Library Goddesses Program Ideas

Simple Heart Printing

2012-02-07T16:46:00.001-05:00

A Great Valentine Day's Storytime Craft for the littlest ones!

Source: rustsunshine.blogspot.com via Katey on Pinterest

Cupcake Flannel Activity

2012-01-26T19:37:00.001-05:00

In case you're ever looking for a cute new flannel board idea, try cupcakes! It goes well with a story time about cakes, cupcakes, or other baked goods, and it's really easy to make a set of cupcakes very quickly. These examples were based on the cupcake from Cricut's Create a Critter cartridge (10", in case you want to replicate it). The cherry, flame, and sprinkles were cut free-hand.

There's no pre-made story to go with this, but it works well as a decision-making activity for a small group of kids. You could also make up a story for larger groups.

Music and Movement

2012-01-16T16:03:00.000-05:00

There are few things that perk up patron interest as much as a music and movement class--especially if it's geared to very young children. I don't know why, but there you have it.

There are a few options for creating a program like this. You could hire someone. You could incorporate more rhythm instruments into your storytimes. You could also take the brave step of creating a class all on your own.

I love music. I think everyone should be encouraged to make music. I also think it's a blast to host music and movement classes. They're not particularly expensive, especially if you already have some rhythm instruments on hand, and you'll likely attract people who are new to your library.

Here are some considerations before you begin:

A good class leader knows at least something about music and has confidence in his/her musical abilities (even if they're rudimentary abilities).
Rhythm instruments are a must. Egg shakers, rhythm sticks, and scarves are a great core collection of instruments. Jingle bells, tambourines, drums, and other items are things you can grow into as the budget (and interest) allows.
A good supply of recorded music to play, sing, and dance to is highly recommended. Some people like music with built-in instructions, others don't. Do what's comfortable for you.
You need room for kids and parents to bounce and dance around without hurting themselves. You want a space where they can be noisy. Very noisy.
You need to be ok with limiting the class size. You probably don't have an unlimited supply of rhythm instruments, and it's difficult to effectively lead the class as attendance increases. Whether you require registration or cap a drop-in class, have a plan for keeping the size manageable.

Intrigued? Read on!
Here's the basic layout of my weekly music and movement class for 0-4 year-olds. My preferred class size is 30-ish people (kids + parents), but I've had as many as 50 (yikes) and as few as 10. The times indicated in parentheses refer to the length of CD track I usually look for. This class typically lasts 30 to 35 minutes, and I'll throw in extra fingerplays, actions songs, or movement activities on the fly if I've accidentally underplanned.

Announcements
A welcome song
A song for marching/walking/dancing in a circle (1.5 to 2.5 minutes)
Sing a familiar song together
Egg shakers or maracas (2-ish minutes)
Fingerplay or another familiar song
Rhythm sticks (3-ish minutes)
Scarves (2.5 to 3-ish minutes)
Lullaby (sung or listened to by snuggled families)
A goodbye song

A lot of time is taken up by distributing and returning the rhythm instruments. Surprisingly, my kids return the instruments just as enthusiastically as they take them. Be sure to either clean everything after every program, or ask adults and kids to sequester instruments that have gone into mouths. It helps to have a special basket set aside for wet instruments.

My mother passed her ukulele along to me, and it's awesome for any of the songs that don't use a CD track (numbers 4, 6, and 9 as I run the program). You can play pretty much every familiar children's song if you learn three guitar/uke chords and buy a capo. No joke. The learning curve is ridiculously low. You could use other instruments, too, but I like being able to provide music and still sing/talk along.

I watched an established music & movement class before trying this on my own, and that leader was perfectly happy to swap CDs in and out of her portable stereo. That was more hassle than I wanted, so I repurposed an old iPod and create new playlists each week. I also built playlists for each type of activity (circle songs, egg shakers, sticks, scarves, lullabies, and some fingerplays or action songs), so it's easy-peasy to build the playlists.

There are a number of books that will give you ideas for using each type of rhythm instrument creatively. One of my favorites is 101 Rhythm Instrument Activities, by Abigail Flesch Connors.

Bottom line: this program requires a lot of energy, but not a huge amount of money, planning, or hassle once you find a flow that works for you. Go for it!

It's so much more than thank you notes...

