Programming Ideas 



Desk Decorations



This isn't so much a program... but I thought it might be fun to share on here.

I've never liked how the front of our Youth Reference desk looks, so I usually try to decorate it depending on the season. And my decorations have gotten more elaborate as time has gone on. Here are some of my favorites that I remembered to take pictures of before I tore them down:

Pirate Ship (October 2024)

Our Harvest Fest for that year was Pirate themed (decided by me) so I used that as an excuse to make the desk into a Pirate Ship.

Theme: Hoist the Sails and Dive into a new Book!

August/September 2023 (Back-to-School Season)

Nitendo Mario-themed. Printing and trimming out all the little pieces took forever but I really liked how it came together.

Theme: Level Up into a new School Year!

December 2024 (Candyland theme)

This went along with a Candyland Mini Golf program we had that month. All the giant candy canes are inflatable (bought from Amazon in a pack of 30)

Theme: Books are Candy for your Brain

October 2023

Was trying to do something spooky-adjacent for Halloween that was cute and wouldn't give the kids nightmares. It occurred to me that Pac-man had ghosts, characters of which seemed easy enough to craft free-hand with construction paper and a glue sticks.

Theme: Gobble up a Ghostly Book!

Summer (June/July 2024

We went for a "Farming/barnyard Vibe" that year for summer reading, given the theme. Could have geared more towards a "recycling theme" as was intended by i-read, but this seemed more fun.

Theme: Read Renew Repeat

August/September 2024

I was trying to do something simple here. It still took me all day to make my giant props out of paper, but was worth it.

Theme: Back to School

February 2024 

Black History Month

This required a little bit of reseach on my part, to decide on historical figures most kids would know, and then to select a quote from each to highlight.

Theme: Historical quotes

November 2024 

This came together really easily once I found images on Canva that matched, to then print and trim out. It's supposed to be like a Thanksgiving feast laid out on a table.

Theme: Thankful for the Library

December/January 2023 

This looked better in my head. I made a castle and covered it in snowflakes in an attempt to do something non-denominational for Christmas.

Theme: Reading in a Winter Wonderland

12-21-24




Eclipse

Viewing




I needed some time to pull my thoughts together and explain all this. You'll need some special circumstances to pull off this program. The sun and the moon literally need to align!

As is no secret, there was a Solar Eclipse back April 2024. There was a couple of ways I could have handled this program, at least in a way that made sense to me. Not to forget October 2023, there was also a partial Eclipse (from where we are located in Illinois) that month, that I scheduled a program for, but the weather was overcast. So it was cloudy you couldn't see the sun, defeating the purpose of a viewing. That day, I just left out a bin with 50 solar-safe glasses at our Circulation desk where people walk in, and called it a day. If people wanted a pair of glasses, they were welcome to take a pair. Suffice to say, all 50 pairs were gone by the end of the day.

Fast forward to April. I knew the weather would be nicer in the Spring (if it didn't rain on us the day of the Eclipse) and started to plan a viewing in earnest for that day (April 8). We already had glasses. SEAL, the (Solar Eclipse Activities for Libraries) had already sent us a box of 500 glasses a year prior. I also pulled information from their website to make a fun brochure of info on the Eclipse to hand out along with the glasses. 

Outside of Brochure

Inside of Brochure

This Program also required some research on my part. I had to decide how long I wanted to hold this program for. According to my research, I knew the Eclipse itself would take place over the course of about 3-ish hours. Meaning the moon would start to pass over the sun, but move slowly and not be visually noticeable at first, even if it at about 10-15% coverage. That said, I also did not want to hold a program for that amount of time outside, where all we are doing is looking at the sky for 3-hours. So I set the time of the program to start at least a half an hour after the Eclipse technically began, based on when I knew the Eclipse would be at full coverage (that being about 95% in our area in the Chicago suburbs). I then set the program to "end" (meaning people were still welcome to stay outside but I would begin to head back inside to cover the reference desk) about thirty to forty-five minutes after the Eclipse had passed full coverage. And of course I made an announcement to our viewing party when the eclipse was at full (95%)coverage.

Also, if you are doing an eclipse viewing at your location, this seems obvious, but you'll need to know where the sun will be in the sky at that given time. Meaning you need to know which direction your building faces (north, south, east west) and where people should set up their lawn chairs to see the eclipse straight on. We have a lot of tall trees around our property so I had to take that into consideration as well that they wouldn't be blocking the view. Luckily, the back of our building (next to the parking lot) made the perfect viewing area. 

So, having established all this, what else did I do to prepare? 

We advertised our viewing telling people to bring their own lawn chairs, but also had chairs available for those who didn't bring one. 

I also prepared some time-killing activities for kids that might attend. The Eclipse occurred on a Monday afternoon during the school day, but some schools gave kids the day off, and some parents just pulled their kids out of school to view the eclipse. We had bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and a magnetic fishing game set up for kids to play with, which proved invaluable. 

On the the solar-safe glasses. *deep breath* You will get calls. So many calls of people trying to secure a pair of glasses before the event itself. As far as I could tell, no other libraries in the area were doing a viewing at their locations. They just advertised they had glasses and were giving them out a week or so before the Eclipse itself. That is the other way you could facilitate this program, just handing out glasses ahead of time. So this is to say that the other Libraries must have run out of their glasses, because everyone and their grandma was calling us at our Library to try and get a pair of glasses the weekend before the Eclipse.

Except, we were not set to hand out glasses until our program started the day of the Eclipse... Where we handed out 450 pairs of solar-safe glasses in no time at all. Some patrons stayed to view the Eclipse with their glasses from our lawn, while others took their glasses to go. Which worked out fine, considering how packed our parking lot was that day. We have security for our library and they were a help helping facilitate the traffic (also the cops were present considering how big a crowd we had, they parked on the side of the road - not that they needed to intervene - but it was reassuring to have them there).

If I could do this program again... I think I would have ordered us twice as many solar-safe glasses. Or perhaps evern more than that. Some I would have made available for patrons to pick-up the week before the Eclipse, while the other half I would have set aside for the program itself. If only to to cut down on some of the crowd the day of, I would overprepare. That's really the only thing I would do different. If you take away nothing else from all this, do not underestimate how many people in your community will come looking for resources when there is an Eclipse, especially when they announce on the new to visit your local library for free glasses.

12-21-24






      Mini-Dough   

   Sculpting







This was an easy enough program to put on for the kids that both they and their parents enjoyed and participated in. You could get never-dry clay for this, but I find Play-doh easier for the kids to work with. It's less tacky on the hands and a lot cheaper. I wouldn't recommend buying big containers of playdoh for this, however. 

I bought a variety pack with several different colors in the smallest of containers (easily found on Amazon). So the kids would arrive at the program and I would have tables set up with plastic "sculpting tools" for cutting and shaping the dough, as well as googly eyes to decorate. The play-doh itself, I kept arranged on a cart, so the kids could pick out which colors they wanted to work with and take it to their table. Each kid would start off with 4-5 containers, and I would let them choose more later on if no more kids came and I had enough to go around.

