BC Summer Reading Club 2016

ababluck Thu, 06/30/2016 - 16:44

Description

In the word document there's many pictures, games, projects and ideas I've come up with for the Summer Reading Club this year, all following the theme "Book A Trip"
Program Topic
Summer Reading Club
Source Library
MacKenzie Public Library

Program promotional materials

Explore Your Own Backyard WeekShayla L.docx

Length of program session

30-60 minutes

Number of sessions

4

Frequency

Weekly

Presenter(s)

Shayla Lindquist
Audience

Primary Audience

Preschool (aged 3-4)
Primary (Gr. K-3 or aged 5-8)
Intermediate (Gr. 4-7 or aged 9-12)
Young Families/Parents
Resources

Community partners

Mackenzie Museum

Resources required (materials/supplies; food/refreshments, etc.)

All Craft Supplies Shown and Explained in File :-)
Evaluation

What were the goals/objectives of your program?

To get kids into the library, read more and explore every topic!

Deconstruction Day

ababluck Mon, 06/20/2016 - 16:44

Description

The program was open for any age, (we had 9 adults attend). We had laptops, dvd players, vhs machines, cell phones, key boards, coffee pots, printers, and other items that were electronic. We supplied all the tools we thought they would need to help them take apart whatever device they chose. We also had someone knowledgeable in electronics to answer any questions they might have when they found something interesting inside.
Source Library
MacKenzie Public Library

Program photos

IMG_0951.JPG

Program promotional materials

Deconstruction Day.pdf

Length of program session

> 120 minutes

Number of sessions

1

Frequency

Annually

Guest speaker(s) - include name and organization

None

Presenter(s)

Jenny LeBlanc
Audience

Primary Audience

Multi-generational

Secondary Audience

Multi-generational
Resources

Community partners

None

Funding (grants/foundations/corporations)

None

Budget for this program

Zero dollars

Resources required (materials/supplies; food/refreshments, etc.)

All items were donated to us. Tools were leant to us by the Recreation Centre and Library owned tools. There were no refreshments.
Evaluation

Feedback from Participants

They loved it. Would have liked more time to do it.

Highlights - what worked well?

The biggest seller to take apart were laptops, dvd players and vhs players. and cell phones. Even though there were other choices these went first. The biggest highlight of the afternoon was a small 3 year old and he popped off the letters of a keyboard in alphabetical order. What he learned was much more than how they stuck on a keyboard.

What were the goals/objectives of your program?

- To give all people the opportunity to see how things work. Especially children.
- To be able to deconstruct without barriers and getting into trouble if it breaks

What would you change about this program?

I would make the program longer.

WonderWorks

ababluck Thu, 02/25/2016 - 11:43

Description

This program is a STEM or STEAM based program. We do the latter and include art. The children come and explore different aspects of Science, technology, engineering, art and math. I do a small group of 5 due to limited space.

Project Link

WonderWorks
Source Library
MacKenzie Public Library

Length of program session

30-60 minutes

Number of sessions

5

Frequency

Weekly

Presenter(s)

Jenny LeBlanc
Audience

Primary Audience

Preschool (aged 3-4)
Resources

Community partners

Success by Six

Funding (grants/foundations/corporations)

Success by Six

Budget for this program

$3200 for initial start up and incidental buying for each class.

Resources required (materials/supplies; food/refreshments, etc.)

I use the STEM products out of the Wintergreen catalogue as the base of the program and everyday items to accomplish the lesson. I also use 2 books More than counting by Sally Moomaw and Brenda Hieronymus and Science is Simple. Another good resource is Sick Science on YouTube. The internet has a lot of resources for different lessons. Technology is the hardest one to get information on.
Evaluation

Feedback from Participants

The kids had a ball. I think the experiment that was the most fun was the milk in a dish with droplets of paint in them; you take a cotton swab with soap and put it in the middle and watch what happens. They wanted to do that over and over. The next one was stacking chips and doing patterns.

Highlights - what worked well?

Having small tables that you can set out different experiments on. Having the 5 kids in class was optimum unless you have help to have a bigger class. I brought the conversation down to their level to ensure they were understanding the concept. You can tell when the aha moment happens.

What were the goals/objectives of your program?

Our goal was to make learning fun in these specific areas for 4 & 5 year olds. Another goal was to have 5 in the first session and 10 in the second. During the first session, 5 is a good number for me due to limited space and one-on-one contact.

What would you change about this program?

Keep it to 5 kids. I did let a sibling join in the art session that was 3 years old and it became evident quickly that she was too young. I will not do that again. I would stress that their attendance.

Minecraft: Creative Crew

ababluck Tue, 02/16/2016 - 15:44

Description

A program designed for children 9-12 years old. We have Minecraft installed on several computers and laptops, and children get together once a week for collaborative play.
Source Library
MacKenzie Public Library

Length of program session

60-120 minutes

Frequency

Weekly

Presenter(s)

Valerie Moss
Audience

Primary Audience

Intermediate (Gr. 4-7 or aged 9-12)
Resources

Funding (grants/foundations/corporations)

United Way of Northern British Columbia

Budget for this program

$300

Resources required (materials/supplies; food/refreshments, etc.)

