Week at a glance...

Hey there blogging buddies... its been a while. Hows things ? Here is what I have been up to lately....

I've been on a bit of a reading roll lately. I felt like a bad librarian because after going over SLJ's list of 100 greatest children's novels, I realized that were a lot of classics that I haven't read! So I've been on a reading roll and I've been tackling that list! So far I've read the Westing Game, Holes and Because of Winn Dixie and so on.

 

It hasn't all been Children's classics, I finally got around to reading Maus. Its been on my to-read list for a while. One of my history professors in college always said it was the best narrative depiction of the holocaust. I guess I was on a historic/graphic novel kick, because I also read March by John Lewis. It is about Lewis' experience growing up during segregation and the part he played in the civil rights movement. Its interesting to see such serious moments from history be retold in graphic novel form. Its a format gets scoffed at, but the mix of imagery with text can evoke such emotion that sometimes the written word can't do.

I haven't been in the craft room that much lately. Work has been crazy (more on that later). However I have been doing a few things round the house. I made these snazzy pillows as part of the last Iron Craft Challenge.

I also decided to add some greenery into the house. The last few weeks we've gotten some Spring teases but its still to cold for gardening. So I decided to bring the outside in and I made some planters. I found the planters at the Dollar store and I jazzed them up a bit. Then I raided Home Depot for some house plants. It dawned on me that we don't have any houseplants at all! So We needed something! I put them in the dinning room, because it needs some sprucing.

I know Summer is still a few months off, but not for librarians. We started to organize and plan for the summer and it is a pretty daunting task. Some exciting things are happening and I love the theme this year: Fizz, Boom: Read! We are going to do some fun science-y things and I'll be sure to tell ya all about them! 

Friday night I got to channel my inner Katniss with an archery lesson. For Christmas Tim got me a voucher good for a lesson and an hour of shooting time at the Smith Point Archery Range. It something I've wanted to do for a while and it was a lot of fun. I did archery in High School and I guess some of it stuck with me, because I did pretty good with a few bulls-eyes! The instructor was a really awesome crotchety old man who was impressed. I think I might be investing in a bow. 

Spooky Bats - Kids Craft

Attention all Librarians, Teachers, Moms anyone in need of a simple kids craft! Check out my spooky bats!

I had a lot of fun developing programs for this years Summer Reading Club with the theme, Dream Big - Read! There was a lot of fun different ways to interpret the theme. Since author/illustrator Brian Lies created the art work for the theme this year, I felt it necessary to use his book, Bats at the Library as inspiration for this kids craft! The book was also a great companion to the craft! With Halloween around the corner these bats make perfect decorations that your youngin's can help make!

Materials & Tools: 

• Bat Shape
• Oak Tag (in both black and white)
• Tissue paper (in black and purple)
• Clothes pin
• Crayons
• Scissors
• Glue

Instructions:

• Create a bat body out of black oak tag
• Cut out two circles out of white oak tag
• Cut two pieces of tissue paper (black and purple) that measure 15 x 9 inches

• Glue eyes to the bat body 
• Use your crayons to decorate and customize

• Place your bat face down and get your clothes pin ready! 
• Dab some glue on the back of the bat body and attach the clothes pin 

• While your bat is drying, time to work on his wings! 
• Grab your pieces of tissue paper and lay one over the other, then begin to accordion fold the paper
• Pinch in the middle and fluff out your wings

• Take your wings and clip it to the clothes pin 

• Turn your bat over and clip him any where you want!

Summer Reading Club Craziness!

In the midst of my life altering crazy summer, would you have thought work would be a welcome distraction. Not so because it was just as crazy! Its the summer always means the Summer Reading Club. Sadly this week is the last week, but I wanted to share how I helped decorate the library.

I was really loving the theme this year, Dream Big Read! Visions of night time creatures and bed time sleepiness and the night sky immediately came to mind. So we tried to make the room look like a dream wonderland.

The table is always something in keeping with the theme. Last year for the travel theme, we made it a travel agency desk. This year I suggested making a bed frame and it came out really great! We always use foam board for a lot of decorations but the bed was pretty warped as the paint dried. So I am going to try and think of a possible solution for next year.

Does that window behind the bed look familiar? If you are a librarian or teacher you will know. Its from the bedtime classic, Good Night Moon. My department manager had asked that we incorporate the story in the decorations and this window was a good idea because it not only fits the theme and looks great, but it fills up a bunch of dead space. I also made some pin wheels featuring the title of the theme. I am never one for glitter but it gave the pin wheels some pizazz!

Morgan did some amazing stuff as well. She took over the children's room window. It looks out into the rest of the library. Her and other library aides have done some amazing stuff with it. This year I remember her being a little stumped as to what to make. I suggested constellations. She took that idea and ran with it and made this amazing display!

We were searching for some ideas and inspiration. We spend some time drooling over the amazing displays by Rachel Moani. Her displays are incredible and really inspired us. I was excited because this helped show us what library displays could be ! It goes way beyond the ol' " {insert-witty-pun}...with a good book" it gets old after a while. So check her stuff out! Morgan used her tutorial on creating a giant book with vine popping out of it. It covered up this ugly column that is always a design issue!

I also had to come up with an idea for my own display!  I actually had the idea for my display way back in March. I got some inspiration while searching Pinterest. I was looking for Dr. Suess quotes when I came across this one....

I loved it and thought it went well with our theme. I think I had also recently watched Hugo around then so I put the two things together and thought it would be great to use the iconic image from a Trip to the Moon.

First a did a sketch of my design, which I always do and its really helpful because I kept getting some more ideas from it!  I decided that the moon would be done on a piece of foam board cut out in the shape of the moon. The rocket would be a seperate piece of foam board giving it a 3 dimensional look. I was originally going to to paint my moon man a yellow color but while digging around the craft closet I found some old yellow cellophane and it looked great without having to paint it! The next step was putting it all together. The library already had starry gossamer so I hunt that up. Ann Marie hung him up and made the rocket pop out! Then I made a shooting star with the the first part of the quotation on it, then put the rest throughout the rest of the scene. Here is the finished product. 

Now that its over we have to start coming up with some ideas for the fall and for my favorite time of year Halloween! I of course will keep you posted.