Also helpful, I found, were printed out examples of what the kids could try and create. Some made what they wanted without prompting, while others used the example sheets as inspiration. I scattered the sheets across the tables for the kids to look at if they wanted to.

At the end of the program, I let the kids take their mini Playdoh with them home, as I didn't see a point in keeping the Play-doh after it had been mixed with all different colors. The only case in which I reuse play-doh is the containers I keep for my story-time kids when we do a sculpting activity.

Clean-up following this program wasn't too difficult. I didn't have the wipe down tables, just sweep the floors, as I did find little crumps of dropped play-doh sprinkled about the room. I wouldn't recommend doing this on carpet (as playdoh is annoying to scrape out of carpet after stepped on).


10-8-24

Get Ready for  Kindergarten

Program

This was a comprehensive Saturday Program I put together for the late summer time geared for Kindergarteners and preparedness for starting school. I made different learning stations that each focused on different things kids should know before starting kindergarten. I tried to make each exercise as hands on as possible. The stations were as follows:

The kids also got a check-list (below to the right) and some stickers to put a sticker on each of the icons when they completed a station. Once they had done all the stations, they were awarded a certificate )below tp the left) and a free popsicle treat (also the parents got one too).

9-28-24

Money Smart Candy Cart

(updated)

This is a program idea I have explained on here before, but have since refined a little.

For money Smart Week (in April) I run this program for 2 weeks to give kids hands on learning to practicing the math behind spending money. Each type of candy in the "candy cart shop" costs a different amount (as labeled on their bins with bright colors). The kids get to spin the wheel 3 times to determine how much money they will start with to spend.

The fun wheel spin sort of gets the kids into the game before the actual math practice comes into play. Once the kids have their money, they have to do the math to determine what they can buy from the shop. I can also break bigger bills from them if necessary, or make change, but they have to do all the math themselves. 

After completing this activity (which takes no more than 5 minutes usually) the kids walk away with free candy and some math worksheets to practice with at home.

All the fake money, I print off myself with images from Canva. The kids, at least were impressed, seeming as some of them wanted to keep the fake bills.

8-3-24




Table-Top 

Mini Golf

(Bluey Themed)




This idea came about because I wanted to do a program that was Bluey themed for the Spring. I'd also wanted to try my hand at a Mini-Golf program for the longest time - So Bluey "Tee-Time" was born.

First, I planned on making a regular mini-golf course and started researching and budgeting on how much money I wanted to spend on golf-clubs... which are weirdly expensive (or at least out of the range of what I wanted to spend). Even the "children's golf clubs" made out of plastic - I could only find sold in "golf kits" toys for kids and wasn't a fan of the high price. So I pivoted.

I found pens on Amazon shaped like little golf clubs. I could buy them in bulk for cheap (and they were cute). So I decided to do a table-top version of mini-golf, trimming down green table cloths to fit and taping off the edges of the tables with pool noodles to make bumpers and make it easier for the kids to golf. I can't lies here. I thought setting up the course would take me an hour and a half tops - It took twice that amount of time, even though I had help. I also went though about three rolls of tape to affix everything where I wanted it. Be prepared to sweat if you want to replicate this. My DIY golf-course had 9 holes:

Most of the decorations I either made or we already had in the Department(like the giant animals, book ends, ball pit balls, pool, musical instruments, unicorn head). All the characters and items you see spotting the courses, I printed off, laminated, and trimmed out to spread around the room. The only things I had to buy for the course were:

>Green Table cloths

>Pool Noodles

>Rainbow Cones

>Bluey Backdrop (from party city)

So when everyone arrived to play the course, they also got a goody bag (with blue pawprints on it). In the goodie bag was their golf pen, a score card, a "feather wand" bookmark, and a few other goodies that were on-theme for a Bluey event (ice-cream popper, sticky hand, gummy candy burger, jolly ranchers).

I also bought a bulk bag of rainbow wiffle golf balls so kids and parents could pick what color of ball they wanted when they arrived to play the course.

So did I save money on my course so I could make goody bags? Yes. Yes, I did. (And am happy with that dicision)

For completing the course, golfers were awarded a "Punch Ballon" (in keeping witht he Bluey Theme - Think "Keepy-Uppy)

Finally, we had a craft station. Because of course you need to have a craft station for programs like this. Again, keeping with the Bluey theme, I took inspiration from the Bluey episode "Queens". So we bedazzled golder paper crowns with peel and stick glittery stickers (which the kids loved and wore all around). Also, we had Bluey coloring pages for the kids to color.

8-3-24



Dr. Seuss 

Birthday

Party!

(Updated)

I've posted on here about this program before, but since my Library hosts this Birthday Party annually in our Youth Department, I have a chance each year to refine the program, getting rid of what doesn't work and adding new things to try out.

Games

Games are always a must for any program like this to keep kids entertained and I sought this year to make every game themed around Dr. Seuss characters.

(Signage I designed on Canva of all the Games at the Party)

Scavenger Hunt

I like giving out Goodie Bags for programs like this, and having a little 'Scavenger Hunt' for the kids to participate in is a good way for them do an activity congruent to that.

So I made a scavenger hunt sheet, printed out the characters on the sheet, and spread them all around the space we were having the program (mostly by the games). 

In the Goody Bags, I included:

>Dr. Seuss Pencil    >Dr. Seuss eraser

>Dr. Seuss Fun Fact Sheet   >Party Blower

>Sticky Hand toy   >Dr. Seuss Bookmark

>"There's a Wocket in my Pocket" Craft kit

>3 Jolly ranchers   >2 Sour Patch Kids

Craft Station

I picked out two crafts for the kids to make this year, but with the same supplies for each to keep it simple (and so I wouldn't have to buy separate supplies)

The Directions to either craft, you can see to the right, along with pictures of what the "Triangle Fish & Fox" are supposed to look like >

Also printed out for the kids to color were som Dr. Seuss Coloring Sheets, which were printed off free from the internet.


3-27-24


GAME

NIGHT

at the

Library


This is an easy program to put on if you already have a board game collection like I do at your Library. Bonus points if your department has any video game consoles you can set up too.

Below to the left are some of the most popular board games the kids like to play. Some I keep in our board game cabinet year-round. Others I only bring out for our designated "Game Nights" because they are a little loud and not suited to have in the department day-to-day (Hungry-Hungry-Hippos, Bluey Keepy-Uppy, Perfection)

The "Video Game Station" I like to set up separately from he board games, in my Department's Teen Room where there is a television already mounted on the wall. Then I also wheel in two other (smaller) televisions on carts. The big TV on the wall I usually set to one of our Nintendo Switch consoles and put on Mario Kart so more than one kid can play (the kids usually also like playing together). One the first smaller television, I set up a Wii console. The kids like to play Wii Sports and Dance-Dance-Revolution on this. The last TV I set up to the remaining Nintendo Switch, and the kids usually play Splatoon on this (though I was going to get us some new games too for them to choose from)

Board Games

Video Games

4-1-24

S.T.E.A.M.

