Flannel Friday: Baby Bear Sees Blue

For this week's Flannel Friday I am sharing a flannel board I made to go along with one of my favorite picture books: Baby Bear Sees Blue by Ashley Wolff. This is an adorable story of a baby and mother bear who spend their day exploring the outdoors. They see and identify many colors in their environment, making this a great story for teaching color recognition.

I wanted to make a flannel board out of this story because I thought it would be a good way to emphasize the different colors mentioned. I used templates found online to trace each creature/object that Bear Bear sees out of flannel. I also thought it would fit in well at next week's bear themed storytime.

Here is what I came up with:

First Baby Bear sees the yellow sun. I used a simple circle shape in Microsoft Word to trace the center. The rays were drawn free hand and glued on with craft glue:

Next he sees a green oak leaf:

The blue jay comes after that. I did add a little black with marker, just to match the pictures in the book's illustrations. Unfortunately, it doesn't show up so well in this picture:

The trout is next. His spots were also drawn on with marker:

Then Baby Bear sees red strawberries. This was actually made using a flower petal template I had from a previous flannelboard. Add some seeds with marker and glue on a leaf and you have a strawberry:

My favorite piece comes next, the orange butterfly:

And finally, when the he sees gray clouds, Baby Bear heads home:

I am hosting Flannel Friday this week! Here is this week's roundup. To participate in upcoming roundups, or get more great storytime ideas head over to the Flannel Friday Blog or Pinterest page. You can also follow #flannelstorytime on Twitter.

Thrive Thursday Roundup for 9/4/14

I am the lucky host of September's Thrive Thursday blog hop!

The idea behind Thrive Thursday is to compile great ideas from children's librarians who work with school age kids. It was dreamed up by Lisa Shaia of Thrive After Three. For more information you can check out the Thrive Thursday website, Pinterest page and Facebook group.

I am so happy to share the awesome ideas of my colleagues who work with school age kids. There are so many terrific ideas here. Thank you all so much for sharing! A special shout out to Bryce for providing some of her favorites and introducing me to some great new blogs :)

Here are just a few of the great things going on in school age programming during the past month:

Lisa at Thrive After Three shared her Library Lend a Friend program. Kids get to pick a "flat friend" from a variety of popular characters and chronicle their adventures together. I love that it includes so many character options and would appeal to a wide range of ages. She also shared her Diary of a Wimpy Kid Scavenger Hunt (in time to use for the release of the new book). Definitely using both of these at my library in the future!

Here at Ms. Kelly at the Library I wrote about our yearly Backpack Raffle, and a Guessing Game I came up with in honor of Library Card Signup Month.

Bryce at Bryce Don't Play did a fun program based on Lauren Tarshis's book "I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916". This series is super popular and sharks are a perennial kid favorite, so I'm sure this one was a hit. Plus, anytime you get to throw pool noodles and balance ping pong balls on your head it's a good time! Bryce also shared the game cards they used for their newly prizeless SRP. Revamping SRP has been on many librarian's agendas, so this is definiely one to check out!

Over at the new blog Tweenbrarian, Amy wrote about her Tween Book to Movie Book Club. I was happy to see this one because I would love to start up a tween book club at my library someday. She has great ideas for activities related to the popular tween reads the "Lightning Thief" and "How to Train Your Dragon". Amy also wrote about a Mythbusters event she held at her library. Love the idea of testing the combination of pop rocks and Coke!

At the Neighborhood Librarian, Brytani pulled together and last minute Muppet Sing Along. Fun movie time plus a great opportunity to connect with patrons is a win win.

Tales from the Nerdy includes a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle party. Major kudos for including instruction on ninja moves!

Stephanie at Storytime Steph shared her Bedtime Math, Sharpie Tie Dye, and Scratch Programming events. We can always use more STEAM programming, and these all sound like great options!

Carol at Program Palooza did a messy and funny series of science programs about "Gizmos, Gadgets and Goo". She includes a diaper polymer activity and so many great recipes and resources for making Oobleck! Carol also has many wonderful vehicle related ideas she used at her Wheel Away program.

Abby at Abby the Librarian has some sage advice about getting into schools to do booktalks. If you would like to do more collaboration with local schools, this post is a must read.

Thanks again so much for sharing!

And before we go, a round of applause for all these wonderful librarians working with school age kids.

The October Roundup will be hosted by Jean Little Library, so check there for updates.

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.

