You’ve probably heard of New Year’s at noon programs (where you celebrate New Year’s Eve at noon for the midday crowd). But, since our regular family programs happen at 2:00pm on Sundays, we couldn’t exactly do that. We opted for a New Year’s Eve Eve celebration, with games and crafts. It ended with a mock ball drop and a bubble-filled dance party. Read on to learn what the activities were and feel free to share your own ideas in the comments!
In mid-December, I hosted our second-annual (and my first ever) Kids Craft Market. Kids signed up to “sell” their wares—be it origami animals or bracelets or “fake paper airplanes”—to other kids. Besides the general anxiety of worrying if people will show up, it’s one of the easiest programs I’ve planned. And it’s one of the most rewarding! Continue reading “Program-And-Tell: Kids Craft Market”
Over at Medal on My Mind, we’ve been hard at work sifting through all the titles eligible for the Stonewall Book Award this year. I created a Goodreads list of 2018 LGBTQIA+ children’s and YA lit to track all the titles. Then I decided it would be fun to embark on a little research project and concurrently track the number of those books that receive starred reviews. I’m no statistician, but it’s been super interesting to see how our choices for Stonewall compare with what the journals rank highest. Not to mention the types of stories, the kinds of identities, and the authors who are prized most.
In June, our library’s long-standing monthly Tween Book Group passed down to me. I was super nervous when I led my first program, because I had never led a book group for young people before. Not only is it now my favorite program, but I have since started a few other programs for tweens—they’re the best!
Tween Book Group is structured with about half the time devoted to discussion and half the time devoted to an extension activity. The program lasts and hour and, honestly, it never feels like there’s enough time!
I’m sure you probably felt the same way but, boy, was this summer busy! So far, fall is forecasting a similar frenzy. But I’m a bit more optimistic that I’ll inch closer to some semblance of work/life balance without Summer Reading looming overhead. Though, to be honest, it’s still there because I’m already in the midst of planning next year’s Summer Reading. Out of sight, but certainly not out of mind…
Have you ever had the opportunity to take your dream job but then turned it down? I did recently. I turned down an opportunity to be our system’s Early Literacy Librarian, and I’ve been grappling with that choice ever since (hence the above photo). The short story is that I’m switching gears on this blog to focus on school-age programming. Read on for the long version.
STEAM Storytime’s next subject: Math! During this storytime, we worked on addition, subtraction, and problem solving skills. The result? Two highly interactive read-alouds and a very useful take-home craft to help build number sense. Read on!
