On Your Mark, Get Set, Read!: Balloon Olympics

With the CSLP theme of sports, and the actual games themselves, it was pretty much a no brainer that I was going to tie the Olympics into my library programming. My tweens really love competition and "Minute to Win It" style games, and in the past we've done similar programs based on other themes. For instance, we did Chocolate Olympics awhile back. When I was searching Pinterest for summer ideas I noticed some fun games involving balloons and figured that would be another great theme to base a few competitive games on. Thus our first ever Balloon Olympics was born.

The Opening Ceremony (a.k.a. my basic overview of the program):

• I limited this event to 12 kids and to Grades 3-6.
• The only expense involved was for about 6 packs of balloons, all purchased at my local dollar store. These balloons could have probably accommodated an even bigger group than I had.
• The program ran just short of 1 hour.

The Events:

• Hula Hoop Toss: I got this idea from this site and thought it fit perfectly. The basic idea is that you label balloons with point values and tape them to the floor. The kids toss the hula hoops and earn points for each one that lands over a balloon. 
• Balloon Volleyball: An old sheet, some chairs and a balloon are all the equipment you need for this one. Split the kids into teams and let them enjoy!
• Balloon Baseball: We used a balloon as the ball and a piece of pool noodle as our bat as we played a simple and quick game of baseball.
• Balloon Races: The kids had to race while they hit balloons to keep them in the air. 
• Waddle Races: For this race, they had to race with balloons between their legs. Definitely one of the funnier moments of this program!
• Sweep the Balloon: I found this race at Finding Sanity. We didn't get to this race, but the way it would have been done would have been having the kids use a broom to sweep a balloon across the room as fast as possible.
• Balloon Popping Competition: To end the program we all raced to pop as many balloons as they could within a few minute time period. 

The Closing Ceremony (a.k.a. my tips and tricks):

• Blow up the balloons beforehand to save as much time as possible.
• Make sure to review the rules of games such as baseball and volleyball before playing the balloon versions. It will come in handy in resolving any situations that arise during play.
• Prizes aren't necessary, but can be fun. All my kids got a simple certificate to take home in honor of their participation. 

If you have any questions about this program (or any others on this site) feel free to get in touch. Looking forward to the fall and updating you on all the fun stuff we'll have going on!

ATLAS: Spooky Science

Science programs are always a huge hit with my 3rd-6th graders, so this month we combined science with a Halloween theme to do Spooky Science.

I had five experiments planned, including making slime. As usual, I registered 12 kids for this one hour program. The biggest issue I ran into was that slime making was way more time intensive than I remembered from doing it a few years ago. We didn't have time to go through all five experiments, but the kids seemed to have a fun time anyways. My handout of instructions for each experiment is linked to in the title of each.

Experiment #1: Wiggly worms

Picture from openclipart.org

For this experiment you soak gummy worms in baking soda water then transferred them to a cup of vinegar. The chemical reaction is supposed to make the worms move. Word of warning, it only works if you slice the worms very thinly. This is also a good experiment to do first and come back to, because the worms do take a significant amount of time to soak.

Experiment #2: Magic Pumpkin

Image from openclipart.org

This is an optical illusion I found on Steve Spangler's website. There is a template of a pumpkin that you attach to skewer so that when you spin it you get a moving jack o lantern face. The explanation on the website was slightly confusing so I simplified it on my handout. The basic idea is that you glue two of the four pieces together, glue the others in half, and tape them on the skewer in a "plus sign" formation. For my skewers I used some leftover chopsticks I had in my storage cabinet.

Experiment #3: Slime

As I mentioned, this was the most time intensive part of this program. It still was messy, fun and definitely worth doing. There are many recipes online, and many variations you can make. One of my favorite variations is using clear glue, adding a paint called GlowAway and making your slime glow in the dark.

Experiment  #4: Ghost cup

Image from openclipart.org

This was one of the experiments I sent home because we didn't have time to do it. I found it on the website "Science Bob" listed as a chicken cup. It is a lesson in friction, as well as sound amplification. I don't remember how I figured this out, but if you pull the paper towel in a longer stroke, it sounds like a ghost. My tip for this experiment is to make sure to cut holes in each cup ahead of time.

