The Montclair Public Library has introduced a new free resources for seniors citizens: “Senior Center in a Box.” The box has specific activities and themes seniors can do on their own or with minimal assistance. The boxes are available for borrowing with a library card.
More than 165 kits are currently available with themes such as knitting/crocheting, coloring, puzzles, birdwatching, exercise, board games and book-and-DVD combinations.
Each kit includes a complete set of materials needed for the activity. For example:
- The knitting/crocheting kits contain yarn and needles, as well as instructions for making caps to be donated to newborn babies at a local hospital.
- The coloring kits contain a variety of coloring books (which do not have to be returned), colored pencils, sharpeners and crayons.
- Puzzles are available at different levels of difficulty and include jigsaw, crossword, sudoku, word search and brain teasers.
- The birdwatching kit contains binoculars, a field guide and maps.
- Games include both solitary and group options, such as dominos, cards, backgammon, chess, checkers, Boggle and Yahtzee.
- Book-and-DVD combinations currently feature the popular titles Little Women, The Help, Murder on the Orient Express and Hidden Figures. (Books and word search puzzles are available in large print.)
- The Library also collaborated with the Montclair History Center to create a kit taking seniors on a self-guided walking tour of Montclair.
“These kits are a great way for our seniors to have activities to do and stay active and entertained during this pandemic while they may not feel safe to go out in large groups. We are very excited to offer these and hope that our users will enjoy them,” said Peter Coyl, Library Director.
The kits can be borrowed for 28 days. A maximum of three kits can be borrowed at a time. Seniors can visit montclairlibrary.org/adults/
Kits can be picked up from the Main Library or from the Bellevue Avenue branch upon request. Kits can also be delivered though Home Assisted Services, a Montclair Public Library delivery service to residents who cannot visit the library in person due to age, mobility issues or other reasons.