Passive programming table: 3 recent stations

I've been meaning to do more passive programming for quite a while, but as a smaller library we haven't had quite enough space to do it. Most of it has been stuff set out on our Circulation Desk, or in small available areas of the Children's Department. For instance, we do a yearly backpack raffle, as well as a few other occasional raffles. I've also set out early literacy activities in our children's department, including  some on the sides of our bookshelves.

Despite what I've been able to do with the space available, I still coveted a dedicated area for alternating passive programs, such as the Boredom Buster station found at Hushlander or the felt board table found at Thrive After Three. Needless to say, I was thrilled when recent renovations on the adult side of our library have opened up a table that I've put by our circulation desk.

So far it has been a big hit. It not only provides an avenue to reach more children as they come into the library, it also keeps them busy as their parents check out library materials. In the past few months I've been able to use it for three different stations, and I have ideas for many more. The first station I choose to do was origami, which was inspired by Hushlander.

This station was definitely something that appeals to all ages. Not only does it promote creativity, but in younger kids folding helps develop fine motor skills. It was also a wonderful way to feature the origami books in our collection. As of the point this picture was taken quite a few of these books had been checked out already.

For our next passive program at this station I chose something both seasonal and huge on the popularity scale: Frozen. I actually first put together this station when I found out that our local rec center (which is across the parking lot from the library) was having a Frozen themed party on a Saturday afternoon.

I knew I couldn't do any traditional programming because I was in charge of the building that day, but setting up some printable activities would at least give the kids something connected to do at the library. I printed out some coloring pages and other printables from Mommypalooza. I also set out some reindeer cut outs I had leftover from Christmas and materials to cut out snowflakes. The kids loved it, and got some valuable cutting and writing practice without even realizing it. It was especially useful when many families arrived early to the rec center party.

The current program I have out was inspired by the mail centers at Libraryland and Reading with Red. The basic idea is that I set out materials for the kids to write mail to their favorite book characters. To mail the letters, they place them in the bins (leftover from our Frozen Party last fall).

I tried to make sure a wide range of age levels could communicate with their favorite characters. The youngest kids could draw pictures. I provided a template the slightly older kids could use, and lined paper for any pretty proficient letter writers. What I love about this center is that it not only encourages writing, it encourages a love of books.

Some of the letters we have received so far.

These three stations have seemed to be very popular with patrons and staff. Just the other day I had a parent thank me for setting it up. I've also had staff mention how helpful it is at keeping the kids occupied during checkout. I'm definitely looking forward to creating further activities for this new addition to our library!

Every Hero Has a Story: Who is your hero?

Ever since I took an early childhood related webinar through MLA about two months ago, I've been thinking about how to provide literacy building activities on every available library surface. I created our counting ramp, and am planning on adding a Lego board and a flannel board to the sides of our shelves. For summer reading I wanted to come up with a literacy building passive program that kids of all ages could enjoy.

I took advantage of our circulation desk and paper we had on hand to create a "Who is your hero?" board.

In addition to keeping kids busy while they wait to check out books, this board has many literacy benefits:

• When writing on the board the youngest kids are developing their fine motor skills.
• As the youngest children see words written down, they will develop the knowledge that print has meaning.
• Kids will most likely sound out the names of their heroes as they write them, developing their phonemic awareness.
• Developing readers will get valuable reading practice by reading the names of the heroes other children write on the board.
• As parents see the board they will most likely talk about it with their children (one of the literacy practices in ECRR2).
• Kids will probably explain why they chose their hero to parents or staff, therefore strengthening their narrative skills.

I'd love to hear any other great passive programming ideas you may have for the summer. As always you can comment here or reach me on Twitter (@MsKellyTweets).

National Library Week Book Raffle

In case you didn't already know, this week is National Library Week. According to the ALA Fact Sheet National Library Week is a week to "celebrate the contributions of our nation's libraries and librarians and to promote library use and support."

This celebration is a great occasion to do some passive programming at your library. Because passive programs are self directed and available for patrons at any time, they maximize impact with a minimum of staff time and resources. For some great passive programing examples check out this roundup by the ladies at Jbrary. I also have a passive programming Pinterest board, where you can see many more passive programming ideas I've collected from my favorite library related blogs.