2007-11-07T11:30:00.000-05:00

Here at our little library in Massachusetts we have invited Mannersmith Etiquette Consulting to come in and give our young patrons a "pre-holiday" refresher seminar. The seminars are specifically geared to children and run only 45 minutes to an hour depending on the childrens' ages.
We happen to have a very generous "Friends" group who provided funding for the two sessions; one for Preschoolers & Kindergartners and a second session for 1st through 4th graders. Each session was $100.
Mannersmith was delightful in every way (they come highly recommended from everyone from The Washington Post to Martha Stewart). They even included handouts so that the children could take them home and share their experience with their families.
Unfortunately, because of the nature of the program, Mannersmith did require us to limit each session to 15 participants and (rare for us) required pregistration. I do think, though, that the positive feedback from so many parents (even those that did not sign up) far outweighed the minor annoyance of the few that we unable to secure a slot.

Anime Convention @ your library

2007-08-31T14:13:00.000-04:00

At the Springfield City Library, I’ve run a very successful two-day event here called “Springfield Library Chibiconn” for the last 4 years. Basically, we re-create a small anime convention in our community room. Its always a Saturday and Sunday in September. (By keeping it around the same time, folks come to look for it in the future.)

On Saturday we have an anime “Film Festival”. Most years this is actually showing the first two episodes of a variety of shows. We usually start with all age’s shows in the morning and move all the way up to 15+ or older in the late afternoon/evening.

We get permission by going to the companies and requesting them. Most anime companies in America will give the A-Ok for free. The ones I have had the best luck with are:

ADV: http://www.advfilms.com/
Rightstuf: http://www.rightstuf.com/
Funimation: http://www.funimation.com/
Bandai: http://www.bandai-ent.com/

You can see what Anime they own on their websites and the sites have contact info for obtaining permission.

The second day is a day of Anime Events. We do art contests, costume contests, trivia games; invite special guests to give presentations (This year we have a Mass based manga creator coming, in the past its been local convention heads, and some fans that presented workshops on aspects of anime and anime culture)

We get a lot of our prizes at a local Anime Shop, but they can be found online, at Book Stores with large manga selections, or comic shops. I personally attend a lot of anime conventions, and get signed swag for prizes from voice actors.

We run it as an all ages event, but the majority of people that come are teens.

This is one of our more popular events bringing in over 125 people for the whole weekend. We take pre-reg starting about a month before hand, and will allow folks in at the door asuming we have room.

Big Truck Day

2007-07-22T20:53:00.000-04:00

One of our charges as a library is to be a center for our community. Truck Day may seem like a roundabout, non-literary way of achieving that goal, but it works for us.

We coordinate with the Highway Department to find a weekday during the summer when all the Big Town Trucks can come to the Library parking lot. Publicity is pretty minimal, consisting of signs in the Children’s Room and a posting in our usual newspaper column, and now on the website as well. We routinely draw participants in the toddler to 3rd Grade age range, although this year I saw some 5th and 6th graders.

We have a small circular drive in front of the lower level of our Library, which we block off with cones. The trucks line up along the edge of it. Our selection varies by year, depending on what the Highway Department is willing and able to share, but we usually get: street sweeper, big dump truck, plow, excavator, flat-backed truck (don’t ask me the technical name), and usually some cute little utility vehicles. The drivers are on-site and available for questions, although they don’t hover around the trucks. It is up to the children’s caretakers to supervise mounting and dismounting and taking turns.

We set up a table in the shade or in the downstairs foyer, and serve juice, water and a big sheet cake with a truck drawn on it in icing. Since our annual circulation numbers are calculated at the end of June, we write our circ number on the truck in icing. (This turned out to be a terrific talking point this year, as patrons were interested to know that our staff circulates approximately one item for each minute we are open.)

Indoors, the Children’s librarians display our fine collection of truck books, which were a big hit with both the children and the Highway Department staff.

In addition to providing a link between two Town departments, Truck Day is a way to introduce youngsters and their parents to the Library. Often parents of young children are just reacquainting themselves with Library usage for the first time since they were young. We make sure to have Friends of the Library membership materials on hand, as well as plenty of balloons!

