Some things in the Chicago area are guaranteed. First, our sports teams will either thrill or wildly disappoint. Second, Winter will feel like a year rather than a season. Finally, Spring will include stormy weather. That last certainty makes for a good storytime theme: “Water, Water Everywhere.” The preschoolers enjoyed books, music, and a demonstration of what makes those April showers occur.
Category: Blogger Kary Henry
Family STEAM Night
As School Outreach Coordinator, I love taking the library to the community. One great way to reach a lot of people is to get invited to school-wide events! When one elementary school asked us to participate in their annual Family STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) Night again, the answer was a resounding yes. Each year, we’ve done something a little different for STEAM Night, and this year, our tables featured a variety of popular activities.
I Heart Art!
Imagine heart hands or a heart emoji in the title above, and you’ll have my theme for this month’s early childhood outreach. I do indeed “heart” art, whether that’s looking at art, creating it, or even just thinking about colors. For my outreach storytimes, we did all three this month!
New Year…One Word
Some people love to make New Year’s resolutions. Others are firmly in the no-resolution camp. I’m more a One Word kind of person. Not really a resolution, more of an overall theme to the year. Choosing my word for the last few years has been an exercise in intention. This year, I got to thinking about what one word might be for libraries.
We Love Magical Creatures!
Dragons and fairies and unicorns…oh, my! We could all use a little magic in our lives, so my colleague and I are looking forward to hosting a party celebrating magical creatures. Stories, crafts, and games will be sprinkled throughout the program. Patrons will be able to pick and choose which stations to attend after enjoying a short storytime about these fantasy creatures.
Teach the Teachers
A million years ago (okay, it just feels that way), I wrote a blog post about in-services for early childhood educators. I also have the good fortune to work with educators in our public schools. In an outreach visit, I get to teach the teachers about our databases.
Monster Mash-up
My colleagues will be the first to tell you that I’m on Team Cute Halloween…not spooky and definitely not scary! When I realized one of my Creative Clubhouse programs will fall a few weeks before Halloween, I decided to let the kids enjoy a monster mash-up: a little cute, a little art history, a little creativity, and a little chance!
Add More Math to Storytime
Anyone who knew me in high school would be shocked to learn that I choose to incorporate math into storytime. (Especially my math teachers.) In order to add more math to my outreach visits, I’ve begun having the kids sort themselves into various groups. So far, sorting has been a fun, interactive, and easy way to add more math to storytime.