be creative @ your library!

this post is dedicated to any children’s librarians who read my blog.  (for all of you non-librarians, here’s a sneak peek of next year’s program theme!)  here are photos from the most recent summer library program workshop that i made decorations for.

note the slate tile (from a hardware store) and envelope moistener pens (from office supply store) that kids can draw on and then the water dries and it’s ready for a new “picture.”

die cut paper dolls decorated with magazine clippings.  maybe make a long chain of these decorated by different kids to hang up around your library?  maybe they get a set of dolls to decorate for every 10 books read?  i love to cut hair out of pictures of …. hair!

for a larger version of the ever popular magnetic poetry, try flannel poetry!

let kids draw on the wall!  well, maybe it would be better to put down some paper first.  how about taking a note from this awesome wallpaper and giving them a bunch of frames to fill?

and my favorite idea?  a collaborative banner!  this one was created with the help of a bunch of different librarians, but you could have kids each make a letter or different people in your own community (firefighters, the mayor, the ice cream man, local art teacher…)

i gave participating libarians the cryptic instructions to just create an assigned letter no smaller than 6″ and no larger than 18″ (i think) and said they could use any medium as long as it could be hung on a clothesline.  if you decide to do something similar, i might suggest a weight limit.  that letter “i” in the word library was created inside a plexiglass “ice cube” and needed a little extra support, even hung that close to the ground.

thanks to everyone who helped to make this banner a reality!  i hope you can use some of these ideas (or that they spark ideas of your own) next summer!