The holidays are a time for sharing stories; from the story of Santa and Rudolph and the elves, to the stories of our lives we share over holiday dinner. It's story season!! We brought together our tweens and our littlest library friends for a night we called Holiday Storybuddies. Our tweens broke off into corners of the library and they each had a toddler or two to read together with. Parents looked on with delight, and OF COURSE, pajamas made everyone cozy and comfy! Tweens/teens earned their community service hours as part of our Community Club and the little ones got some undivided, one on one attention. After the stories, everyone got to make a "snowglobe" winter craft together and head home for the evening. This program brought together different age groups and also allowed some of our working parents to get in library time with their kids. Smiles all around showed that it was a huge success!
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I am SO proud of the Community Club I started last year. We had our first meeting for the new year last Tuesday where we kicked off that "feel good" vibe by making cards for hospitalized kids! I found some pretty simple examples of Muppet-inspired cards on Pinterest (even I can do it). I couldn't begin to imagine the creative juices that would flow when this group of teens came together. We had all sorts of adorable muppet-monster cards being made with lots of laughter and friendly bonding. Most importantly, these kids really gave thought to the messages they were writing on the inside, knowing how important their cards would be. It's nice to let other kids know they are being thought of at their darkest of times. A great start to a great year! Our amazing teen Community Club had its monthly meeting last night. We made fashionable t-shirt scarves to donate to Bethany House, a local women's shelter. I would like to say that I knew it was International Women's Day the night that I decided to do this. But, I didn't. What I did know was that our Community Club teens would jump at the chance to do this. You see, this is our first year. It is a small but dedicated teens that meet on the first Tuesday evening of every month to do good for others (and earn service credit). Starting in October, this generous group has made beautiful Cards for Hospitalized Kids. We've written letters to our troops and Veteran's through Operation Gratitude, and we held a bake sale to support Best Friends Animal Society. They've generously given of their time and have been most enthusiastic when we got to make something to give. They are a crafty and creative bunch! I am super excited to say that the scarves are a simple, DIY t-shirt craft that doesn't involve any sewing (perfect for me!). I was very impressed with the creative work our group did. It's not everyday you get a group of teens with such a gift for giving. I cannot wait to deliver a little fun, fashion-flair to women in our community. Stay tuned for pictures of the creativity and the finished product. Last night was our very first meeting of the Community Club for teens. My idea for this came from our overwhelming turnout of summer teens looking for community service credits. I also believe strongly that teens need a place to feel purposeful. What better than doing good for others and getting some credit for it? I know that bringing teens into the library is tough, especially when SAT's are around the corner and it's the middle of sports season. We had a great group of teens who were really motivated. Our first project was making cards for hospitalized children. I prepared all the supplies necessary (no computers for this one... pure creativity from our own hands) and they all jumped right in! A beautiful and colorful array of cheery cards are now all boxed and ready to be delivered. I am sure they will brighten the days of many. Simple card stock, ribbon, dye cuts, googly eyes and markers rounded out a truly feel-good evening! They all said they had fun and creative juices were flowing.
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