Take Your Child to the Library Day: Recap

 Last Saturday, it was Take Your Child to the Library Day, and it was a very busy day at the library.

We had a Unicorn Day:

How it went:

Storytime was full.

All of our take & make crafts went out.

Foodie Fun went out.

Lots of books were checked out.

It wasn't just busy in the morning but all afternoon too.

It was so nice to see favorite families visit and lots of new faces.

Things to improve on:

Unicorns, while popular, are hard for storytime because the books are so long. I ended up reading some board books, which was great. But next year, maybe I'll pick the theme with books in mind.

While unicorns are super popular, they're not the most gender-neutral theme. 

Maybe next year, we will partner with some local businesses, so everyone wins.

Kids Summer Reading (3): Oceans of Possibilities

 

It's another year of uncertainty - will we have in person programs? Will we do a hybrid program?  The crafts are easier to plan because you need the same pieces. 

These program ideas come from Pinterest.

My account

The library's account (which has way more)

Previous posts:

Crafts for Littles and Crafts for Older Kiddos

This week I'm focusing on STEAM projects:

Baking Soda Art:

Moving Octopus:

Ocean Foam Sensory Bin:

Pollution:

Moving Fish or Boat:

Dry Ducks:

Fish Slime:

Save the Penguin:

Stay tuned next week for more ideas!

Kids Summer Reading (2): Ocean of Possibilities

It's another year of uncertainty - will we have in person programs? Will we do a hybrid program?  The crafts are easier to plan because you need the same pieces. 

These program ideas come from Pinterest.

My account

The library's account (which has way more)

Last week's post was crafts for the littles. Check it out here. 

This week I'm sharing some craft ideas for older kids. Last year, we did 3D animals crafts and they went out like hot cakes.  

Yarn Turtles:

Origami Fish:

Fish Bowl:

Crab:

Sea Otter:

Sea Horse:

Kids Summer Reading (1)

It's another year of uncertainty - will we have in person programs? Will we do a hybrid program?  The crafts are easier to plan because you need the same pieces. 

These program ideas come from Pinterest.

My account

The library's account (which has way more)

The following crafts are for the littles:

Fish

Star Fish

Shells

Sea Horses

Turtle

Ocean

Jelly Fish

Octopus

Summer Reading Kids (1)

 

I'm a little late with the planning this year, but I'm starting to look at summer reading programs. This year is ALL about animals.

It's possible to break up the summer into weeks:

Pets

Farm Animals

Zoo

I'm not sure if I'm going be able to do that, but...here are some easy animal crafts for the younger kids - all found on Pinterest.

Snake:

Safari Animals

Farm Animals

Peacock:

Dog Plate

Summer Reading Program at Your Local Library

Joining the Summer Reading Program at your local library is important for several reasons.:

For Your Child:

1. It helps prevent summer slide, reading just six books over the summer truly helps.

2. It helps give children time to read for fun - something they need to cement their love of reading. Let them choose to read whatever they think looks fun. 

3. There are TONS of programs at your library this summer - programs targeted for all ages.

For Parents:

1. Children model their behavior after parents, which means they need to see their parents reading. All of their parents. It doesn't matter what you're reading (although it's harder for them to recognize you're reading articles online). Let them see you reading; let them see you picking out books. I read before bed every night, but if your kids don't see you reading, you're missing a huge opportunity. Share your passion for reading with your kids.

2. Libraries have programs for adults too. (My library has a program where you read a book and get to pick out a free book. We also have weekly raffle prizes to local businesses)

3. Talk about books, authors, illustrators, and libraries - not in school based way but in general everyday conversation.

4. Read together 

5. Read aloud - it's fun for everyone. Plus you can talk about the story together.

For Your Library:

1. Summer is the busiest time of year for the library.

2. We count on summer to coast us through the lighter months (Winter in New England) when people don't come to the library as much.

3. We want you to come to our programs because we're hosting them for you.

4. But we want you to check out books; we need our circulation statistics to be amazing. 

5. Our summer numbers help boost us over the edge when it's budget time.

6. We want to help readers find books that they will love to read

7. Say hello to us, because we love it when we recognize library families. 

Also, some libraries have summer lunch for kids 18 and under, which helps replace the free lunch from school. If your library has it, it's available for ALL kids, no questions asked.

So head to your local library this summer, changes are they are doing amazing things!

Fall Program Ideas for Teens

I know that Summer Reading hasn't started yet in my library, but I'm already starting to think about Fall planning. I don't have too many ideas, but I thought I'd share some in case any one else was planning Fall too.

September 12: Chocolate Milk Shake Day 
Easy program, lots of love for milk shakes

October: Friday the 13th
Our Friends' of the Library have a booksale that weekend, but we might do something fun in the teen room or maybe a Murder Mystery after hours program.

Perfume Making:
My sister has gotten into this and it sounds like a great idea for fall - either back to school or create your signature scent for homecoming dance

Apple Treats: 
I always like to try some sort of food program with apples or even pumpkin.

Boston Teen Book Festival:
Last year we tried to get a group of teens together and go - it was my first year on the job, so I'm hoping that the connections I've made this year will have teens wanting to go this year, because there are some great authors.

Near more ideas? Here's what I thought about in the past.

Fall Program for Kids (2)

I know Summer Reading is in full swing, but my head is filled with ideas for fall programs. Fall for my library runs from September thru December. This is the first year for me creating programs for kids, so Pinterest is of course my new best friend. Here are some ideas I'm looking at closely.

PASSIVE PROGRAMS:

Great for going back to school:

I Spy: School Style

Perfect for the week before Halloween:

Design Your Own Monster Face

Writing is great for all ages, perfect for early November and NaNoWriMo

Create a Character 

Perfect for the week of Thanksgiving:

Stuff the Turkey Game

Hide the Gingerbread People (I've been hiding Ninjas this summer and people seem to love it! So I might try it again in the winter.

Gingerbread Template

Fall Programs for Kids (1)

I know Summer Reading is in full swing, but my head is filled with ideas for fall programs. Our town's Rec department comes out with a quarterly publication which is due next week. So my brain is on fall programming ideas. Fall for my library runs from September thru December. This is the first year for me creating programs for kids, so Pinterest is of course my new best friend. Here are some ideas I'm looking at closely.

Crafting with leaves looks super fun

Leaf Animals

September 19th is Talk Like A Pirate Day

Pirate's Treasure Chest

September 22nd is Elephant Appreciation Day

Elephant Fun

Halloween Fun in October

Bats from Egg Cartons

International Ninja Day is December 5th 

Paperbag Ninjas

Paper (or Cardstock) Gingerbread Houses in December

House Templates

December 27th is Cut Out Snowflakes Day

Snowflake Templates