Wrapping Up Summer with a Preschool Dance Party

After the high-energy success of my first Preschool Dance Party last winter, I knew I needed to fit another dance party into my programming schedule. What better time than at the end of the summer, when kids have energy to burn after exhausting all their regular summertime activities?

Once again, this dance party was an exemplary program. All of the children were engaged at a level comfortable for them--some marched around the whole time, some clapped from the safety of Mom's lap, but everyone got involved. The program helped draw attention to two wonderful but often-overlooking collections at the library, our children's music CDs and our Rhymes and Songs picture books. Packing the fast-paced program with early literacy tips about the importance of singing and playing also helped caregivers recognize that reading isn't the only way to help kids develop early literacy skills. All in all, a great program (and a great workout for me).

Preschool Dance Party

Song: "Surfin' Safari" by the Beach Boys
     We used this song to get our bodies warmed up and break the ice for an atypical story time experience. We did lots of arm stretches and careful leg lifts to get everyone pumped.

Song: "Do the Bird" by the Kerplunks
     This song includes listening to hear the different motions to make. The kids' favorite verse was when they acted like chickens.

Story: The Croaky Pokey by Ethan Long
     This silly variation of the Hokey Pokey is particularly exciting to kids, as they get to make froggy tongue-slurping sounds as they try to catch flies along with the text.

Song: "Mahna Mahna" by Mahna Mahna and the Snowths
     I passed out rhythm sticks for this song, and we had fun trying to keep a beat, making our sticks sound loud and then soft, and trying to keep our sticks in rhythm while beating them behind our backs.

Song: "Robot Parade" by They Might Be Giants
     The kids and I practiced our robot movements before I pressed play for this song, and then we robot-ed all around the room in a very stiff and silly-looking parade. This song wins the award for inspiring the most caregiver photos.

Song: "Beanie Bag Dance" by Greg & Steve
     Each child got to choose a Beanie Baby animal to use for this song. The song instructs listeners what to do with their bean bags, including dancing with bags between one's knees.

Story: If You're Hoppy by April Pulley Sayre
     I stuck with the silly variation of kids classics book theme and shared this great animal-heavy picture book. Most kids opted to stay standing for the book, so there was lots of acting out the behaviors of the animals.

Song: "Shoo Fly" by Carole Peterson
     We had a great time doing the shoo-ing motions for this song. As several of the kids were getting a bit tired at this point, we shared this song sitting criss-cross-applesauce on the floor, moving our arms and rocking to the beat.

Song: "Movin' Right Along" by Alkaline Trio
     I pulled out the parachute for this song, and the kids and I worked on shaking the parachute at different speeds. We also worked on rotating the parachute in a circle using teamwork.

Song: "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" by the Andrews Sisters
     I added some blow-up globes (beach ball-style) onto the middle of the parachute, which of course inspired much excited shaking and bouncing. We again used teamwork to count together and make the globes go really high, much to everyone's delight. When the song ended, I told kids to let go of the parachute when I counted to three so I could wrap the parachute up.

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Have you done a preschool dance party program? What are your favorite go-to songs and stories?

Uh-Oh, Co-worker is sick... Emergency Story Time!

It happens to all of us at some point: we get sick on the day of one of our carefully planned programs. That's what happened to my co-worker this week--she ended up sick on the day of her Time for Twos story time program.

Sick days leave story time fill-ins two options: 1) use the sick coworker's program plan and do their best to offer a story time the group would recognize; or 2) leave the coworker's plan for her return and instead put together an emergency story time program. Both answers can be correct depending on individual programming style. Since I'm a particularly free-style story time leader, I tend to choose option 2.

Putting together emergency story times, when it comes down to it, is really about being comfortable with your programming repertoire. We have all read so many books and sung so many songs and led so many rhymes and created so many crafts. Emergency story times mean pulling program components from your collective experience to create a sure-to-please, or at least sure-not-to-stink, program. No need to have a cohesive theme--when the regular story time leader is sick and the kiddos are confronted with a new face at the story time helm, the option of a "regular" story time is kind of nonexistent. It's all about having fun early literacy experiences in this already out-of-the-ordinary story time setting.