We supply the computers and laptops for game play, as well as 11 individual Minecraft licenses.
Evaluation

Feedback from Participants

The children love it. They often come early and hang around after the program ends so that they can play a little longer. I often have kids coming in on other days to ask if they can play. Parents and teachers like the game because it promotes imaginative play and teamwork.

The participants, particularly the boys, are spending much more time in the library than before the program and are

Highlights - what worked well?

The children work very well together. There is a lot of laughter, and the computer lab can get quite loud, but it's all in good fun. When newcomers join in, the more experienced Minecraft players love to help them learn the game. We have a couple of teen volunteers who run an online server and facilitate the program. We bought refurbished laptops from ReUse Tech BC. While we offer a creative-mode focus and a no-griefing policy, we have set aside a "PvP pit" inside the game where players can choose to battle each other. Although children as young as five are excited to play, older youth (we serve 9 -13 yo) are more independent and emotionally able to handle the game - required less supervision.

What were the goals/objectives of your program?

1) Increase positive interactions with and opinions of the library by local youth.
2) Increase use of our collections, services and space by local youth.
3) Increase the kids' soft skills, including socialization, confidence, creativity, independence, and teamwork.
4) Increase STEM-related skills such as spatial reasoning, leading to improved academic performance.
5) Provide a program for an underserved demographic in our community.
6) Provide opportunities for underprivileged children, particularly those without access to computers or Minecraft at home, to participate in gaming and interaction with their peers.

What would you change about this program?

When we have more children than computers, we have to rotate turns. We currently determine who has been on the longest and ask them to give up a spot for a while. In future, since they don't all arrive at the same time, we may have them take numbers and then ask them to take turns accordingly.

We'd also like to host a local server to reduce our dependency on our teen volunteers' availability and our occasionally spotty internet connection.

Board Game Inventors

ababluck Tue, 02/16/2016 - 15:12

Description

A program for children 8-13 years of age. Participants collaborate to design a board game (ours had a zoo theme), come up with rules of play, a name, and then play the game.
Source Library
MacKenzie Public Library

Program photos

IMG_0488.JPG

Program promotional materials

Board Game Inventors Poster 2.pdf

Length of program session

> 120 minutes

Number of sessions

1

Presenter(s)

Valerie Moss
Audience

Primary Audience

Intermediate (Gr. 4-7 or aged 9-12)
Resources

Funding (grants/foundations/corporations)

United Way of Northern British Columbia

Budget for this program

$100

Resources required (materials/supplies; food/refreshments, etc.)

For the game, we provided cardboard (for the game board), paper money, dice, plastic animals, glue sticks, felt markers, scissors, etc. Because the session lasted four hours, we also provided a free pizza lunch (with juice and water) for all participants.
Evaluation

Feedback from Participants

They all seemed to have a good time, and enjoyed working as a team. Their parents also commented on how much fun the children seemed to have. The free pizza lunch was a definite bonus!

Highlights - what worked well?

We limited the number of children registered to 8, so that the group was small. They really enjoyed working together to come up with ideas. They also had a lot of fun (and laughs) playing the game at the end of the session. I found it very helpful to have come up with a theme for the game in advance, so that we had the proper supplies ready (ie. the game was 'zoo' themed, and I purchased the plastic animals, and printed off some of the pictures used in the game in advance.)

What were the goals/objectives of your program?

Our main objective was to get the children to work together and exercise their creativity to create something fun. We brainstormed ideas, such as a name for the game (Zoomanji - very creative), and the rules of play. We then created a rough draft of what we wanted the game board to look like, and the kids took turns coloring and writing the information on the board.

What would you change about this program?

Maybe make the age for registration a little closer. I found that 8-13 years of age was quite a big spread. I would maybe make it for 9-12 years of age. Perhaps have two different sessions, if funding allows.

Community StoryWalk

ababluck Tue, 02/16/2016 - 12:04

Description

A StoryWalk involves purchasing a children's book, taking the pages apart and laminating them and posting the pages along a pre-set walking path (in this case, in business windows around town.) Participants are then given a map to follow along with the story. The Story was left up for two months so that participants could do it on their own time.

The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, Vermont and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Their FAQs are attached.
Source Library
MacKenzie Public Library

Program photos

StoryWalk 2015 Map.jpg

Program promotional materials

StoryWalk_FAQs.pdf

Frequency

Annually
Audience

Primary Audience

Multi-generational
Resources

Community partners

Leisure Services, various local businesses and organizations

Funding (grants/foundations/corporations)

Northern Health Imagine Grant

Budget for this program

$400

Resources required (materials/supplies; food/refreshments, etc.)

1) At least 3 copies of the book. Two for the original posting (since there are double-sided pages) and one or more for replacement pages.
2) Laminating sheets, identifying and numbering stickers, etc. for the pages.
3) Comment book to be kept at the end of the StoryWalk (either in the library or outside in a weather and theft-resistant case.)
Evaluation

Copies of program publicity (newspaper articles, letters of appreciation, participant feedback, etc.)

