Get FROZEN @ your Library!

(sing it with me)

Do you wanna do a program?

The time has come for my library to embrace the smash Disney hit "Frozen" and do a program entirely dedicated to it.  I of course carried the torch on this one and ran it in a similar fashion to my Star Wars program last summer.
Key points being-
1) Open it to all ages and do not have registration. I know this might make some of your heart rates jump at this thought; but for me it is more important to make my programs as welcoming as possible. This is especially true in winter when our attendance drops and just in general to make families want to come to the library. I couldn't stand having a kid wander in during a regular visit, see a cool program in progress and have to be turned away because they "didn't sign up".
2) Have passive activities that can appeal to all ages. Sometimes the concept of lines, waiting and switching stations can be trying on kids (and librarians!) Having no set time limits relieves that pressure and while chaotic at times, takes away pressure to finish activities in a certain time and in a certain way. Pressure is no fun for kids or me :(
3)Sticking to my Resolve to Rock goals

We kicked off our program with activities followed by a sing a long version of the movie. I know that some might look at my line-up with a critical eye and say these were pretty basic and simple activities (I did think that plenty of times). However I was planning on kids as young as 2 coming with their families so I needed something that was simple and flexible. Also I had no idea on the number of people showing up and when you have to plan for upwards of 100 kid, you have to factor in complexity of a craft and how much it cost to make...(Do you wanna raise your blood pressure? You don't have to raise your blood pressure!) So KISS keep it simple stupid.

Crown making stations
Everyone got a chance to make some marvelous headgear for our Frozen party. I found the template for the crowns and reindeer antlers here  and used construction paper instead of foam. We had snowflakes, stickers and markers for decoration. To cut down on the chaos, yes I cut out each crown/piece ahead of time, punched the holes and even found some clear reinforcement holes to make them stronger.

Our Ice Princesses getting some help with their crowns

Indoor Snowman Building
I created some snowman shapes and laminated them. I also drew several designs and accessories (pieces of coal, hats, sticks) and laminated them. Add some double stick tape and the kids had a whole gallery of snowmen with interchangeable parts to play with. This was a big hit at the party.

Crafts
Snowflake making, scissors and paper and you're done. There is a template for fancy Frozen snowflakes. I cut several of these out and they were quite a pain. :| I let the participants know they could take a template sheet home to try them out but they would defiantly need sharper scissors or an craft knife(which I was not going to provide in a room swarming with young kids) We also had a coloring station and a couple of puzzles out in different parts of the library.

Games
I did a similar version of this game and I also had a decorative little sleigh that kids could throw "snowballs" in. We used ping pong balls. I'm pretty sure the same kids just played with this game all afternoon prompting me to quote "the game is made up and the points don't matter"

Olaf's Scavenger Hunt
I'm a sucker for this activity. I was proactive and I made two sets of items to find in case kids once again started taking the clues off the walls and out of their hiding spaces. For simplicity sake I had a set of snowmen in different colors to spell out Olaf's special message. Any guesses on what it was.

Photobooth
Since I didn't have the budget to spring for some princesses to come to the library, nor do I have the build or hair to dress up as either of the lead characters, I put up a photo booth opportunity instead. Works for me!

Snacks and Movie Time!

I did make Gluten Free snacks! We have carrot sticks (Sven's Reindeer Bites) and Elsa' Snowball (and yes more than one of my co-workers giggled childishly at this name!) They were suppose to be powdered doughnut holes but I had to bake them in mini muffin tins. I used gluten free flour with was pricier than the regular stuff, but not nearly as costly as trying to contact a bakery and special order several dozen treats. We also had "Frozen" hot chocolate (chocolate milk) because the complication of making hot chocolate with that many kids makes my head spin.

Wandering Oaken's Trading post and Snack Bar

Surprisingly I lost about half of the group when it came to movie time, and almost all of them left half way during the film. I guess once the singing stopped, kids lost interest.

I had of course so many other ideas to try but I just didn't have the space. Since it was on a weekend, I only had myself and my boss on hand to help out. We had over 80 people show up which is not too shabby :)

As for my other goal of presenting general neutral programming, I would say it was almost half girls and boys doing all the activities. However I did have a care giver show up with three teenage boys saying they were here for the program. Huh? Okay I was open and certainly wasn't going to turn anyone away because of age. When I pointed out the activities available and that they were welcomed to join in, they looked disgusted and said they didn't want to do any of them. The boys left to go read but the caregiver was peeved that this was all I was offering. I apologized that I didn't consider teenage boys as my target audience when planning this program. So I guess I failed on this point. But seriously teen age boys who looked like they did not care on bit about Frozen!


