MY LITTLE PONY PARTY

I did this program in the fall of 2017.  I had several stations set up at tables in the Children's Room.  They were:

• Rainbow Sprinkles Cookie Station:  I used the pink strawberry wafer cookies for this.  They were able to dip the end of the cookie into white dipping chocolate and then dip in or spoon on sprinkles.
• Also offered Rainbow Dash Fish Crackers (rainbow colored Goldfish crackers)
• My Little Pony Hoof Decorating:  I had several colors of nail polish available.  Participants could choose color/colors.
• My Little Pony Masks:  I had copies of several different pony masks.  Participants colored, cut them out and glued onto a large craft stick.
• My Little Pony Bingo:  This was a popular game!  The BINGO board can be found at www.artsyfartsymama.com    We used Skittles as our playing pieces.  When a BINGO was called, that person got to choose a My Little Pony sticker.
• We also had a photo op, where we had Pinkie Pie drawn onto a large display board with the face area cut out.  Participants could go behind it, stick their head through and have a picture taken.
• All participants received a baggie with stickers and a coloring book that I had put together at the end of the program.

Stickers were ordered through Smilemakers.  

NATIONAL SOMETHING ON A STICK DAY

March 28th is National Something on a Stick Day.  This day just begged to be programmed!

Here is what we offered:

• Chocolate doughnuts on a stick (popsicle stick inserted)
• White powdered doughnuts on a stick (popsicle stick  inserted)
• Hot dogs (sliced) on a stick (toothpick)
• Cheese (sliced) on a stick (toothpick)
• Rice Krispie treats (cut in half and popsicle stick inserted)
• Cake pops
• S'mores fixings (marshmallows, graham crackers, package of 12 snack size Hershey bars)
• Tootsie Roll pops

For dipping, we had white and chocolate melts in two small crockpots, bowls with sprinkles, and spoons.

My director bought a cake pop maker for $3.00 at a Goodwill and it worked like a charm!  Takes 4 minutes from start to finish.  I will say that chilling the cake mix overnight did help with the consistency (making it thicker).  I made up some cake pops ahead of time and continued to make them throughout the program.

I also purchase a Hershey's S'more Maker at a local Goodwill, but did not have the chance to try it out prior to the program.  So, for the s'mores, we had a small microwave available.  Great s'mores were made in 10 seconds.

I also offered a simple craft, which was a bookmark.  This was a jumbo craft stick and stickers adhered to it.

Next time around, we plan to add mini corndogs on sticks, and I've also seen the plans for Easter Peeps Fruit Kabobs.  

MUG CAKES!

Want a super-simple program that's bound to be a big hit?  Well, this is it!

I have done this program a couple of different times.  Once was in the winter for a day that kids were out of school (looking back into my file, it was Martin Luther King Day); the second time it was done as a spring-themed program.

You can make the mug cakes with either real mugs (the first time, I purchased 88 cent mugs from Wal-mart) or use Dixie Cups.

Here are a couple of recipes that I have used:

1 MINUTE DIXIE CUP CAKES

You will need:
1 package of cake mix (any flavor)  (I've done chocolate and funfetti....funfetti is my favorite for this)
Water
3-ounce or 12-ounce Dixie Cups
Toppings:  Frosting, sprinkles, chocolate chips (for the chocolate ones) ice cream.  All of these are optional.

For the 3-ounce cup:
3 tablespoons cake mix
1 tablespoon water
Stir, stir, stir!  I let the participants use a small popsicle/craft stick to do this.  Batter should be thick.  Place in microwave for 45 seconds.  Batter will likely run over the sides of the 3 ounce cup.  Switch out to a 5-ounce cup and this doesn't happen.  Let cool for one minute and add toppings, if desired.

For the 12-ounce cup:
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon cake mix
1/4 cup water
Stir, stir, stir!  Batter should be thick.  Place in microwave 1 minute,10 seconds.  Let cool for one minute and add toppings, if desired.

We have also done crafts once the kiddos have made their mug cakes.  For the winter one, it was a picture of a mug that they could decorate and add real mini marshmallows to.  For the spring one, it was a simple flower crown.

I always have a handout of additional mug cake recipes to give to parents.

SCAVENGER HUNTS!

SCAVENGER HUNTS!

I got this idea from a meeting of children's librarians some time back, and it is such an easy and fun monthly passive activity for our young patrons!