Experiment #5: Dancing ghost

Image from openclipart.org

This is a simply activity done with a tissue and a balloon. You cut a ghost out of the tissue, rub the balloon in your hair, and use the static energy to lift the ghost. This was definitely the easiest and most simple experiment we did. It was another one I first found on Science Bob.

How it went
We accomplished three experiments in the program, and I sent two of them home. The slime seemed to be the most popular activity, followed by the magic pumpkin. Overall, this was a fun program that was relatively inexpensive. It cost about $20, but only because I had to buy new containers of glue and Borax for slime making.

Feel free to use these experiments and handouts at library programs or any other opportunity you may have. I would love to hear about how they have been used! You can comment here, email me at marrak at libcoop dot net, or find me on Twitter (@MsKellyTweets). 

American Girl Club: Meet Caroline

This month our American Girl Club learned about Caroline, an American Girl from 1812. As usual we started out discussing Caroline and her stories. The big focus of Caroline's stories is, of course, the War of 1812. I had to do a lot of explaining about this for several reasons: 1) The group of 3rd-6th graders that attended skewed a little younger this time. 2) Caroline is still a relatively new American Girl character. She was introduced in 2012. 3) The War of 1812 doesn't appear to get a lot of attention in schools. The kids were familiar with the American Revolution so I tried to build on that.

Here is our table with Caroline books and handouts.

After our discussion we took a quiz to determine which character in Caroline's stories we are most like. I made this quiz two years ago when Caroline first came out, based on a quiz on the American Girl website. The overall consensus was that most of us were like Caroline, which of course made all the attendees happy!

Because Caroline loves to sail, next we played a nautical version of Simon Says called Ship's Captain. I found it among the playground games listed on Games Kids Play. I highlighted the commands I thought would be easiest for the kids to learn and had each "captain" take turns picking from them. The obvious favorite was "SHARK!".

Next we made ships based on a template found on the American Girl website. This template has unfortunately been removed from their website. After coloring the ships we raced them by blowing on them. This also turned into a teachable history moment: "You know back then ships didn't have engines and could only move by wind power."

As usual we ended the program with snacks. I chose gingerbread cookies and cider because Caroline eats both in the books. Baby carrots were also included as a healthy addition to snacktime, because Caroline and her uncle's family rely on the vegetables grown in their garden.

Here are some pictures of the kids' boats and dolls. The dolls are a totally optional thing, but the kids seem to love bringing them:

The next girl our American Girl Club is focusing on will by Julie, from 1974. Be prepared for some groovy fun!

ATLAS: Halloween Minute to Win It Games

Minute to Win It is a big hit with the tweens at my library. It is also a fun and inexpensive program, which means it is a big hit with me as well. I've done it in a regular format, and in versions tweaked to suit a theme. For instance I've adapted it into Chocolate Olympics and Marshmallow Madness programs. This is the first time I've done a seasonal Minute to Win It. The total cost this time was under $10.

To plan this program, I found this link on Pinterest, and used it as a starting point. I also got some great ideas here. These two links gave me most of the games I needed to fill an hour long program with 10 kids.

I structured the program by setting up a station for each game. Two kids could play a game at one time. We went through the stations as a group, but they would also work as self directed centers.

Here are the six games we played: 

Silly Spider: 

Source: Adaptation of spider/straw game here. 

Description:  Kids had to pick up spiders rings by sucking through a straw.  

Supplies: A straw per child and about 50 spider rings. 

Cost: Free (The straws were leftover from a previous program and the rings were from our stash of Halloween decorations/giveaways.)

Seperation Anxiety:

Source: Direct from the same site.

Description: The object of the game was to separate a bowl of M&Ms by color.

Supplies: Two bags of M&Ms, only one was used to play the game. The second was for a treat at the end. I also used two sets of six cups and one bowl, both of which I already had.