Frozen Sensory Bins: Snowflake Soup, Arctic Slime, Play Snow
Anything ice, or ice colored would work. Or grab some real snow from outside it available


Here a quick blog roll call of other libraries' Frozen programs
Frozen Movie Party - The Loudmouth Librarian
Portland District Library Program
Frozen@ Your Library- Fat Girl Reading
Frozen Sing Along- Green Bean Teen Queen
Frozen Storytime -Literary Hoots
Super Cute Frozen Display- From the Short Stacks

If you have a Frozen program you've done and blogged about, add it in the comments and I'll add it here!

Basically, if it's something kids love, build it and they will come.  

Your winter programing might be already scheduled but you can still plan to get Frozen "in summer" Also if you are a library that will always be open, even when the schools are closed for winter weather,  you can do an impromptu calamity day program. This is something we are working on because we've had two snow days already this season.

What are you doing on your Holiday break?

If your like me, you've spent everyday at the library since it started and will be here every day until we close on Christmas Eve.

Like a Christmas eve mass/church service you may find your little library filled with a surge of strange guests, defiantly not your regular patrons and folks who never visit the library except twice a year (Christmas and Easter) So what can you do to accommodate these new visitors? If you are like some of my co-workers you probably bemoan the long winter break when caregiver dump their charges off in the kid section while they use the internet on the other side of the building, or complain that your relativity quite time of the year is suddenly shaken and chaotic with the number of people clamoring for you assistance and attention. These co-workers who complain the loudest are coincidentally the ones who always request time off for vacation and left the skeleton crew to man the fort.

So what can you do about this? Instead of bemoaning, be proactive! There are many kids and families looking for something free to do during the holidays. Many parents need a well deserved break from decorating, cooking and being cooped up in the house all day.

If you are worried about hoards of bored children descending into your realm, provide them with a distraction and eliminated the boredom.Some library have designated play sections for children in their youth services department, so this is a no brainier. My department has tables, chairs, and couches, 3 kids computers....and that's it. So if you are in my boat, here a few tips to turn your department into a Winter Break Wonderland.

1) If you have toys, games or other passive activities, put them out now! In plain view! Don't give kids a chance to complain "There is nothing to do here!" Not when they enter the kid's section and see stacks of puzzles and games waiting on the tables for them. I gathered an arm load of large floor puzzles, board and card games and left them out for kids and families to use. We also have Candyland boards and chess boards taped to a few tables. You usually have to ask at the desk for the piece, but I just went ahead and put them out now, so new patrons can go ahead and use them.

2) Display your hot topic books! Do we have Christmas books? We have Christmas books coming out of our ears! They are displayed in a book cart right in front of the children's desk as well as around our Christmas tree. Also since December is a slow circulation month, we have tons of our "Young Reader's Favorites" books in house (any thing that deals with Disney, LEGO or other popular kids characters) They are also placed on a display cart right in the main reading area so kids can find what they are looking for.

3) Create a passive program. Have stations set up around your department. They can be holiday or seasonal; a craft station to make an ornament, a scavenger hunt, or a sensory table. Use what you have on hand; Make snowflakes! Paper and scissors and you're done!

4) Have a coloring table. The kids at my library are obsessed with coloring. Our table gets more visits than our help desk.

5) If you have a movie license, consider having movies during break. We are showing some old school movies (The Muppet Christmas Carol, The Neverending Story, E.T.) all during the holiday break.

6) Impromptu Storytime! If you happen to be starring at a large group of rascally children, pick up a book and do what you do best! Read to the kids. It doesn't have to be a holiday book, but instead you can ask the kids in the audience what there favorite books are and read those.

Sorry for the weak iphone photo

My merry little sign that could reads "Welcome to the library! Please enjoy some board games and puzzles during your visit today. If you have any questions or need to find a book, just ask a staff member and we would be glad to help you. We are happy you came to visit us!"

So as much as I want to "Bah humbug" at this time of year, I feel a little bit of provocativeness can go along way to help my your library a fun place to visit. And yes I'll be here at the desk if you need me.

Dinosaurs and Sharks

...and all the exciting things kids love.

So Summer Reading comes to a close at my library (outside expressing sadness and longing, inside dancing for joy) and before we look ahead to fall (or for me next summer!) I have a few fun things to attend to in the month of August.

Sharks 

Shark Week- August 10th-17th

I don't have Discovery Channel and I'm not a big fan of sharks but you can't deny the joy that Shark Week brings to so many (and of course all the useful information) I have a series of passive activities planned for the week for any one stopping into the library to enjoy.
Monday-Coloring Pages
Tuesday- Make a Shark Book (to fill with shark facts)
Wednesday- Craft
Thursday- Don't Wake the Shark Game
Friday- Shark Puzzles
Saturday and Sunday- Under the sea Sensory Bin

 Most of the ideas and activities came from Kid Zone

And of course Books! Looking for a great shark book to read aloud? I adore I'm a Shark by Bob Shea

Dinosaurs

I always go on vacation right after summer reading (whether a long weekend or maternity leave) and I always worry about how the library looks when I'm gone. I know I should just shut up and enjoy my vacation but the thought of bare bulletin board and walls just drives my artistic mind crazy. We usually leave some of our summer reading decorations up for the slow trickle of kids who are late collecting prizes. But the main board that displays our events is the first one to go blank and there is nothing to replace it with unless I do it. So I kicked myself to get something made and put up before I go on vacation so I can spend nights dreaming of the beach and sunset and not of a blank brown wall starring back at me with shame!