Our passive program for National Library Week is kind of a simplified and shortened version of the Back to School Backpack Raffle we do every fall at my library. For our "National Library Week Book Raffle" kids can fill out entry slips for each visit to the library during the week. At the end of the week I will draw the winners and they will get a free book of their choice from my summer reading giveaway stash.

What I like about this program (besides the simplicity of it) is that it promotes books and encourages library use. It is also an opportunity to get a free "for keeps" book in a child's hand. This is something I strive to do as much as possible, because access to books is the first step to becoming a reader.

For more information about National Library Week see the ALA Press Kit. How is your library celebrating?

Library Card Signup Month Guessing Game

Library Card Signup Month is here!

Getting a library card is important for so many reasons, and I want to promote it as much as possible at my library. When I saw this Pinterest post asking for guesses about the number of books in the library my first thought was: Why not have people guess how many library cards we give out in a year? At that moment a last minute passive program was born.

I decided to have a contest where kids could guess the number of library cards given out. Whoever guesses closest to the true figure gets to pick a free book from my extra Summer Reading Prize book stash. Depending on how close the guesses are and how many people participate I may even draw multiple winners.

All this took was setting out a jar, creating a sign and designing an entry slip. For the entry slip I modified the one we use for our yearly Backpack Raffle. You may also recognize the jar from that program.

This program didn't cost me anything but my time. I think it will get people talking about library cards, which is always a plus. I am also looking forward to seeing what guesses come in!

For more resources to promote library card signup head to the ALA site.

Birthday Book Club

In honor of my blog turning six month's old yesterday, I figured I would share a passive program related to birthdays.

We have a "Birthday Book Club" at my library. The way it works is that kids under five can receive a free book during the month of their birthday. All they have to do is say the three magic words.

This was a program that was already implemented when I started at my library almost four years ago. It was originally funded by a grant from "Great Parents, Great Start". The grant covered the cost of purchasing a variety of paperback picture books and board books.

When I originally started here it was viewed as a short term program. I have been able to continue it in part through an early literacy grant from Target. The money from this grant was used to purchase even more paperback picture books and board books from Scholastic Literacy Partnerships.

I also add any donations that are in condition, as well as leftovers from each year's summer reading book giveaways. So far I haven't had to search for any additional funding, and it doesn't appear I will have to any time soon.

To advertise this program we have signage in the children's department. It also helps that kids get so excited about their birthdays that they end of telling me as soon as possible.

This program has been easy to maintain and inexpensive. Of course, the kids in any community benefit from getting as many of "their own" books as possible. I also like that the "books as presents" model does a lot to get the idea across that books are special and fun.

I definitely wish that I could extend this program to the older kids too. The focus of the Target grant has prevented this happening so far. I am definitely on the lookout for a grant that would allow me to extend this program.

Do you do a birthday book club at your library? How is it set up?

Back to School Backpack Raffle

It's that time of year. As much as kids of all ages may try to run from it, they must go back to school.

At my library this also means it is time for one of my favorite passive programs: our annual Back to School Backpack Raffle.

Here's the way it works: Kids can submit an entry each time they visit the library. Our entry form includes name, grade, library card number and phone number. Name and phone number are necessary for obvious reasons, and grade is needed to choose winners from each grade level. Library card number is necessary so that we can make sure the backpacks go to kids from our service area. Forms are submitted into a container at our circulation desk.

We draw eight winners: 2 from lower elementary, 2 from upper elementary, 2 from middle school, and 2 from high school. Each winner receives a backpack and school supplies.

The school supplies are all purchased during the big school supply sales that start about mid-July. Backpacks tend to be purchased on clearance at the very end of the school shopping season. We are usually able to get them for less than $10 a piece. Last year, I think the best deal I got was at a local store going out of business. I was able to get backpacks there for about $3 a piece. We try to stock up on the backpacks in the fall and save them for the next summer.

To make life easier we presort the backpacks and supplies by grade level and gender. For instance, we have a girl's backpack and supplies for K-2nd and a boy's backpack and supplies for K-2nd. The elementary backpacks are displayed in my children's area, while the middle school and high school are in a display case near our circulation desk.

The drawing is always done the week before Labor Day so the winners have time to pick up their backpacks.

