Summer Programs

I know, I know, it's been too long!  Summer is of course the busy season for a children's librarian in a public library.  Here are a couple programs that I've been in charge of this summer.


Food Under Our Feet: Dig Into Root Veggies

With this year's summer reading theme of Dig Into Reading, I thought a program on root vegetables would teach kids a bit about new foods that are good for them.  I set the room up in four stations and then set up a little area for kids to sit and listen to a couple of books.  The books I read were Carrot Soup by John Segal and Grandma Lena's Big Ol' Turnip by Denia Hester (one of many versions of this Russian folktale - I liked the diverse characters of this one).  Then the children were free to do the four stations.  One station was a "Veggie Petting Zoo" where I had some of the actual root vegetables available for kids to touch and pick up, along with some fun facts about them.  Another station was for a stamping craft, where I had carrots, potatoes, and radishes cut in half to stamp in ink pads and onto paper.  For the potatoes I had also pressed small cookie cutters into them and cut around the shapes, so I had a star, diamond, etc.  The third station was a tasting station, and I had veggie chips and tapioca pudding available.  Did you know tapioca is made from cassava?  The last station was the messiest - I had collected clear 2 liter bottles to make visible root planters so the kids could plant carrot seeds and take their planters home.  The potting soil was a bit messy, but we mostly kept it under control.







Pet Rocks

This was a fun and pretty easy craft that also fit in with the Dig Into Reading theme.  I asked kids to bring their own rock, but some forgot so I had extras.  Really the best place to get rocks was the library parking lot!  The kids used googely eyes (a hit!), pipe cleaners, yarn and string, puffballs, feathers, mini popsicle sticks, and markers that showed up nicely on the rocks.  I set out scissors and glue, plus I also had packing tape if anyone wanted it.  Each kid also got a little paper plate to bring their pet rock home on, and some of them decorated their plate as well.  The kids were so creative, and the program required minimal setup!