Experiment

Lab Room:

Liquids

For this Program, I set up a "Lab Room" for the kids. the Room itself was divided into three areas. The kids were meant to migrate from one area to the other, each area holding its own separate experiment to try their hand at.

For the first time doing this program, I chose to do three different experiments with Liquids (looking back, I might not have done such messy experiments all together - but the kids still had fun with each one). 

The supplies for each experiment were at all arranged at their appropriate tables with printed off directions. (Copies of which you can see displayed the left with explanations written out on the reverse sides)

I advertised this program for ages 6 and up. The younger children, while they required more assistance and did not entirely understand how everything worked, were still fascinated by everything that was happening and eager to participate in the "science". I tried to make this all as kid-capable as possible so they were the ones actually doing the experiments and not just watching me the whole time.

And for anyone who wants to try this, I would use bigger lids for the "Magic Milk" Experiment than I did - so you don't have to change out the milk as often. The kids liked to play with this as long as they could. 

1-11-24



Passive Programming

Choose your

Trick-or-Treater

I've posted about this before when I did a superhero one for Summer Reading. So excuse the repeat: (but I redid my mix-and-match boxes for the Halloween season and might actually like this one better)

What is passive Programing? Have you been to a library where they have community puzzle set up where anyone can work on it? Or a table covered in paper that anyone can draw on? Well, this is like that, but much simplified for kids (and with much less of a chance of puzzle pieces going missing in the process)

If you're a Youth Librarian, you probably already have a "play section" in your department with some assortment of toys or puzzles for kids to play with in the Library. Likely, you even have blocks. This is like that, I guess, stacking blocks - Just super-sized.

The images I used for my "Trick-or Treaters" I got from Canva and divided up into three parts (head - torso - legs). The "blocks" are just large, empty carboard boxes I started saving up when I first got this idea months prior. 

I didn't want much of the cardboard texture showing on the boxes so I first taped down white paper with blue masking tape, going over every edge and corner to give the final product a cleaner look. (the masking tape will eventually start to peel up in parts- especially if its being handled by a lot of kids - so you may have to go over spots later with a stronger clear book-tape like I did).

Then, with a glue stick, I glued down my "body parts" I had trimmed out and glued them down onto their respective boxes. And on the top of each box, I also labeled with numbers. Head=1  Torso=2  Legs=3.

I put my Trick-or Treaters in the empty space front of the Reference desk so it was front and center when patrons entered the department - and also in my line of sight so I could keep an eye on it in case it got damaged.

For the most part, it held up well through October. And the kids love playing with it, making different combinations.

11-9-23

Harvest Fest Carnival (Again)

This wasn't the first time I've done this program (the last one I did is detailed  on an earlier post from 2022) and I'm sure it won't be the last time I do this program either. So, for this year's Harvest Fest Carnival hosted by my Library for the Halloween season, I already pretty much knew what I wanted to do. I just went about refining some of the games, as well as my decorations. This Program has 3 parts: Carnival Games, Crafts, and Scavenger Hunt.

CARNIVAL GAMES

To the left are the signs I used for each of my games at Harvest Fest.

Each game also had a bucket of candy at it. so the kids would play the game and then 'win' the candy. Some kids are good at just taking a few pieces - while others took took much and we were close to running out of candy halfway through he program.

I think in the future I am just going to do goody bags for each individual child to attend because I never have enough volunteers to man each game and keep an eyes on the buckets of candy.

Click link below:

harvestfestgamestiktok


CRAFTS

We usually do a craft station in the youth department during this program. In addition to some Halloween coloring pages, kids and parents had the option of making 2 different crafts this year. 

A Lolly-pop or a Spooky Snake. 

I pre-made some buckets that had all the supplies needed to make the crafts (containing gluesticks, a package of beads, rainbow popsicle sticks, googly eyes, and a rainbow assortment of pipe cleaners). I placed a bucket with these supplies at each table, along with instruction sheets to the crafts (as you can see prepared to the left). 

The Lolly-pop craft turned out to be more popular than the snakes, though the kids still used the beads and pipe cleaners to make themselves bracelets to take home (which I expected to happen because we usually keep a bucket available in the department for the kids to do so).

With either of these crafts, I picked things that i would need the least amount of supplies for - and that would be easy enough for all age groups to make without too much assistance.

SCAVENGER HUNT

I like to do a scavenger hunt with this program and tie it in with my decorations. 

In this case, I hid "trick-or-treaters" all around the space we were having Harvest Fest. This also made the kids walk all around to see all the activities. The incentive to participate is the reward of a pop-it keychain (of which I found some Halloween ones in bulk on Amazon).

The images I got for free from CANVA and also designed the printed-out sheets on there as well.

I thought it would also be fun to have all the trick-or-treaters telling Halloween jokes and printed out speech bubbles for them.

11-3-23

Spooky Piñata

Craft Class

This was a Program I put on for October.

Like any craft program where everyone attending will be making the same thing, you are going to need multiples of the same supplies.

So I set up tables in our multi-purpose room and put bins on each table filled with the paper bags and tissue paper we would be crafting with. (I ordered 2 variety color packs of tissue paper from Amazon and small white paper bags) The tissue paper, I had pre-cut into long strips so the kids an parents attending only had to cut in fringe before gluing down their layers. I also put out cups of glue sticks and scissors at each table, along with peel-and-stick googly eyes which the kids were generous with.

For the candy, I divvied it up into separate cups ahead of time and put on a cart, so kids could just grab their candy and go to their table when they walked in the room. (This way there was no fighting over who got what candy)

I also included instruction sheets on each table, as you can see depicted below.

All in all, the piñatas came out better than I thought they would. The process is a little monotonous, what with gluing on layer after layer. The younger kids had a little bit of difficulty, though the parents attending the program joining in to make one themselves, helped quite a bit. It turned out to be a fun family program.

Supplies For the craft:

10-26-23


Balloon Room


I had done something like this before in a previous program (Dr. Seuss Birthday Party), just on a smaller scale (because it was a much smaller room I had filled up with balloons).

You'll see in the Image carousel to the left that I filled up our Activity room with balloons. This is the biggest open room we have in the Library. 

Just filling up the balloons was it's own sort of ordeal. If you want to take on a program like this, you're going to have to set aside a couple hours to fill balloons, depending on how many you want. I filled probably over 350. I  also had the foresight to buy an electric balloon pump for the Youth Department, so it went faster, but I still had to tie all the balloons individually (take breaks or you might start to lose feeling in your fingers). 

The second part to this program was the "superhero" theme to go along with our same Summer Reading theme. (This room was also apart of our Summer Reading Kick-off activities) In the room, I had printed and trimmed out both Marvel and DC Super Heroes & Villains (comic book versions of the characters). All of these were taped to the walls and spread out mostly at eye height. The Villains all had targets on them. So the idea was for the kids to hit the villians with the balloons and "help the good guys defeat them".

I recommend both printing and trimming out all your superheroes and villains ahead of time - Taping them all up (so that they were secure) also took me longer than expected.