Cost: $5.00 for the M&Ms.

Candy Catastrophe:

Source: I came up with this one myself.

Description: The kids had to use chopsticks to pick up the candy corn and put it in a bowl. I stressed that they could be "creative" about how they went about this.

Supplies: A pair of chopsticks per child, two bowls and one bag of candy corn.

Cost: $2.00 for the candy corn. I already had the chopsticks from a previous program.

Cup Tower of Terror:

Source: A combination idea inspired by the cups used here, and the tower building done here.

Description: The goal is to stack as many cups as tall as possible without them falling over.

Supplies: One pack of 50 plastic cups.

Cost: $2.99

Dice It Up:

Source: Buzzle

Description: You must balance a die on a Popsicle stick held in your mouth. Then you must proceed to stack as many die on top of that die as possible.

Supplies: One Popsicle stick per child, as many die as possible.

Cost: Free. I used popsicle sticks leftover from this summer's catapult program, and took the die from various board games the library owns.

Dizzy Mummy:

Source: Taken directly from here.

Description: The idea is to wrap your partner in as much toilet paper as possible. To extend the fun I gave them five minutes each for this one.

Supplies: About a roll of toilet paper per pair of kids.

Cost: Free. I took toilet paper from the library's supply closet.

The kids had a great time at this program. The hit of the day was obviously the mummy wrapping. Definitely planning on using this one again.

If you have any questions or program ideas to share I would love to hear them. You can comment hear, email me at marrak at libcoop dot net, or talk with me on Twitter (@MsKellyTweets). Thanks for reading!

American Girl Club: Meet Addy

At my American Girl Club program we learn about a different American Girl each month. We talk about the character's books and play games and activities related to that time period. This month we focused on Addy Walker, an American Girl character from 1864.

All set up to learn about Addy.

Addy was born a slave, which provided a lot discussion among the kids at the beginning of the program. We talked about her escape to freedom and a little about the Underground Railroad. At least a few of the kids had already read Addy's stories, so they were able to help me fill in other details specific to Addy's stories.

The first game we played was called Ribbon's End. It is featured in the "American Girls Party Book", a wonderful resource that I believe is currently out of print. The basic idea of this game is that the kids form a human ribbon (conga-line style) and the odd person out must catch the end of the ribbon. This was harder than it seemed, as our ribbon kept breaking. I think most of the kids enjoyed it anyhow.

After that I taught them a clapping game I found on the American Girl website (unfortunately this resource and event kit are no longer available on the American Girl website). This was a simple activity so I didn't spend too much time on it.

Our final game was called "Annie Over". The basic idea of the game is that you throw the ball to the other team and if they catch it, the teams switch sides. During switching sides it becomes somewhat like dodgeball, trying to get somebody from the other team out. I think this game was most girl's favorite part of this program.

Finally, we ended with a craft and snack. As a craft, we designed our own money (just like the Confederacy did during the Civil War). For snacks we had jellybeans, cornbread muffins and ice cream shop cookies. Jellybeans tied into the theme because they rose to popularity during the Civil War. The ice cream shop cookies fit because Addy faces discrimination at an ice cream shop.

Our yummy Addy themed snacks. 

At the end of the program each girl got a bookmark and an Addy themed wordsearch to take home. The bookmarks came from a leftover supply of American Girl products ordered before I started here.

Next month's American Girls will be Cecile and Marie Grace (girls from 1853 New Orleans). If you have any great New Orleans or Mardi Gras themed activities for kids I would love to hear them :)

ATLAS: Egg Dyeing Party for Tweens

I got the idea for this program when I saw that another library was going to do egg decorating with their teens. I have learned to follow the general rule that what works with teens will be popular with tweens too, therefore dyeing eggs was put on the agenda for this month's At The Library After School.

Because I didn't think egg dyeing would take up the whole hour I had allotted for programming, I decided to include some games as well. I found several games on about.com that I thought the tweens would enjoy.