We just finished up our Summer Reading Program (Libraries Rock!) and are on the last of three monthly hunts for rock/stone formations.  June was Ohio rocks/statues, July was national rocks/statues, and August is international rocks/statues.

To set it up is super simple!  Choose 12 items, print them out in color and then add an alphabet letter (cut from Ellison 4-inch dies) to the picture.  Laminate, cut out, and then hide around your area.  Have a sheet with smaller pictures of each of the items with a line next to them for patrons to jot down the alphabet letter.

Our hunts in June and July were super popular, as completion of them got the participant an extra entry into prize drawings at the end of the Summer Reading Program.  We had nearly 200 hunts done during each of those months!  Prizes ranged from bookmarks to LEGO bracelets (left over from last summer's Summer Reading Program, plastic ducks, suckers, Smarties candy, etc.

Here are some ideas for hunts:

• September is National Chicken Month.  I found 12 different pictures of chickens wearing hats/clothes.  I am thinking of using Easter eggs with some sort of candy inside as the prize.
• October is a perfect month to do monsters or something else Halloween-related.  I am doing monsters this year, and the prize is a small rubber monster finger puppet.
• November this year is foods associated with Thanksgiving dinners.
• The 12 days of Christmas just begs to be used!  Or you could do items associated with Christmas, such as trees, cookies, elves, Santa, etc.  I did the 12 Days of Christmas last year and the prize was a candy cane.
• For March (and this is where I got the original idea), large eggs had book characters on them.  The participants had to match the color of the egg with the character on them.  For a prize, they received a plastic Easter egg with a candy bar inside.

NATIONAL MONSTER DAY

Since August 15th is National Monster Day, I decided to have an all-day craft that folks could just drop in and do.

I had to "frankenstein" two sets of instructions, as neither of them worked well on their own.

Here is how I constructed the yarn monster:

Cut cardboard pieces 3" by around 5 1/2".  Since the cardboard can easily start to bend once the yarn wrapping is started, I rubber-banded two pieces together.  You could also hot glue them together as well.

You will use the 5 1/2" length to wrap your yarn around.  Wrap the yarn 150 times around the cardboard.  Once you have reached the last wrap, cut off the yarn.  On one side of the cardboard, tie a knot around the center of the yarn.

Flip the cardboard over and cut through the center of the yarn.  This is your hair pom pom.

At this point, if you wish to use the pipe cleaners as shown in the picture, wrap it around the pom.

Use a 3-ounce Dixie cup turned upside down, and hot glue the pom to the top of the cup.

Add googly eyes,

My sample did not have the eyes hot-glued to the pipe cleaner.  I simply hot-glued on two large googly eyes to the front.  I also wrapped a pipe cleaner around the pom and wrapped it around a pencil to achieve some curls.

You could add more than one set of eyes, if you wish.

This would be a great Halloween or anytime craft!  Also, with the Summer Reading Program theme next year (2019) being space, these could easily be made into space aliens with green yarn and sparkly pipe cleaners!

COMMUNITY BABY SHOWER

COMMUNITY BABY SHOWER

            On Tuesday, April 8^th, 2014, the Bucyrus Public Library held its second annual Community Baby Shower.  The month of April was decided on, since it is the Month of the Young Child, so it was the perfect fit!  This is one of two Community Baby Showers that are held in the county.  Galion holds a similar event every August, and BPL has had a presence there.

            The event was held from 6:00-8:00 p.m. in the cafeteria area of Bucyrus Community Hospital.  This was a change from last year, when the event was held at the library.  The whole cafeteria area was available for us to use.  This event targeted first-time parents, parents-to-be, and families who are involved in programs such as WIC, GRADS, etc.

            27 agencies serving families and children were contacted to participate.  Ten responded and sent representatives:  Crawford County WIC, OHCAC Head Start, Little Stars Daycare/Preschool, Voice of Hope Pregnancy Center, Dr. Ryan Hohman, Birth Place @ Galion Community Hospital, YWCA Northwest Ohio Child Care Resource and Referral, CareStar, Avita Pediatric Therapy Center, and Crawford County Help Me Grow.  Of all the agencies who did not respond, only Turning Point sent a message that they would not be able to attend due to staffing issues.

            The event was advertised through Crawford County WIC (who sent out 100 invites) through Jane Knight, who administers the GRADS program at Pioneer Joint Vocational School, and in-house PR at the library. 