Along the ceiling, I had also strung some hoops(made from 2 taped together pool noodles) for the kids to hit the balloons through. I had to get up on a ladder to accomplish this.

And so the ceiling didn't look so plain compared to the rest of the room covered in rainbow balloons, I also purchased a "balloon cascade" kit from Walmart and hung that from the ceiling along with the hoops. (The cascade actually lasted well after this program and I hung it up elsewhere to decorate our Lobby through the end of Summer Reading).

Clean-up for this program was far easier than the set up. The older kids to attend the program liked some of the superheroes I had taped up and asked if they could take them. This saved me the trouble of tearing them down myself. The balloons were even easier. I popped everything with a letter opener and used a broom to sweep all the popped balloons into a pile before throwing them away. I also invited kids who attended the day of the program to take a balloon home with them if they wanted to.

8-29-23




History Month Displays




This is more of a display idea than a program. Though, if you wanted, you could easily make it interactive with brochures offering fun facts about your displayed Historical figures. I plan to do this in the future.

For this display, we already had in our Lobby directly outside of the Youth Department, a large wall decal of a tree. (our Library logo is a tree so the tree is there year-round as a decoration). Usually, we just decorate it with leaves made from our die-cut machine. 

For the month of February and March (Black History Month and Women's History Month respectively) I opted to decorate the tree with Historical Figures. (The design with each individual cut out and and name in script below is inspired off of one of the Harry Potter Movies where a similar design is used all wallpaper to depict a family tree)

It took me a couple hours to complete either tree. First I had to compose a list of people to feature for each month. Then I made use of Google Images, going through pictures of my historical figures to find a up-close portrait. For some of the older figures, I just used well-known paintings of their likeness. 

Then I put those images into CANVA and fit a banner under each head-shot to spell out their name on. Then I had to print everything out and then carefully trim them out (which took the most time).

It helped, that for this project, I used most of the women from my Black History Month Tree also on the Women History Tree. And as you can see in the first picture up above, I had my Teen Book Display for Black History Month set up directly in front of the tree, which I also did for March (but for Women's History Month). This helped to really tie everything together. 

8-24-23



Lego Builder's Club



Lego Clubs and Libraries are nothing new - but here is how did it at my Library.

Going into this, I knew I would need a lot of Legos. Luckily, we already had some at the Library. I also knew I wanted to open this program up to all ages. So I dedicated one corner of the room (in which I was holding the program) to our Library's collection of Mega Blocks. I also put down our foam connecters on the floor so it'd be cushioned and comfortable for the younger kids (though the older kids ended up building in this corner too).

The Library also had a collection of Duplo Blocks, which I put all at their own table right next to the Mega Block corner. These also go built with far more than I had anticipated. So it was worth setting them all up.

Now on to the regular Legos. I figured most of the kids would prefer to do free-build (and I was right) so the rest of the room (except for one small table) was dedicated to that. 

The table which was the exception, you can see depicted in the first picture in the carousel to the left. This held a Lego pack (with directions - and the name of the pack can be found in red below) and a Build-your-own-Roller coaster game (that had been recently donated to the Youth Department). So if someone wanted to build from directions (and they did) they would just sit at this table and not get those pieces mixed up with the other ones.

The remainder of the Legos, I put in different bins and placed here and there on all the other tables in the room with build plates to work off of. (I really recommend having build plates). I had also placed my Lego storage bucket (with excess Legos) in the middle of the room for easy access for the kids.

The only Legos I actually bought for this program were 2 LEGO Classic Medium Creative Brick Box (depicted to the left) and extra Build plates. One of the "Brick Boxes" I kept together with the directions (as mentioned above). The other box I just mixed in with the rest of the loose Legos. 

The remainder of the Legos I used at the program were ones we already had - but even more had been recently donated to the Library. It was the donation of this large amount Legos which prompted me to start a Lego Builder's Club. Before then, I hadn't wanted to start up a proper Lego program because I didn't think our department had enough bricks to do the program properly - At least to the extent that'd I'd be able to host multiple kids at once and not run out of building materials for them to use (and not fight over). Legos (the brand-name ones that work the best) also tend to be expensive - And I didn't want to blow all of my programming budget on them.

We also have a set of magnets you can build with so I like to put that out too for kids to play with.

Ultimately, this program turned out well and will be an easy one to put on in the future because I won't have to buy new supplies every time I want to put it on.

8-22-23


Teen & Tween Poetry Contest


I thought this would be a fun little program to put on for the Summer and tried to make it as easy as possible for kids to enter and participate.

I advertised the program for kids aged 8-18 and made the entry period for June through July. The kids could write any type of poem they wanted, but had to submit their as a hand-written poem to the Youth Department (where I had a little area dedicated to the program). On submission, the kids just had to make sure to include their name and a reliable phone number (so they could be contacted if they won the contest).

As an incentive, I offered 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes to the winners.

And seeing as I set up my little station on top of an old card catalog (as you can see in the picture to the right) I decided to put writing prompts in each of the drawers, just in case the kids had writer's block.

Below is a tiktok that outlines the program (and that I posted to promote the contest).


poetrycontesttiktok

7-8-23




Passive Programing:

Choose your Hero



What is passive Programing? Have you been to a library where they have community puzzle set up where anyone can work on it? Or a table covered in paper that anyone can draw on? Well, this is like that, but much simplified for kids (and with much less of a chance of puzzle pieces going missing in the process)

If you're a Youth Librarian, you probably already have a "play section" in your department with some assortment of toys or puzzles for kids to play with in the Library. Likely, you even have blocks. This is like that, I guess, stacking blocks - Just super-sized.

I made this as a decoration for our Summer Reading Program (the theme was Super Heroes if you haven't already guessed so). If I'm able, I like to make decorations interactive in some way, doubling the purpose of whatever I take the ime to make.

The images I used for my Summer Reading "Heroes" I got from Canva and divided up into three parts (head - torso - legs). The "blocks" are just large, empty carboard boxes I started saving up when I first got this idea months prior. 

I didn't want much of the cardboard texture showing on the boxes so I first taped down white paper with blue masking tape, going over every edge and corner to give the final product a cleaner look. (the masking tape will eventually start to peel up in parts- especially if its being handled by a lot of kids - so you may have to go over spots later with a stronger clear book-tape like I did).

Then, with a glue stick, I glued down my "Hero body parts" I had trimmed out and glued them down onto their respective boxes. And on the top of each box, I also labeled with numbers. Head=1  Torso=2  Legs=3.

I put my heroes in the empty space front of the Reference desk so it was front and center when patrons entered the department - and also in my line of sight so I could keep an eye on it in case it got damaged.

For the most part, it held up well, being left out the entire stretch of Summer Reading. And the kids love playing with it, making different Hero combinations.

6-30-23










TEA PARTY



This wonderous program I put on for National Library Week can be divided into four parts.