We started with egg bowling. I had some chocolate bunnies on hand, so our goal was simply to roll a plastic egg closest to the chocolate bunny. The winner of each round got to keep the bunny. This worked out to be a great opening activity, because the kids that walked in late could join the game the next round.

After egg bowling, we played "Steal the Egg".  The basic premise of the game is that the kids were divided into numbered pairs. When their number is called, both must try to get the egg placed on the floor in the center of the room. The kids had a good time playing this game, and I liked that it fulfilled my goal of including active games in my programs.

Finally, we moved on to egg dyeing. I had bought an egg dye kit for each group of 4 kids and prepared the dye before hand. I made sure to have paper towel available. Our larger programming room has no sink, so this was a must. I also had coloring pages and a wordsearch available for them to do while they waited for eggs to soak. To take eggs home I provided empty egg cartons donated by our staff.

Here are a few pictures of the finished product:

Overall I think this program went well. It actually ended up being less messy than I thought it would be! I am definitely planning on doing it again next year.

At next month's ATLAS we will be playing a variety of playground games in honor of National Backyard Game Week. I look forward to letting you all know how it goes :)

American Girl Club: Meet Josefina

For anybody unfamiliar with this monthly program at my library here is a brief explanation: Every month we learn about a different American Girl character. It is geared towards 3rd-6th grade and includes a short discussion, followed by games, crafts and a snack. It is probably the most popular program I do for school age kids.

At this month's American Girl Club we learned about Josefina, a New Mexican girl from 1824. The timing worked out perfectly, because the day before this program happened to be the character's birthday. If Josefina were a real person, and alive today she would have turned 199 years old.

All ready to talk about Josefina.

Our guest of honor, Josefina.

We started out as usual with a little discussion about Josefina and her stories. The kids remembered some of the biggest things from Josefina's books, which is always a plus. For instance, they remembered that Josefina's stories take place after her mother has died. We talked about traditions and how they help Josefina's family remember her mother. I tried to help them connect this to their own family traditions.

After a brief discussion about Josefina and her time period, we moved on to our games. I always use games from the time period of the girl we are learning about, and found two great ones for this event.

The first game we played is referred to in the "American Girl Club Party Book" as "The Rainbow".  To the kids I explained it as color tag. "It" yells a color and has to tag those wearing it. The kids were pretty familiar with this one, so it provided a nice connection from past to present.

Next we played "The Blind Hen", which I found here. I compared it to Marco Polo, and the girls got it right away. Our final group activity was a Spanish matching game, which I found in the online Josefina Event Kit (sadly no longer available through the American Girl website).

We ended our program by decorating woven blanket bookmarks. The template for the bookmarks was also found with the Josefina Event Kit materials. Our snack for the evening was Spanish cookies, chips and salsa.

We have extra paperback copies of some of the American Girl books from when this program was run in a more traditional "book club" format, so each girl got a Josefina book to take home. They also got a bookmark. I can't do provide these for every American Girl Club (we are using up the books and bookmarks we already have) but I definitely think it adds something to the program when I can.

Josefina books and bookmarks

Looking forward to updating you all about next month's American Girl Club! We will be learning about Addy, from 1864. Let me know if you have questions about this program or any of my others :)

No-Bake Cooking with Tweens

I had been planning to post about the "Cooking With Ms. Kelly" program I had planned this week but mother nature had other plans. The library closed early because of snow and the program has been rescheduled. Instead of the recap post I had planned, I've decided to share some more general tips about doing this kind of program. It has been very popular here, and it has definitely become one of my favorites.

