Teen Summer Reading (5): Foodie Fun

 

  It's that time of year again to start planning the Teen Summer Reading Program.

I have a bunch of craft ideas to choose from this year. I'm not sure teens care about the theme as much, so my crafts don't always follow that.

We're virtual again this summer, so we're creating Take & Make craft bags.

We talked about crafts and food. My favorite nonfiction books. Nonfiction books that I plan to order.

This week is the last week and I'm diving into a program that we do at the library for kids and teens. It's been our most popular program during the pandemic. 

It's is a costly program. The Friends of Cragin Library generously pays for it. We've been doing these programs monthly, but in the summer, they are weekly. 

Foodie Fun is a cooking program. Or rather, a baking program. We pick out a recipe, purchase the ingredients, bag up the ingredients, and film a video. If it's a very common household item, we don't include it. Then the kids/teens/parents pick up a bag, watch the video, and make the sweet treat. 

We hand them out on a Saturday. A video of instructions drops that morning.

We usually have between 30 and 40 bags. They are gone by Tuesday.

What do we make?

Usually sweets. We pack each bag enough for a serving. If they like it and want to make more, they have the instructions. We do seasonal themes - the picture above is bags from our turkey Oreo pretzel. I like making different Chex Mixes or variations on chocolate bark. 

Here is our Pinterest board where I gather ideas.

Here is the latest video:

And that's the program. It works better during the pandemic months than it does in person.