Summer Reading 2014 Displays

Summer Reading is over! Here's a look at a couple of ways we promoted Fizz, Boom, Read! to the kids in our library.

Bunny Rex is a mad scientist! We put out the recipe we use to make playdough for storytime to make it easy for patrons to do science at home. 

This Greg cut-out has helped us sell several displays. This time he is next to a Science Fiction display. He's super excited about it, can't you tell?

Treasure Hunt

Last week we held a pirate-themed program on the heels of big summer reading performance. We're so smart. <That was sarcasm> BUT it made for a lively event. About 80 people came which is quite good for us, especially considering most of them had already been in the library for at least an hour.

Upon entering our program room, kids chose a pirate name by selecting one piratey word from each of three columns and putting on a name tag.

They picked up a  treasure map and a good ol' golf pencil, and headed to the disguise table to create a pirate hat.  A lucky few got eye patches I'd unearthed from years ago. It's always a risk to put out a little of something, but I wanted them gone and for the most part it wasn't an issue.

After selecting their name and disguise, the little buccaneers decorated a paper sack treasure chest for their booty.Then the hunt began. The kids were trying to guess a phrase. Can you guess what it was? Dig into reading! Some kids got the word "Dig" and guessed the rest and that was a-okay with me.
First, they hit up the "sand boxes" to dig for a set of letters. The boxes were filled with shredded paper and the letters were die cut from matboard. The word was "Dig."

They then had to face the plank - a board propped up on 3 bricks. They were asked a riddle or joke and when they couldn't answer, they jumped off and were told the first letter of the last word, "R."
Finally, they left the room with maps in hand, trying to find the source of each image on the map. All the images were taken on the children's level. At the site of each photo was a sparkly letter and in some cases a seashell to make REALLY sure they understood the letter was what they were after. Staff working the desks had been filled in and there was an answer key in case the forgot where something was.

Puzzle solved, the kiddos came back to the program room to choose treasure from our chest. No one who attempted the hunt was denied some loot.
Treasure included chocolate coins, plastic gold coins, ring pops, plastic gold necklaces, some paper posters and pirate flags, and fancy paper pirate hats. Barring the candy, it was all stuff we had. The ring pops went first, then the hats and posters, then the chocolate coins.
We knew we'd have all ages rather than the school age crowd we typically plan for, so making the hunt photo-based was a good move. This program slot is self-guided and drop in, so preschoolers still needed an adult to guide them but it worked well. We were lucky enough to borrow a couple district staff members to man the sand box and plank, which helped a lot.It would've been a fun opportunity for enthusiastic volunteers, too.
This is a format I will use again. It's relatively simple, the kids enjoy it and you get to highlight areas of your space or collection while getting kids moving around. Perfecto!

Found Underground

As part of our rotating Wednesday line up we held an archeology themed event in July.

create an ancient coin
We had leftover white Crayola model magic clay, so I rolled some out and cut coins with and without holes to allow for threading. By allowing them to dry for a couple days ahead of time, the kids could paint or draw their own ancient coin.

terra cotta warriors
Using natural colored model magic clay, which I cut into pieces in advance, kids created replicas of Chinese Terra Cotta warriors. There were books and a slide show for inspiration.

sugar cube pyramid
This station challenged kiddos to build a pyramid 3 inches tall. Adults are always drawn to this activity, as well.






 dino dig   Our lovely graphics department blew up and laminated the dino skeleton from the CSLP Manual. I cut it into pieces and buried the bones in shredded paper leftover from a co-worker's program, Join the Dig. To be sure it wasn't too difficult I provided an outline of the finished dinosaur and a hint (There are 10 puzzle pieces). It was popular and I plan to make use of this format again.

wrap like a mummy

For one final simple addition, I set out toilet paper and asked the kids to guess how long a piece it would take to wrap their arms, fully expecting that they would want to wrap their entire bodies. A fun use for a cheap accessible material.

Help Yourself ~ Summer Edition

Help Yourself is a passive program station with activities relating to a different theme each month. For more details, see this post.

The smaller gnomes you see are staff members. I used them for gnome bowling in another program.

June's Help Yourself was made up of activities related to our Summer Reading theme, Dig Into Reading. Most of the activities were from the Collaborative Summer Library Program Manual. I used the gnome from CSLP manual, colored and laminated him, posted a clue about where you might find him on the children's floor, and left tickets for participants to tell me where they saw him. He moved 3 times throughout the month and folks had a blast looking for him. I drew one name from correct answers to receive a small prize.
I also filled a gallon jar with odds, ends and soil, and asked kids to write down a list of everything they saw. We offered a small prize to one participant.
I displayed some of the trickster riddles from the manual and gave the kids the opportunity to share a joke they played on someone or had played on them. Lastly, I copied blank oblong bookmarks from the manual so kids could create a personalized bookmark cartouche.

In July, the activities related the National Ice Cream Month. We voted for our favorite flavor (mint chocolate chip), used our imagination to come up with unique and bizarre flavors, looked for the ice cream cone I set down somewhere on our floor (made of paper), and guessed the number of milk-shake slurping straws in the jar. I also put together an interactive display sharing some pretty wacky ice cream related world records from the Guinness World Records website.

Coming up in August, the theme is water. I plan to have the kids help me find my lost beach ball (again paper, so it doesn't become a toy). I also provided paper fish for kids to report their favorite body of water, whether it be the ocean or the bath tub, and I plan to compile the results in a chart. Participants can choose their pirate name, guess the number of pieces of saltwater taffy in a jar, and see if they can guess the water-related item in a blind box.

**UPDATE** 135 people guessed the amount of taffy in the jar and not one of them was right. BUT that's the most attention a single activity has attracted. Perhaps it was summer mayhem, perhaps it was the candy, but either way it was success!

Far and away, the top three most popular activities are:

• any kind of voting
• guessing the quantity of something in a jar
• finding the missing item

I plan to use those elements over and over and over and over...

Lab Rats: Summer Reading Edition

Elsbeth wrote a quick guest post for us about her successful Dig Into Reading science program. Let's check it out...

Summer reading has begun and we just had our first summer science program. I called it “Join the Dig!” It was a mock archaeological dig activity.  

I set up our “dig site” by laying out a grid of boxes that I'd filled with shredded paper. I buried about 5 “artifacts” in each one. I used primarily leftover summer reading prizes from years past, as well as some things like fake bones that were made in advance from air dry modeling clay.

When each kid arrived they chose a box or “unit” to dig. They also were given an excavation map so they could record the location of their finds, as well as some "tools" for excavating.  Once they recorded the location of each artifact, I provided artifact tags they could fill out and place with their new found treasure in a baggie for taking home.

The kids had a great time digging.

I was pleased to have very enthusiastic parents in attendance. They were all happily digging with their kids and helping them record their finds. 

Thanks, Elsbeth! Want to get your hands on the artifact tags, excavation maps, or other support documents? Just comment below and we'll get back to you!

 

Summer Reading Promo

Gearing up for summer reading? This little video put together by community member, Nick Hagen, and district staff has really got me jazzed!