Prior to the event, we asked for RSVPs.  I have 24 initial phone calls, and of those 24, 17 attended.  The final total for attendance was 28 mommies-to-be/new moms, and with each of them bringing at least one person with them (husband, boyfriend, mom, friend), that pushed the attendance up to between 55-60 people.  Last year, we had 14 attend. 

            Upon arrival, each attendee received a flier that had all of the attending agencies listed with their contact information and a “scavenger hunt”-type activity.  Attending agencies were placed at tables around the perimeter of the cafeteria.  Avita Health System Food Service provided refreshments for the evening.  Cupcakes, cookies, bagged chips, fruit juices and water were available.

            Barbara Scott, Children’s Librarian at BPL welcomed everyone and introduced Deana Grube, Lactation Consultant at Galion Community Hospital, who spoke on the importance of skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth, as well as later in baby’s life. 

            Once Deana finished her presentation, attendees were invited to participate in the “scavenger hunt”.  This consisted of a page and a half sheet listing the various agencies represented with a question that attendees had to ask and get the answer to.  This provided time for one-on-one conversation with each of the families.  Once they had finished with this, they were free to enjoy the refreshments provided.

            About 7:30 p.m., drawings for door prizes were held.  There was a wonderful variety of items to choose from, ranging from a basket of board books and items from the library to filled diaper bags to a large activity center that could be placed over a baby lying on the floor. 

            All of the agencies were well pleased with the turnout and can be most likely be counted on to participate in next year’s event. 

 

LESSONS LEARNED FOR NEXT YEAR:

           

·         Contact Wal-mart about possible donation of a stroller for a grand prize.

·         Advertise the event more broadly.  This year and last, it was only advertised through WIC, GRADS, and in-house at the library.

·         Contact Galion and Crestline libraries to see if they wish to send information or have a presence at the event. 

·         Research why some agencies/organizations do not respond to our requests to have a presence.  Specifically ones like La Leche League, MOPS, pediatric dentists (I have two that I have contacted the past two years), other preschools.

·         Run the program from 6:00-7:30 p.m. if the same number of agencies are represented.  If the number increases, then the time could be stretched to 8 p.m.

 

Resurrecting this blog back from the dead...

Wow, it's been some time since I've posted on this blog!  Losing library funding saw the demise of our monthly programming for kids, but that doesn't mean that I've just been sitting around doing nothing!

On the contrary, we've instituted some new and exciting programming here at the Bucyrus Public Library that I'd like to pass along to you!

In-house, we've made available 4 computers in our Teen Room.  These take only 18-and-under cards and are well used nearly every day after school, and on days like today when there is a snow day and no school!  Young patrons get on them to play games, check their Facebook accounts, do "blizzard bag" assignments for school, and we even have some homeschoolers using them.

We have also made our Wii and Playstation available to young patrons who wish to play.  The games, controllers, and game platforms themselves are kept locked in a cabinet until needed, and we have a TV that we wheel out when needed.  Our aim is to get the TV mounted on the wall above the cabinet.

We have a table set up in our Teen Room that has painter's tape making a Tic-Tac-Toe board.  For the past few months we've had Steampunk Tic-Tac-Toe set up on it (simply multiple pictures of the same two steampunk-themed items).  This month, it's Hearts and Cupids Tic-Tac-Toe.

In the Children's Room, I also have a tabletop reserved for Tic-Tac-Toe, and I change it with the months.  October was pumpkins and ghosts, November was turkeys and pumpkins (the same pumpkins from October), December was Santas and trees.  January was snowmen and snowflakes.  This month, since the Teen Room is hearts and cupids, I chose profiles of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.  We also have another table dedicated to a checker board.  Believe it or not, both tables get a lot of use!

Passive programming has been the name of the game in the Children's Room.  I have two four-sided columns on one side of my room, and it's here that I've been posting my passive programs.

In November, the passive program was to Guess the pro football team mascots.  I found pictures of each of them, copied them off onto black construction paper, then cut the silhouettes out, laminated  and posted them.  Post them with the picture side down so that only the silhouette appears.  Then I numbered them and that was the guessing game.  I had a key handy to answer who was who.

December's passive program was guessing elves/snowmen from movies and books.  I simply went onto Google Image search and found pictures of elves and snowmen, put them into Publisher, printed them out in color, laminated them, and posted them on the columns. That display stayed up through January, as, well....there was snow.

