It is springtime in Chicagoland, and when the weather begins to get warmer, our members look forward to the summer season in our Giving Garden. The windows in the Early Learning Area of the Indian Trails Public Library look out to this space, and families love viewing the progress of the plants growing throughout the summer months. Youth staff coordinate several programs over the summer for children up through fifth grade to work in the garden and learn about the plants. The Indian Trails Library Giving Garden began in 2009 and is active thanks to a dedicated team of staff and volunteers from the Wheeling Garden Club. Our facilities staff begin the season by adding compost and turning the garden beds. Cool weather crops are planted in the spring from starter seeds of a local volunteer master gardener. Several retired volunteers and master gardeners also help maintain the garden during…
Tag: STEAM
Eat Healthier: Nourishing Curiosity with Library Programming
This year, I’m viewing “traditional” New Year’s resolutions through a library lens. In February, we focused on creating movement-friendly library programs. In March, we explored living life to the fullest with messy play and learning. This month, we’re focusing on the resolution to eat healthier. While libraries may also have opportunities to feed bodies, the work I’m focusing on is feeding minds and growing a child’s natural curiosity.
Teach Coding with Scratch!: STEAM Programming for Kids
Every program season, I try to incorporate STEAM into my after-school program season, from Codebreakers to STEAM Storytime. I had previously done a coding program for tweens during the pandemic and I decided to give it another shot this year. This Fall, I started a Scratch coding program and so far, it has been quite successful! In this post, I will highlight the format of the program, as well as some resources I have used to teach coding with Scratch at my library.
Follow Up to Summer Reading Burnout? Try Letting Go!
I wrote for the ALSC Blog in June about changing our Summer Reading Program to be actual programs rather than a take-home program or a score-keeping program. Here are the results! We hosted parties for the kids based on our sustainability theme of Branching Out. Each party focused on a different biome and featured five major elements that used to be included in our take-home program: We hosted 6 parties, which were themed as Readers’ Reef (Friday @ 10 AM), Planets & Pages (Thursday @ 6 PM), Jungle Journey (Friday @ 11 AM), Arctic Adventure (Tuesday @ 11 AM), Just Deserts (Thursday @ 7 PM), and Backyard Bash (Monday @ 2 PM). We registered patrons in advance for these programs but allowed walk-ins up to a certain number due to supplies. Our largest party was Planets & Pages with 76 kids in attendance and Backyard Bash coming in second with…
Full STEAM Ahead: A Look at a Yearly STEAM Expo
For the past eight years (including a couple virtual), my library system has held a STEAM Expo to highlight library STEAM programming from staff and to invite community partners to come with their own science, technology, engineering, art, and math offerings.
Gardening STEAM Activities for Toddlers
In June, I brought back my Tiny STEAM program, a hands-on early learning series I’ve shared about before. This time, the theme was gardening—a perfect fit for the season and a great way to connect science, sensory play, and nature-based learning. Families with young children explored a variety of gardening activities designed to encourage open-ended exploration, fine motor practice, and curiosity about the world around them. Below, I’m excited to share all the stations we offered during this garden-themed session, along with a few tips for setup and engagement.
Code Breakers Club!: A STEM Program for Children
STEM activities have become a large part of children’s library programming, from coding to incorporating math into storytime. Admittedly, I struggled with STEM concepts in my own childhood, so I always found it to be an intimidating field and I know I am not the only one. In planning STEM programs, I try to make it as adventurous to the kids and low-prep as possible, which is how Code Breakers Club began. In this post, I will highlight what the program is, how each session works, and some resources for you to start your own program at your library!
Summer Creation Stations
Each week during the summer, our library sets out a new Creation Station for kids to explore. It’s a self-serve table with a fun board that includes graphics, simple instructions, step-by-step directions, and cool facts about the project. Kids can jump in whenever they want—no sign-up or staff help needed. Since it’s passive, we track participation by counting how many supplies get used. Curious what we’ve got planned? Keep reading for all 8 of our summer projects—fun, simple, and full of creativity!