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Program Goals Drop-in program for all ages Experiment with science concepts and materials Build fine motor skills Build STEM skills Attendance: 20 Supplies Popsicle sticks (small, large, and jumbo) Rubber bands mini cupcake papers, cotton balls regular tape, masking tape, stickers scissors Instructions (printed and on ipad) How it works We mostly made the simplest model, but even then a lot of the kids need help wrapping the rubber bands. I guess it's not something they learn in school (either that or I do it a weird/difficult way) and most of the younger kids and some of the older kids needed help to get them on tightly. I had some more difficult models, and my aide worked with some kids and on her own on them, but only got one finished. Resources Craft stick catapult  (easiest!) Utube 2 catapults (includes easy one above and a harder one. Also has magic rubber bands that put themselves on with no discernible assistance from human fingers.) Storm the Castle: Teeny Tiny catapult ...

Program Goals:  Introduce kids to seasons and animal behavior Complement school curriculum focusing on seasons Distribute interactive handout with program marketing Toddlers (*nonfiction) Tap the magic tree by Christie Matheson (2018) (1 copy) Kitten's Autumn by Eugenie Fernandes (2018) Preschool and Kindergarten (*nonfiction) Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert (2018) *Every Autumn comes the bear by Jim Arnosky *Rainy, Sunny, Blowy, Snowy by Jane Brocket (2018) Long Stories (*nonfiction) (1 copy) Winter is coming by Tony Johnston (1 copy) Round Robin by Jack Kent Goodbye summer, hello autumn by Kenard Pak (2018) Those darn squirrels by Adam Rubin (2018) Movement and Music Opening and Closing songs Leaf rhymes Flannelboard and Activities Baby bear counts one (felt numbers) Fall is not easy by Marty Kelley  (extra copy of book) Vocabulary/Learning Objectives autumn/fall seasons hibernation migration

While I run the We Explore Art series my colleagues run We Explore Outdoors/Fall/Preschool Adventures. I'm collecting here the resources I put together for them for the fall programs Reading list bookmarks We Explore Fall We Explore Harvest Flannelboards and manipulatives Lunch by Denise Fleming  (book and flannelboard) (have to borrow the mouse puppet from a toy bag) Fall is not easy  (book and flannelboard) Fruit Slices guessing game Enormous Carrot Rhymes, Songs, and Movement Apples and accessories Leaves Crafts Woolly bear caterpillars brown pompoms, clothespins or popsicle sticks, glue Squirrel ears Strips of brown paper, brown triangles, stapler Staple triangles to strips, then staple strips together to make a crown Flying geese die cut birds, popsicles, tape or ribbon You can either tape the "geese" directly to the stick to make a puppet or attach them to a ribbon and tie the ribbons to the stick, then run to make them "fly" Leaf colors die cut white leav...

Program Goals Drop-in program for all ages Experiment with art techniques and supplies Build fine motor skills Attendance: 20 Supplies Colorations ultimate art paper q-tips liquid watercolors, ice cube trays, aprons Resources I adapted this from Art Workshop for Children by Barbara Rucci How it works I cut the paper into sections and poured the paints into the ice cube trays and the kids painted. Evaluation 10-23-18 Attendance: 19 Notes: The kids did a lot of dot painting - they had a hard time adapting to not using brushes.

After many, many years of running Lego Building Club, I moved away from that in favor of open Lego days. The reasons were many - we got new carpeting in our community room, so I tried to shift as many programs back to the Storyroom as possible. It was taking a lot of staff time to haul all the Legos across the library and supervise and attendance was dropping as people got involved in other activities. I had initially moved Lego Building Club to the Community room years ago for space issues and now we could move it back! The Storyroom has three entrances/exits. You access it from the play area, so moms with younger kids can hang out there while the older kids build. There's an emergency exit tucked in a back corner that leads outside. Finally, the door you see in the photos above leads into my office/staff workroom. I or my aide sets Legos up on Thursday evening, after whatever other program we have is finished. We put out three big white tables, all the lego bins, and an easel wit...

