Expelliarmus: A Harry Potter Program

On Monday, July 11, the Toms River Branch of the Ocean County Library will host Expelliarmus! This Harry Potter- themed program will include Potions class, Wand Making, and a trip to Hogsmeade. In Potions, ‘students’ at Hogwarts will brew a mixture that will reveal the nature of their souls (with the help of seltzer water and food dye!). Wand Making will involve dipping pretzel rods into melted chocolate morsels and decorating with sprinkles and the trip to Hogsmeade will garner cockroach clusters, every flavor bean sampling, and other delicacies. In preparation, I’m making props to enhance the atmosphere.

Mother Goose: An Early Literacy Program in Detail

I posted earlier about Mother Goose but I’ve decided to expand on that earlier post due to interest from other bloggers and my moms. If you would like to see the rhymes I use, I have put them together in a PowerPoint show on my wiki, Bugs in the Coke Machine (click on MotherGoose.ppt). I’m also going to upload videos of myself performing the Mother Goose program.

In this first video, I greet the mom and babies with my usual Hello & How Are You song (from the “Wiggleworms Love You” CD, 2005) followed by the rhyming section with a “Two Little Blackbirds” variation (Quiet and Loud) and “I’m Driving in my Car,” and “Where is Thumpkin?”

In the next segment we move to body rhymes: “Wiggle and Waggle,” “See-Saw Scare-a-down,” “This is the Way,” “Can You?”. Then it’s time for animal fun with ”Five Little Monkey’s” and “Six Little Ducks.”

This is followed by scarf and drum activities (“This is the way,” “The Wheels on the Bus,” “We’re Marching to the Drum”). We close out with our goodbye song, “Twinkle, Little Star.” Many of the moms will remain in the room up to 15 minutes after the program is over, playing with the puppets, instruments, and just chatting/making play dates. It’s a great social time for new moms especially.

So I hope you have an idea of the rhythm and flow of the program. This was a group of non-walking babies so it was a lot more lap time and less movement. The walkers tend to have more scarf/drum/music activity than the non-walkers. You can add rhymes to the program and toss out the ones you don’t like. Some I enjoy singing and sometime I prefer to use the CD player. Coming soon, a Mother Goose playlist with my favorite versions of my favorite songs.

Mother Goose @ the Library

Our lap sit program for infants (24 months and younger) is called Mother Goose. In these videos, I am working with 8 moms and their infants. Here is a bullet point run down of the program:

• Individual sessions of Mother Goose (MG) run about 30 to 40 minutes.
• MG runs once a week over 3 weeks with the same parent/child pairs. At my library, we run a series every month during the school year and hold individual classes during the summer. We also hold individual classes on Saturdays about once a month.
• MG is a time for parents and their babies to play while learning techniques to improve early literacy skills.
• About 80% of the program is repeated each week with some new rhymes or songs. Repetition is important.
• I begin each session with our hello song, “Hello and How Are You?”:

• The greeting is followed by a rhyming section that includes corresponding body movement. In the video below, we are singing Two Little Blackbirds:

• As the children start moving, it’s time to get up and do more active play. In the videos below, I use shakers and scarves.

• I often use a drum and other manipulatives like ribbons or puppets to engage with the children. Bubbles and our goodbye song, “The More We Get Together” and “Twinkle Little Star” are repeated at the end of each session.

Dancing, Drumming and More

We held a music program at the library hosted by Playtivity. The children, all ages, made a lot of music but had an equal measure of fun. Here’s a video!

Mugglefest: A Celebration of the World of Harry Potter

“The best Harry Potter party we’ve ever been to.” That was the praise the OCL Children’s services staff received upon completion of our first ever Mugglefest!

Over 20 children between the ages of 5 and 10 participated. We began with a true sorting. The Sorting Hat was placed in the front (with a cell phone set to speaker placed underneath). Prof. McGonagall read aloud each child who was promptly sorted, “William… yes… you are ambitious. A leader. You belong in SLYTHERINE!”

Once sorted, the students received a class schedule. It was off to Potions, Divination, and Wand Making. Here are some pictures.

Summer Reading Kickoff Carnival

 You may be wondering why I haven’t posted for a while. SUMMER READING is my only explanation. I haven’t been reading anything but picture books because I just don’t have the time.

Last Tuesday, we kicked off our summer reading program – Be Creative @ the Library – with a carnival. It was an idea I proposed during our brainstorming session months ago).

Librarians, with the help of our S.A.I.L. (Service and Achievement in the Library) teen volunteers, ran several stations. I ran the water balloon toss station. Other included: Bean Bag Toss, Temporary Tattoos, Sand Art Necklaces, Boppers, Dolphin Ring Toss, Sidewalk Chalk, Duck Pond, Limbo Contest, and Bead Bracelets. We sent them home with ice pops.

Princess Tea Party

I held two Princess Tea Parties this past Thursday. To include boys, simply call it a Royal Tea Party.  We had fun taking pictures with my tiara afterward!

Crowns: Michael’s – I bought crowns from Oriental Trading but they were flimsy. The crowns from Michaels were sturdy, though small. They fit high on the head, but they worked. And if you plan to attach gems, sturdy is good. They cost $3.00 per pack of 12.

Tea Set: Toys R Us – $15.00 for a set of four (includes cup, saucer, plate, forks/knife/spoon/tea spoon, creamer, napkin holder and pitcher – which weren’t sealed properly so I didn’t use those). I bought 4 sets to accommodate 16 kids. While this is expensive, I have used them 4 times now and will use them a total of 6 times this summer.

Other: Crayola Markers, Sharpie Markers, Stencils, Tacky Glue, and Gems.

Sand Art Program

I recently held a Sand Art program for kids ages 6-12 at the library. I purchased a pack of three designs for $1 at Michaels and colored sand at $2.99 a pack. It cost about $20 and supplied about 20 kids (though only 8 participated). The set up was easy: cups of colored sand, a paper plate to work on, and a small paint brush to clean off excess sand. I had a lot of sand left over.

Egg Knockers

Last night, I held an Egg Knockers Program. Fifteen children, ages 6-12, partcipated in this Spring event. I bought the wooden eggs at Michaels for $0.79 each, coated them twice with Gesso and allowed the children to paint. This lasted about 40 minutes and fun was had by all. I could have filled the program twice over but sadly, limited time and material allowed only 15. Next year, I will hold more sessions. The clean up is messy and time consuming though.

A Mad Tea Party

Clean cup! Clean cup! Move Down. ~The Mad Hatter

I hosted a Mad Tea Party for the kids (ages 5-8) this past Saturday. The evening before, I baked some Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Chip Cookies (nutless of course) and they turned out wonderfully! The day of, I picked up some doughnut holes from Dunkins and some raspberry tarts from La Scala (my favorite Italian bakery EVER). 

 

Then I decorated the room: spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs, of course.  

 

I picked up the Princess Tea set at Toys R Us the evening before (note: leave time to wash the sets before using them!). Prior to eating, I read three books: Which Hat is That?, Do You Have a Hat?, and The Magic Hat. Then we watched the clip of the tea party from Alice in Wonderland before sitting down to eat.