First was the "Tea Party" aspect I named the program after. For this, I knew I would need snacks. Rather than serve actual tea to kids (which would of been less than appreciated), I went the route of cookies and juice boxes. But I also wanted these snacks to be on theme. So on CANVA I designed wrappers for the pre-packaged cookies (Oreos, Golden Oreos, Chips Ahoy) and juice boxes I ordered off Amazon. Then, individually, I wrapped each snack by hand, taping on my printed out wrappers. At most, this took me an hour, but was worth it, because i came out exactly how I wanted it. We also had pre-packed bags of popcorn and plates for the kids to eat from. But everything was finger-food, no utensils needed.

Second was games. In our Youth Department, we already had on hand several Board Games that are availaable for the kids to play when they pay a visit to the Library. Providing such things isn't an unusual thing when it comes to Libraries these days. Most libraries even allow patrons to check out the board games. 

However, I took it upon myself to expand our board game collection so there was more variety for Tea Party I was planning. That's right, the kids played board games. In our event room, I set up four big tables to run parallel to the length of the room (just like the table they at at for the Tea Party in the Disney movie). Then I also set up other tables all around the room. 

A small table at the front of the room where you walked in held all the board games to choose from. Then it was just as simple as the kids and parents attending the party to pick out a board game to play and take it to an open table. Some of the more involved games I set up ahead of time at tables.

Click through the images carousel below if you want to know what games we had to play:

Third was the crafts. 

I didn't want anything too complicated for this. For bigger programs where I can't constantly be supervising the crafting stations, I try to avoid any crafts that require the use of scissors. Glue sticks are fine, but no liquid glue. 

In the case of this program, all the kids needed were markers and crayons to do their crafting. Off Amazon, I ordered paper teacups you can color and Alice in Wonderland sticker sheets. Then I just printed some coloring sheets out that were on theme for Wonderland.

Fourth was the decorations. 

I didn't have too much time to decorate for this program. Two of of my tried and true decorating hacks is to make use of table skirts and to piece together character posters. 

Table skirts, you can buy off of Amazon. They are made to stick around the edge of the tables you want to decorate. I got blue tinsel skirts to go around both the Youth Reference desk and the big Tea Party table I had in the gameing room. (In Hindsight I should have picked something sturdier for the big table because tinsel kept tearing off - But it did look pretty.

"Character Posters" as I am calling them here (because I can't think of a another name to call it by) are decorations I make myself with Microsoft Publisher. You'll want to download an image from online - but an image with good resolution that won't become fuzzy when blown up to size. Then you go into Microsoft Publisher on the computer and create a custom page size under "Page design" where you will be able to set how many inches tall and wide you want to print. Then just copy and paste in your large image to your new template on the screen. When you go to print, Publisher should give you the option of "tiling" your image - So it will print out in blocks automatically. After printing, you will then have to trim up the edges of your prints and glue and tape your image together. It's a bit like making a large puzzle. Using this method, I've made things like a  nearly 6-foot tall carnival tent, as well as the Cat in the Hat himself (standing as tall as I am)

Anyway, I made a big poster of Alice for the gaming room, taping it up in a vocal point. (I had assembled this weeks prior when I had a free afternoon at the desk and just left it taped to the wall in preparation). All around Alice (and taped up around the whole perimeter of the room), I then arranged "rose bushes". Freehand, I cut out the bushes from a big spool of green paper we had on hand. then I printed out plain roses, trimmed them out, and taped them to the bushes. Kids and parents attending the party were then encouraged to "Help Alice color the Roses Red" - As a nod to the scene in the book. I like doing things like this, making the decorations interactive.

5-4-23






Toddler Symphony








This program is all about music and motor skills.

I advertise this program for ages 1-6, though those even younger of infant age are also welcome.

Chances are, you already have some child-friendly musical instruments in your Library's collection. Like bells or shaker eggs that might be used for Storytime. We already had those things and I only had to purchase a few bigger instruments for the kids to try out. 

I knew going into this that I wanted a piano mat, some type of drums, and a xylophone. I found that 2 piano mats is more than enough and that the drums were the most popular instrument to play with by far.

A word of warning. This program is a noisy one. Obviously. You're giving musical instruments to toddlers, so of course it's going to be loud. But if noise doesn't bother you and your Library is equipped with a room where some boisterous noise can be made and it won't disturb the rest of the building - go for it. The kids will have a blast. If your library has an outdoor space it can use, that might be even better.

So as you can see in the picture, I laid out connecting foam mats on the floor. These, we use for story time in our big room as some cushioning so the kids don't have to sit on the hard floor. On top of these connecting tiles, I arranged all the instruments around for the kids to try out one by one. 

I also threw in some leftover balloons I had on hand from a previous program and the kids played with them, but not as much as thy did with the instruments.

4-29-23


How to throw a...

Dr. Seuss 

Birthday

Party!

This is a reoccurring family program my Library throws every year in March (for Dr. Seuss's Birthday on March 2nd). After I took the program over, I made a few changes. Mainly to do with the activities offered for the kids during the party. It's a bit like the Harvest Fest program I throw in October, but with an obvious Dr. Seuss theme throughout.

I also planned a Scavenger Hunt for the kids to participate in. I taped up different Dr. Seuss Character all around the department where we were having the party and put them all in plain sight for the kids to easily find. As a reward for completing the hunt, the kids then won goodie bags. The goodie bags all contained the same things.

We also had a craft station. And of course the craft was themed. We made Truffula Tree bookmarks, as inspired by Dr. Seuss's book, The Lorax. Supplies weren't too difficult to source, I just bought rainbow packs of large popsicle sticks and feathers and set them out in bins with directions. I did have to prep the paper, however, and used our department's dye-cut roller to cut out circles from white card stock. That way, we didn't need to give the kids scissors to complete the craft (which was a concern because I knew we would have young children in attendance). All the kids had to do was glue with glue sticks.

The only other thing we had at the party was a short storytime in the middle of the program, where we had the kids gather around to listen to The Cat in the Hat being read. This has always been a traditional part of the program that my Library puts on, having a storytime for the kids.

3-31-23



Seed Library



This is a fun all-ages program I am putting on at my Library for the Spring season (March-May). First I ordered different kinds of seeds off on Amazon. These are easy to find because there are a lot of different variety packs you can get. I picked one with mostly vegetable seeds. 

I also ordered paper coin envelopes to divide the seeds into. Each package of seeds comes with several seeds inside. When you go to sort through all the seeds to count out how many you want to put in each little envelope (I put at least 3 seeds each per envelope), be prepared to set aside some time. I did 15 differnt seed types and also wrote the name of vegetable seeds on the outside of each envelope (in case the kids mixed them up). I also sealed the back of each envelope with a sticker, rather then lick and close it. So just sorting an doing all this took me upwards of an hour and a half.

As for my little Seed Library Display (as you can see in the pictures to the left) I was lucky enough that my Library had an old card catalog for me to use. So each type of seed got its own individual drawer. Then it was as simple as designing on Canva and printing out little labels for the drawers. See below:

With the seeds then all sorted into their respective drawers, I then used our Library's photocopier to make copies of the back of each original seed packet (that gave instructions on how to grow each vegetable). I then put a stcck of tiny instruction sheets in each drawer with the matching seeds for kids and adults to take along with their seed envelopes. And then on top of the card catalog, I arranged a display of some of my favorite gardening books we have in our juvenile collection. The poster I am using to advertise the program, you can see below. A link to a TikTok I posted to our Library's account to help promote the program can be found above to the left.