We encouraged visitors to enjoy their cake and juice outdoors on the lovely benches near our lower-level door, and invited them to wash hands before looking through the books.
This year, on a cloudy day that turned to rain between 11 and 1, we had 113 visitors. One first-grader asked a Highway Department employee to autograph his baseball.

Here’s the list of materials we used:

- Balloons & helium: $25 for a kit with 50 balloons (@ BJ’s)
-Cake: $17 (we order it, from Costco or a supermarket)—NOTE: SAVE THE LABEL for food allergy questions! You have to draw the truck and circ. number on the order form, but the decorators do a good job of copying it.
-Water: $15 (96 little bottles) and/or juice boxes (sticky but popular)
-Plates and napkins: we usually have them around, but if you don’t, get some.
-TRASH CANS! We filled 2 office-sized trash cans to the brim.
-Tablecloth
-Friends’ brochures
Some adults asked for forks, and we had enough on hand to accommodate them. Kids seemed happy to eat with their fingers.

Book Review Fandex

2007-06-21T10:10:00.000-04:00

My son's 5th grade teacher had the class do this, and it's brilliant: every student got 1/4 of a sheet of heavy cardstock, in various colors. The students then picked 4 books with a thematic link (adventure series, girls' fantastic fiction,etc.) and wrote short, 1 or 2 sentence reviews of each.

The reviews were printed on the colored strips vertically with the student's name on top, their thematic link, and then the 4 picks. The strips were then riveted together and mounted as a fandex, and everyone got to take one home for the summer.

If my digital camera were working, I'd post a photo. It's pretty cool.
--Juno

The Solar System Experience

2007-05-23T15:21:00.000-04:00

Our local elementary school has installed a 1 to 1 billion scale model of the Solar System in our town. The sun sits right here in our library parking lot (we always knew that the world revolved around books!!) and the rest of the planets are posted at various mathematically appropriate spots around town. The library has creatd a display of astronomy books, videos and DVDs and the school has given us maps to track the locations of the planets as hand outs and we've also hung poster versions on our walls. The best part for the kids, however, is the three scales that sit at the base of the shelves--they are set to measure a childs weight on three different planets: Earth, Mercury and Jupiter.

Culture Mavens...

2007-04-24T17:11:00.000-04:00

If your library is like ours, then you offer museum passes to your patrons. Then your patrons ask for books for children attending a museum for the first time. We all love Readers Advisory but sometimes time is an issue. To that end, we've created "culture kits" in our Children's Room. As a test, we are starting with The Art Museum, The Science Museum and The Aquarium. Each kits contains 6-8 books and videos to help inform a childs' visit. We hope that the kits will help both parents and children enjoy their trip more!!

Counting your Chickens...before they're hatched?

2007-04-24T15:19:00.000-04:00

That's our theme for summer reading--we're hoping that the kids will focus on Math/Science books and to encourage them to come into our library we're hatching chickens!! We've partnered with a local organic farm from whom we will be leasing an incubator and a local student in 4H will be responsible(with oversight of course) for keeping watch and turning the eggs daily. He will then be able to use the experience as his annual 4H project and presentation...this will truly be a community project and we're looking forward to lots of chicken-themed summer activities!! Check back for updates (and birth announcements for our chicks!) -Rhiannon

American Girl Party

2007-02-20T15:50:00.000-05:00

May as well jump on the American Girl doll craze...right? We opened an American Girl Mall. The set-up is relatively easy. We simply draped the large tables with cloths and invited girls to bring their own American girl dolls. Set up one table with various small hair decorations--barrettes, brightly colored elastics, ribbons etc. (All of these things plus small combs and brushes can be purchased at a local dollar store) for a "Hair salon". Another table we set up as a "Hat Shop". We bought inexpensive hat forms at a craft shop and set them out with bits of lace, faux flowers and ribbons. Each girl decorated a hat for her doll to wear and take home. A third table was the "Tea Shop"--cookies and juice arranged on pretty trays and dishes. Leave a space in the room for the sharing and swapping of clothes and expect most girls to focus on the hairbrushing (apparently the main point of having an American Girl doll). We do recommend a signup sheet and some age guidelines. Overall cash outlay was about $50-60 for a dozen girls. Most of the hat supplies can be purchased in bargain bins at crafts stores to keep costs to a minimum. -Rhiannon