February's passive guessing program is "Name That Candy Bar!"  I went onto Google Image search to find cross sections of different candy bars.  In most cases I enlarged them, put them into Publisher and printed them off.  They are numbered as well with a key at my desk.

We have also started putting out coloring sheets for our younger patrons, coordinating with whatever holiday, season, etc is current.  Right now we have Valentine's Day ones available.  The Hello Kitty ones are very, very popular!

We have begun some incredibly successful Music, Movement, and More programs.  About two years ago, a lady from our local Help Me Grow approached us about being a place to hold their program (which was called Tots, Tales, and Tunes) and wanted me to provide a story and fingerplay with the participants at the end of the session.  With state budget cuts, Help Me Grow lost funding for that program, and when they did, it was a natural fit for us to pick it up.  That next year, I was able to fund the expense of paying the lady who did the program out of my programming budget, and we did it very low key.  This year, thanks to a grant through our local United Way, we have been able to expand the program.  We advertise, as always through the local newspaper and the local JFS and WIC programs.  Our aim is to reach birth to preschool-aged children.  The United Way grant has freed up my programming money this year and is paying the instructor for 3 sessions (we will be able to offer a summer session....SO excited), and we are purchasing Musikgarten instrument/CD/book kits that will be given to families attending 7 of the 10 week sessions!  That way, they can recreate the experience at home in between sessions.  We are loving our theme this time around, which is Body Awareness.  The past couple of themes, we have had some sort of simple craft for the parent and child to do together.  This time it was a skeleton that was colored and put together with brads.  They are displayed in our program room until the end of the session.  Our attendance has sky-rocketed.  At our last session, we had (with children and parents) 50 total attendees!  We are so thankful for the United Way funding that allows us to reach some of the families that attend that would certainly not have the money to go out and spend on similar programs that are out there in the community.

Our second new program is our StoryWalk Adventures.  This idea was adapted from a program that was done on walking/biking trails in Vermont.  We take their same idea of taking apart books, laminating the pages and displaying them, but instead of stakes and boards, we have our book pages mounted on posterboard and portable easels.  So far, we've done 4 successful installations:  One at the local Parks District for the Family Tent Camping Night, one at a local city park for a family programming group called Together Time, the annual Halloween Bash at the local Parks District, and our last one was for the downtown Candlelight Christmas celebration.  Each one has been a learning experience!  I have also offered the program to local schools for their Right to Read weeks and so far, one has jumped on board.  Our program was featured in Ohio Libraries Quarterly (published by the State Library of Ohio) in an issue dedicated to community outreach projects.  This idea was also submitted to AWE (who do the Early Literacy Computers) as a project to win a contest that they sponsored during the recent American Library Association convention.  While we did not win, the idea was published by them on their site in a PDF of ideas from around the nation.  So, we were excited about that as well!

Please contact me at barbarascott@hotmail.com or barbarascott1956@yahoo.com if you'd like additional information on any of the programs I've talked about or any of my past programs!

 

COMMUNITY BABY SHOWER

 

 

On Saturday, April 27, 2013, the Bucyrus Public Library held its first ever Community Baby Shower.  The event was held from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. in the Library’s Community Room.  This event was targeted to first-time parents, parents-to-be, non-library patrons, and families who are involved in programs such as W.I.C., GRADS, etc.

            Agencies serving families and children were contacted to participate.  Those represented were:  SPARC, Child Care Choices, Crawford County WIC, OHCAC Head Start, Little Stars Daycare and Preschool, Voice of Hope Pregnancy Center, Bucyrus Public Library, and Avita Health System (Bucyrus and Galion Community Hospitals).  Sonshine Childcare and Preschool Center and Third Street OB/Gyn were scheduled to attend, but called prior to the event and had to cancel.

            Prior to the event, the library asked for RSVPs.  Fifteen responded, and the day of the event, fourteen attended.  10 of these were ones who had RSVP’ed and 4 were walk-ins.

            Attending agencies were placed around the Community Room.  Avita Health System Food Services provided refreshments for the day.  Cupcakes, bagged chips, an assorted fruit plate, and cookies, along with water and/or fruit juices were available. 

            A variety of door prizes were provided by WIC (diaper cake with baby items attached), Child Care Choices (gift bag filled with baby items), and OHCAC Head Start (package with diapers, package with breast pump, and two large filled baskets, one pink and one blue).  Attendees signed in as they entered the Community Room, and also signed up for door prizes as well.

