jcarson's blog

The LP Fisher Public Library in Woodstock, NB (Canada) has offered computer coding and robotics programs for school-aged children using Scratch and Recon 6. We've also taught children the basics of making their own video games on laptops.

Ask most boys today if they want to play with paper dolls and you might get a scrunched-up face in response, but paper dolls haven't always been seen as such a gendered activity. In fact, paper dolls have existed since paper was invented and come from many different cultures around the world.

Every Friday for the month of January we had "Crafternoons" for school-aged kids. Each week was a different craft activity, all related to storytelling and literacy. We also incorporated physical literacy by using our fine motor skills to build our creations, and promoted gross motor skills by having the kids act out their stories.

The staff at the LP Fisher Public Library in Woodstock, N.B., wanted to do something really unique this year to celebrate Canadian Library Month in October. We also wanted to do a Halloween activity, while being mindful of the many families in our community that don’t celebrate it, or are newcomers to the country and might be uncomfortable with some of our more macabre traditions.

This year for Canadian Library Month, we decided to go big! Every week we had a new activity with chances for our patrons to win prizes (books and a tablet). For the first week of October, we invited young patrons to illustrate what the library means to them and proudly displayed their creations in our children's department all month long. Every drawing gave them a chance to win a book.  

Sometimes we know we need a break but don't know where to start. Use this handy guide for some simple stretches you can do at your workstation or the circulation desk.

For our Summer Reading Club end party this year we wanted to include physical literacy elements that got the kids moving and shaking as well as reading and listening. So in addition to our usual story time/pizza party with cake (and healthy veggies!), we also created an outdoor fun zone of giant board games in the parking lot (blocked off to cars of course by orange pylons).  

In Canada, June is Aboriginal History Month and June 21, 2016, was National Aboriginal Day. Every year, public libraries across Canada celebrate our First Nations' cultures and accomplishments.

I have been teaching meditation as part of Yoga in the Library programs for many, many years, including in classes for children. I also teach meditation techniques to staff. Unsurprisingly, library staff are stressed. (I know, right?)

When we hear the words "kinesthetic" or "physical" linked with literacy, we often think of sports, gym class, dance, yoga and other gross-motor-type programs. What we often overlook is how we are already incorporating much physical literacy in our library programs by adding tactile, hands-on activities to storytimes or events. And this is awesome — not only are we appealing to tactile learners (those than learn best by doing, not just seeing or hearing) but we are enhacing everyone's literacy skills, even the parents!