2018 CHAPTER 4 PROGRAMS, EVENTS, PRESENTATIONS, STORYTIMES, AND PUZZLES Programs Programs, Events, Presentations, Storytimes 3,2,1 Blast Off for Little Ones PK Create out-of-this-world atmosphere by dangling lights, stars, planets, and tinsel from the ceiling. Encourage little ones to explore the room at different learning stations. • MakerSPACE Space Station: Create the frame of the space station using giant boxes, and make sure to make the station open and wide enough for little ones to play inside. They will have a BLAST making the “guts” of the space station using materials such as boxes, strips of tape, old key boards, calculators, PVC pipe, bubble wrap, memory cards, RAM, glow-in-the-dark stars, and other supplies that will spark children's imaginations. Include a communication station that has old telephones, headphones, and computer monitors that little ones can use to call planet Earth. • Planet Exploration: Have little ones make pictures in the moon sand (giant wading pools full of sand) with the different-size moon rocks (painted rocks). They can pile them high, bury them, weigh them on a scale, analyze them with a magnifying glass, or anything they can come up with. • Extraterrestrial Space Bags: Create a station where little ones can explore different space-themed sensory bins and bags. For example, a bag of small rocks can be space sand, a bag of cooked pasta can be alien tentacles. Have a station where parents/caregivers can make their own bags to take home and use with their little ones. 39 Clues Scavenger Hunt C [ages 8–12] The characters in 39 Clues visit many strange and interesting places around the world. Create a scavenger hunt to recreate some of the fun. Hide various clues throughout the library for kids to find and solve. The clues can be questions about the story, rhyming notes leading from one location to another, or hiding clan shields among the books for kids to find. ABC Walk F Families can go on a walk looking for letters of the alphabet all around them in nature. For example, two branches on the ground might form the letter T. The goal is to find the letters without having to move items around to create the letter. The family can take a picture of the letters and turn the photos into the library for a display. Animal Habitats PK F Create a graph or chart of different animal habitats. Start with a square divided into four sections, label each square either Ocean, Forest, Desert, Arctic. Hang the chart, and allow children to throw a sticky dart (found on Amazon.com) at it. The child will act like the animal of whichever habitat the dart lands on. Pictures of each habitat with examples of animals could be hung up, as well as examples of animals in each location. Pre-kindergarten Around the World Family Night C F PK Children Around the World Family Night will focus on stories about different areas and C cultures. Display a map of the world. Before each story, ask families if they know T Teen where the location of the story is on the map. Locate the area, and have volunteers A Adult add a sticker to the map. Give families a copy of a map to color, and have families F Family enjoy coloring in the sites they have visited during storytime. AA All ages 2018 DoD-MWR Summer Reading Program www.ila.org/dodsumread • 209 Programs, Events, Astronomy Night F Presentations, Create a program focused on reading under the stars. Choose space-inspired books Storytimes to read. Encourage people to bring in telescopes to look at the night sky. If you have a college nearby, you can invite a professor to speak to the group about space- related topics. Babysitting Class T Host a babysitting class with a certified trainer or consider becoming a trainer. Check with your state’s home alone/latchkey laws when deciding your target age group. Backyard Chickens A Find a local backyard chicken enthusiast or farmer to present a program on backyard chickens. If allowed, bring in a variety of chicks and chickens for attendees to view. Bad Art Contest T A Ask patrons to bring in old paintings and artwork they no longer want and/or search thrift shops for “bad art.” Redecorate the artwork with a new layer of paint, glitter, beads, glue, and other art supplies. Have people (or teams, if you don’t have enough art) turn the “bad art” into fun art. Beekeeping A Bees are in decline but are an important part of our food chain. Have a program discussing the decline of bees, the importance of bees to the environment, and the benefits of honey. Discuss backyard beekeeping and how to become a successful beekeeper. Bike Rodeo C F Host a bike safety course, mini obstacle course, fix a flat demo, and bike decorating contest! Talk to the