Resolve to Rock 2015: Final Checkup

At the beginning of the year, Storytime Underground was encouraging youth services librarians to share their professional goals for the new year. I reflected a little on my progress in this post, but wanted to provide an end of the year update for the ones I hadn't fully accomplished as of that point. Now that the year is over, I'm able to see exactly what I've managed to accomplish in the past 365 days.

Goals for 2015:

• Offer more night and weekend programming. In 2015 I definitely will be trying more to accommodate working families by including more programs that work with their schedule. 
• This is one I feel like am starting to make pretty good progress on. In 2015 I managed to include evening programs during storytime breaks (such as our Frozen Party), and a few very successful Saturday programs (like our Baby Sensory Time). In what I have scheduled of 2016 so far I've managed to increase my evening and weekend programming even more.
• Expand our graphic novel collection. This is a popular format, and I am determined to find a way to overcome limited shelf space and make it more prominent.
• Space constraints have continued to make this a difficult goal to accomplish. Definitely going to keep doing my best to expand this collection.
• I want to try new preschool/toddler programming this year, such as a parachute play program and a dance party. I am going to try to combine this with my first goal by scheduling these as evening programs during storytime breaks.
• I think I succeeded in trying some new and fun preschool/toddler programming in 2015. A parachute play program will likely require purchase of a larger parachute than my library currently owns.
• Do more outreach to local preschools. I feel like I am developing a closer relationship with local elementary schools, but need to expand my efforts to younger kids as well.
• In 2015 I managed several preschool tours throughout the year. I recently made a valuable connection with a local childcare center that I hope to explore further.
• Make changes to our summer reading program. I have been debating how I want to go about this, but haven't come to any firm decisions. For sure I want to make changes to how I do reading logs for the youngest participants. A greater variety of non-reading literacy activities will definitely be included.
• The changes I made to our reading logs were a great success. Participation in the program has continued to increase. 

Overall I think I accomplished the majority of my goals for 2015. I truly feel like I've continued to grow as a librarian, in large part due to being a part of a wonderful online community of other children's librarians. I truly appreciate the support, friendship and ideas shared. Wishing you all the best in 2016!

American Girl Holiday Party

The holiday season means one thing for our American Girl Club: Our annual holiday party!

The theme of this party is showcasing all the different ways the characters in the American Girl books celebrated the holiday season. We do games and crafts related to these celebrations and just generally have a great time. It is definitely one of my favorite programs I do with this age group.

We started out with our usual short group discussion. I went through each of the characters and gave a quick summary about which holiday they celebrate and what happens in their story. The holiday focused books were only published for the earliest groupings of American Girls, so this mainly focused on about 8 characters.

Our activities:

 

Human Dreidel

Image from openclipart.org

I found this game idea here, and it sounded like a great tie in to the celebration of Hanukkah. The version I came up with was pretty simple. I divided our program room floor into four spaces using masking tape on the floor. I wrote the words corresponding to each side of the dreidel on pieces of tagboard and taped those down as well. The kids were each given 8 gumdrops as their "gelt". I also set aside a small pile of gumdrops for them to prospectively win. Each child would spin around with their eyes closed, and the space they would land on would determine what happened to their "gelt". For more specific directions you can see the basic directions for the dreidel game here. The kids seemed to enjoy the activity, even though a couple were not a fan of the gumdrops.

Ornament Shuffle 

Photo from openclipart.org

This game was based on one called Steal the Treasure. Because I already had the floor divided into four parts I broke my group of 15 kids into 4 groups (I played on one team to make things even. Definite job perk!). I took four hula hoops and put 6 plastic bulb ornaments in each. The teams each had to steal ornaments from the others' hoops, all while following a few simple rules. For instance, they couldn't guard their "treasure" and they couldn't steal from the same teams hoop twice in a row. It was definitely a pretty fast past game, and a good one to get a little bit of the kids' extra energy.

 

 

 Gift exchange

Photo from openclipart.org

As a present to each girl I gave them each a paperback copy of an American Girl holiday book. These books came from an extra stash we've had since I started at my library five years ago. The club used to be ran in a more traditional "book club" format, and I guess at some point extra copies of many of the books were purchased. I've been lucky enough to be able to give these books away at every possible opportunity. If you do not have extra books to give away you could also substitute candy or other small prizes for this game. 

For our gift exchange game I try to do something different each year. This year we played a game I called "If you...". I can't remember where I found it, so if it sounds familiar please let me know. The basic idea is that you have the kids sit in chairs in a circle. One wrapped gift is on each chair. The kids all choose a chair and switch chairs based on "If you..." questions. The gifts stay on the chairs. For instance you could say "If you have a brother." and the kids who had brothers would have to get up and move to another chair. At the end they open the gift at whichever seat they are currently at. It is not only fun, it also helps the kids learn a little bit about each other. 

