Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Passive Book Club Display

Michelle Veeneman at Belleville Library in Belleville shared this idea with me. If you don't have time to run a book club at a specific date and time, create a passive book club display. You have multiple copies of a book (audio versions too) along with non-fiction titles related to the theme or read-alikes. The display also includes an activity which can be  take-home or something kids can do at the Library. Activities can include a simple craft, how to draw an animal or character, word searches, coloring pages, and crosswords.

We started our passive book club in September with The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. The display included that month's chosen book and non-fiction titles about gorillas. The activity was a gorilla mask. We also had an almost life-size picture of a gorilla similar to this display. We did not have enough  space to do a life-size gorilla. 
 
This month's theme is penguins and Antarctica. The book is Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater. Kids can do the math literacy activity Roll and Draw a Penguin from Teaching Heart Blog. My awesome assistant Wendy created life-size penguins so kids can see how they measure up to an Emperor Penguin.

The response has been great. We are promoting our collections and books. People are checking out books which is the main point of programming. Instead of hosting a program for a few, we are able to reach everyone who visits the Library.

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Early Literacy Exploration Station Evolving

Submitted by Sarah Cournoyer, Horicon Public Library

As part of a revamp of our Children's Room completed in September, we added a children's writing desk. I named it the Exploration Station. My intention is that it is a place to encourage children and their caregivers to explore the five early literacy practices that help grow a reader - Play, Read, Sing, Talk, Write. To this end, I put out passive programs that visitors to the library can choose to do. Sometimes I have two activities out at the same time. Sometimes I change it weekly, biweekly or monthly. It depends on the use I see being made of the activity or the time that I have to set up the next one. Some activities can be prepped well in advance.

Some examples of the activities I've done so far in 2015:
  • Feed the Alphabet Monster
  • Habitat Sorting
  • Self-Portrait Collage
  • Holiday Coloring Book
  • Tell-a-Story Crafts for Goldilocks, The Three Little Pigs, and The Mitten with magnet pieces on a cookie sheet and coloring pages with scissors, tape, and craft sticks for take home extension pieces
  • Magnet Matching Games for flip-flops and acorns with numbers
  • Welcome Winter coloring sheet and writing activity
 I try to include an explanation of the activity if it needs one along with some tips and ideas for extending the activity.


For 2016, I've developed an improved sign that allows me to explain the activity, has a footer with the early literacy practices, and space for tips and ideas.The two activities I have planned for January are Color Sorting with pompoms and colored toilet paper tubes and Paper Plate Crowns. I gather ideas from many places like Pinterest, The Artful Parent Facebook feed, librarians' blogs, books, magazines, and also those spawned inside my active brain.


http://blog.starstraining.org/2012/12/toilet-paper-roll-color-match.html


Most of these activities take just a bit of preparation and engage children of many age ranges beyond toddlers, preschoolers, and their caregivers. I've seen elementary age kids and tweens coloring, making collages, creating ratios and statistics for their matching rates, and telling stories to each other or younger siblings.


Monday, December 28, 2015

52 Weeks: Week 43 Fortune Reader


Brought to you by the Wisconsin Library Association Youth Services Section52 Weeks of YA Programming is a collection of teen programs submitted by YSS members across the state.

Week 43: Fortune Reader  Submitted by YSS Member Katherine Elchert

Monday, December 21, 2015

52 Weeks: Week 42 Arduino - Controlled Robots


Brought to you by the Wisconsin Library Association Youth Services Section52 Weeks of YA Programming is a collection of teen programs submitted by YSS members across the state.

Week 42: Arduino - Controlled Robots  Submitted by YSS Member Matt Beinerman
Photo credit: Matt Beinerman

Friday, December 18, 2015

Fandom Friday: Star Wars

At my December Teen Advisory Board meeting, I learned about Fandom Friday. I was a little embarrassed that I didn't know about it. One of the teens was covered in her various fandoms: Taylor Swift sweatshirt, Mockingjay pin, and other favorites written in marker on her arm.