3-23-23



Magic Milk S.T.E.A.M. Experiment


This is a easy and relatively cheap experiment to do with kids both older and younger. I advertised it at my library as an open program available for ages 4 and up and had kids of all ages attend. 

I've also made this into a kit for kids to take home, providing everything (pipet, food cooring in sealed containers, dish soap in sealed container, and cotton swab) except the milk and flat dish. I will include below the directions I included in that.

The directions and supply list for the actual experiment (as well as an explanation for how this all works) you can find to the lower left.

For conducting this experiment in-person with multiple kids, all I found that I needed was just a gallon of milk. A thin layer is all you need for each pan. However, I would recommend having multiple pans available for the kids, so each child has their own pan of milk to work with. The pans I used are the cheap tinfoil ones you can find at Dollar Tree in bulk.

I let the kids add the food coloring in themselves (adding drops of different colors here and there to best see the reaction soap has to milk) which tends to muddy up the milk pretty quickly. So keep in mind you will need to change out milk in the pans. Having a sink nearby to dump all the dyed milk  helps for this. If you don't have a sink, a large bowl works too to pour out unwanted milk. Then you just pour in a clean new layer into the pan and the kids pick up where they left off.

To clean up after this program it's as simple as dumping the last of the dyed milk down the drain and rinsing off your pans to dry and be used again.

1-19-23


  Cooking 

  Club Jr.






The title of this is pretty self-explanatory. This is a Cooking Club for kids program. I have done this program 2 different ways. In-person, and as Kits to take home. Depending on which way I am doing the program, I use different recipes for the kids. For either case, I always have good attendance. Because it's free food. Everyone loves free food.

Now, are the recipes healthy? well, they're not terribly unhealthy, I'd say. Basically, each recipe will yield a creative snack for each kid. One they will make their very own self. It's like crafting, but with food. Considering I have to buy the ingredients ahead of each program, I also avoid including anything that's perishable. So no produce, meat, dairy, etc. Also no peanut butter. Always keep allergic reactions in mind. 

So what does this leave? Well, ingredients that are individually packaged. These are both easier to work with, as well as avoid cross-contamination and leave you with no dishes to wash afterwards. If the program is in person, the recipes are a little more complicated and might include ingredients I couldn't find individually wrapped (like gummy worms, graham cracker, ice cream cones, or frosting). See the pictures to the right for example. If they are kits, I make them as simple as possible (and convenient enough to fit in a bag. Click one of the links below to see a TikToks of some of the kits i have put together.

In-Person

Kits

1-12-22







Adopt a Book Buddy








This was a fun little "adoption" program to put on. Both older and younger kids participated, adopting their Book Buddies from the Library. All I gave out were bookmarks with mini animal plush keychains attached. The bookmarks were the plastic sleeve kind. I designed on CANVA the bookmark inserts, one side explaining how to take care of your Book Buddy, the other the "Adoption Certificate" in which the kids could write the name of their new Buddy. I made about 65-ish of these bookmarks and made them available June-July. Click the link below to watch a TIKTOK detailing the program.

added 12-06-22










Family Reading Night Kits





"Sponsored by Illinois Secretary of State, Jesse White. Family Reading Night is an annual statewide event held in November to encourage families to spend quality time reading together"

So for Family Reading Night in November, my Library opted to offer specialized Kits to our local Families that they could pick up at the Library and utilize at home. The budget for this was around $200 for 25-ish kits. The kits were 1 per family, first come first serve.

What I provided in each kit:

> A fun Bingo Reading Sheet (designed on Canva and depicted below)

> A popcorn recipe so families had a snack to eat while the read their books (printed opposite the Bingo sheet & also designed on Canva and depicted below)

> Bag of Microwave popcorn

> 2 packages of snack-size Oreos

> 1 hot chocolate packet

> Special 2 sided bookmark

> Rainbow Scratch Craft Kit

> Free book of their choosing (ordered 10 copies of Pete the Cat and 10 Where the Wild things are - we also had some donated Dr. Seuss books to give away) (also the bulk of the budget was spent on the free books)

> A paper Gift Bag to hold everything

added 11-17-22





Mini Robotics

(highlighting your library's Tech. Collection) 







I try to do this program every other month or so and parents ask after it a lot too. The name "Mini Robotics" as I have dubbed it, just refers to all the STEAM educational toys we have in our collection.

I will run the program for an hour or longer. It's been ideal for me to have one big room with multiple tables set up. Each table will then have a different STEAM educational toy for the kids to try out. The kids then can go from station to station and operate each toy, most of whom operate by some particular principle. None of the things are too difficult to figure out and I encourage the kids to experiment.

Other things, like our Department's 3D printer, I just have out on display and mostly let the kids watch how it prints. If I have enough things printed (chess pieces take a short amount of time on our machine) I let the kids take them home.

The remote control stuff I also put all together and section off an area to play.

On my own part, I go from station to station to show the kids how each thing works. After a short explanation, they are usually good to go. Most kids take to this stuff like water, not requiring much help. The only thing that really requires management is making sure everyone gets a turn on the Oculus. So I usually set a timer on my phone and give each kid a 5 minutes or so. 

To the left you can see some of the different educational toys in our collection.

Below are some links to Tiktoks of past programs.

added 11-17-22



Anime & Manga Club




This is probably my favorite of all the things I plan, which is obvious because I have 2 different programs I run under Anime & Manga Club (of which I founded at my Library). I also put a lot of work into the Club, which I don't mind, because I'm an anime and manga fan myself.

First is the in-person club "meetings" I hold monthly at the library. I don't call them meetings, however. I advertise it as a "watch party". 

So during the 2-hour program, I let the kids take turns picking different episodes of pre-screened anime (things I have watched and deem appropriate). We have a smart TV in the Teen Room I can pull up Netflix on - and - I also have anime downloaded onto flash drives that I can connect to the TV and watch shows that way. Anime episodes usually run for about 20 or so minutes, and we usually get through 7-ish episodes per program. The anime "available" for the kids to choose from, I post on the wall for them to look over and decide what they want to watch.

Below to the left are some age-appropriate anime that I let the kids (ages 10-17) watch during club hours:

While the kids watch anime, I also have different crafts for the kids to do. These crafts tend to change month to month and revolve around what craft supplies I already have lying around. We've made anime bookmarks, folded origami, crafted anime characters out of felt, made beaded character bracelets, decorated Paper Mache masks, glued together cat ear headbands, made anime paper "memes", made stuff with perler beads, etc. Above to the Right are some examples from past programs.

Our Youth Department also has a button machine. I print out (with the aid of Microsoft Publisher) different little 2x2 in circular anime pics (usually sourced from Pinterest). The kids pick 2 or three of their favorites and make buttons to take home.