Snack and craft

Our craft was to decorate a printable template for a doll party hat. I used the one found here. As our snack we had a few different snacks representing some of the American Girl characters. We had popcorn (because Rebecca wanted to be in the movies), gingerbread cookies (because Samantha makes a gingerbread house), Fritos (invented during Kit's time period), and apple juice. This was also a time they could do a wordsearch or enjoy playing a Holiday ABC game. Feel free to use these printable activities in any and all programming.

Another great year of our American Girl Club has ended. To look back on some of the things we did you can head on over and check out my other American Girl related posts.

• Grace, 2015 Girl of the Year
• Samantha, from 1904
• Caroline, from 1812
• Kaya, from 1764
• Addy, from 1864
• Josefina, from 1824
• Isabelle, 2014 Girl of the Year
• Best Friends
• Summer Fun 
• Felicity, from 1774
• Molly, from 1944

If you ever have any questions about this or any programs I'd love to answer them! Feel free to comment here, reach me on Twitter (@MsKellyTweets), or email me at marrak at libcoop.net.

ATLAS: DIY Gift Making with Tweens

Everybody loves presents, right?

Making presents is pretty fun too, so I figured it would be a good choice for December's ATLAS (At The Library After School). Gift giving is a pretty universal aspect of the holiday season (and a good thing to do year round), so it also provides a festive program that doesn't exclude any group that may not celebrate Christmas.

For this program I had three ready to make gift suggestions for my 3rd through 6th graders. I also gave them the freedom to make whatever else popped into their minds with the supplies. The goal was for the attendees to be as creative as possible, but at the same time make sure kids that were stumped for ideas had something to fall back on.

Supplies for this program were basically already on hand, although I did need to buy a box of Popsicle sticks. The only other cost involved was for snacks. Snacks are not necessary, but I chose to provide them mainly because I had hinted to a few kids that we may decorate cookies at this program but nixed that idea in my final planning. I figured as long as the kids were given some kind of treat they wouldn't be too disappointed! As it turned out nobody even brought it up.

The crafts

Fabric bookmarks:

I had leftover fabric from making superhero capes over the summer, so I cut it into bookmark sized rectangles and let the kids draw on it with fabric markers. I also provided string to make a tassel for bookmarks, which as it turns out was not the best decision because our hole punch couldn't go through the fabric. For the kids that wanted a tassel I ended up using scissors to cut a small hole myself.

 

Popsicle stick coasters

I found this idea at No Time For Flashcards. The basic idea is taping or gluing a group of Popsicle sticks together to create a homemade coaster. This was surprisingly one of the most popular gifts made.

The rainbow version.

 

The football themed version.

Candy cane ornaments

Inspiration for this craft came from The Fountain Avenue Kitchen. I decided to use it mainly for the purpose of getting rid of some unused pony beads in my craft cupboard.

In addition to these three main craft ideas, I also made additional suggestions such as Popsicle stick stars (made by gluing six Popsicle sticks into two triangles then gluing into a star), and Popsicle stick sleds (inspired by seeing pictures such as this one on Pinterest). I also provided construction paper, crayons and markers in case anyone was inspired to make a card for their loved ones. Brown paper bags were available for any gifts the kids wanted to keep secret. 

The atendees were all able to take gifts home, and some presents were given to their recipients on the spot. I was happy to provide an opportunity to supply holiday gifts that are both free and from the heart. If you've got any other creative gift ideas feel free to share them!

Booktalking 2.0: Books for Kindergartners and 1st graders

I truly enjoyed sharing the books I promoted at two of my local schools during the last school year. I have been back at it again, so I figured I'd start a new series of posts to cover this year's books. Because the schools have been so accommodating, the booktalking visits have been speeding along at a little faster pace than last year. The pace has been fast enough that I should be able to update you all two grades at a time. Without further ado, here are the books I shared with Kindergartners and 1st graders.

Books for Kindergartners:

• Everyone Loves Bacon by Kelly DiPucchio: This picture book chronicles the rise to fame of Bacon (the main character and "hero"). I like the retro style illustrations and the humor in the story. I am also all for anthropomorphizing food.
• I'm Cool by Kate McMullan: A picture book on about a Zamboni seemed like it would have natural kid appeal, especially in a town so close to Detroit (aka "Hockeytown"). Vehicles and sports are always a winning combination. 
• The Princess and the Pony by Kate Beaton: I wanted to include a picture book with a strong female character and this one about a warrior named Princess Pinecone fit the bill. As an added bonus it mentions farting. The first few pages made for a great read aloud; her big battle beginning was a natural cliffhanger.

