LEGO Pictionary

Legos are the BIG thing this year.  Our library hosts monthly Lego free-build sessions after school that are always packed with excited builders.  This month, I decided to put a new spin on Lego programming: LEGO Pictionary!

Age Range: 8-12

Time range: About 45 minutes

Cost: Free (if your library has access to Legos)

Setup/Equipment: 5 tables with 4 seats per table; a whiteboard to keep score; folded paper squares with pictures/words; a bowl to put the papers in

The tweens choose their “team” by picking an empty seat at one on the tables. We then went over:

Da’ Rules

No running

No yelling

Only one builder per team/per turn

Everyone gets a turn to be the builder

The builder may not speak, spell, or pantomime the answer to guessers

The first team to guess what the builder is making out of Legos gets the point

To avoid arguments, I had the youngest in the group be the first builder.  I called the first builders up to the front of the room and had one child pick a folded square of paper out of a bowl.  The squares had pictures/words of the object the builder was to build:

The builders then ran back to the table and started on their assigned object.  Some of the objects were very easy and the kids guessed within two minutes.  I placed a limit of five minutes of building/guessing time.  

The kids had fun playing this game but it grew a bit complicated as late coming kids tried to jump in 15-20 minutes into the game. After 20 minutes, the game dissolved in Lego free play and the kids started making up their own rules/games.  Legos are such a popular and easy and flexible activity that never goes out of style. 

Mythbusters STEM Program

I <3 Mythbusters! Explosions, science, awesomeness…   So, I was uber thrilled to conduct a mythbusters program for tweens this summer. I actually borrowed (and then modified) this program idea from the Tween Scene.  The Tween Scene is an awesome resource for pre-planned tween programs that you can modify to meet your library’s needs. 

Age Range: 8-12

Time range: About 1 hour

Attendance: capped at 20 Mythbusters due to supply limitation

Cost: around $15-$20 in grocery supplies

Shopping List: cornstarch, glass bowls, large metal spoons, paper, lightweight books, tape, pencils, caffeine free cola, pop-rock candy

To start, I set up 5 tables with enough chairs to seat 4 kids per table.  The tweens choose their “team” by picking an empty seat at one on the tables. Next, I presented the tween teams with:

Da’ Rules - 

1. No running
2. No yelling 
3. Your team must agree on an answer – truth or myth – before conducting the experiment
4. You are not allowed to get help from parents or older sibling
5. Each team that guesses the right answer receives four raffle tickets (one for each tween) to the summer reading raffle prize drawing (water park tickets)

Myth #1: A substance can be both a liquid and solid at the same time

First, each team had to decide if this statement was truth or a myth. The team guesses were split down the middle. Half guessed this was a true statement and half guessed myth.  Next, each team received a bowl of Oobleck from our awesome teen volunteer.  The tweens "experimented” with the Oobeleck by squishing, bouncing, dripping, punching, etc… 

***WARNING***

This is VERY messy!  In retrospect, I should have saved this experiment for the end.  Luckily, I had disposable tablecloths covering all the tables.  I just rolled them up with the Oobleck and threw everything away after the kids were done experimenting.  FYI – Oobleck vacuums off carpet when it dries (thank goodness!).

Correct Answer?  Truth   
We showed the following Mythbusters video to explain the answer (while my brave volunteers and I cleaned up their colossal mess):

Myth #2: Paper can support a book

First, each team had to decided if this statement was truth or myth (only one team guessed myth).  Each team was then given one piece of paper, tape, and a stack of light weight books:

Correct answer? Truth – The teams could have folded paper accordion style or rolled it into a tube using the tape.  The youngest team completed the challenge very quickly.  I was impressed!  The participants then had a blast competing with each other to see whose structure could hold the most books (the record was 16). 


The teams watched the following YouTube video explaining the science behind their constructions:

Myth #3: Eating pop-rock candy and drinking coke will make your stomach explode

This was, by far, the favorite myth of the program!  Teams spent five minutes debating the truth of the myth while daring each other to try the combination first.  The following video explains the history behind this myth:

http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/videos/pop-rocks-minimyth.htm

The End

After sugaring the kids up….I passed out the SRP raffle tickets.  I directed the tween Mythbusters to a cart full of science experiment literature and book-talked a few of them.  This program was well worth the cleanup after.  I will defiantly be repeating this program again next year.  Possibly with a different set of myths?   

Here comes Babymouse!

BABYMOUSE: CUPCAKE TYCOON is the thirteenth graphic novel in the award winning BABYMOUSE series. The BABYMOUSE series chronicles Babymouse’s adventures in hilarious dialog and black, white, and pink illustrations. Who can resist BABYMOUSE's pinktastically creative antics?  Not me!  Neither can the kids.  These graphic novels fly off the library shelves as soon as they come in. 

In CUPCAKE TYCOON, Babymouse’s school library is having a cupcake selling fund-raiser thanks to the library sprinkler accident caused by her overactive imagination. Babymouse is determined to outsell all the other students and win the “special” prize.  

I read this book and had visions of  library cupcake decorating awesomeness.  Unfortunately, my co-workers envisioned colored icing stains and embedded carpet sprinkles.  I have conducted food tween programs in the public library meeting rooms before.  They were....messy (steam clean the carpet the next day messy).  Oh well. 

