fridays 10-1130am. **There is no hiring on these days but we are encouraging members to return any outstanding hires before our grace period ends ** We are still offering a free first delivery to new members ! Search our available toys here: https://melbourne.mibase.com.au/mem/login.php OR join our library: http://www.melbournecommunitytoylibrary.org.au/#

Click and Collect at Carlton from next week! Deliveries still available Saturday. Kensington members watch your inbox

This is another review of one of our "lonely hearts club" toys. This toy can be found under C60 We cant express how much we LOVE STEM toys here at MCTL ... Research supported by the National Science Foundation concludes that young children benefit from learning STEM subjects, which include Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, because these disciplines play a fundamental role in setting the foundations for future learning. These toys: Facilitate language development Encourage independent or colaborative learning Create a strong link between learning science and "fun" Help develop fine motor skills Help develop problem solving For more information on the importance of STEM toys: https://thebalancedchild.com/why-stem-toys/ Check out this toy here: https://melbourne.mibase.com.au/mem/login.php Or join our library: http://www.melbournecommunitytoylibrary.org.au/#

This is another toy review from our "lonely hearts" collection. Avery decided to take the lead on this one ;) E323: These little boxes are a great activity for kids that dont require a lot of space.... This is from our "expressive play" section. "Expressive play is a natural function of childhood development, as the creative minds of children find their outlet in telling stories dramatically. Expressive play refers to the child's immersion in an imaginary world, complete with characters, setting, and dialogue." This toy also helps children develop their independent play and fine motor skills. You can borrow this toy here (E323): https://melbourne.mibase.com.au/mem/login.php Or if you are new to the library, you can join here: http://www.melbournecommunitytoylibrary.org.au/#

Here is another toy review from our "lonely hearts club". We have so many games & puzzles in our toy libraries that are often overlooked or don't "stand out" when browsing. These are such great items for all ages & encourage family bonding. This toy can be found under G058. Board games offer opportunities for early learning. Even simple games help young players identify colors, count spaces, and develop hand-eye coordination and dexterity in moving cards and pieces around ...the board! With our deliveries currently running multiple times a week, its a great time to discover what our toy library has tooffer! https://melbourne.mibase.com.au/mem/login.php Or sign up here: http://www.melbournecommunitytoylibrary.org.au/# New members will receive 1 free delivery ;)

Great news! We are finally back open for deliveries with click & collect orders TBA. Normally, our delivery is a $5 but to celebrate our reopening, all deliveries for this week will be FREE! There are limited spaces but the delivery times are Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 10-1130am. ... You can book your delivery slot and reserve toys on mibase : https://melbourne.mibase.com.au The toys are only available for borrowing from our Carlton location. IMPORTANT Housekeeping: 1. It is the member's responsibility to return toys THOROUGHLY cleaned (no need to sterilise). As a largely volunteer based organization we cannot stress this enough. **Think forensic level clean! ** 2. If any toy returns are dirty, there will be an immediate ban from our delivery service which we don't want to do :(. 3. **We will be requiring all members to confirm prior to return they understand the requirements** Welcome back members!

Thanks TLA for your great work advocating for Victorian Toy Libraries to offer click and collect and delivery alongside book libraries on Monday - fingers crossed for a response soon!

Sorry we haven't posted for a while - we might just be suffering a bit of burnout too! Fingers crossed we can help you out next week with some deliveries - free for members - of some fresh new toys to keep your little ones amused (and off your case!) Thanks Toy Libraries Australia for sharing this article!