Super Hero Event

We hosted a Super Hero Event at our library last week.  It was highly successful and I want to especially thank our our energetic, responsible  teen volunteers and our Branch Manager and Teen Services Librarian who really owned this event!  After weeks of detailed planning, brainstorming, purchasing, assembling, cutting, creating, painting.... this is what the event looked like:

550-600 kids
900-1000 people total

Scavenger Hunt:

Kids / families got a scavenger hunt and a pencil on the way in.  As they located all the over-sized super hero logos on the walls around the library, they marked them off.  Once they had found all 10, they could redeem them for a free BounceU pass for each child.

Photo Ops at Super Hero Head Quarters:

Kids had the chance to take pictures using various props like action word cutouts, t-shirt capes, and bar bells.  Supergirl and Batgirl posed with children as well. Kids also hung out in the Batcave.

                                                                       Your cape-wearing Librarian. 
                                                                                      KAPOW!

 

Flying

Check out this picture of Grayden flying.

The Hulk was very popular!

Crafts: 

Tootsie Pop Super Heroes:
I didn't really get a close up of the kids making them, but they were tootsie pops with capes and eyes.

Masks: (the teen volunteers tirelessly cut these over the past few weeks):

Coloring sheets and super hero puzzles:

Kyrptonite Toss:

Spiderman's Spider Web:

We used masking tape to create a web and Spiderman encouraged the kids throw cotton balls into it in between posing for pictures.  This teen volunteer was great!!!  I kept hearing him cheer the kids on with phrases like, "Don't give up! Spiderman never gives up!" and offering "Spidey high-fives."  He was even showing the kids Spiderman's signature web-throwing hand gesture.

                                                                                     Spiderman helping a child throw her cotton ball

Obstacle Course

 Kids had to crawl through the tunnel, jump into the hula hoop, take a running leap over the fire pit, do a jumping jack, stop and balance, lift a heavy boulder over their heads and then meet a teen at the end who would ask, "Are you ready to catch Spiderman's web?" and then shoot silly string up into the air.  Each child got a sticker for heroically mastering the course. Most kids went through multiple times!

Captain America earns his sticker!

 This teen volunteer was so awesome!  She did the obstacle course alongside the kids for almost three straight hours.  Here she is showing a little girl how to life the boulder over her head.

Guest Speaker:
Sierra Wilson is a true hero and brings out the hero and kindness in others!  She honored us with a visit to share her story with our young customers and read a picture book.  You can watch her story here when she was featured on Channel 5 news.

Thank you to all the staff who helped pull this off!  You're fantastic!

Rock Pets

Even though our Summer Reading Program is only about half way through (ends July 27th), I just wrapped up our last school-age event before resuming weekly programs next week.

We started with a retelling of Stone Soup where each child got a prop to contribute to the story (pot, ladle, vegetables, salt, pepper, pasta, etc.)

Stone Soup

 

 

 

 

 

Now... On to Rock Pets

 

Some supplies

 

Our teen volunteer, Jackson, helping out. Thank you!

 

 

 

Some of our masterpieces:

 





The Awards:

 

Jackson, the official award presenter

Owen's Rock "Rocky" received: Biggest Smile

 

Noah's rock "Rocky" received: Best Teeth

 

Best Polka Dots

 

Cutest Ears

 

 

"Bluebell" received: Best feathers

 

 

 

 

Best Whiskers

 

 

 

 

Rock Book Display for Check Out

 

 

Lesley Marshall, thank you for taking great pictures for us and for helping the kids with their rocks!

 

 

 

Pre-K Dig into Reading

With the Summer Reading program right around the corner, it was a fun day to dig into reading (the SRP theme).

Reminder:  There will be NO PRE-K STORYTIME NEXT WEEK OR IN JUNE!

The Zinghoppers will be at Perry next Thursday (May 30th) at 11:30 to kick off Summer Reading!

Theme: Dig into Reading

42 kids
3 siblings
35 adults

Books (and follow-up activity):

What a Treasure! by Jane Hillenbrand.  Mole unearths some great treasures for his friends and finally finds a special treasure of his own.

 

Follow up activity: Each child got a picture of a mole, bird, squirrel, or snail and found their corresponding treasure from the back of the room.  Children were instructed to find their care-givers and not only identify the picture but to sound out the words.

 

Graphics from: http://www.willhillenbrand.com/downloads/activity-manual.pdf

 

 

 

 Stuck in the Mud by Jane Clarke.  All the farm animals try to help a chick get out of the mud, but it turns out chick was just having some fun.

 

Movement:  Recorded song:  "Mud Puddle Jump"

After reading Stuck in the Mud, we had some fun of our own in mud puddles!

The kids all got a piece of yarn to make mud puddles with.  They walked around their mud puddles, jumped in them, splashed, and shook off the mud.  Some kids switched puddles before doing it all over again.

 

 

 

 

 

Letters of the Day:

We identified some burrowing animals based on their beginning letter sounds:

 

 

Flannel: Five Firecrackers

 

Check it out here

 

Exit:

All but a couple of children exited storytime today like moles: through one of the 3 tunnels I set up.  As they emerged they got a true mole treasure - a yummy bug to take home!

 

It was a fun way to end storytime!!