Today, Friday, December 18, is a big day for one fandom. If you are not aware, the new Star Wars movie is officially out. Last night I held a Star Wars Party for ages 10-15. One of the favorite activities was musical chair trivia. I got the idea to mix trivia and musical chairs from Laura Solawetz at Monroe Public Library. Even if kids aren't good at trivia or like trivia, they can still participate. Just get their behind in a chair. I also did it at my Doctor Who party with great success. I did little prep for it. I downloaded a Star Wars trivia app and the Star Wars theme song onto my phone. That was it!

The other favorite activity was watching YouTube videos. Below are links to the videos we watched. Enjoy!

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Upcoming SLIS Continuing Education

NEW! How Did You Manage THAT?!?! - The Sequel: More Issues in Youth Services Management
January 25 - February 19
$125  10% discount if you register by January 10!
1.4 CEUs/14 LEUs

Description
“They didn’t teach me this in school!” Last fall, we explored youth services management issues in the first version of this class. There were so many more conversations to be had that we decided to offer a sequel! Whether you were in the first class or not, join us to take this hands-on, hearts-out course on youth management issues.  We’ll explore the delicate dance of navigating personnel issues (library staff, patrons and partners) as well as discover  tips to more effectively balance, advocate for and marshal resources to make smart management decisions. The course will be collaborative as you share your own experiences and ideas that have worked in managing your youth services area.

Instructor: Marge Loch-Wouters is the recently retired youth services coordinator at La Crosse (WI) Public Library. She currently runs Loch-Works Consulting.

Monday, December 14, 2015

52 Weeks: Week 41 Holiday Ugly Sweater Party


Brought to you by the Wisconsin Library Association Youth Services Section52 Weeks of YA Programming is a collection of teen programs submitted by YSS members across the state.

Week 41: Holiday Ugly Sweater Party  Submitted by YSS Member Katrina Dombrowsky

Friday, December 11, 2015

WAPL and Your Great Youth Program Idea

Hey YSS members!

Did you know the Youth Services Section is one of the co-sponsors of the annual spring WI Association of Public Libraries conference? Well, we are!

We hope you are thinking of an exciting teen or children's services program you want to develop with colleagues (or encourage your YSS peers who have the good stuff to share) to submit to the WAPL conference program committee. 

If you do and you want to have YSS actually sponsor your program, please be sure to get in touch with us ASAP (we meet in early January where co-sponsorships will be on the agenda) and pitch your plan so the YSS board can let you know if we can be your sponsor! 

Send an email with your title and description to 2016 YSS chair Leah Langby at langby@ifls.lib.wi.us

More info on how to prepare your proposal:

The WAPL Conference Planning Committee invites program proposals for the Spring Conference, to be held May 11-13, 2016 at the Best Western Premier Waterfront Hotel & Conference Center in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Proposals for presentations, panels, workshops and business meetings are welcome.  Sessions will run either 45 or 60 minutes in length.  Every WLA unit has a special perspective to offer and we encourage you to be part of our 2016 WAPL Conference.  If you, as a WLA member, have a great program idea, don’t wait to be asked to present it, submit a proposal yourself!  The more ideas and diversity of topics, the more rewarding this learning opportunity will be for all.

Please use the Program Proposal Form to submit a program.

Deadline for proposals is: February 1, 2016.  You will be notified of the program’s acceptance or rejection no later than March 11, 2016.

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Mixing-up Library Tours

In November, I had a homeschooling group request a library tour. The group included children ages 5-12. Because of staffing, we could only do one tour for the whole group of 25 kids plus parents. I've been meaning to mix-up my group visits. I figured a scavenger hunt would work for the wide age range. The kids could work in teams or parents could help. The Show Me Librarian came through for me again! I adapted the coded scavenger hunt featured in Amy's blog post. The visit was a huge success! All the ages were engaged in the hunt and the parents loved it, too!

Thank you again Show Me Librarian!

Monday, December 7, 2015

52 Weeks: Week 40 Holiday Get Together


Brought to you by the Wisconsin Library Association Youth Services Section52 Weeks of YA Programming is a collection of teen programs submitted by YSS members across the state.

Week 40: Holiday Get Together  Submitted by YSS Member Sandy Stephany