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Seeing Stars!

2018-07-30T20:14:58-06:00

Indoor astronomy is a great way to light up the night! We recently did that, both figuratively and literally. I have done a fairly large number of astronomy programs in the past 5 or 6 years, both with and without the library's 8" Dobsonian telescope; both indoors and out. I want these programs to be both about learning and fun... I want to encourage kids and their adults to spend time looking at the sky when they are outside, even if they aren't sure what they are looking at or for. Since the moon is an easy place to start, I [...]

Seeing Stars!2018-07-30T20:14:58-06:00

Celebrating Rockets’ Red Glare!

2018-07-03T22:52:45-06:00

On Monday, we celebrated America's birthday with some STEM activities! As always, we started with some reading, and I intentionally chose books that included images of fireworks. I also included a number of non-fiction Independence Day titles in my book display, along with this title: We started by reading A is for America, by Devin Scilian, then read Happy Birthday, America, by Mary Pope Osborne.  In keeping with the "rockets' red glare," theme, I decided to try two different activities, and both worked very well. The main activity was the creation of paper rockets which we launched with a stomp rocket launcher. [...]

Celebrating Rockets’ Red Glare!2018-07-03T22:52:45-06:00

Light and Color and Uncooperative Weather

2018-06-19T04:05:06-06:00

The best-laid plans often go awry...  so how to program on the fly for a large group when that happens? My Monday Mayhem program is attended by a lot of school-age kids, including those who attend two separate day care summer camps. Planning for 80 takes some work and means that it is difficult to change activities without some advance thought and materials-gathering. As such, I learned a valuable lesson last week about planning... always have a back-up if the activities rely on the sun. The theme for the program last week was Light and Color, and while I had a [...]

Light and Color and Uncooperative Weather2018-06-19T04:05:06-06:00

Rain, rain, and more rain. What will the worms do?

2018-04-05T02:29:08-06:00

  There's no way that anyone in my area hasn't noticed all of the rain we've had lately, but it wasn't until I was returning home from work one night to discover the steps to and my porch covered in a carpet of wriggling, desperate, earthworms seeking refuge from the water, that I realized just how much rain my community has received in the last few weeks.  I have often seen worms working their way across a sidewalk or driveway, hoping for drier earth on the other side, and I usually pick them up and give them a ride to higher [...]

Rain, rain, and more rain. What will the worms do?2018-04-05T02:29:08-06:00

What Can You do With a Block of Ice?

2018-04-05T01:09:05-06:00

      It's beginning to show signs of spring.  Trees are budding.  Insects are beginning fly and buzz about.  I see turtles sunning at the edge of the lake.  But before that -- It was cold.  Really, really cold, for my part of the world.  In a part of the country where freezes usually last a day or two, we had weeks without the temperature getting above the freezing mark.  So what kind of programming do you do when there's lots of ice outside?  Programs about ice, of course. Everyone knows that you put salt on the walkways, steps, and [...]

What Can You do With a Block of Ice?2018-04-05T01:09:05-06:00

Have Fun With an Ancient Instrument – a Mouth Bow

2018-03-02T16:58:58-07:00

The first time I encountered a mouth bow was at Girl Scout camp many (I'm not about to tell you how many) years ago.  It was a camporee weekend, packed full of activities and workshops for us t'weens and teens.  One of the workshops was musical instruments from things we could find in the forest, mostly.  The most popular of the instruments we learned to make was the mouth bow.  By the end of the weekend, nearly everyone had one, and most of us had learned to pluck out a tune or two on them.  What's more, we didn't need to label [...]

Have Fun With an Ancient Instrument – a Mouth Bow2018-03-02T16:58:58-07:00

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

2018-01-02T23:04:09-07:00

This is the time of the year when children in most every part of the country look forward to awakening to a fluffy white blanket of snow in which to play, to sled, to scoop into a bowl for snowcream, and most importantly, to get them out of a day at school.  In my part of the country these days, snow is fairly rare, and pretty much everything comes to a grinding halt as soon as there are a few inches on the ground. When I was a child, it seemed like there was a lot more of the icy white [...]

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!2018-01-02T23:04:09-07:00

Paper Spheres: Experimentation with Decoration

2017-12-28T21:50:11-07:00

Leading up to the holidays, people are often busy buying gifts and decorating their homes.  So, this year, I decided to offer different decorative crafts each week in December.  One of the most popular was the paper spheres.  The craft is simple to do, and only requires strips of paper, a hole punch, and brads (or bent paper clips) to complete.  Being simple in its execution allows for crafters to put their focus on creativity and originality.  They can also make more at home themselves, or as a family activity of they so choose, with a short list of easy to [...]

Paper Spheres: Experimentation with Decoration2017-12-28T21:50:11-07:00

Money Fun

2017-11-29T19:51:12-07:00

        This month there is an exhibit in the adult collection about money and managing finances.  I've decided to focus my children's programming around money, and money fun, while the exhibit is on display.  It'll be a good opportunity to educate kids about being responsible with their money in a fun way, while the adults have the opportunity to learn about the same thing, through a more mature, if less entertaining method.  I'm planning on teaching several simple money "magic" tricks, since it always seems like money disappears, practically magically, no matter how hard you try to keep up with [...]

Money Fun2017-11-29T19:51:12-07:00

The Dirt on Soil

2017-07-15T06:38:52-06:00

This week at the Depot Park, we braved threatening thunderstorms, rain, and high humidity to learn the dirt on soils! Using both fiction and non-fictions books, we introduced the topics of soil, dirt, and mud before studying different types of soil, modeling the concept of percolation, making model soil horizons, and mud painting. Over the two days of the program, we introduced the theme with the books Mud Puddle, by Robert Munsch, and Miracle Mud: Lena Blackburne and the Secret Mud that Changed Baseball, by David A. Kelly. Both adults and kids were astonished to learn that the miracle mud of the story is [...]

The Dirt on Soil2017-07-15T06:38:52-06:00
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