            Attendees enjoyed going from table to table and speaking with agency representatives, as well as receiving a T.R.E.A.T.  tote, provided through a United Way grant to the Crawford Children’s Initiative, of which the library is a member.  They also enjoyed the variety of refreshments offered.

            Around the 1:00 p.m. hour, drawings for door prizes were held.  Several families/couples had stayed the entire time, so when door prizes were drawn, they got first pick of the items available.  Once all names were called, those not present were put back into the drawing to give away the remaining two prizes.

            As I started to move my items into the hallway to take back upstairs, a couple came down the stairs and asked if the door prizes had been drawn for.  I told them that they had been, but I did have two prizes that I would need to make phone calls for.  When I asked the name, it turned out that the mom-to-be had won the diaper cake from WIC.  The dad said, “I just want to tell you how great this was.  I have an 8-year-old, and they never did nothing like this back then.”  The mom-to-be was near tears as I handed her the diaper cake.

            All agencies were well pleased with the turnout and would definitely participate in an event next year.

 

LESSONS LEARNED FOR NEXT YEAR:

·         Email and/or send announcement out to schools.

·         Contact Wal-mart about possible donation of a stroller for a grand prize.

·         Advertise event on marquee at First Federal Community Bank downtown.

·         Remember to have tables set up for attendees to use for taking survey/eating.

·         Contact Galion and Crestline libraries to see if they wish to send information to be given out or have a presence at the event.

 



LEGO CLUB!!!

Our LEGO club met on December 1st from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m.  We had our largest group ever, with 25 participants!

Here are pictures of some of the creations!

MORE LEGOS!!!

Our LEGO club met on May 5th and our attendees were quick to "get building"! Here are their creations!

IT'S OFFICIAL!!!

Well, it's officially official! I received the author's copies last week and I am published again! Many thanks to Charles Harmon at Neal-Schuman and my super-fantastic editor, Kathy Buschbaum! Earl Musick of Bucyrus was the illustrator for my book. Check out his site as well: www.earlmusick.com

LEGO MY LEGO!!!

On March 3rd, 2012, the Bucyrus Public Library hosted its very first LEGO club. 9 eager participants built and rebuilt some AWESOME creations!

A big thank you goes to Gary Fyock of Galion, Ohio, who gifted the library with a large collection of LEGO pieces, including figures!

Check out our pictures below to see some of the COOL creations! (OH, and yes, we enjoyed snacks along the way...)

MY NEWEST BOOK!

Here's the description from the newest N-S catalog:

Are you tired of the same old activities for Halloween, St. Patrick's Day, Christmas, Thanksgiving and Valentine ’s Day? Do you have trouble finding activities for Grandparent’s Day, May Day, Earth Day, Rosh Hashanah, Diwali, or Ramadan? Here, you get countless activities for 33 holidays, saving you from scouring through hundreds of books and activities trying to find appropriate material.

Each chapter contains a small history of the holiday, an annotated collection of the perfect books, poems, and activities (such as coloring pages, cut-and-tell pages, draw-and-tell stories, flannel board stories, and games). Loads of finger plays included in each chapter make this book more than a guide to finding storytimes. Songs and crafts will bring life and variation to your holiday programming.

This one-stop compilation is easy to use and very inclusive. But the best part is the amazing amount of resources! You get over 700 activities, and at least 2 crafts and 2 cut-out drawings for each chapter. If you want story time to be amazing, this compendium has everything you need to serve your users instead of reinventing the wheel every year.

MY NEW BOOK!

Well, it was a long time coming! I pitched the idea for this book about 9 years ago to a variety of publishers and no one bit. A little over a year ago, I sent out the idea again. Charles Harmon of Neal-Schuman Publishers in New York was kind enough to offer me a contract and as of June 30th, 2010, I am a published author! The book appears in Neal-Schuman's latest catalog and I am told it was in Neal-Schuman's booth at the recent American Library Association gathering in Washington, D.C.! I think the book is perfect for librarians, of course, but also for preschool teachers and other early childhood educators!

Here is the description from the Neal-Schuman site:

"Watch the live video demonstrations to envision your new skills in action!