But because Of Covid, I had to take a break from doing in-person Programs for a while and came up with instead: "Anime & Manga Club Go-Bags" 

In each Go-Bag, I include a monthly newsletter, flyers that spotlight manga in our collection, themed crosswords, an anime bookmark, infographics on learning Japanese, 3d doll templates, and other fun stuff I might find on Pinterest. 

You can browse through a record over every Go-Bag I've given out under the "Anime & Manga Club" tab on this site. The flyers I make myself, like the newsletters and recommendation pages, are all designed on Canva.

Each month, I usually give out anywhere between 15-25 Go-bags to the kids. Several kids request it. Others, I offer it to if I see someone browsing in the Manga section. I also let the kids pick out anime stickers if they get a Go-bag, which they always take their time doing. 

The links below will take you to Tiktoks I've made about the Go-Bags. 

added 11-17-22





Shaving Cream Tye Dye




This was a fun program. I would steer clear if you're not crazy about mess though. Because this was messy. My hands were stained all the colors of the rainbow afterwards.

The directions on how to actually make the "art prints" with shaving cream can be found to the left. 

Per usual for the actual program, I had my disposable table cloths and aprons all set up. I also had a working sink nearby, as well as a large trash can, which helped keep mess to a minimum. If you plan to do this program with a large group of children, I would recommend assigning an adult to each table. Parents were a big help to me in this, but they also made their own art prints alongside their kids, which was cool.

The food coloring, I also watered down in little squeezy bottles made for cake decorating. I made sure I had multiples of each color for each table. I recommend having a lot of these bottles so you don't have to refill them mid-program.

To see the program in action, click the link below

added 11-14-22

"Candy Beads"

(Jewelry Program)

Another easy program to put on, great for grade school kids and teens.

All I did for this was buy some Pony Beads (all different colors), stretchy string (0.8mm), some letter beads, and some charms. Just spread all this out at your tables and let the kids go to town making jewelry. The kids only need help when it comes time to tie their bracelets or necklaces.

Also, a hack I used was to fold over a piece of tape at the end of each string to prevent the beads from falling off while the kids made their jewelry.

added 11-12-22


Bingo for kids


This is one of my more low maintenance programs. It also gets requested a lot. 

We already had in the Youth Department at my Library, a "Bingo Roller Cage" that I found in the back of a closet with dozens of Bingo Cards and chips. But you can find all this for sale on Amazon in "Bingo sets" for under $25. 

From there, All I had to purchase for the program were the prizes. I would recommend having some sort of candy to win. Aything from gummy burgers, airheads, or little packages of skittles will make the kids happy. Don't do all candy though, otherwise the parents might give you dirty looks. I also invite the parents to play with kids and have some prizes on hand that they would like to. Such as pens, donated books you're trying to get rid of, etc. You don't have to spend a lot on prizes. Sometimes it is as simple as cleaning out old things from other programs, or leftover Summer Reading Prizes. I usually get some sort of candy, cheap toys I can buy in bulk on Amazon, fidgets, or little containers of slime.

As far as the Bingo rounds go, I don't start a new round until every child has gotten Bingo. This means that some kids get Bingo multiple times a round. This is fine because each time they win they usually just come up to claim another small piece of candy. For an hour long Bingo program, I usually go through 3-4 rounds. Everyone always leaves happy.

Examples of Different Prizes

added 11-12-22



"Rocket"

Story Time



This is a program I only have during the summer (June+July), and has some prep work involved. 

This particular story time takes place outside. I will read my books and do my songs first on the story time blanket with the kids. Once that is over, we have "free paly" with the rockets and everything else for an hour or so.

If you don't have one already, I recommend getting a good Storytime blanket for your youth department. Specifically, a "beachblanket" suited for the outdoors. They are made of a material that makes them easier to wash off and most include stakes so you can secure them down to the ground. I bought the biggest I could find for a reasonable price on Amazon, which only cost me just under $30. So usually an hour before story time starts, I go outside onto our lawn and secure down my blanket. I also tote out a fold up card table and set up my bubble machines.

A word on bubble machines. They are great and the kids love them. They are also finicky. You have to make sure you clean them out properly after each use. Or else the bubble solution will dry in the wrong places and make the metal bits rust which messes up the conductivity for the batteries... So take care of your bubble machines. The pictue of the one I have below is my favorite kind, that propels the bubbles out instead of up - and all you have to do is pour bubble solution into the mouth.

Stomp Rockets. There are so many different kinds on Amazon. Chances are, you'll be able to find one on sale. My favorite are the "dueling" kind and have two barrels. Most Stomp Rockets toys will also have multipe foam rockets they come with. The foam rockets themselves are not the studiest and the tips are almost garunteed to be snapped off by kids. Not a big deal though since these can be easily doctored with duck tape. Also the rockets can shoot pretty far, up to 100 feet. Make sure you have a big area.

Other toys. I usually hand out bubble wands for the kids to take home. We also have in our department, beachballs and hula hoops I bring out that the kids like to play with almost as much as the rockets. But the rockets are still the main attraction and how I advertise the program in the summer.

(click the link below 

to see video)

tiktokrocketstorytime


added 11-12-22

S is for Slime

How to throw a Slime program 

at your Library

I would be the first to say that I thought this would just be a fad and kids would get over making Slime... but that just doesn't seem to be the case. Kids love slime as much as parents hate finding it stuck in the carpert. I've been putting on Slime Programs at my Library since 2018 and it only seems to have grown in popularity since I first started. So here's what I've learned:

What you'll need

Disposable Tablecloths - Even if it's only a few kids you're making slime with, even it's older kids and you tell yourself there's no way they'll make that big of a mess - Don't fool yourself. A mess will be made and you'll be thankful you had the foresight to put down tablecloths. (Preferably the disposable kind so you can just roll them up and throw them away when you're done)

Disposable Aprons - speaks for itself. You don't want kids getting slime all over their clothes. I always bring my own apron to the program to wear and encourage the kids to wear the disposable aprons.

Clear liquid Glue - Use any brand, just make sure it's clear (more astatically pleasing). I always make sure I have at least 2 gallons on hand. I don't always use all of it - but have had other programs where I do.

Contact Solution - Have several squeeze bottles on hand depending on the scale of your program. The bottles don't have to be all the way full. Multiple bottle is just a way to ensure that the kids aren't all fighting over the same thing. Have one or two bottles ready at each table.

Baking soda - I usually fill up several cups (or bowls would work) with baking soda and put around 2 at each table with spoons so the kids can scoop what they need while making slime.

Disposable cups and large popsicle sticks - the cups (or bowls would also work) I recommend filling up with glue beforehand the day of the program. If the cup hold 8 oz - I fill it up 4 oz (halfway). Include popsicle sticks for stirring (the large kind) you could also use spoons but popsicle sticks are cheaper and work just as well.

Food coloring - An absolute must. Plain slime is just boring and every kid is going to want a different color of slime. I will usually have a station set up with all my prepared glue in cups and ask the kids what color they want when they arrive at the program. I then give them a few drops of food coloring in their cup and hand it over, ready to add other ingredients.