The publisher's website has downloadable BABYMOUSE comic fill-in worksheets so children can create their own BABYMOUSE graphic novel. I have used similar downloadable templates for a tween graphic novel book club.  This was very fun and the kids took templates home so they could  continue creating. Have any other tween librarian conducted any BABYMOUSE Awesome BABYMOUSE programming?  I would love to hear about it!

BABYMOUSE Book Trailer:

Holm, Jennifer & Matthew Holm. 2010. BABYMOUSE: CUPCAKE TYCOON. NY: Random House. ISBN 978-0375965739.

Tween Book Club Adventures

I have been running a very fun and popular Tween Book Club since March.  The tween book club meets once a month to discuss a book/graphic novel they read the month before.  This summer I decided to shake things up by having a Book 2 Movie club once a month in the afternoon.  It was a HUGE success! 

Due to time constraints, the tween book club not able to watch the movie. Instead, I picked two very popular book-to-movie choices for June and July and planned several activities around them. 

June - HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON by Cressida Cowell

The movie How to Train your Dragon 2 came out the day before the book club meeting. I convinced a generous local movie theater to give me four free  opening weekend tickets.  I then devised a book vs. movie trivia quiz to challenge the club’s dragon training knowledge while we noshed on pizza.  There were some hard core dragon fans in attendance.  This contest was very competitive and fun!

Next, I broke out the library’s two huge plastic tubs of donated Legos.  We sat in a circle on the floor while building Lego dragons.  The kids came up with their own creative dragon names and dragon training stories while we were building.

July – THE LIGHTNING THIEF by Rick Riordan

June’s book club was a little chaotic due to the high number of people in attendance (96!).  I decided to approach July’s book club a little differently.  I broke the book activities into stations and allowed the kids to rotate through at their own pace.  Each station generated many awesome book/movie discussions.

Station 1: Book vs. Movie Trivia- This one was easy!  There are so many differences between the book and the movie.  The Camp Half-Blood Wiki has a comprehensive list to draw from:   http://camphalfblood.wikia.com/wiki/Percy_Jackson_and_the_Olympians:_The_Lightning_Thief/Differences_from_the_book .

Station 2: Camp Half-Blood Archery – I set up the Wii on our large television.  The kids had a blast taking turns playing Wii Resort archery.

Station 3: Shield Making -  I borrowed this idea form the KC Edventures Blog:  http://www.kcedventures.com/blog/percy-jackson-movie-birthday-party .  To keep costs down, I purchased inexpensive cardboard cake rounds instead of pizza pans to make the shields. I placed various craft supplies such as markers, crayons, glitter, construction paper, etc. out on the table and let the kids go to town.   This was by far the most popular and creatively awesome station!

Station 4: Greek Mythology Go-Fish- A free printable game can be found here: http://bogglesworldesl.com/greekmyths_flashcards.htm

Station 5: Write Your Name in Greek -  The Percy Jackson Event Kit on Rick Riordan’s website has a English to Greek letter translation chart: http://www.rickriordan.com/Files/Documents/event_kit_riordan.doc. I tacked this chart up next to a white board and put out some whiteboard markers.  The kids all took turns translating their names into Greek.   Some of them even put their Greek name on their newly created shield.

The End-

I always try to save five to ten minutes at the end of the book club to book-talk and pass out the next book.  Do you run a Tween Book Club at your library?  I’d love to hear about your experiences!

What is "Tween"?

The first challenge I encountered when becoming a tween librarian was to define the age group I would be developing programs for.  Dictionary.com defines a tween as "a youngster between 10 and 12 years of age, considered too old to be a child and too young to be a teenager".  This is such a narrow age limitation.  I am sure you have met 13 year old "youngsters" with the maturity level (physically and emotionally) of an 8 year old.  Conversely, we have all known "youngsters" that have acted like "teens" starting at 10-12.  So where does a poor tween librarian draw the line?

I spontaneously decided on the arbitrary age range of 8-12.  Why did I choose this range?  Honestly, it was just a shot in the dark.  The range is broad enough to draw a big and diverse crowd at programs.  Additionally, most 8 year old children are mature enough to have fun and behave themselves in the programing room for an hour while their parental units peruse the adult collection.

Keeping this age range in my programs has been a challenge to say the least. A common and reoccurring problem is parents who bring their "very mature" 5-7 year old children to the tween programs. They usually tag along with their resentful older sibling.  This is not a fun situation for staff or the other children.  

A good way to deter this behavior is to tell the parents that you are NOT responsible for their child well-being if they leave the programing room.  No, this is not a harsh as it sounds.  Yes, I will provide free literary entertainment abounds to their children.  At the same time, I cannot entertain while simultaneously keeping track of their child's whereabouts at all times. Moreover, if they are disruptive they will be asked to leave the programing room for the good of the group.  

My solution?  I offer to let the child stay if the parent ALSO stays for the entire program duration.  I want as many children as possible to enjoy the hard work I put into entertaining and enriching them.  However, after one programing hour most parents come to a epiphany. Mature 6 year old children, while being very advanced for their age, are not at the same maturity and developmental level as a room full of 10-12 year old children.  

 I welcome your feedback librarian peanut gallery.  What do you do to diplomatically prevent inappropriately aged children from coming to your library programming?