Incorporate creative, educational, and fun fingerplays into your storytime with this time-saving, uniquely extensive one-stop resource. Organized by theme from “apples” to “zoo”, experienced children’s librarian Barbara Scott’s one-thousand, ready-to-go fingerplays and action rhymes provide busy librarians and teachers with the up-to-date, cost-effective material needed to improve storytime without the extra planning time.

Scott explains numerous developmental benefits that children gain from fingerplays, and offers helpful guidance for selecting appropriate material and organizing and marketing storytimes. The book’s one-thousand fingerplays are grouped into over forty categories and span a wide range of themes, including different types of animals, foods, activities, games, colors, shapes, and more. Much more than just another storytime book, Scott brings her decades of successful experience to your screen through an accompanying DVD. Watch her perform all types of fingerplays and action rhymes so you can choose different styles to implement or adapt in your own storytime.

Learn to lead 1,000 fingerplays with confidence while your young listeners absorb listening and memorization skills, motor coordination, and a love of storytime fun."

AN AFTERNOON WITH WINNIE THE POOH!

On March 28th, 2009, I hosted "An Afternoon with Winnie the Pooh" program at the Bucyrus Public Library. From an initial sign-up of over 50 children, 36 attended with parents. Ages ranged from preschool and under up through age 10.

As each participant arrived, they were given bear-shaped nametags cut with an Ellison die. They were also encouraged to sign up for the door prizes, which were begin given away at the end of the program. The afternoon began with me sharing the news that in October 2009, Dutton Books for Young Readers will publish Return to the Hundred Acre Wood, the first authorized sequel to A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh
(1926) and The House at Pooh Corner (1928). The author of this sequel will be David Benedictus. The book will, like those that came before it, consist of 10 stories. I then shared a Golden Book entitled Bounce Around, Tigger!

The participants were then released to six craft tables, where they could make Pooh-themed crafts. The crafts were:


LET'S WRITE A HUM!
Pooh loves to write poems, or "hums", as he calls them. Participants were given a bear shape on which to write a poem. It could be about Winnie the Pooh or any subject they wished. These hums were handed in to me for a display in the Children's Room.

LET'S MAKE A POOH PARTY HAT (WITH EARS)!

This made the cutest hat. Strips of long brown construction paper were first used to make a band that went around the child's head. These were stapled together. Next, another thin strip was staped across what would be the top of the head. Ends were trimmed. Ear shapes where provided and cut out and stapled to this crosspiece.
Ta da! Instant Pooh ears!

POOH BOOKMARK
A bookmark from the site http://www.zianet.com/demisque/PoohPrintables.htm was used. Copies were made on our color printer. The bookmark that I used was called "The Thoughtful Spot". Participants simply trimmed down the bookmark to the outside of the red outlined area. A laminator was used (children were encouraged to put their names on the backs of the bookmarks) to cover them. Once laminated, a hole was punched in the top of the bookmark, and ribbon was inserted through and tied.

POOH COLORING PAGE
This craft was simply a drawing of Winnie the Pooh that participants could color.

WINNIE THE POOH TOILET PAPER ROLL CRAFT
Participants first colored and cut out all pieces that made up Winnie the Pooh and his pot of honey. An example was available for them to look at in order to do the assembly.

LET'S MAKE A 3-D HANGING POOH!
Two identical patterns of Pooh were first colored and them cut out. According to directions, slits were cut in both and they were fit together. A hole was punched in the top and the craft could be hung.

Refreshments were served to all of those present. These consisted of cookies with yellow icing (yellow for Pooh, of course), pretzels, and a mixture of cinnamon Teddy Grahams and Honey Bee shapes. Juice pouches were also available.

At the conclusion of the program, drawings were held for a number of Winnie the Pooh books.

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID

On February 28, 2009, I hosted a "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" at the Bucyrus Public Library. There were 36 participants in attendance, a good mix of both boys and girls!

As the participants arrived, each was given a nametag. I used an Ellison die shaped like a house for this program. Everyone gathered in a group as a biography of Jeff Kinney was shared. Participants were thrilled to know that more books in the series are planned and to find out that Fox 2000 has picked up an option to make a live-action movie that will include the first three books.

Once the biography was concluded, trivia questions were read. The group proved to be absolute scholars on the series, as they answered question after question!

Once this was done, participants could choose the following craft stations:


WORM ON A STICK CRAFT
In the series, Rowley, who is Greg's best friend, is falsely accused of chasing kindergarteners with a worm on a stick, which proves to really be Greg with his coat over his head. Participants colored and cut out a worm shape and then glued it to a large craft stick.


