Believe it or not, summer Reading is coming soon. I know many libraries use the Collaborative Summer Library Program and theme All Together Now. Jonathan Dolce did an excellent round-up of resources for the theme All Together Now that show different resources, partnerships, ideas etc. etc. When I hear “All Together Now,” I immediately think of collaborative projects, something that one person doesn’t do but everyone together!
Here are a few ideas:
Sticker Mosaics
A giant collage where everyone works together to “paint by number,” and create a giant picture collage. StickTogether mosaics seem to be the main go-to for these, but I’ve also seen them made by other companies (and library graphic departments even making their own). StickTogether even has a digital version of pixel art groups can do online. A way to DIY this could be by using contact paper and having people stick tissue paper pieces on it.
String Art
Often done individually, string art could be a cute collaborative project. Use a giant bulletin board or cork board and make a simple base shape like a heart or circle using thumbtacks then have lots of different pieces of yarn people can run through.
Coloring
Collaborative coloring is an oldie but goodie. You can blow up a picture on a giant poster board for everyone to color. Or purchase a blank coloring tablecloth or even a cardboard house that people can work together on when they visit the library.
Collection
Your community could work together to collect a different item for charity whether it be canned goods, school supplies, or of course books. Or you could collect something like milk jugs and then have a library program where people make a craft (like a giant dome) with all the collected items.
Community Goal
Goals for how much time spent reading doesn’t have to be an individual thing. Different age groups could compete to read a certain amount of books, minute etc. etc. I’ve seen before where libraries use a giant scale and weight how many books their community is reading.
Community Prize
Similar to a goal, community members could also work together for one prize, whether it be a new item to purchase for the library, a donation to an organization, or something else.
Collaborative Storytime Craft
Collaborative crafts can be done on a small scale too. Imagine you’re doing a story time about the sun. All the kids could decorate a small circle, to make a larger sun at the end of the story time. Or color a picture together that corresponds to the story time theme of the day.
These are some of my thoughts, what ideas do you have for collaborative programming at the library?