Preschool Storytime & Playgroup

Preschool Storytime & Playgroup is back at the Blanche A. Nixon/Cobbs Creek Library on Friday, October 23, at 11 AM. It's part of the Free Library of Philadelphia's weekly Friday preschool series, aimed at kids aged 2 to 5 and their caregivers, with siblings welcome. The session starts with a storytime that brings in rhythms and songs, and then it opens up into a playgroup for the kids to hang out and play together.

If you're new to the library, it's worth knowing what else they do. The Free Library runs more than 28,000 programs for all ages every year, from family literacy initiatives to STEM workshops and their Monday Funday activities. This storytime is just one piece of that.

The branch itself has some history. It opened on December 30, 1925, funded by an Andrew Carnegie grant, with the community chipping in $10,000 toward a book fund. The building was renovated in 1957 and again in 1997 as part of the Changing Lives campaign. In 1990, it was renamed the Blanche A. Nixon/Cobbs Creek Branch in honor of Blanche Nixon, a local resident, community activist, and library volunteer who led beautification projects like the garden and an exterior mural. The surrounding Cobbs Creek neighborhood dates back to colonial times and was known as Karakung to the Lenni Lenape Indians.

So, if you've got a preschooler and a free Friday morning, you can find the session at the Blanche A. Nixon/Cobbs Creek Library, 5800 Cobbs Creek Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19143-3036, starting at 11 AM.