Program Goals Meet the needs of kids transitioning out of Rock 'n' Read Encourage both voracious and struggling readers Attendance: 5 (grades 5 and up) Theme: Histories and Mysteries with American Girl Projects Finger knitting/braiding - yarn Rainbow loom - maker kit Mystery cards Books (American Girl) Like sisters: Emma moves in A girl named... Misty Samantha mystery: Clue in the castle tower Marie-Grace mystery: Hidden gold Kit mystery: Menace at Mammoth cave Nanea mystery: Legend of the shark goddess Rebecca mystery: showstopper Luciana; Luciana braving the deep; Luciana out of this world by Erin Teagan According to Aggie (graphic novel) Books (Historical Fiction set in the USA) Fever, 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson Lucky broken girl by Ruth Behar (1960s) True confessions of Charlotte Doyle (early 1800s) (YA) Chasing secrets by Choldenko (1900 San Francisco) Mighty Miss Malone by Curtis (Great Depression) Stella by Starlight by Sharon Draper (1930s South) Salt by Helen Frost ...

Program Goals Drop-in program for all ages Experiment with science concepts and materials Build fine motor skills Build STEM skills Attendance: 20 Supplies Educational set of Ozobots (provided by the consortium) Markers (thicker is better) White bulletin board paper to cover the tables Rules to make straight lines Additional coding sheets and games from Ozobot.com How it works My aide covered all the tables with paper and we set out Ozobots, markers, and coding sheets. Then the kids came in and played. My aide mostly hung out with them - she hadn't used them before and was interested and she's very patient, which is great because that's the main thing with Ozobots - you have to be patient and draw your lines carefully or you don't get results (not the ones you're looking for anyways). Evaluation 10-16-18 Attendance: 20 Notes: We had to watch the little kids - Ozobots are small enough to easily slip out in a little pocket (or get tasted!). Some kids tired of it quick...

  Program Goals: Introduce Ed Emberley and his art Encourage gross and fine motor skills (cutting, gluing, printing) Attendance: 10 Art Project Part 1: Collage (10-10:15) I had precut shapes and paper to cut up and the kids did cutting and gluing to make pictures. At 10:15ish, I sing the Storytime Song Supplies Precut shapes (circules, triangles, squares) Construction paper (colored) and scraps Cardstock (recycled) Googly eyes Glue, scissors Storytime/Snacktime: 10:15-10:40 I get all the kids more or less sitting down and ask a parent or two to pass out the snack during the first story. Depending on the age of the kids, we'll talk about different aspects of the art, anything from identifying colors and shapes to asking questions about the author's process and materials. Technically Emberley and his daughter collaborate, but I usually don't talk as much about the art in these books because we're so busy having fun! Books Go away big green monster (puppet) Red Hen ( flann...

This is a 30 minute talk I gave at a local childcare center for their professional development day. Description: Learn about the many different resources, materials, and services offered by public libraries in general and the Matheson Memorial Library in particular. Storytime kits, technology, online resources, and new books will be showcased along with tips for use in early childhood classrooms. Talking points What is a library consortium and how does it work? Ask your consortium if they offer Institutional cards/classroom collections Field trips and/or classroom visits Storytime kits Things you may be able to check out at your library Storytime kits and/or toys Maker kits/technology/STEM kits Professional resources you may be able to share Books - child development, storytimes, play spaces, and early literacy Library resources - puppets, die cuts, etc. Matheson Memorial Library resources Field trips/classroom visits Institutional cards/classroom collections Materials Storytime kits a...

Program Goals Teach kids new skills Offer the opportunity for hands-on learning Promote nonfiction Supplies 3D dollhouse furniture from Amazon I bought two sets of this and could have used more! I had volunteers pre-cut it, but I think if I did it again I'd let people break it out themselves, so they could match it up more easily. wooden shapes from Amazon small rectangles and various sized circles - would buy more next time cardboard boxes and precut fairy garden and other miniatures from Amazon craft wire (Twisteez) from Amazon (look for the right listing or it's really expensive) popsicle sticks of various sizes acrylic paint and supplies permanent markers misc./optional supplies felt, yarn, fabric scraps handmade paper scraps pipe cleaners sewing tools misc. small recyclables old board game pieces corks (donated) Tools hot glue guns xacto knife kitchen shears regular scissors regular tape and duct tape Resources D.I.Y. Dollhouse, ISBN: 1616896078 This was the best resource....