Tips for No-Bake Cooking with Tweens:

1. Find a very simple recipe with minimal ingredients. We do a lot of dips and no-bake cookies. I've shared some of my favorites here. Feel free to use them :)
2. When all else fails, cover stuff in chocolate! It might be a little messy but of course the tweens love it. I bring a crockpot to melt a a few packages of chocolate chips, or buy candy coating and melt it in our microwave. I've actually done a whole cooking class based on chocolate. A few of those recipes can be found here.
3. If possible, have the kids cook their own individual portions of each dish. This keeps all the kids engaged at the same time. It also gives them an opportunity to be creative and modify the recipe to suit their taste. For instance, if they don't like one of the ingredients, you can let them leave it out.
4. Make sure you test out the recipes before hand. I almost always have to make some slight change, especially if I've modified the recipe. It can also help you get a handle on whether you have purchased enough ingredients.
5. Recipes that use the microwave can be great, but very time consuming with large groups.This is why I don't use these kind of recipes very often.
6. Don't try to fit too many recipes into one program. With the 12 tweens that typically come to my monthly ATLAS (At The Library After School) program I can usually get through 3-4 recipes in an hour.
7. Provide the kids with recipe handouts to take home. The recipe handouts I've shared above are a good example of mine. 

Hopefully this information and recipes will come in handy next time you are cooking with kids at home or in the library. I'd love to hear if anyone else has tips to share as well.

Successful Tween Programs

Teens are notoriously hard to get into the library, and sometimes tweens seem just as difficult to reach. Hitting on the right activities can be difficult. You don't want to come across as "babyish" but you don't want to do anything overly mature either. Adding in their busy after school schedules and extracurricular activities only makes the situation worse.

I have been lucky enough to build up a pretty successful core group of tweens in the three years I've been at my library. My monthly program for Grades 3-6 is called ATLAS (At The Library After School) and registration for it fills up most months. For being in a small town, I would say we get a pretty good sized group. I will be posting more about each ATLAS program as it is held, but figured I would give an overview of some of the things that have worked for me in the past. These ideas are all fun, easy and relatively cheap.

Here are some of my best tween ideas (in no particular order):

1) Chocolate Olympics: The kids played a variety of "Minute to Win It" style games involving chocolate. For instance they played the "Cookie Face" game with chocolate chip cookies. I've also done a similar program with popcorn related games, but after the condition of the floor following my program I would not recommend it. Thank God for vacuum cleaners!

2) Cooking with Ms. Kelly: My girls especially love this program. We do not have access to an oven, and a microwave tends to take up a lot of  time during the program, so we pretty much do No Bake and No Cook recipes. This means a lot of dips, wraps, and covering stuff in chocolate (always a big hit!). My kids like that they get to do the work themselves and get copies of the recipes to take home.

3) Origami: Pretty self explanatory. I used a Powerpoint going through the various steps of creating various origami creations.

4) Minecraft Party: The game is a big hit, so this program was a well. We played games related to Minecraft, such as "Pin the Sword on Steve". We also made pixilated pictures of ourselves and played Minecraft Bingo.

5) Super Mario Party: Another party based on a popular game. We did a Yoshi Egg Race, played "Pass the Bomb" and played Freeze Dance.

6) Duct Tape Crafts: Always a hit with teens and tweens. This is one of the few craft related programs I can get my tweens to come to.

7) Marshmallow Madness: Another "Minute to Win It" style program, this time involving marshmallows. We threw, stacked and taste tested marshmallows. We also divided into groups to see who could build the highest marshmallow tower with a bag of marshmallows and a pack of toothpicks.

8) Potato Chip Science: Science experiments are always a hit, and these all involved potatos. One of the experiments was floating pieces of potato in salt or sugar water. Another was building an aluminum foil boat to sink with potato chips.

9) Zombie Party: This was another program held during the summer of "Dig Into Reading". We played musical graves and made fake wounds. I learned that fake wounds are surprisingly easy to make using tissue paper, Vaseline and red food coloring.

10) Spooky Science: A great Halloween related program. We used static electricity from balloons to pick up tissue paper ghosts. We also made "ghost cups". These were made using the instructions found here. By pulling the wet towel more slowly it makes a ghostlike sound.

I have taken away three main ideas from all the programing I have done for tweens. First of all, they love game, science and food based programs. Secondly, snacks are a must. If you feed them they will come. Finally, I have learned that modifying teen programs is a great place to start.

I look forward to updating about all the fun stuff we do in future ATLAS programs!