• Activities

    1,000 Books Before Kindergarten

    If you do a search online a number of libraries around the country have created their own version of 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program.  My boss came to me sometime in early January, I believe, and thought that this would be a great program for our library to offer.  After a…

  • Activities

    Fun Friday Program – Tangram Puzzles

    In the school district where I work the elementary school students have a half day on the second Friday of every month.  Over winter break, I decided that this would be a perfect time to create a program for parents to bring their kids to the library!  Last month, our theme…

  • Activities

    Superhero Party @ the Library

    We had so much fun last night with a superhero themed party for kids in Kindergarten and 1st grade and a second party for children in grades 2 – 4.  I thought this might be a big draw for our patrons so I broke the group up to accommodate a…

  • Activities

    Fun Friday Program

    As we began making plans for this winter, I decided that we had a great opportunity to provide to our elementary age students once a month on a Friday afternoon.  Our school district gives the children a half day on a the second Friday of every month, giving the teachers…

  • Activities

    Books & Cooks Program

    I am continually surprised when people I know say that they are not very adept in the kitchen.  I love to bake and cook and I even think that I’m pretty good at it!  To me, cooking is usually pretty easy – there are few things in life that give…

  • Activities

    Middle School Book Discussion

    Part of my library’s summer reading program involves 2 different middle school (grades 5 – 8) book discussions.  The first is called “Literary Lunch” and is an hour long book discussion once a week for five weeks during lunch time.  The students bring their lunch and the library provides some…

  • Activities

    Lively Listening (read aloud) Program

    This post is actually a cheat, because I’ve posted on this topic before.  I think reading aloud to kids of all ages is just as important as it is to babies and toddlers.  This week for our Lively Listening program I focused on informational texts, biographies, and historical fiction.  These…

  • Activities

    Middle School Theatre & Margie Palatini

    At my library we have a middle school program called Junior Friends.  The Junior Friends are students in the 5th – 8th grade who are interested in helping with community service projects for the library.  Through this program the kids manage a used book sale, create a newsletter, maintain a…

  • Lifestyle

    Spread the Word to End the Word

    What word, you may be asking?  The R-word, or as others have heard it “retarded.”  Why am I posting about this?  Well, many of you may not be aware of a book award presented by the American Library Association called the Schneider Family Book Award.  “The Schneider Family Book Awards…

  • Reviews

    Skippyjon Jones Party

    If you have never heard of Skippyjon Jones, I beg you, please run to your nearest bookstore or library and pick up a copy.  Skippyjon Jones is a rambunctious Siamese kitten who, with the help of his closet and his imagination becomes El Skippito, the great Mexican sword fighter and…