Program Goals: Introduce Melissa Sweet and her art Encourage gross and fine motor skills (cutting, drawing) Attendance: 10 Art Project Part 1: Collages (10-10:15) I encouraged kids and parents to cut out words as well as pictures to create their collage. Supplies old magazines/recycled picture books/galleys scissors, glue sticks 9x18 white construction paper OR shirt cardboard Storytime/Snacktime (10:15-10:40) Books Carmine a little more red Easy as pie Baabwaa and Wooliam Rubia and the three osos Art Project Part 2: Watercolors (10:45-11) I've used actual paint for this, but you get better (and less messy) watercolors with watercolor pencils if they're available. Supplies Watercolor pencils Water, paint brushes Construction paper Evaluation 10-3-18 Attendance: 12 Notes: I only read one book - the group was just too disparate, a very tiny toddler, four year old, and a sixth grader! 3-14-14 Notes : Ideally, I'd do the second half of this with watercolors, but I don't hav...

Program Goals:  Introduce kids to the library and its role in the community Introduce kids and teachers to the different functions of library staff Give kids and teachers a sense of community ownership of the library Promote school/library cooperation 10-15 Minute Tour Start upstairs at the director’s office The director is the principal of the library. She helps everyone do their jobs, makes sure the library runs smoothly and represents the library to the community. Adult services Mr. Robinson and his helpers do all the things for grown-ups that we do for kids - fun programs, new books, helps with computers and visits people who can’t come to the library. Downstairs - Information desk A place for grown-ups to ask questions. Kids can ask questions here too, if there is no one at the children’s desk! Circulation This is where the materials circulate. Circulation staff help keep track of who checks out what, remind you to return your books, put the books away, and answer questions ab...

Program Goals Drop-in program for all ages Experiment with art techniques and supplies Build fine motor skills Attendance: 20 Supplies Colorations ultimate art paper Muslin scraps Suminagashi marbling inks (purchased on Amazon) tubs, water source (hose), ice cub trays, paintbrushes, aprons paper scraps, pens, paper clips How it works Kids use the paintbrushes to tap, paint, drip, or splatter ink into the tubs, which are filled with about two inches of water. Then they drop the paper or muslin in, peel it out, and it transfers the design to the item. The paper scraps are to label the kids' art with their names The main effort involved in this is my staff (I scheduled both teens) emptying and refilling the water tubs and labeling and moving the marbled art out to dry. Evaluation 10-2-18 Attendance: 20 Notes: This is a popular and easy art program. It's important to remember that construction paper doesn't work well for this (the art paper worked well and cardstock does well t...

Craft-o-rama is my drop-in program. I use it on Tuesdays in August, to replace our most popular storytime provider, and on no-school days. It takes about 15 minutes to set up and, depending on how many people came through, up to an hour to clean up. If possible, we'll clean and refill the sink at least once during the day. The posted times are generally 10-5 or 10-7, depending on when I can schedule someone to clean up. I usually open the room earlier, as soon as it's been set up. Easel with sign-in sheet. This is how I count attendees. Small door is locked and I set one white table against it. This has the base materials - boxes of scrap paper and magnet pieces. Craft-o-rama tubs. I dump leftover craft materials and donated pieces of kits etc. in here. Every now and then I'll dump most of it and start over. Art table. This is all stuff from the Storyroom closet to use. I vary this somewhat, these are the basics. Big scissors, tape, staplers, glue, markers, stickers, small ...

This is a resource list for my colleague who provides toddler storytimes at the library and preschool/early literacy training at our local school-sponsored charter school (plus a gazillion other things). Flannelboards and manipulatives Printed Goldilocks and the three bears flannelboard (see Terri) Rhymes, songs, and movement Good Ms. Padgett sings The little red hen and other stories (cd) Crafts Make your own puppets Teddy bear die cut, gingerbread man person shape Popsicle sticks Decorations, tape Fractured fairy tale For readers - pre-print words and have the kids arrange them and write in their own to create a fractured fairy tale (similar to madlibs) For non-readers - cut out photographs, bears, little girls, chairs, etc. and then add in weird stuff. Have the kids arrange them and then "tell" the story. This will work as a flannelboard too. STEM - how heavy? Small cardboard boxes, weights (rocks? books?) Kids stack items on the boxes until they collapse Bonus if you can ...