Stuffed Animal Sleepover

One of the most popular programs at the library is the Stuffed Animal Sleepover.  I first heard about this type of program on Pubyac, a listserv for youth services librarians.  An evening story time is planned with just one or two bedtime stories.  At registration, we recommend the family bring an animal that can be left for one night, and is not needed by the child to go to sleep.  When the children arrive the animals are given a name tag with the animal's name and the child's name on the other side.  The parents receive a note explaining they should leave the library quickly and that they may return the next day after a specified time.  The children will tuck in their animals, we used two sheets, and the children placed their animals around the "bed."  If a child does not want to leave an animal we offer to substitute one of our puppets, most leave the animal they brought.  The children will tippy-toe out of the room and the door is closed.  

Once the children leave, the animals "wake-up" and the mischief begins.  We place the animals around the library.  They read a story, play on the computers, play hide-and-seek in the stacks, play with toys, slide down the book return, they even order a pizza!  Where did they get the money?

The animals are photographed and I try to get each animal alone, and in group shots.  We have a small library, I can imagine if you have a large facility you could find even more creative places for the animals.  

Take a large number of digital photos and upload then to the computer and send the photos to a big-box store's one-hour photo department.  I look for coupons from various stores in the area and can usually get the prints for about 10 cents each.  For a program that has 20 children, you will need about 200 photos, at 10 cents each the program costs $1 per child.  You can get by with less per child, as low as five photos each if you cannot get the low price.

The photos are distributed to the various animals, each animal gets one or two group shots, a few individual shots, and smaller group shots.  The photos will tell the story of what the animals did while the children were gone. I write a letter to go with the photos.  I tell the children a story about what the animals did while they were gone.  The animals woke up, got into mischief, ordered pizza, and finally the librarians got the animals back to sleep.  I  also add that the librarians are very tired.   The photos and the story go into an envelope that is stapled to the name tag. 

The look on the faces of the children are very special.  Most of the children want to look a the photos right away and are awestruck by what the animals did.  They seem to like photos of the "hidden" places in the library, the back room, book drop, etc. Try this program and let me know how it went.

Firefly Jar Craft

 

This summer the theme for the reading program was Dream Big, Read!  The library planned thematic programs, one for the preschool set was a cute craft found on Pinterest.  A jar made into a firefly using foam sheets and glow sticks. The difficulty was finding the proper jar for the craft.  Oriental Trading has 4" jars for sale, which was a possibility.  The Pinterest post used glass jars, not really an option for preschoolers.  The solution came after we finished a sand art program, the plastic jars the sand came in were perfect for the firefly craft.  We started the program with Eric Carle's The Very Lonely Firefly and moved right into the craft.

Materials:
4 to 5 inch tall clear jars
Foam sheets in assorted bright colors
Chenille stems
Wiggle eyes approximately 1/2" to 1"
Markers to draw mouth
Assorted shapes and colors foam stickers
Glue dots, glue, two-way tape, tape
4 inch glow sticks (we found 2 for a dollar at the dollar store)

Cut two larger ovals, one for the head and one for the tummy.
Cut two wing shapes.
Cut one or two nose circles.

Assembly:
Put jar lid on before making the firefly.
Decorate the face with one or two circles for the nose, wiggle eyes, draw a mouth.  Tape a chenille stem that has been bent in two and curled at the ends to the back of the head.  Attach to the lid.
Using 2-way tape, glue, and glue dots attached tummy oval and wings.
Decorate the wings and tummy with stickers.
Open and place the glow stick inside, the hard part is to wait to break the stick until it's dark.

It's hard to photograph in a dark room, but here is how the firefly looks with the glow stick.

    Welcome

This inaugural blog will be random thoughts on teaching young children and working as a children's librarian.  It took a long time to come into librarianship, but I have hit the ground running.  I have so many ideas to implement that I hope there is enough time to achieve my goals.  Why Duck, Duck, Juice?  Many years ago we were learning to play the favorite game, Duck, Duck, Goose.  One little girl would go around the circle saying, Duck, Duck, Juice.  I thought she had trouble saying the word Goose.  We were studying barn animals and I found out that the girl didn't know what a goose was, and substituted a word she did know.  I loved the phrase and said many times, that's the name of the book. Since the book may never be written, here is the blog!

Speaking of misunderstanding words, as a small girl, my sister came home from Sunday school.  My mom asked her what she had learned today.  My sister said in a matter of fact tone, "We learned that prayer with all the lettuce in it."  My mom was very confused by this and asked her to explain the prayer.  "Oh you know, mom, the one that goes, God is good, God is great, Let us thank..." 

There are lots of things the kids said over time, some I can write and others I will keep quiet, until they become famous and I'm interviewed on E! or Entertainment Tonight about what was (famous person) like when the were young.  One that I can repeat is about a boy named Andrew.  We were discussing Moms and Dads.  All the children were saying if they wanted to be a mom or dad when they grew up.  Andrew started out wanting to be a dad.  In mid-sentence he changed his mind.  I asked, "Andrew, why don't you want to be a dad?"  Andrew took his pointer finger and circled it over his head and said, "I don't want to be a dad, cause dad's get no hair right here!" 

More about me, I started out as an art teacher.  I worked for three years and took time off to have children.  When my youngest was three I found the preschool position.  I never would have thought it would last for 23 years.  A few years ago I was laid-off for a short period of time, six months.  The question of what do I want to do with the rest of my life popped up as it does when people are out of work.  Why not go back to school, I like to read, I'm always in the library, hey, why not become a librarian!  The ah-ha moment.  Scary to go back to school when you are past middle age, but I am proud to say, I did it, passed with a 4.0, and now so happy to be working as a children's librarian.  Now I know what I want to do with the rest of my life!!

Most of the time you will find ideas for projects on a variety of themes.  Some are for Summer Reading Programs, some are for themed story times, flannel board ideas, and random crafting for children. 

Getting my ducks in a row, thanks for reading, Alicia