What I like about this program is that it encourages library use while providing a valuable service to the kids in our community. It is also very easy and inexpensive.

How do you celebrate back to school at your library?

Fizz, Boom, Read!: Magnifying Glass Early Literacy Center

For a easy science themed early literacy center I decided to do a magnifying glass observation center. The goal of this center is to build children's literacy skills while teaching the science related skill of observation.

Here is the finished product: 

Creating this center was pretty simple. The hardest part was creating the printed materials for it. First I created a sign to promote the center. These materials encourage kids to draw or write what they see under the magnifying glass. I wanted to include both options so that the center could be used by a wide age range.

I borrowed two magnifying glasses and bought one at the dollar store.

For materials to explore I gathered rocks and leaves.

I also brought in some fossils I found on a camping trip a few years ago.

There are also many other cool materials you could include. I especially like the idea of including an ink stamp and paper so kids can examine their fingerprints. I will probably change out materials in this center and/or add new ones throughout the summer.

Feel free to use these ideas and documents however you would like. As always I would love if you shared your thoughts and ideas in the comments!

Cookie Sheet + Magnetic Letters = Easy Early Literacy Center

Just thought I would share this extremely easy early literacy center I put together this week. All it took was some magnetic letters (on sale at Lakeshore Learning a few weeks ago), a cookie sheet and quick creation of a few printable literacy activities.

The purpose of this center is for kids to use the magnetic letters on the cookie sheet to create words and sentences. They can do this on their own or use the activities I provide as a guide. Both provided activity guides were created in Microsoft Word.

One of my activity guides focuses on letter knowledge, the other on word sounds. The goal of the first activity guide is to match the letters to the ones on the page. On the second activity guide kids are asked to create a few simple rhyming words.

The cookie sheet, letters and guides will be kept in a kit bag and placed in an empty area of our Children's Tech Center. Kids will be able to use them there or at any other table in the Children's Department.

What I like most about this literacy center (apart from how easy it was to create) is that it is very versatile. Kids can experiment with words and letters regardless of age or ability level.

Have you come up with a creative and easy idea for an early literacy center? I would love to hear it!

Favorite passive programs

Passive programs can be a busy Children's Librarian's best friend. Because participation (after set up) doesn't require much intervention it can be a great way to expand what you are able to offer. This kind of programming is great on the patron's side as well, because they are able to participate regardless of when they are able to make it into the library.

I've seen several great posts with ideas for passive and DIY programs recently. Angie at Fat Girl Reading, shared a really cool character hunt and Poet Tree. Marge at Kids Library Program Mojo shared some great DIY programming ideas.

These great posts have inspired me to share some of my favorite forms of passive programming.

Find the Hidden Object in the Library: We've have done this basic idea in several forms. Last summer we hid a gnome statue in honor of our "Dig Into Reading" theme. Finding the gnome entered the child into a weekly drawing for a gnome hat we bought from Oriental Trading. We've also used this idea without the drawing component. Every winter we hide a snow globe in the library. Each kid that finds it wins a candy cane.

Bookmark Contests: When we have done these contests the prize for the winners was simple to have their design passed out in the library. To create these myself I scanned each winning design and printed it on cardstock.

Birthday Book Club: Up until age 5 each child that comes into our library during the month of their birthday gets a free picture book. These books were purchased with a grant I received from Target, and supplemented with book donations.

Raffles: We do a yearly raffle of school supplies every fall. We purchase backpacks and school supplies whenever we see great deals. To enter this raffle kids fill out a slip of paper each time they visit the library. The more visits the more possible entries.

Vote for your favorite: I've done this for favorite book character around election time, but it could be used in so many other ways. For instance kids could vote on Newberry or Caldecott contenders. I like the idea of incorporating a display into the voting. For instance one December kids that told me their favorite book got their names placed on a stocking on our bulletin board.

Library calendar: This one hasn't happened here yet because of budget, but our Friends did have the idea of having kids draw pictures for a calendar that the Friends could sell to benefit the library. This is definitely an idea I am keeping in mind for future use.

If you have any other great ideas for passive programs feel free to let me know. Also, if you have written a blog post on this topic I'd be happy to add a link to it. I know I have seen many great posts lately and would love to include them!