Aw...look at those cute dinosaurs. And who doesn't love dinosaurs (even this jaded librarian) My confession is that all the time I was working on the orange T-Rex I kept thinking of "We're Back" that stupid dinosaur movie from 90's which I probably watched a dozen times too many as a child...

And as a result, I have this lovely ear worm stuck in my head...

(Tidbit: The screenplay for this film was written by John Patrick Shanley....yes the same guy who wrote Doubt that won the Pulitzer Prize. I guess you have to start somewhere?)

Teen Passive Ideas-Summer Reading

Do you do passives with teens at your library?

We do. In fact, our passive numbers are higher than the number of teens that participate in our programs! Because we don't have a teen room and low attendance at our programs, I'm forever trying to catch the "kids in the stacks". In the past we've had opinion polls, library bingo and trivia. During the summer I try to do a new passive every week.

I'm sharing some of my ideas for this summer. Our theme is Fizz Boom Read. Feel free to borrow anything you might be interested in using at your library!

Post it Note Art Show

We've had varying success with art share walls for teens in the past. On the scale of a wall full of lovely artwork as good to chasing off two punk boys defacing others artwork as horrible. I got so mad at them I swore off teen art walls forever.
I lied. I can't help it. I love art.

Quiz: Guess the Symbol

I have a sheet of symbols of the nine planets and the signs of the zodiac for teens to fill out and drop in out box to earn a prize. I've included the Dewey decimal numbers of books on astronomy and astrology so they can research and find the answers. That's not cheating in my opinion. Begging the librarian to look up the answers for you, is.

Periodic Word Generator

I saw a graphic on the internet were nerdy was spelled out with periodic elements Nerdy. I made colorful slips of paper with 3-4 boxes as well as a mini table of elements. I'm pretty horrible about word games like Boggle and Scrabble so I'm curious to see what the teens come up with.

Binary Code Messages
Similar to the word generator. I'm giving them the option of posting messages on the wall or taking them home. If you have the Collaborative Summer Reading Program manual for "Fizz Boom Read" there is a section in the kids' program that has the binary code and fun activities you can try with it.

Quiz: Robot Roll Call
For this quiz, I printed out pictures of famous robots from big and little screen. Fill out a sheet with your guesses of who's who and bonus points if you can tell were they are from. Using books and the internet is allowed because I threw in some tough ones. There is Robo-cop, EVE, R2-D2. But do you remember these guys?

Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo of MST3K

I'm pairing each passive with a display. Sticking with our science theme, I'll have book displays featuring  the Science Fiction genre:

Time Travel books/Doctor Who, Mad Scientist books, Steampunk and Dystopian.

Time for Displays! - March

March is Teen Tech Week- March 9-15 which for me starts early so I have more time to have people look at my display.

We have passive at our library each month; one for kids and another for teens. The kid one is always a really hit because it involves a craft, coloring sheets and guessing games. The teen one…eh not so much. There are 2 main reasons for this. Number 1- I don’t have a table to set up supplies like we do for the kids- I just have a ledge. Number 2- The chairs in front of the displays are occupied 90% of the time by older patrons.  (That’s another story for another time)

I have two passives- A super simple scavenger hunt and a CubeeCraft as a Take and Make. I printed a blank one so the kids could make up their own characters.

TIP: I discovered that using a thumbtack to score and cut paper (like I had to do on the tabs for the Cubee) works just as well as using a craft/x-acto knife.  I am much more comfortable handing a room full of teens thumbtacks to make precision cuts than handing all of them craft knifes that have “potential weapon”  written all over them

I was going for a Minecraft theme and I displayed some books on Minecraft, nail art, duct tape and other popular teen crafts which were promptly checked out!

I changed the storytime bulletin board because I didn’t want to appear lazy. I swear this looks better in real life!

 

I swear this looks better IRL

I’m pretty please at how it turned out, even though I didn’t put background paper because I didn’t feel like wasting more paper (and perhaps I’m really lazy after all) Oh, how I wish I could just paint the bulletin board color so it always wasn’t ugly grey/brown.

 The book characters are all made out of construction paper and done free hand. The way Clifford turned out really bothers me, but I am my own worst critic. I’ll just let it bother me every day I look at it until I change it….in May