Here's what I pulled together for my emergency story time for two-year-olds this week:

I grabbed some books that two-year-olds love, hands down. I always have success with Bill Martin, Jr. titles, so I grabbed one that was on the shelf: Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See? I also love the Cat the Cat series from Mo Willems, which are perfect length, vocabulary, and content for young preschoolers, so I pulled Cat the Cat, Who Is That? from the stacks. I rounded out my book offerings with a title plucked from our "colors" concept bins: who hasn't had success with I Went Walking?

I rounded up some musical and fingerplay options that would be both familiar and exciting to the two-year-olds. That meant, first and foremost, that I grabbed my song cube out of my personal story time bin; a toss of the song cube determines which child-friendly song we sing as a group. Today's random selections were "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" and "Five Little Ducks." I also pulled a coworker's go-to Greg and Steve CDs out of her story time bin (don't worry, I put them back!). Animal stories meant doing at least one "Animal Actions" song. Interactive hits, all of these.

I grabbed some craft supplies. I am all about the process crafts, and I love explaining to caregivers that process crafts offer so many more creative, exploratory, and diverse motor skills benefits than ready-made product crafts. Process crafts are also simple to put together on the fly, as they only really necessitate basic supplies. I pulled from our craft cabinet some zipper-lock plastic bags, cardstock, and fingerpaint, and our activity was un-messy fingerpainting using primary colors. I got to share with caregivers that their children were strengthening finger muscles that will help with writing while also exploring how paint feels and how colors combine.

I stuck to my co-worker's opening and closing routines. My co-worker greets her twos by saying hello to each of them in a sing-song voice and waving. I did this same routine to help make the transition into story time, and I also explained that Miss Melanie was sick so Miss Amy would share some books and other fun things on this day. At the end of story time, I turned on our bubble machine; our regular Time for Twos programs always end with the bubble machine turned on for kids to enjoy. Ending with the bubble machine made the transition out of story time a smooth one, as kiddos are used to playing in the bubbles and then heading back into the library after they were done.

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How do you approach emergency fill-in story time situations?

2013 Summer Reading Wrap-Up

We made it through another bustling summer reading program here at my library. To say I'm proud of my colleagues and volunteers and all the hard work they did to make this summer a success would be an understatement. My medium-sized branch couldn't see these sorts of participation numbers without them.

In addition to the formal reading program, my library was busy holding lots of other programs this summer. In case you're the sort of person who likes to do some preliminary planning for next summer while this one is still fresh in your mind, here are some programs with links to descriptions:

A kick-butt summer reading kick-off event, complete with the unveiling of our Picture Book Walk

We offered some great school-age programs, including two special events that only take place in the summer*:

• Picnic Lunches at the Library*
• Mario Kart Tournaments*
• An Egg Drop Science event
• Playground Adventures STEAM program

Summer means new crowds at preschool-age programs as teachers and other seasonal professionals are able to bring their kids:

• Milk & Cookies Story Mornings in June & July
• An "I Spy" toddler program while my colleague took her vacation

And great outreach opportunities:

• to day cares visiting the library
• to homeschooling caregivers in our community

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I hope you, too, had a successful summer. And I hope you are enjoying a bit of a break before fall programming kicks into full swing!

Percy Jackson Party: An Unprogram

The new Percy Jackson movie was released this week, and at the suggestion of several members of my Kids Advisory Board, I offered a Percy Jackson Party program to celebrate the fans of both the books and films. This program took place at the tail end of summer reading, which means I had no guarantees about the amount of prep time I would have for the program. What better occasion for utilizing the unprogramming method?

Percy Jackson Party

Something Literary: I started the program by greeting the school-age children and launching right into our literary content for the program. We talked a bit about what we like about the Percy Jackson series, and from there I booktalked some readalike authors and titles. I made sure to display non-fiction books on Greek mythology as well as the fiction titles I shared--after all, the basis of many characters' backstories in the Percy Jackson books come straight from these ancient myths.