Charms - Optional. No need to get fancy here. Just use whatever you have lying around. Small googly eyes are perfect. I've also used cheap rhinestones. 

Glitter - Optional. You may think you're already making slime, which is already messy. What harm can glitter do? The only ones who ask themselves that have never done a program with glitter. I'm not trying to discourage you from using glitter. I always do and have the kids choose what kind they want when picking their food coloring. But don't say I didn't warn you. To minimize mess, keep the glitter containers at your station with all the cups of glue and food coloring. Leave no glitter unsupervised.

Final Tips - It helps to have someone helping out. I usually have a student intern scheduled for the day of the program and have them acting as the "server", handing out the cups of glue (with added food coloring and glitter). This frees me up to help the kids mix slime who haven't made it before and require assistance (this will be the younger kids usually). But if I don't have an helper, I usually just run back in forth between handing out the glue cups and my "help table" that need help making slime. The older kids usually take care of themselves once they have their glue.

(Click link below to see a tiktok of a slime program I have done)

tiktokslimeatlibrary

added 11/12/22


In-House Carnival: 

Harvest Fest Edition





Skee Ball - I found the actual game, with the balls and everything, on Amazon for around $30. The enclosure around the game I made so incase the kids threw wild, the balls wouldn't go everywhere. the enclosure is made of foam poster board, hot glue, and clear tape. Then the whole thing is taped down on a table lowered close to the ground.

Spin to Win - All you need for this is a spannable wheel and little prizes that the kids "win" when they land on a particular part of the wheel. There are different wheels of different sizes for sale on Amazon. I bought a small one for our department and incorporate it into different programs. 

Scavenger Hunt - I found clipart that I liked on CANVA and printed it out. Then I cut out all my "characters" and hid them around the space we were having the carnival. For completing the hunt, the kids won "Rainbow glasses". These were paper glasses that refract light you can buy in bulk on Amazon.

Pizza Toss - The "Pizza" is inflatable and I found it for sale on Amazon. Reasonably Priced and I also use it for Story Time. Beanbags for tossing were included.

Mystery Box - I cut a hole in the lid of a box and stuffed it with polyfill and cheap fake bones (&rat squeaky toy) you can find at Dollar Tree during Halloween Season.

Photo Op Picture Background - I put up "Purple Metallic Tinsel Foil Fringe Curtains" and then orange spiders with googly eyes taped to that. This was more to section off an area I didn't want kids going into but it also made a nice photo background.

Ghost Golf - We already had an outdoor coquet play set with sticks and balls. Then I just papered cardboard boxes and cut out an opening in the front of each box to putt into (as well as cut out the back so the balls would go through). The lanes are also lined with pool noodles, taped down to the ground.

"Monster Smash" Game - What you need is a board with at least 10 flaps attached by hinges. When the kids throw beanbags at the "Monsters" they then fall over but can back be put right side up again. (Tape down boards to table)

Ring Toss - Buy a cheap ring toss game from Walmart just to get the plastic weighted rings. Taped down traffic cones tend to be easier for the kids to aim for.

Eyeball Pong Toss - Made this myself out of a cardboard box and red cups. We already had the giant dice and fishbowl. Only thing I had to buy was the eyeball ping pongs (on sale at Dollar Tree in October). Object of the game is for the kids to roll the dice to determine how many eyeballs they get. Then they toss the eyeballs into the cups. Whichever cups they land in, they get the candy in that cup.

Ball pit - Exactly what it looks like. Fill an inflatable kiddie pool with ball pit balls. Sometimes they have both at Walmart for sale. If not, check Amazon.

Hoops - Two Basketball Hoop "Play Sets" (both taped down to floor and wall to keep them steady

Bowling with Mummy - I built the bowling lane out of cardboard and duct tape and taped it down to the table. The bowling pins and balls I actually found for cheap at Goodwill.

To the left is all the signage I used, all designed for free on Canva.

added 10/31/22


Zombie Barbie Program (for Halloween)


This is a fun arts & crafts program to give a try during Halloween Season.

Don't bother buying Brabies full price. You can either have your attendees bring their own old Barbies or provide them yourself. I recommend going to either Goodwill or Dollar Tree. Prices at Goodwill can range from $0.99 - $1.99 per used doll (and usually don't include clothes). Dollar Tree Prices are set at $1.25 per doll (not name brand but dolls will be new with clothes included). Then you'll just need paints, brushes, table cloths, and disposable aprons for the kids so they don't get paint on their clothes. (scissors are optional if you want to let the kits cut up the dolls)

I also usually pair the zombie Barbies with "Monster Masks" which are just Paper Mache masks for the kids to paint how they please - As seen in the link below:


tiktokzombiebarbiesandmonstermasks


Also See pictures and instruction sheet below:

added 10/26/22


Adopt a Pumpkin Program


This is an easy program to do for kids during the fall season. I do not recommend buying real pumpkins, especially if you are giving them out over an extended period of time. (That's how you get ants) I buy Styrofoam pumpkins that are carve-able (though the kids tend to prefer putting googly eyes on them and coloring over with markers). They have Styrofoam pumpkins for sale at craft stores, Walmart, and so on. My favorites are the ones from Dollar Tree. "Adopting" a pumpkin is then as easy as the kids coming to the Library to pick one up. If you want to be extra (like I am) you include adoption papers for the kids to write both their names and the name of their new pumpkin.

(click the link below to see how I displayed my "adoptable" pumpkins)


tiktokgrandeprairielibraryadoptapumkin

added 10/20/22




DIY Truffula Trees





(click link below for details)


grandeprairielibrarytiktoktruffulatreestutorial

I made these as decorations when I had a Dr. Seuss Birthday Party for the kids at my Library (It's an annual event every March).  But you could also make a craft night out of this. Tissue paper and pool noodles were bought from Dollar Tree. Then you'll just need tape (clear & black ducktape) and scissors. 

added 10/10/22


"Candy Shop" Program 

for Money Smart Week (April)



(click link below for details)


grandeprairielibrarymoneysmartweek


The selling point here is the candy. To figure out which candy they can buy from the shop, the kids need to look at their money and see what they can afford. You don't have to include the use of the wheel at the beginning of the game (if it seems too much like gambling to you) but the kids really enjoy spinning the wheel and it makes it more fun. It also makes things easier to have everything set up on a cart, like you see int he TIKTOK video above. As for the "money" you use, get as creative as you want. I like making my own play money to give each bill its own unique color. Giving out math worksheets at the end are also an added bonus to continued learning.

added 9/22/22

Passive Programming Ideas

(Click below for details)

http://ideas.demco.com/blog/6-easy-engaging-ideas-passive-programming/

Thrifty Kitchen Class

(Click for details below)

http://www.programminglibrarian.org/programs/thrifty-kitchen

Fake News Course

(Click Below for details)

http://www.programminglibrarian.org/programs/fake-news-101

Unicorn Party!

(Click Below For details)

http://www.programminglibrarian.org/programs/unicorn-party