local bike shop to see if they would be interested in sponsoring the event. Bike Trails A Host a program about bike trails in the region. The presenter can cover levels of difficulty, sites/landmarks to look at, planning for long trips, and any concerns bikers would have. Possible presenters include local bike enthusiasts, forest preserve personnel, or bike shop owners. Boatloads of Fun PK F For this family program, all of the activities focus on boats. Display books and movies about boats, fishing, sailing, the U.S. Navy, and other nautical themes (fiction and nonfiction) for patrons to browse and check out. • Begin the program with a short storytime about boats • Provide a cardboard box large enough for each child to sit in or ask families to bring in their own. As a family, decorate the “boat” 210 • 2018 DoD-MWR Summer Reading Program • www.ila.org/dodsumread with streamers, markers, stickers, duct tape, letter and shape cutouts, and other Programs, Events, craft supplies. Presentations, • Get ready for the fishing game! A template for a felt and magnetic fishing Storytimes game is provided at http://realpurdy.com/2012/10/11/felt-and-magnetic- fishing-game/. You can also make the game more educational by writing letters, numbers, or shapes on the fish and calling out which fish children should catch. Use blue painter’s tape to create several “ponds” on the floor, and have 2 or 3 children sit in their boats to fish. Book Buds C T To combat summer slide and boost the confidence of young readers, pair teen volunteers with children entering grades 1 to 3 for literacy-based activities. Recruit a small group of teens to develop and implement themed, recurring paired reading activities. For example, teens can plan a “campout” with tents borrowed from staff, construction and tissue paper campfires, and other camping props. Teens and children can pair-read camping-themed books, have read alouds, and do other fun activities. Book Pub Crawl A Try something fun for your adult book club. Read part of a book at a different pub each week. Bullet Journaling 101 T A Learn to organize yourself with the Bullet Journal method. This method works for minimalists and creative minds alike. Find information about the system at http:// bulletjournal.com/. Camping + Family Reading F Host a camp-inspired event at the library. Encourage families to bring blankets to the library. Families can use their blankets to build tents with chairs and tables. Serve camp-inspired food. Instead of toasting marshmallows on a campfire, serve a mix of marshmallows, chocolate chips, and graham crackers. Cook hot dogs in a slow cooker. Tell campfire stories, play games, and explore the night sky. Cardboard Challenge AA Begin prepping for the Global Cardboard Challenge, which is inspired by Caine’s Arcade. Teach children how to manipulate cardboard to make different creations. This is also an opportunity to talk about recycling. Ask families to save large cardboard boxes, and talk to local big box stores to save their boxes for your program. Career Fair T Host a career fair for teenagers. Ask community members to come in and speak about their careers and the steps they needed to get into their fields. Be sure to get people from all walks, not just college-dependent careers. College Visit Programs T Have the college come to your library! Invite college recruiters to come and discuss the programs, campuses, and typical college life. You can also have library patrons talk about their colleges and universities; this is especially helpful for colleges and universities that are not in easy traveling distance. 2018 DoD-MWR Summer Reading Program www.ila.org/dodsumread • 211 Programs, Events, Comic Con AA Presentations, Hold a mini fan fest/comic con. Have patrons come to the event in costume for a Storytimes costume contest. Host mini programs during the event, including crafts, lectures, comic drawing lessons, and movie showings. Composting A Ask a master gardener or member of a local gardening club to discuss composting. The speaker can talk about composters, worm composting, and the garden benefits of composting. Cookbook Discussion T A This is a twist on a traditional book club. Participants each check out a copy of the same cookbook and choose one recipe to make and share with the group at the next meeting. Staff can choose books based on what’s new, popular, or according to a theme. They can also take suggestions from participants about cookbook ideas. Cooking Around the World A Host a cooking around-the-world demonstration. Ask a cooking instructor (look at the local college) or professional chef to show different techniques and create dishes from around the world.