I then told a Greek myth: the story of Theseus and the Minotaur. I love exercising my storytelling chops with old tales like these; since the stories were originally part of an oral storytelling culture, they work really well when told aloud in library programs. Some of the children had already heard the tale of Theseus and the half-man, half-beast Minotaur, but they were interested in my telling just the same.

A Group Activity: I had set out a few tables in a long, single-table arrangement, and each table had all the supplies for painting. Our craft activity was to paint shields (cardboard cake rounds + ribbon + brads = a shield with a handle). I introduced the activity by noting that ancient warriors used their shields not only as a means of protecting themselves in battle, but also as a way to distinguish themselves to others. Shields often had very personal carvings and decorations that reflected the personality and life of the shield-bearer.

Stations of Stuff: With the help of two teen volunteers, there were three stations through which kids could rotate to engage in Percy Jackson-relevant activities. Children were free to move from station to station as they pleased.

• Feeding the Cerberus - I cut a hole in a piece of particle board and added a picture of the three-headed hound that guards the Underworld to create this game station. Kids used soft balls meant for the pool to try and feed the Cerberus by tossing the balls at the opening.
• Archery Against the Gorgons - I printed and laminated three pictures of Gorgons, the mythological evil sisters with snakes for hair. Children used our library's Nerf crossbows to try to defeat the Gorgons.

• Greek Gods & Goddesses Go Fish - I made a full deck of cards bearing the images, names, and descriptors of major Greek gods and goddesses. I helped at this station, as not all of the children were familiar with "go fish," but everyone quickly caught on and the game became quite popular. So popular, in fact, that we wrapped up the program with a massive game, everyone seated on the ground around our story time rug.

Stations of Stuff is a perfect arrangement for larger group programs like this one; since children are able to move from activity to activity at their own pace, they never feel bored or left out in the middle of an activity. There's always something for everyone to do, including going back to the craft table to add more detail to one's shield.

That was our Percy Jackson Party program. You may be thinking that I didn't do much that tied explicitly to plot points in the Percy Jackson universe, but that was intentional on my part. The kids who have read the books and/or seen the movies were excited to talk about PJ with their peers, but kids who weren't familiar with the PJ universe never felt left out because they didn't know trivia or specific plot points. Everyone got to have fun and engage in activities that expanded beyond the book, hopefully piquing interest in other readalike books or in mythology.

Have you offered a Percy Jackson program at your library? What sorts of activities did you do?

Fantasy Maps: An Unprogram, from guest blogger Kary Henry

Not too long ago, librarian Kary Henry tweeted that she had just hosted a successful unprogram. She shared a few details on Twitter, and I knew immediately that we'd all benefit from hearing more about this program. Without further ado, here's guest blogger Kary Henry!

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When I first heard of Marge Loch-Wouters’s and Amy Koester’s Unprogramming approach, my first reaction was “What? Let go of control? No way!” I’m the ultimate control freak (although I prefer the term “thorough planner”), and their idea just didn’t fit my preconceived notion of programming. But, like most brilliant ideas, it wouldn’t let go of me. I kept coming back to phrases from their first two blogs on the topic: “We spend a lot of time and energy in planning” and “You never know just how many kids will participate.” Marge and Amy talked about stress, and I remembered past programs where I had Every. Single. Minute. scheduled, and then I either had low turnout or, worse, no turnout! I decided to take that leap of faith and do my “Fantasy Maps” program as an Unprogram. And, as Amy wrote, “EUREKA!”

My daughters and I used to create “fairy maps” when they were little. That effort consisted of nothing more than going for a walk to gather twigs, pebbles, and fallen flower petals. Lots of glue on a piece of heavy paper, crayon-inscribed labels to identify the Rose Fairy’s house or other key features, and everyone was happy. I would use that same low-key, unprogramming approach to Fantasy Maps, a school-age program I had designed for our Summer Reading Program theme of “Have Books – Will Travel!”