Books for 1st graders:

• Knights of the Kitchen Table by Jon Scieszka: Jon Scieszka is one of my all time favorite authors, and this is the first in his "Time Warp Trio" series. I wanted to include something on the upper end of the difficulty spectrum for first graders and this seemed like it would work perfectly. Comparisons to the popular "Magic Tree House" series seemed fitting, because both involve time travel. The first chapter of this book was my read aloud selection for this age group. It involves the characters being threatened by the Black Knight and definitely grabbed the kids' attention!
• Don't throw it to Mo! by David Adler: This beginning reader is about a boy named Mo who loves playing football but isn't all that skilled at it. It also has a diverse main character, which I try to include in my booktalks as much as possible.
• Frog and Friends celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Eve by Eve Bunting: I've shared "Frog and Friends" books in previous booktalks with first grade because it seems to fit well from a difficulty standpoint. With the holiday season approaching I figured this latest addition to the series would be a good choice.

Books shared with both grades:

• We're in the wrong book! by Richard Byrne: Bella and Ben get bounced out of their story and into a variety of others. The tie ins to other stories (such as Red Riding Hood) make this a picture book with pretty broad appeal. 
• I really like slop! by Mo Willems: I love all things "Elephant and Piggie" so I am always happy to share a new one as part of my booktalks. The gross out factor of slop was definitely a point in this book's favor.
• How to swallow a pig by Steve Jenkins: This was my nonfiction selection for both grades. Animals are always a popular subject, and the kids seemed appropriately awed that a snake could swallow a pig whole. 

As usual, I've tried to include a range of difficulty levels and topics in my booktalks. I've also tried to include both fiction and nonfiction, and stick with newer titles as much as possible. Six books works well to fill my 15 minute visits to each class.

I hope these titles are of help for other librarians planning book talks, and anyone looking for book suggestions for this age group! I will be updating you on the titles I chose for 2nd and 3rd graders as soon as possible. 

Why I'm Thankful to be a Children's Librarian

In honor of Thanksgiving, I thought I would share a few reasons I'm thankful to be a children's librarian. We all have rough days, so I figured a little reminder of the positive is always in order.

Reason #5: Children's librarian Twitter and blogs are the best.

The community of children's librarians on Twitter is incredible. They are a great source of amazing ideas and overall awesome people. As the only children's librarian at my library my Twitter friends also provide me with an invaluable system of support. I may have never met the majority of them, but I am so glad to have them in my professional life.

Reason #4: Children's librarians are always willing to share ideas.

One of the most important things children's librarian Twitter has taught me is how willing the community of children's librarians is to share their ideas. Many of the best ideas and programs I've done at my library have started with ideas taken from other wonderful children's librarians.

Reason #3: I get to do fun things just about every day. 

When I started out at my job I never could have guessed how many fun things I would get to do on a daily basis. I get to do things such as make a bubble wrap walkway, make slime and play with bubbles. What more could you ask for in a job?

Reason #2: I am able to work with books all the time.

I grew up as a reader so it is wonderful to get to work surrounded by books. Even if I don't necessarily get to spend my work day reading, I still able to enjoy books in so many other ways everyday. And even better I can share this love of books with children everyday.

Reason #1: The kids!

The kids I work with bring me so much joy. I am am honored to be able to make whatever difference I can in their lives.

Do you have any more reasons you are thankful for our profession this year? I'd love to hear them!

ATLAS: Diary of a Wimpy Kid "Old School" Release Party

Wimpy Kid fans are still plenty at my library, so of course we had to celebrate the release of the newest book. The "Old School" theme was easy to work with and definitely lent itself to a variety of fun activities. I had 12 3rd-6th graders attend, and they all seemed to enjoy the experience.

 

Here is what we did: 

Group discussion:
We started out with a discussion of what "Old School" is all about. The major theme of the book is that Greg's mom wants the people in their community to "unplug" from electronic activities and interact. As you'd suspect he'd be, Greg is against this. Because he is Greg Heffley he winds up in trouble and ends up having to do it against his will on a class camping trip.

Next I did a brief reading from the book. This was a great opportunity to fit books into the program, and show all attendees that reading aloud can be enjoyable with older kids. I probably only read about the first 10 pages, but it definitely was enough to give a taste of what the book was about.

After that I showed the kids some "old school" technology. I printed pictures of an old devices and asked the kids to identify them. This wound up being a hilarious addition. The 8 track player and pager had them particularly stumped.

Games and activities:
Our first game tied into the camping aspect of the book, and was called "bug bite" tag. I had sheets of circular stickers that I called "bugs". Each "it" had to place a "bug" onto the other players to tag them out. This was a game I found awhile back, so I'm not sure of the source. A great version of tag, one I will definitely use again in the future.

