The chance to win something big— like a new bike or a bag of books from your favourite author— appeals to kids and adults alike. Contests are a fun way to spice up the Summer Reading Club.
Summer contests
Tag: art
Saturday Morning Art at the Library
Are you looking for a fun way to combine art and literacy into programming at your library? One great way is to start a recurring weekend art program! We came up with the name Saturday Morning Art- SMArt for short. Other cute names could be Little Artists or Art Explorers. Our program is geared towards patrons in kindergarten through second grade and is typically offered once a month, but you could easily adapt the program for tweens. Here at Rocky River I’m lucky enough to work with a former art teacher, Ms. Heather, who has amazing insight into teaching art concepts to elementary aged students. As a former painting major in college and art lover I was really excited to start a program that could mesh together her invaluable art education background and my librarian education! Together we crafted a program that combines our collective love of art and books. SMArt has been very popular at my library…
What’s the Big Idea?
Want to gather your community for stories, art, and food? Looking for a way to make family literacy a part of daily life? We are trying to do just that with a series we are calling Big Ideas.
Celebrate Women Artists!
Have you explored the amazing selection of famous women biographies in the past few years? Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo, Rad American Women A-Z: Rebels, Trailblazers, and Visionaries who Shaped Our History . . . and Our Future! by Kate Schatz, Ada Lovelace, Poet of Science: The First Computer Programmer by Diane Stanley, I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark by Debbie Levy and so many more! In December, I spent an afternoon at the Guggenheim exploring Agnes Martin’s art. I enjoyed seeing her selection of paintings from the past 40 years – lines, grids, whites, grays to bold colors conveying “abstract emotions.” It made me think of all of the other strong, persistent, creative women artists. What women artist do you think of during Women’s History Month? Louise Bourgeois and her huge spiders? Meret Oppenheim and her fur dishes? Frida Kahlo and her…
Painting with Primaries
Our local school is building a Natural Playground, and they are holding several fundraisers. I was recently asked to be part of a Really Good Idea for a fundraiser, which I think would make a fun library program! The idea, which was hatched and hosted by the owner of our local craft shop, was this: local artists would each lead a classroom in painting a large 2-foot square painting which would then be auctioned off. I was happy to find out that I was chosen to work with the Grade Primary class (here in Nova Scotia that translates to Kindergarten). I went with a big flower for them to paint. I had them in groups of 3 — the painting had seven areas to be painted, and I had each group work on a section. I might be biased, but I love our painting the most. I love the colours…
Caldecott Library Programs with Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear by Lindsay Mattick, illustrated by Sophie Blackall
Did you offer a Caldecott art program at your library? As soon as the winner was announced, I started thinking about outreach art programs. Yellow paper! Bears! Zoo maps! Diamond shapes! So many possibilities. Whether you have five minutes or 45 minutes, below are a few ideas and resources to get you started. A pop-up school outreach Caldecott program with Finding Winnie. Place the book on display, create a huge bear picture on yellow poster paper or keep the yellow paper blank and have each child draw their own bear. If you have 15-20 minutes, read Finding Winnie by Sophie Blackall and ask questions about the drawings. For example: What kinds of materials did Sophie Blackall use in her illustrations? Imagination time! What if you had a pet bear? What would you name your bear? Favorite food? What would you teach your bear? Favorite game to play with your bear? …
Surrounded by Art
Pablo Picasso was prolific – creating art for over 75 years. Imagine his divergent styles in painting to sculpture. While teachers, parents or librarians might focus on Picasso’s “Cubism” style, his sculptures are also the perfect medium to share with children. I felt joy seeing his works at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). “Picasso Sculpture” is now on view with over 100 of his sculptures until February 7, 2016. My quick 48-hour trip to New York City included author events, a High Line garden walk, Whitney, poetry projects, The Author’s Voice and Vocabulary in Picture Books at the Society of Illustrators and more. The city was filled with energy and surprising warmth for November. When I arrived at MoMA, I smiled and thought of Seen Art? by Jon Scieszka. I loved walking through the museum. I visited a few old friends (favorite paintings by Magritte and Monet). But most…
Create a Kids Art Program with Inspiration from Museum Websites
Are you planning a family painting day, an art scandal mystery event or turning your children’s room into an ancient Egyptian maze? Finding new ways for creative kid programs are just clicks away at your favorite museum. You might be surprised by a new update, an added blog, or an interactive art activity. I recently followed an alien through the MoMA, popped yellow and red balloons through the Met and discovered William the blue hippo from Egypt is not very friendly. (All of this online.) Be part of art history through interactive museum websites. The Smithsonian, J. Paul Getty Museum, Museum of Modern Art, and the National Gallery of Art are just a few amazing art websites filled with kids, family and teacher resources. My new favorite art museum website to explore is #metkids at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. MET Kids is a new feature launched in September with multi-media…