Now if I’m totally honest with you (and myself), I had indeed been thinking about this program since February. I had gathered some important information about cartography, emailed another librarian in Illinois who was running a similar event, and put a good deal of thought into what I wanted to do. But the Unprogramming approach saved me from myself and allowed me the freedom to put the focus into what the kids wanted to do! (Slap self on head and mutter, “Duh.”)

The décor consisted of maps of fantasy books/worlds that I had located on Pinterest and other websites: Oz, Narnia, the worlds of Harry Potter, etc. I gathered some books on mapmaking along with fictional titles that had maps on endpapers and displayed those on the counter. The laptop and projector were set to run National Geographic’s Interactive map website.

Supplies were purchased at a local craft store or found in our cabinets: silk flower petals, aluminum foil, craft sticks, colored pencils and markers, ribbons, colored pebbles, Bristol board, and good glue. Total cost for the program was under $30!

When the children arrived, we talked for a few minutes about what a map is, why we use them, parts of a map (scale, legend, compass rose, color), and how a fantasy map can be based on a book or of a world in their own imaginations. We mapped Deerfield using the National Geographic website, and they were excited to put their homes, schools and, of course, the Library on the map. Less than 15 minutes in to the program, I let them loose with a piece of Bristol board each and the above supplies.

The conversations as my teen volunteers and I walked around the room were wonderful – discussions about what was important to include on a map of Harry Potter or how to combine HP with the world of Rick Riordan, even how best to make a pirate ship out of cut-up craft sticks and a bit of ribbon. Some children chose to use the supplies to create relief maps; others used the colored pencils and markers only. The kids were excited and proud to pose with their maps. Forty-five minutes later, as the adults returned, their children didn’t want to leave!

My first attempt at an Unprogram had been just as Marge and Amy hinted it would be: relaxed, kid-focused, and wildly successful. I’m already looking at how to continue to use this approach in future events and in my early literacy storytime sessions. For me, Unprogramming has become the ultimate in programming!

Kary Henry is a Youth Services Associate at the Deerfield (IL) Public Library. She coordinates the Library’s preschool outreach and runs the 4-5 year old early literacy storytimes. She can be reached at khenry(at)deerfieldlibrary(dot)org and @MissKaryReads on Twitter.

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Pictures provided by Kary Henry with permission of shown children's mother.

Resource Spotlight: Mixing in Math

Almost a year ago, I included Mixing in Math in a post listing where I get my program inspiration. I still count Mixing in Math as one of my top resources for the math component of my STEAM programs and services, and I wanted to highlight some of the great content they offer that may help you to STEAM, too.

Mixing in Math is an initiative from TERC, a Cambridge, MA-based non-profit center for math and science education. Part of their core philosophy is that "daily life is full of opportunities to explore math," and that holds true for all ages of people. As a result, Mixing in Math's resources work great with school-age children specifically, although there are many preschool applications. Mixing in Math boasts a number of projects and resources to help educators, caregivers, and librarians turn these daily math exploration opportunities into meaningful math learning through fun games and activities.

Some of my favorite resources available from Mixing in Math:

• Monthly calendars -- These calendars, with general monthly themes like "weather," "nutrition," and "poetry," can be used in a number of ways. They are printable, so librarians can share them directly with families. They are also a great place to find simple ideas for math activities to add at the beginning or end of a program. Calendars are available in English and Spanish.
• Lots of activities -- These activities share ideas for math concept learning with step-by-step instructions. Their "Height Museum" is a terrific preschool measuring activity; the "So Sweet" experiment would be a hit science-experiment-and-math activity with school-age kids. These activities are available in English and Spanish.
• Newsletter -- Want tons of ideas for simple math activities delivered to your e-mail monthly? Then subscribe to the newsletter. I always find useful activity ideas.
• Printable Posters -- These posters pose questions about the animal kingdom, space, and creativity, and they encourage kids to use library resources to find answers to mathematical questions like "How many giant pandas live in the wild?" Math and suggested use of print and electronic resources? Love it.
• An archived training webinar -- This hour-long archived webinar perfectly blends the motivations behind Mixing in Math with practical activity and program ideas--both active and passive--that work well in libraries. I left the original webinar with tons of ideas for mixing in math at my library, and the webinar content definitely holds up.
• Food Fights, Puzzles, and Hideouts -- This book from Mixing in Math and Tumblehome Learning combines some tried-and-true older activities with tons of new games and projects developed just for the book. The content includes games, projects and crafts, food activities, group activities, and "Anytime, Anywhere" activities as well as listings of activity ideas by month. The back of the book also features information on how the different activities fit in with Common Core standards across K-5. This resource would make a great addition to non-circulating professional collections as well as homeschooler or teacher resource circulating collections.