Music, Movement and Mayhem

2006-12-13T14:16:00.000-05:00

A new program is starting in our library this January. For 2-4 year-olds, this activity will include songs, fingerplays, dance and general silliness. It will meet twice a month, and run for about a half an hour. Kids and caregivers can participate as much as they want to. Each program will have a theme. The first one will be about transportation. We'll sing "Wheels on the Bus" and other vehicle-related songs. Coloring sheets will be handed out at the end. We feel this kind of activity will help kids burn off that extra energy they seem to have during the winter months. If it proves to be popular, we'll probably offer this program throughout the school year.
- Xochiquetzal

OnLine Book Discussion

2006-11-29T15:52:00.000-05:00

Our Children's Services department has started an online book discussion page for 9-12 year olds.

Staff selects a title each month and has multiple copies available for check out. We post the title and display the books in the children's room and invite the kids to log on and contribute!
We've only had it online for a couple of months but we've had positive feedback and it's interesting to see what the kids have to say.

It is set up as a bliki (a blog and wiki page used together). We are focusing on keeping that 9-12 year old age group reading and gaining confidence and ability using the latest methods to communicate!

Join (or at least take a look) our OnLine Discussion at http://volensetpotens.blogspot.com
Pass it along at your library if you like what you see! -Aurora

Gingerbread Workshop

2006-11-15T14:27:00.000-05:00

This year we're doing a Gingerbread Workshop for the holidays. We've got two programs planned- one for the preschool kids and one for kids in shcool. If we get enough interest we'll also do one for teens and older patrons.

The program is a two day workshop On the first day the kids will be making the gingerbread dough and cutting out the gingerbread. The gingerbread will be from a mix so will be simple for all ages to make. Once the dough is mixed, the kids will get a portion to roll out and form. The preschool kids are making gingerbread men, while the older kids will be making simple houses. We plan on baking the gingerbread when everyone leaves. This way if any break we can make some extra and substitue them.

The second day of the workshop is when the kids can get creative. We'll have all sorts of decorations and frostings available for them to use to make their creations unique.
Ereshkigal

R.E.A.D. Dog Visit

2006-11-08T15:38:00.000-05:00

We are fortunate to have a local dog handler whose black lab is a certified Reading Education Assistance Dog! She will visit our library on a Saturday and the children have a chance to sit one on one with her and read aloud.
R.E.A.D. dogs are registered therapy animals, trained and tested for health, safety, skills and temperament. Dogs make good reading companions because they help the child to relax and they do not judge, laugh or criticize the child who may be a tentative reader or who may have a speech impediment. The trainer may also stop the child and have them 'explain' something they are reading to the dog to encourage comprehension. Sometimes the child uses a dog biscuit to point at the page and words they are reading , which really helps keep the dogs attention! Kids love this program making enormous strides in reading, communication skills, building self-esteem, confidence and learning respect for themselves and the animals! Check out www.therapyanimals.org to see if someone close by can visit your library!-Aurora

Media Makers Club

2006-11-07T13:34:00.000-05:00

Creating Media has never been easier -so we created an ongoing Media Makers Club and so kids (and it turns out their parents) can learn how to tell their own stories and to create, publish, and distribute their own media and more... We meet wednesdays afternoons throughout the year. We have guests come in, when we can, to talk about their experiences with media and the creative processes they are engaged in. We have had a traditional storyteller, a podcaster, a newspaper reporter, a blogger, and a photographer visit with us so far. We explore and teach the simple mechanics of podcasting, videoblogging, sound recording and editing, film and digital photography, wikis, and various storytelling arts ranging from traditional to mime. We use the library's digitial camera, tripod, and portable and the software applications required are free. Kids work on individual projects and we have done group ones as well. The group is open to anyone school-aged and older and has been a tremendous amount of fun. It also keeps us current with the evolving software, sites, and media tools. -Morrigan

Summer Reading Program

2006-11-07T10:40:00.000-05:00

For the past four years, our library has promoted our summer reading program by awarding children with embroidered patches. We pick a theme, search for artwork, and send our images to the company where they create the patches. Children can earn patches by reading books in a particular subject. Non-readers can earn badges too. Parents love the program, and have found innovative ways of displaying their patches. It has been very successful and definitely encourages readers, both avid and reluctant.
Xochiquetzal

