Last Monday, March 2nd, was Dr. Seuss’s birthday. Schools across the country participate in the Read Across America program to celebrate this. I’d been working with an elite corp of 5th graders who would be visiting the pre-k, kindergarten, and 1st grade classrooms to read them a Dr. Seuss story and help them make a craft. It had been in the works since January (and believe me, next year I’m starting earlier!). I’d vetted the 5th graders, worked with the reading teacher, talked to the classroom teachers, practiced and trained the selected 5th graders. I’ve been eating, breathing, and sleeping this program for weeks now.
Tag: programs
Today was my very last program at the public library; my official last day is on Tuesday. So I decided I wanted to have another GCPP. Following the hit formula of the first one I did back in April (which followed the hit formula of my Girl’s Club predecessor), we watched two movies, had lunch, made a craft, and were all around pretty silly.
Last night I did my last weeknight program and my last Animal Mania! program. Animal Mania! has been on hiatus since the beginning of summer, which was chock-full of bug programs. I hadn’t realized that quite a few of my regulars still didn’t know I was leaving; with the chaos of back-to-school week, I hadn’t told everyone. But I think they’re fine with it. I’ve got one program left before I leave, another Girl’s Club Pajama Party this Saturday!
Today is the first day of school for the kids in my current library, so last night I had a program called School Year Resolutions.
First we read Splat the Cat, Rob Scotton’s fun story about a high-strung cat who is very nervous about his first day at cat school. I had a few little ones who could relate, but most of the kids were old pros going into 2nd and 4th grade.
This week I just did a straightforward craft. Originally we were going to make buggy pencil toppers out of erasable Sculpey clay, but due to budget and time constraints I dropped that plan in favor of the go-to pipe cleaner option.
I sort of backed myself into a corner with my program this week. When our department was planning the summer reading program, I knew I would go crazy if everything I did was about bugs. So I came up with Quit Bugging Me! as a way to play on the theme but get some other books in. I wanted to read books about being pestered, basically. Grouchiness, brattiness, things that follow you. I had fun picking the books, but when it came to the craft I was at a loss. What kind of craft goes with brattiness? And works for toddlers through ten-year-olds?
Today was my first true program of the summer. I based it around this fantastic book of poems, The Bookworm’s Feast by J. Patrick Lewis. Lewis did not write all the poems in the book, the last page gives credit to some other writers. But the general idea is that a gentleman bookworm throws a party for his friends, and they dive into the most delicious literature. The poems are about books, animals, lots of great things. I read a selection of poems to the kids, including “The Gentleman Bookworm,” “The Framboise Fair,” “Read…Think…Dream,” and “Two Good Books.” Then I finished with “The End of the Bookworm’s Feast.” The illustrations by John O’Brien are enjoyable, and I think most of the kids liked the poems.
Today I did a program called When I Grow Up. I read a handful of stories about grown up professions. Then we made a sort of time capsule. I had jumbo coffee cans leftover from another craft that just didn’t work out. The kids drew pictures of what they want to be when they grow up, then I taped the pictures to the coffee cans. We cut holes in the lids so the cans be used as banks for their college funds, places to put their report cards and awards, etc. A treasure chest for anything they think will help them reach their goals or that they’d like to look back on when they’re grown up.
The program was a hit, and I threw it together this morning. I knew for months I was doing this theme, but I didn’t pull together the books and the craft until this morning, so I’m thrilled it worked out.
The kids drew themselves as artists, teachers, librarians (like this one), doctors, etc. The books I found were about typical professions, and that’s also the kind of thing the kids drew. I suggested a million other jobs, but they mainly drew the jobs I read about today.
*I did have one 5-year-old boy, a late arrival, who wanted to be either Spider Man or Venom when he grows up. He wasn’t really clear about which one exactly.
Here are the books I read:
This morning I had a delightful class of second graders come to see me for a field trip. We had a FABULOUS time! I gave them a tour of the library, some of the kids got library cards for the first time, I read a bunch of stories, we made this great elephant craft they’re holding up, AND our library mascot came for a visit! The kids came in quietly and left chatting up a storm about how great the library is. I have the greatest profession ever.
I used some of the books I’d pulled for my canceled elephant program plus some other silly stories. We did this craft that I’d planned for Animal Mania: Elephants! but I skipped all the weird hygiene education. They just blew air to make the trunk flap.
In the midst of my stories, our mascot arrived for our prearranged surprise. They danced together, I read a special Summer Reading Club story, they got hugs and autographs. It was so much fun.
Here are the books I read:
Last night I had my Mo Willems program at the library. I read Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, The Pigeon Wants a Puppy, There Is a Bird on Your Head, Today I will Fly!, Leonardo the Terrible Monster, and Edwina the Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct. I usually don’t get through that many books before the kids start rioting and asking for the craft, but they couldn’t get enough. I do lots of voices and antics when I read stories, and they work really well with Mo Willems.