Essentially, Mixing in Math exists to help make clearer and more impactful the sorts of math-rich activities we already do; it helps us adults be more intentional in developing kids' math skills through our interactions with them. Does that sound familiar? I think librarians can draw a strong parallel between ECRR for early literacy and Mixing in Math for math: both initiatives offer practitioners ideas for maximizing the skills-development impact of the activities we do with kids, and both equip practitioners to impart tips and sound bites about the importance of these skills to caregivers.

Have you used Mixing in Math? I'd love to hear how you get this great STEAM resource to work for you.

Teen Chat & Chew: A program by my colleague Angie

I work with a great teen person at my branch library. Long story short: teens respect Angie as a staff member while also enjoying her company and conversation. Which makes programs like the one she's sharing here work really, really well.

Teen Chat & Chew

I just had a wonderful program called "Chat & Chew: Coffee and Donuts Edition." Eight teenagers attended the morning program, and it was soooo much fun!

In preparation for the program--to make sure we had plenty of books to talk about--I pulled books from the list of titles that teens discussed at the BFYA session at ALA. I also pulled books from Debra Hipes's lists, etc.

During the program, we discussed and read from books. I had large sticky notes on the walls with a few topics: what everyone was currently reading, best reads of the summer, and titles the teens were eager to read after hearing what their peers had to say about them. Here's a peek at some of the lists:

Top Teen Summer Books 2013:

• SUPER HUMAN by Michael Owen Carroll
• THIS BOOK IS NOT GOOD FOR YOU by Pseudonymous Bosch
• DEEPLY ODD by Dean R. Koontz
• SHINE by Lauren Myracle
• SCARLET by Marissa Meyer
• DR. BIRD'S ADVICE FOR SAD POETS by Evan Roskos
• THE GLITCH TRILOGY by Heather Anastasiu
• LENOBIA’S VOW by P.C. Cast
• ROOM by Emma Donoghue

Books Teens HAD To Read After Hearing About Them:

• PIRATE CINEMA by Cory Doctorow
• OUT OF THE EASY by Ruta Sepetys
• MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN by Ransom Riggs
• UNIDENTIFIED by Rae Mariz
• LOVE AND OTHER PERISHABLE ITEMS by Laura Buzo
• WILL GRAYSON WILL GRAYSON by John Green and David Levithan
• MAGGOT MOON by Sally Gardner

In addition to sharing books, 3 teens read excerpts from books they are currently writing; they all want to start a writing club here....oh my!

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Amy here again. What I love about these Teen Chat & Chew programs is that they are a) literacy focused and b) completely open-ended. There's space for conversation to develop along whatever lines interest the attendees, but everyone leaves having heard about great titles regardless of the direction of conversation. The program also involves little staff prep--books are pulled ahead of time and prompts are considered in case chatter wanes. Also, the only expense is the "chew" component; and goodness knows you must always feed the teens.

What results from these simple components is a safe space for teens to talk about books they love, issues they're thinking about (there's often an impromptu LGBT thread in these programs), and their personal interests. Hey, they even feel comfortable enough to not only read their own writing aloud, but to request a writing club program as well. These teens spend so many programs and volunteer interactions listening to us, the library staff; I love that we can offer programs in which we have ample opportunity to listen to them.