Library LEGO club

2006-11-06T15:16:00.000-05:00

Our library has a monthly LEGO club meeting. We loosely structure it around the official LEGO club found on the LEGO website. The website has great ideas for different age groups.
The club meets once a month , afterschool, and is open to children age 5 and up. We do not require registration and on average see about 10-12 children. Each month has a 'theme' and the children work in small 'teams' with LEGOS that belong to the library. Based on the theme, we create our monthly challenge-typically to create the structure within an allotted time. For example ...in October, our theme was 'Monsters'. Each team of 3-5 children, worked to build a monster with the materials available. We will choose different size shapes, colors and accessories each month to spark creativity. There is also a 'toolbox' left out with various items such as; string, rubber bands, tin foil, rulers....We start off with a 10 minute discussion (leader directed), work/build for about 30 minutes, each team presents their creation to the large group and then we clean up together. There should be a large space available for this club because the kids like to spread out and there is always the safety factor involved with little ones getting their hands on the LEGOS. Luckily we have an enclosed room to meet in and we shut the doors. We did bring in a LEGO table with the large toddler size blocks for the younger set to enjoy and that seems to keep everyone happy! The exciting part of this program is that it brings in boys between the ages of 8-10, at a time when we often see boys losing interest in the library. We always display books in the room based around our theme for the month and the boys usually grab one to check out as they are leaving! This is always a fun and boisterous meeting!-Aurora

Family Storytime (weekends)

2006-11-03T12:43:00.000-05:00

A lot of working parents wish they could attend library storytimes with their children, so we offer a one-hour Family Storytime every other weekend. There is no program registration, so there is almost always a different crowd. Generally, though, we see mostly preschoolers. I start off with the same song every week -- "If you're ready and you know it clap your hands!" We move on to sharing stories, poems, fingerplays, and/or songs about a weekly theme. I have a simple craft in the middle of the program, which allows for families to leave if they have other plans or if their children are too young/antsy to stay for the full hour. After the craft, we have a short video (the Reading Rainbow variety) and then a couple more stories, poems, fingerplays, and/or songs. I always prepare for about 30 crafts, though I generally get about 15 kids, and then I put the extras out for a "Make & Take" table in the Children's Room. - Hestia

Mock Trial

2006-10-31T15:09:00.000-05:00

This past summer I hosted a mock trial for grades 6-8 as part of our summer reading program. I bought a script from the American Bar association. The big bad wolf was suing the third little pig for attempted wolf cooking. There were only a handful of parts in the script, so I wrote the jury selection process myself. I included lots of other characters from folk and fairytaleland, and they were asked all the typical questions: For the record, state your name and occupation, etc. We held the trial in the local courthouse and the local magistrate was our judge. I also asked children who were good in art to be courtroom sketch artists, and those interested in writing, were print reporters for the trial. We wrote up a story for the local paper and e-mailed it to the local paper along with the scanned images of the sketches, and it was great publicity for the library as well as the town in general. For costuming, we drew faces on paper plates and attached them to popsicle sticks which the actors and actresses held in front of their faces. As the play was set in a coutroom, the kids didn't have to memorize their parts, they could read from the scripts. We invited the senior citizens club, all the students who hadn't gotten actual parts, and the performermers' families to come to the courthouse to watch the trial. We encouraged the audience to particpate by having one side boo the defendent and the otherside boo the plaintiff when each took the stand. The only rule being that when the judge called for order, they had to quiet down. After the verdict, everyone was invited back to the library for refreshments. Everyone including the judge had a wonderful time.

Character Visits

2006-10-27T14:16:00.000-04:00

Each month we have a different storybook character that comes to visit our library. The costumes are free- part of a community outreach program at our local Barnes & Noble. Typically, we read 2 or 3 of the charcater's stories, children are able to meet and greet the character and we wind up the morning with a movie of the character. In the past we have handed out coloring sheets for children to take home with them as well. We print the schedule of Character Visits for the whole year and have copies available at the circulation desk. In the past we have had such Characters as Clifford, Winnie the Pooh, Cat in the Hat, and others. The event brings in about 50 to 60 children and boosts circulation for the day considerably. We would love to hear about other children's programs people are doing and what is and isn't working for them.

Below we have posted a video showing just some of the trials and tribulations of this program!-Morrigan