DATE: Friday, April 25, 1997                TAG: 9704240132

SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON   PAGE: 10   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MARK YOUNG, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   40 lines

CHILDREN GET TO PLAY IN THE SAND AT LIBRARY

Some librarians might be disturbed if they found 29 children playing with cars and trucks in the sand - smack in the middle of their library's carpeted reading room. When it happened at Bayside Library last week, Carolyn Caywood and her staff were overjoyed.

The sand was enclosed in a magnetic ``sand table,'' purchased for the library by the Virginia Beach Junior Woman's Club, and presented during the branch's National Library Week story hour.

The small, solid-wood table was ordered from The Children's Furniture Co. of Baltimore. It retails for almost $700 and is touted as a learning tool to ``teach cause and effect; hand-eye coordination, creativity and cooperation.'' The children at Bayside seemed to think it was made for fun.

While youngsters moved brightly colored toy shapes through the sand with plastic-encased magnets held beneath the table's surface, Caywood read from several sunny, sandy books. You could almost hear the waves as ``Sand Cake'' was followed by ``The Sand Horse.'' Refreshments came after the stories of sand-dribbled castles. Pecan sandies and simply sandies were suitably served, but some sand table enthusiasts seemed not to notice.

The table's four magnets were continuously in use, passing from one set of small fingers to another. Caywood hopes the table will be the first of her library's steps in the direction of full participation in the FRED (Family Reading Every Day) program. Currently only Kempsville and Windsor Woods branch libraries are participating. MEMO: The Virginia Beach Junior Woman's Club is seeking new members.

Membership is open to registered voters between the ages of 18 and 40.

Call 456-2144. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MARK YOUNG

Children at Bayside Library enjoy the sand table that was donated by

the Virginia Beach Junior Woman's Club.

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