DESIGN YOUR DREAM HOUSE
This activity was taken from activity guide available online for the third book in the series, The Last Straw. On the left hand side of the page is a small drawing of Greg Heffley's dream house, complete with indoor pool, bowling alley, and go-kart track! On the right hand side, participants got to design their own dream homes.

IT'S THE CHEESE TOUCH!
In the book Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Darnell Washington falls and brushes the moldy cheese that's been lying on the basketball court with his finger, thus creating "The Cheese Touch". Participants got to create their own pieces of moldy cheese by coloring and cutting out a cheese pattern and then adding arms, legs, and a face to it.

RULES FOR YOUR FAMILY"
This activity was also taken from The Last Straw activity guide. On the left-hand size of the page are listed 4 rules for the Heffley family. Participants were challenged to come up with four rules of their own for their families. We compiled these on a board. Some of our favorites were:

Tacos every day for dinner!

Video games are always allowed!

Don't make me eat green beans!

Steak for dinner every night!

Let me sleep in every day!

Dessert with every meal!

Don't kill youself or burn the house down when Mom and Dad aren't there! (my personal favorite!)

Don't wake me up on weekends until 9:00 a.m.

Participants were also treated to snacks, which consisted of juice pouches, cookies, pretzels, and, since the Cheese Touch plays such an important part in the books, cheese-flavored popcorn.

Two copies of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book were also purchased and given away as door prizes.

I have also developed a read-alike list and did an in-house display of the books listed. This display was up in our Children's Room for the month preceding the program. Fliers advertising the program were sent to all area elementary and middle schools.

As I mentioned above, there is an activity guide available on-line that goes along with the latest book, The Last Straw. Some of the activities included in it could be used to enhance your program.

FANCY NANCY

On January 24, 2009, 20 participants met in the Bucyrus Public Library's brand new Community Room for an afternoon of Fancy Nancy fun! The majority of the little girls came dressed in their "Fancy Nancy finest", complete with gloves and tiaras in some cases!

As participants arrived, they were given a nametag that said, "Bonjour, my name is...." This came from the Fancy Nancy site.

Children's Librarian Barbara Scott welcomed all with a "bonjour" (that's Nancy's fancy way of saying hello), and shared a brief biography of both Jane O'Conner (the author of the Fancy Nancy books) and Robin Preiss Glasser, the book's illustrator. She also shared the book Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy.

Participants were then released to five different tables located around the room where they could do Fancy Nancy crafts. These stations were:

Create Your Own Bauble!
At this table, participants could pick bracelet styles from a preprinted construction paper with 3 styles on it. This was obtained from the Fancy Nancy site. Stickers were purchased at the local Wal-Mart. As well, odds and ends of star stickers, self-adhesive decorations from Christmas ornament decorations and crayons were provided. Participants could decorate their bauble/bracelet however they wished.

The Perfect Pet Drawing Activity
This activity was also taken from the Fancy Nancy site. Pre-printed sheets invited participants to draw a picture of their perfect pet and also tell all about it....name, what it liked to eat, etc.

Fancy Nancy Coloring Page
This was another great activity from the Fancy Nancy site. Participants used crayons or markers to color a picture of Nancy herself!

Let's Make Fancy Crowns!
This was one of the most popular stations! We had left-over crowns from the Dragons, Dreams, and Daring Deeds summer program as well as left-over ones from our Narnia program. These are the gold foil ones that we purchased through J and A Handy-Crafts. They come in packs of 24 crowns, complete with glue, feathers, foil star stickers and jewels, all for $20.88. The kids had a ball with these!

Let's Make a Fancy Necklace!
This was, by far and away, the most popular station! Wal-Mart has large bags of all sorts of beads for $2-3.00 I purchased 3 of these and also purchased plastic lanyard for stringing. The kids made necklaces, bracelets, even rings in some cases! They were all tres chic! (At this station, I think the moms and grandmas had as much fun as the kids!)

Snacks were served as part of the afternoon. We had cookies, pretzels, fruit snacks and punch. You could easily do finger sandiches or fancy cookies!

Door prizes were also drawn for. The library purchased two Fancy Nancy paperbacks (also from the local Wal-Mart) and our local radio station gave us 8 sets of Fancy Nancy card games that they had gotten.