Also to fit in with the outdoorsy theme I decided to have the kids build "shelters" out of boxes. In order to challenge them to work together on this activity I broke them into two teams. I have to say I was impressed with both teams. What they came up with turned out really well!

For our craft I decided to have them make their own "diaries" out of construction paper and computer paper. This is a common craft that I've read about many other libraries doing at their "Wimpy Kid" parties, but I had yet to do it here. I like that it encourages writing and creativity!

As we were creating our diaries we had snack. To fit with the camping theme, I provided s'mores granola bars and chips. For our drink we had lemonade, because Greg has a lemonade stand in the story. While eating, kids could also do a wordsearch I created. I also asked a few Wimpy Kid trivia questions as they ate and worked.

I think the kids enjoyed themselves at this program and learned a little too. Most importantly they got to engage with one of their favorite books. Hopefully this will help them see how fun books can be, and encourage them to keep reading in the future!

Next month's ATLAS will be a DIY gift making party so if you have any suggestions feel free to share them!

Baby/Toddler Sensory Time

I'm always on the look out for fun and different activities to do with babies and toddlers, so when I read about the great sensory activities that Brooke, Laura, Mallory and others have done with babies I knew I had to try some of them myself.

One major reason I knew I wanted to try a program like this is that I wanted the chance to impress upon parents that sensory activities provide great benefits to babies and toddlers. Sensory experiences are how babies and toddlers learn about the world. They also provide a great opportunity to introduce new vocabulary and early scientific concepts. The other big reason I wanted to do this program is that getting messy with babies sounded like my idea of a fun time.

As I started out planning this event, the biggest obstacle I ran into was scheduling. I've been doing my best to include more evening and weekend programming for the sake of working parents. This seems to be particularly tricky to do for babies and toddlers. Afternoon and evening programs seemed like they would be difficult to do with this age because of bedtime and naps, so I decided to do the program on a Saturday morning. This seemed to work well. We had 10 babies and toddlers in attendance, which is a pretty good number for our small library.

Cost:  

The majority of supplies used for this program were ones we already owned. I spent about $10 on hair gel, pudding and other miscellaneous stuff at the grocery store. My big ticket expense was the $14 I spent on bubble wrap at Staples.  

 

What we did:

I started out the program with a short storytime in our Storytime Room. We read "Five for a Little One" by Chris Raschka and did a few simple songs and games related to our senses. These songs and games included "Five Fat Sausages", "Peekaboo", "Popcorn" and the "Touch Game". Words and sources for all these songs are available on my Storytime Page. This ended up being a great way to start the program because it gave people extra time to arrive before the fun and mess began.

Our stations:

 

Finger painting:

At a messy program like this, fingerpainting seemed a given. My main addition to the sensory experience was some scrunched up paper I took for a recent book delivery we received. A major bonus of this station is it gives the families something tangible to take home with them.

Water table: 

This station was something I used at a previous science storytime I did. Water play is always a hit, and creates minimal mess so it was definitely a great sensory experience to include.

Pool of scarves:

The idea of filling a pool with a sensory element came from Brooke. Instead of using balls I used our storytime scarves and extra scrunchy paper from the finger painting station. We've always used this pool for bubbles at our end of summer party, so I was very happy to get more use out of it.

Stained glass windows:

To create a "stained glass window" all you need to do is attach tissue paper to contact paper. I originally got this idea from Laura. I had extra contact paper leftover from covering numbers on our Children's Room ramp, so I was all set for this station as well. It ended up being a great one to keep older siblings who were tagging along occupied.

 Baby "car wash":

This "car wash" was another one of Brooke's ideas I used. Definitely fun for the babies to crawl under or just chill out.

Play area:

I put out our parachute and the toys I use for playtime after our Baby Storytime. I also put our our rhythm sticks, shaky eggs and bells. I especially loved seeing the babies use the toys and instruments as they explored other areas of the program.

Sensory bags:

The idea of taping baggies of full of sensory materials down and letting babies write on them is one I've seen on several of my favorite blogs. For my baggies I used chocolate pudding, paint, and the cheapest hair gel I could find. I also added magnetic marbles to each bag for an extra sensory element.

Bubble wrap walkway:

Last but not least, the hit of this program, my bubble wrap walkway. This was something I read about from both Laura and Brooke, and I am so glad I tried it. The babies loved it! It was the most expensive part of this program but totally worth it.

Here it is in use!

All this was an easy and fun program to do with my babies and toddlers. I'd give it a "thumbs up" for sure!

If you have any questions about this program I'd love to hear them! You can comment here or reach me on Twitter (@MsKellyTweets).