For the past three years the Lakeville Public Library has hosted a Noon Year’s Eve celebration on Dec. 31. We make party hats, dance, have photo booths and do a countdown to noon. The festivities end with a huge pizza party.
This is one of our largest and costliest events of the year; last year's party attracted more than 200 guests.
This program is run once a month by a local cook and educator. She teaches children in grades second through sixth how to cook using our new mobile kitchen cart (Charlie Cart) here at the library. Participants gain culinary skills and use creativity and math skills to bake, cook and create.
Hubbard Public Libary's (HPL) new, permanent StoryWalk® enhances and builds upon other ongoing outdoor initiatives and resources to serve library patrons and all members of the Hubbard, Ohio community and beyond. Pages of books featured in this StoryWalk® can be changed so that different books can be featured year-round.
The Unlazy River was the kick-off event for our summer programming and gave families the opportunity to choose a fun pool floatie to wear as they completed a chalk obstacle course outside the library. Attendees could also play lawn games and eat thematic snacks.
The Illinois Fire Service Institute Library (IFSI Library) in Champaign, Illinois, provides fire and emergency library and information assistance to the Fire Institute’s instructional staff, students and over 1,000 Illinois fire departments and 42,000 Illinois firefighters. Founded in 1990 by Head Librarian Lian Ruan, the library provides unique resources to a highly specialized community.
ALA, in collaboration with the FINRA Investor Education Foundation (FINRA Foundation), has released Thinking Money for All Kids: Diverse and Inclusive Reads to Teach Young People ab
Books and Baking is a pre-recorded read-aloud program followed by hands-on learning (using a take-and-make kit) in attendees' home kitchens. The goal is for families to participate in everyday STEM, tied in with literacy, to learn the science behind baking.Â
Animal Advocates is a program for animal-loving kids and teens that began in September 2021. Members meet once a month with the mission to help local shelters and educate the community about animal rights, animal welfare and environmental topics that impact us all. We occasionally go to animal shelters to volunteer for field trips.
Everyone loves tamales! Telescopes and Tamales was a community-centered program featuring an outdoor tamale dinner, presentations and videos on the upcoming James Webb Telescope launch, and STEAM crafts for kids. The program was topped off with a chance for participants to look through a telescope and view stars and planets on a clear, beautiful night.
This program was hosted in celebration of Dinovember, a month-long event where plastic dinosaurs come to life as children sleep. Children were given a take-and-make activity that included an egg-hatching challenge, one DIY dinosaur fossil craft, and a writing activity in which children filled out an official Dinosaur Adoption Certificate.
The writing activity helps younger kids practice or learn how to write their names, see how they look in print, etc., and let them get creative in naming their dinosaur.
It’s that time again! We rounded up some great library craft videos from across the internet that are perfect for Halloween.
Whether they are doing in-person craft events or take-and-make kits, these libraries share their creative crafts for the spooky season.
Stuffed Animal Taxidermy is a fun program for kids and teens. Using old, thrifted stuffed animals, kids can give their faux furry friends a new "life" by turning them into a DIY home decoration.Â
Thanks to community donations and Amazon purchases, our youth had a blast at this in-person program.Â
It's DIY table-top putt putt!
We provided patrons with everything they need to create a mini miniature golf hole complete with obstacles. Each participant had the choice to take their project home or to make it during our in-person program and add it to the Fairy Golf Course around the library.
The course will stay up as a passive activity in the weeks to come.
Money Builders is a one-day camp with a Lego theme. At our library, this program was created for the children of refugees, although it could be a great program for any child.
Through games and discussion, children learn about needs versus wants, the importance of saving, why using banks is important, and what things cost. Participants were given Money Builders t-shirts, a Lego key chain, a savings jar, and lunch. At the conclusion of the camp, they watched The Lego Movie.
The Oceanside Library Brain Builder Backpacks are a circulable collection filled with material to facilitate at-home learning of various STEAM subjects for children.
Each backpack covers a different topic ranging from music to the human body to engineering and contains a book, a worksheet, and a hands-on activity to act as a fun and engaging at-home continuation of programs offered at the library. Backpacks vary in subject and age group (generally for ages 3-12). Patrons can check out the backpacks for 2 weeks at a time.
Libraries are always working to find ways to meet our customers’ needs, especially during times of crisis. Nearly 18 months into the pandemic, we continue to face the unique challenges brought on by COVID-19. One of those challenges is mask-wearing.
StoryWalks® are a creative way for children and adults to enjoy reading while spending time outdoors. Using laminated pages from a children’s book attached to wooden stakes, they are typically installed along trails and sidewalks to create an interactive storytelling experience.
Has story time video-editing become a tedious hassle? It doesn't have to be.
Matt Mazur, co-founder and director of Turtle Dance Music, shares five free video-editing apps that can help make your virtual story times a breeze. No more hunching over a laptop to figure out complicated software; these phone-friendly apps are so easy, you can walk your dog and edit at the same time. And they’re free! Below, Matt covers the basics of each of these apps in a 6-minute video, or scroll down to read highlights.
Remember summer reading as it used to be? When your library was packed to the gills with kids clamoring to see a magician? Or your book clubs, ca. 2019, when everyone shared food and gossip and germs, all stuffed inside your tiny meeting space?
The Toy Lending Library opened in July 2020 and is an ongoing, permanent addition to the services and programs offered by the HPL Children’s Room and HPL more generally. To date, it is already a tremendous success, providing at-home, hands-on learning educational resources for children and their families.