Although Fancy Nancy's favorite color is purple, I could not find purple tablewear at our Wal-Mart. I opted for pink. I used a pink feather boa (which I wore earlier in the program) to wrap around the punch bowl, and had some fancy little hats and a pair of red high-heel shoes on the snack table as decoration.

Any party catalog that supplies princess items would work for a program like this. And in looking for door prizes or things for goodie bags, check the "princess" section of catalogs or stores. They will be a treasure trove of items!

THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE

As part of our National Library Week celebration, on April 17, 2008, the Bucyrus Public Library hosted a drop-in program featuring the book The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. On page 60 of the March 2008 Book Links magazine, in their "Need to Know" section, it was noted that, to celebrate the paperback release of the book, Edward is touring libraries and schools from coast to coast. I visted the www.edwardtulane.com website and noted that we could get a large Edward Tulane doll for display, as well as receive a teacher's kit with a reader's theatre script, puzzles, etc.

The doll was booked through Costume Specialists of Columbus, Ohio, and we were lucky enough to have him during National Library Week. Our program was done as a drop-in one, due to our on-going construction.

We received the doll well in advance, along with a wonderful teacher's guide and a DVD featuring an interview with both Kate DiCamillo and the book's illustrator. This interview is also available for download at www.edwardtulane.com Since I wanted it to play for the duration of the program (the whole interview is less than 3 minutes, I popped it into Windows Media Player and copied it over and over until I had a sufficient running time that I didn't have to keep running to the laptop every so often to restart it.

A journal comes packed along with the rabbit. This journal travels with Edward and is a record of his travels to different cities, schools, and libraries for events. Participants were encouraged to sign the journal and make any comments about the book that they wished. The completed journal will be given to the book's author once it is filled.

Participants were able to do 4 crafts as part of the program:

LET'S MAKE VICTORIAN PAPER DOLLS!
Since the book is set close to this era or at around the turn of the century, I thought it would be a great idea to make paper dolls. I supplied two paper dolls that I had found on-line and them copied and enlarged on our color copier. One was a girl in Victorian dress, and the other was a boy. These were copied off onto card stock. Each doll had one outfit that was also included on the card stock that could be cut out and placed on the doll. I also included a short history of paper dolls that participants could cut out (using scrapbooking scissors for a fancy cut) and then paste onto the front of a small manila envelope (given to them so that they could put the dolls and clothes in one place). Picture of the completed dolls is above!

EDWARD TULANE DOOR HANGER
For the door hanger, I used the Ellison door hanger die and cut the hangers out of poster board. I found a decent picture of Edward (sitting on a shelf in his finery) by doing a Google search. This was enlarged and copied on our color copier. I also typed out the slogan "Reading is a Miraculous Journey" in a nice Victorian-looking font and this was on the same page with the picture. Participants cut out both the slogan and picture and pasted them onto the poster board door hanger. You can see the completed doorhanger in the picture above!

LET'S MAKE A CRAZY QUILT!
Crazy quilts were popular in Victorian times as well as around the turn of the century. I can remember my maternal grandmother having a couple that were used all of the time and they were just fascinating to look at! In looking on the internet, I found a site that had 4 different patterns. In looking at the patterns, it occurred to me that I could lay the pattern pieces (once cut out) over pieces of wallpaper, cut them out, and then reassemble them with a black construction paper backing. Participants had the choice of the 4 patterns. Whichever one they liked (and I had them on display) could be taken to the copier, copied off, and then cut apart to use as templates to lay on the wallpaper pieces. I went to one of our local wallpaper and paint stores and asked them for any discontinued books that they might have. They are always happy to get rid of these! Once I had cut my wall paper pieces out and assembled them into the original pattern, I took a black marker and made "X" marks all across where the pieces butted up against each other (don't know if these really show up in the picture above). These represented the stitches holding the "fabric" pieces together. I think it turned out quite well!

HEART BUNNY CRAFT
This cute bunny craft was made up entirely of heart shapes (except for his teeth)! Participants colored and cut out the bunnies and then assembled them according to example.

Snacks were served for this program as well. Since it was a drop-in program, I had somewhat portable snacks, such as cookies, fruit snacks and juice pouches.

A table was also provided with some handouts from the teacher packet, as well as a large bookmark that I developed entitled "If You Liked Edward Tulane, Try..." with a list of similar-themed books. This was copied off on card stock for durability.