Library Card Sign Up Month: 5 Great Reasons for Getting a Library Card

Whether we like it or not, September is coming. This means colder temperatures, shorter days, and Library Card Sign Up Month. The idea behind Library Card Sign Up Month is to encourage everyone to get this important school supply. As a librarian I see the benefits of library cards everyday.  Library card holders clearly have a lot of fun checking out books, movies and other library materials.

Here are some of the less obvious benefits of having a library card:

1. Access to ebooks, music and other downloadables: The libraries of today aren't just about traditional paper books. They most often offer access to ebooks and audiobooks. Many libraries even offer downloadable free and legal music through services such as Freegal.

2. Databases for research: Libraries subscribe to databases for all different purposes. Some are geared towards children, others towards adults and/or teens. These databases provide library card holders access to the full text of articles from books, magazines, newspapers, etc. They are easy to search and a lot more reliable than stuff found freely available on the internet.

3. Passes to museums, parks and area attractions: Libraries participate in programs such as the Michigan Activity Pass program, which allows you to check out passes that are good for admission and/or discounts at local attractions. In my neck of the woods we also have the MI Big Green Gym program, which allows check out of passes to local parks.

4. Fun and useful programming for all ages: Some libraries require a card to attend all the great programs going on at the library. Typical programs include storytimes, book groups, and computer classes. There is usually something worth attending for every age and/or life stage. Not having a library card can mean missing out.

5.  The sheer power of knowing all that is available to you. Library cards give you access to knowledge, which is the greatest power of all.

Any advantages I've missed? Feel free to share in the comments :)

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!: Summer Reading Finale Party

Like many libraries, we end our children's summer reading program with a party. Everybody does this a little differently, and I figured it might be worthwhile to some if I shared how it works here.

Here's how it goes:

• The official spiel is that only kids that complete their reading logs get to attend the party. This is done to create an incentive to finish and hype up the party. In reality, I am pretty flexible. I will let a whole family in with one invite. If kids show up that haven't finished, all they need to do is sign a little "contract" saying they will read as much as possible.
• Registration is required, but again very flexible. If you show up the day of and have not registered, that is not a problem at all. Registration is mainly a tool so I have a rough idea how many kids to expect.
• The party usually consists of about 6 different stations relating to the summer theme. These stations are supervised by volunteers from our Friends, as well as teen volunteers. The kids can go through these stations are their own pace.

Our stations this year:

Making bouncy balls: We used a recipe I found to make bouncy balls. It involves mixing glue, a borax solution and cornstarch. I wouldn't say all of them turned out great, but the kids had fun. It was one of the messiest stations and kept as close to the sink as possible. I also made sure to provide baggies so the kids could take them home.

Lego table: I set out our collection of Legos for the kids to build with. Always a hit, and a fun, non-messy activity.

Making oobleck: The classic creation of a "non-Newtonian fluid" with cornstarch and water. It acts like both a solid and a liquid. Even though it was close to the sink, we still ended up with a trail of cornstarch on the carpet. Thank goodness for vaccuums!

Bubble station: This was actually the most time intensive station to plan. I had the last minute idea to fill a kiddie pool with homemade bubble solution, but wasn't sure how I was going to pull it off. There were so many possible recipes online and several mentioned letting bubbles sit for at least overnight, which wasn't an option. I ended up following this recipe and creating about a gallon of solution the day before. It seemed to work well enough to make giant bubbles with the wand I had (even without sitting overnight) so I figured it would suit the purpose.

1 gallon of water
1 cup Dawn Dishsoap
4 tablespoons of glycerin (bought near the cake decorating supplies at Michaels)

The day of the party I followed roughly the same ratios to fill a small kiddie pool I got on clearance at Toys R Us. It only took about 3 gallons, and worked out really well. The kids made bubbles with hula hoops and various bubble wands found at the dollar store. I also had a few giant bubble wands bought on clearance at Michaels. The kids had a great time at this station. One volunteer even commented that it was the hit of the party!

Crafts: I had several crafts for the kids to do. The first was decorating "science journals" made out of construction paper and computer paper. I also had food coloring, dish soap and water out so they could "paint" with bubbles. The final craft was making rotocopters. The only snag in this station is that apparently the bubble painting came out pretty light. I'll definitely have to rethink how to do it in the future.

Snacks: A must have for any party. I couldn't think of any science themed snacks, so I bought cookies, chips and juice for the kids to enjoy.

All in all, I think our party went very well. We had about 70 people there, which is a pretty big crowd for us. I'm already looking forward to next year!