Category Archives: Resource Roundup

Must Reads (Evernote’d)

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mustreads

I wanted to share with you some of the posts I’ve read lately that I clipped to my Evernote files. I hope you find something here you can use as well.

These Tape and Paperclip Necklaces from How About Orange would not only make an excellent teen program, they were inspired by one.

Barbara Klipper wrote a very informative piece over on the ALSC Blog About Apps and Autism

Word Chasing reflects on the meaning of a book having a “likeable” main character in What We Talk About When We Talk About Like

A great new-to-me blog Catch the Possibilities writes about Baby Storytime: Using Beach Balls

On the YALSA Blog Allison Tran wrote a fun post about YA Characters on Polyvore with lots of great examples. What a great passive/ independent program this would make!

Amy at The Show Me Librarian thinks about what we have to offer and who we are trying to reach in her post School Literacy Nights: The Public Library’s Role

Melinda Lo writes about David Levithan’s Two Boys Kissing and explains that even when privilege can get things done and help bring about change we still need to be aware of it.  Also, I am in serious love with her site design.

Bryce Don’t Play has a great program post on Wild Record Wednesdays: Sneaky Stem

And finally, some adorable kiddie art projects based on Freight Train.

 

 

Books Full of Program Ideas

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My librarian superpower is the ability to look at something and see how it could be a library program.  Sometimes it’s a challenge, but often having the right resources makes program planning  a breeze.  I’m working on reviews for some new books to add to this list, but until those are out here are some books that I find especially inspiring.

inpritn

In Print: 40 Cool Publishing Projects for Kids by Joe Rhatigan

Grab this hard to find one while there are some available. These are wonderful fun projects that all involve some writing and some crafting.  Sneaky literacy is always fun.

nakedeggs

Naked Eggs and Flying Potatoes: Unforgettable Experiments That Make Science Fun by Steve Spangler

Essentially what it says on the tin. Exciting and fun science experiments with basic explanations of how they work.  Great for mad scientist type programs.

dontforget2dontforget1

Don’t Forget to Write by 826 National Edited by Jennifer Traig

Lesson plans for writing programs from the 826 writing centers. One book has ideas for elementary students and the other secondary. Essential.

creativecreatures

Donna Wilson’s Creative Creatures: A step-by-step guide to making your own creations by Donna Wilson

We just got this in and the more I flipped through it the more I love it. There are  a variety of cute projects perfect for the 9-12 year old set. Bonus: The book itself is adorable.

artlab

Art Lab for Kids: 52 Creative Adventures in Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Paper, and Mixed Media-For Budding Artists of All Ages by Susan Schwake and Rainer Schwake

If you want to move more towards art than craft but you don’t have any training this book contains dozens of ideas to explore art for elementary aged kids. Other titles in the series include Collage Lab and Print & Stamp Lab.

teamchallenges

Team Challenges: 170+ Group Activities to Build Cooperation, Communication, and Creativity by Kris Bordessa

If you have a TAB or other group that could benefit from some team-building or you just want some fun things to keep them busy this is a great book.  The challenges use everyday items and encourage creative problem solving.

Think Outside the Stacks: Music and Movement

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We know that singing helps build phonological awareness and that building motor skills helps children manipulate books and learn to write. Music and Movement programs are a great way to incorporate both. I know this series is about non-library resources but I have to make sure you know about Bibliobop. You can read the details from the creator over at Storytiming.

Now for the non-library based resources:

Train Up a Child has a great post on ways to use rhythm sticks.

PreKinders has a great list of props for music and movement time and some songs to go with them and some fun ways to incorporate classical music into movement activities.

The Learning Groove, co-founded by Pete the Cat author Eric Litwin has lots of songs and ways to add actions and instruments.

Pre-K+K Sharing has a great post on the hows and whys of Parachute Play

Songs for Teaching has a good selection of Action and Movement Songs

Think Outside the Stacks: Getting Crafty

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I love doing craft programs, and they’ve always been some of my most successful programs for both kids and teens. They may seem frivolous but don’t underestimate the value of letting young people express themselves, teaching them to follow directions, and promoting those parts of the non-fiction collection.  For those of you who aren’t crafty by nature I’d like to offer you some resources for finding fresh and engaging craft projects.

 

Mostly Teen

Cut Out + Keep has tons of photo tutorials for lots of projects.

Craftgawker visually displays links to all sorts of DIY projects, similar to Pinterest except it’s all crafts and there is no re-pinning so you go right to the source.

One Pretty Thing does round-ups of DIY tutorials from around the web.  While most are more advanced and better for teen programs they often do roundups of projects for younger crafters as well.

Mostly Children’s

The Crafty Crow has a huge collection of craft projects, mostly appropriate for elementary age kids.

For the younger set check out The Artful Parent’s directory of projects. These are special because they emphasize art and creativity rather than copying an example.

Spoonful, formerly Family Fun, has some cute ideas under the create category. They are owned by Disney now, but there are lots of non-commercial ideas as well.

Pinterest

I know you know about Pinterest, but here are some boards to get you started:

Collaborative Teen Programming in Libraries Pinterest Board

DIY Projects from How About Orange

Craft It Board from The 36th Avenue

The Artful Child Boards

Kid Blogger Network Activities & Crafts

 

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