IMG_0754.JPG

Feedback from Participants

“The StoryWalk was pretty interesting. I can relate to how Marcel felt when he started flying and thought he couldn’t do it, because when I started walking this route, I thought I couldn’t do it either, but I did… and so did Marcel!” – Owen, youth [Marcel is the main character in the story we used.]

“I really enjoyed the StoryWalk and the story of the swans. Thanks – very well done.” – Carol, senior

“We really enjoyed the StoryWalk. Let’s do another one real soon.” – Jacob, Caleb, & Elsie, family with small children

“I wanted to let you know that we really enjoyed the Story Walk. I think it would be great if you could do a few different stories throughout the summer (its hard to do in the winter I realize). Great exercise too!!!” – Meg, adult

Highlights - what worked well?

Partnering with local businesses to display the pages in their windows. We also placed some at prominent local landmarks.
Including basic information about the StoryWalk with each page (i.e. the start point, maps are available etc.)
Leaving extra maps at the start point as well as in the library.
The book we chose (Whistling Wings by Laura Goering) came out to 14 pages - a good amount for our 3.5km route.


What were the goals/objectives of your program?

1) Encourage families to:
a) Engage in healthy outdoor exercise
b) Spend quality time together
c) Discover all that their community has to offer

2) Foster a love of reading for all ages

3) Raise awareness of the library

What would you change about this program?

We originally posted the Story outside around a walking path, but it was vandalized repeatedly. We took it down and rethought it with businesses included.

The comment book was kept in the Library (at the last stop) and received few comments. Next year, we'll attempt to find a place that's more obvious and more accessible at all times.

Make sure all signs are accessible all days of the week, even when the hosting business is closed (i.e. on on outside-facing window.)

Check the pages regularly and have replacements on hand.

Little Chills: Two Sentence Horror Story Contest

sleslie Thu, 01/07/2016 - 13:28

Description

Throughout October, people of all ages were invited to write their best two-sentence horror stories and submit them for our contest. Primary and Intermediate-aged children were approached through the local elementary school. The top entries were chosen by Library staff and were read out loud at our Library Month Open House by our local radio host. The crowd at the Open House voted on the winners and prizes were given in the following categories: Best Kindergarten entry (each class entered one story - prize: cookies for the class from the local bakery) Best Primary entry - grades 1-3 (each primary student was encouraged to enter their own individual story, but they won a prize for their entire class - prize: same as Kindergarten) Best Intermediate entry - grades 4-7 (same entry style as primary - prize: pizza lunch for the class) Best Adult entry (ages 13+ - prizes: 1st: Chapters gift card, 1st, 2nd, 3rd: book of their choice from our giveaway cupboard)
Source Library
MacKenzie Public Library

Program photos

IMG_0688.JPG

Program promotional materials

Two-Sentence Horror Stories Poster.pdf

Length of program session

30-60 minutes

Number of sessions

1
Audience

Primary Audience

Primary (Gr. K-3 or aged 5-8)
Intermediate (Gr. 4-7 or aged 9-12)
Adults

Secondary Audience

Senior Secondary (Gr. 11-12 or aged 17-18)
Seniors
Resources

Community partners

Morfee Elementary, Kelly's Bakery, Canadian 2-for-1, CHMM (local radio station)

Funding (grants/foundations/corporations)

Classroom prizes were donated by Kelly's Bakery and Canadian 2-for-1

Budget for this program

$0-100

Resources required (materials/supplies; food/refreshments, etc.)

We had food and entertainers at the Open House, but you could find a different way of presenting the entries and/or choosing the winners that would cost nothing to put on. - Prizes - Big sheets of paper to hang the top entries in the Library - Ballots (we numbered each story)
Evaluation

Highlights - what worked well?

We had a high participation rate from the Primary and Intermediate classes. Working with the teachers to encourage participation was very important. Hosting an event to read out the entries brought a lot more attention to the contest, and in turn the contest brought a lot more attention to our Open House. People really enjoyed being able to hear the stories and vote on their favourites. It would not have been nearly as successful if we had chosen the winners ourselves.

What were the goals/objectives of your program?

1) To encourage creative writing for fun by children and adults. 2) To continue to build our relationship with Morfee Elementary School. 3) To have a fun community event!

What would you change about this program?

Insist on the presenter using the microphone, even if they think they don't need it in a small library space. People get loud. - Don't include the Kindergarten category unless you have very dedicated K teachers. Only one class entered ours. - If including entertainers with the event, have a set schedule for when they'll play and when the stories will be read. Make that schedule public. - Make a copy of the stories and pre-post them around the Library, covered up. Reveal each category once the stories have been read out loud. We read from the sheets and then posted them, but it was difficult to get through the crowd. - Make a lot of ballots! More than you think you need. - Give examples of two-sentence horror stories. Adults especially seem to have a hard time with the concept. We had to explain it a lot.