I've been running a Lego program of one kind or another for many years and I've judged it's success mainly by the smiles and engaged brickbuilding of the boys and girls who attend. Legos=Fun. Period. Except for me. I was BORED. Very very very very bored. Something needed to change. I read a lot, as you know. Recently, I happened upon a new Makerspace idea using Legos and literacy. Lego was offering a Librarians Toolkit! Yay! I decided to give it a whirl. To start, I followed their curriculum to a "T". Low and behold.... it has been one of the MOST successful Lego programs ever! Adding a literacy (read aloud) element to Lego building is work. Book choices for a group of K-5 who have a tempting bin of bricks in front of them is a tremendous challenge. The planning, the timing, and the coordination takes effort. But the children patiently cooperated and loved every minute of it! After a few sessions, I decided to add a technology element to the program as well and it's been a hit. Using an iPad I connected relevant videos, to watch on the big screen. For example, after we read Moonshot by Brian Floca, we watched the actual NASA Apollo lift-off followed by the Apollo 11 landing and moon walk. The kids (and the parents that stay) were riveted! This week I used a little magical wordless picture book. We built our own magical places and talked a bit about wordless books and interpreting pictures (art) of author Aaron Becker. They built amazing things and better yet they "saw" the art and books in ways that were truly unique. It really is all about the journey and creating your own magical place. Lego club is mine again!
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I often get asked by colleagues how I came up with a programming idea or how I found an app or a new book. I always emphasize the importance of following blogs online and sharing information either social networks or blogs. That is often followed by the person saying they feel overwhelmed searching for blogs and they "just don't have time or know where to start". Big. Sigh. I completely get that. Except I don't search out blogs so much. I have THEM come to ME using the app Feedly, an RSS reader. If you don't know what an RSS reader is, it's simply an Inbox-like tool for blogs and online resources that you want to keep track of. Back in library school I had an awesome professor who made us sign up for Google Reader (now defunct) and subscribe to library related blogs and feeds. Six years later, and I'm still using that RSS reader on a regular basis. All the blogs that I love are there in one place... I pick and choose them myself. A simply click and everytime something new posts to one of these blogs or sites, I get it on Feedly. Feedly allows you to organize your feeds into folders as well (a librarians dream), such as Programming, Technology, Books and Authors, News, and so on. Feedly is an app on my mobile device as well which allows me to post to social media or email an article of interest. It's a professional tool that keeps me in the loop and keeps ideas flowing. Give it a try! Start small...pick just 5 feeds to follow until you get a handle on it. Here's a quick look at what my feedly looks like.
So the weather outside was frightful, but it didn't stop over 25 kids and their folks from joining us for a one-of-a-kind Holiday night! Our first ever, Polar Express Pajama Storytime was a huge success, (despite what looks like dreary expressions on their faces in the photo). Our hallway was adorned with running lights (like the smiles, not visible in the picture), and train-car seating. "Tickets" were required to board. The children ages 5 and up filed into their seats and their uber comfy, pajama wearing librarian read them three stories, with the last being the Polar Express. Lights were low, and for the first time ever I did NOT hold up the pictures in the book. I told them that all the pictures would be "in their heads". Surprisingly this worked! They were actively listening. Before they disembarked the "train" they each received their own bell to take home and then went into our community room for crafts, cookies, candy and hot chocolate (with extra marshmallows). Staff and a teen volunteer helped handout the goodies while the kids worked on a craft. After about 10 minutes, we had a group sing-a-long using our iPad to the projector with video and captions (YouTube). Rudolph, Let it Snow, and Frosty rounded out the night. It was a magical evening and the parents who got involved had a great time too. Here's some things that worked and some that sort of worked:
Summer reading kicked off this week.... we've got our Mad Scientist photo booth and our weekly science station all ready to go. Kids have been pouring in the last two days, anxious to sign up. It's not easy to keep the momentum going. We've got our weekly Guessing Jar, along with raffles, and also a chance to come to our Library Late Night, where 20 kids get to party into the wee hours (way past my bedtime folks!). After all the planning for months and months, it's exciting to see it all come together. I think this summer is already proving to be a huge success!
My first attempt at a Star Wars Day is taking place tomorrow. So far I am feeling confident and the best news is my Leia costume fits! Gearing up for little Jedis and lots of fun. Bring it! Something sweet is coming to the library next week and I can't wait. I'm getting goodie bags and treats all ready. Stay tuned....
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