Daily Dose - Weekly Inspiration

I'm terribly sorry for not really blogging this past week, but my Christmas present was the flu for five days. I may or may not be blogging this week, as I will be leaving for vacation tomorrow. It will depend on how busy my boyfriend and his family I will be visiting are. Should I not write again until next week, I hope you enjoy these inspirational images:

 

Program (Child) - Berenstain Bears' Picnic

In July, we had a Berenstain Bears "picnic" to "celeBEARate" Jan Berenstain's birthday. We are not allowed to have food for children under 12 in our county libraries (though I'm sure it would be even greater if you coould use food), so it was really just stories and a picnic craft, but it turned out very well. The program was advertised for one hour, ages 3-6, and we only had a dozen kids sign up, but at least ten extra came, and younger and older siblings came also.

Program Put Simply:
1. Read:
~ The Bike Lesson

2. Watch:
~ Berenstain Bears: Nothing to Do

3. Make:
~ Picnic Baskets

Detailed Program:
We set up a large display of Berenstain Bear books available for check-out after the program, and layed out a red and white checkerboard tablecloth on the floor for the kids to sit on. When the program started, we discussed riding bikes, and then read my favorite Berenstain Bears book (children love to see you try to re-enact Papa Bear's facial expressions), The Bike Lesson. After the book, we showed the 12-minute Berenstain Bears TV episode (I think someone told me it had been a TV show?) Nothing to Do from the DVD, The Berenstain Bears: Always Look on the Bright Side. Lastly, we made a picnic basket from paper bags from the grocery stores. Several people were telling me I would not be able to take a large number of the BIG paper bags from the stores, but I told the clerks at the store what I was doing and they said to take as many as I needed. The younger children got the smaller-sized paper bags that you can buy at craft stores or even Target to make mini-picnic baskets. To save on ink and paper, instead of using the "color photocopies of pictures of the Berenstain Bears" Sprout suggests, we just used lots of stickers and markers. At the end of the program, they got a Berenstain Bears coloring page to take home with them.

Daily Dose - Weekly Inspiration

Daily Dose was an idea I originally found on Good Golly Miss Holly's blog. It is not directly library-related but something any blog viewer could probably use once in a while. Once a week bloggers share images they feel are inspiring. What better of a day to do this than on Mondays to get us through the week? I've decided to limit myself to three pictures a week, or else I'd spend forever looking for perfect pictures. If you'd like to share too, just check out how to get started on her blog.

Resource (Website) - Scouting Web

http://www.scoutingweb.com/scoutingweb/index.htm


This website is an excellent resource for Girl Scouts and Girl Scout leaders. So why am I recommending this for a Youth Services librarian?
 
I was a Girl Scout for over 10 years. I earned the Gold Award, "graduated", and really missed scouting. Even during my younger years as a Girl Scout I always enjoyed pretending to be a troop leader and "helping" my friends "earn" Try-Its. So when I found out my neighbor's daughter was joining a Brownie troop, I just knew I had to help. I became cookie "mom" and co-leader of a Brownie troop of 13 first grade girls. I went to leader meetings and made connections with the ladies on the council (people who oversaw all Girl Scouts and activities in the county). Unfortunately when I was promoted from a part-time Shelver to a full-time Library Associate, I had to quit leading (meetings were when I worked), but I still kept in touch with the leader and one of the ladies on council.

I got the idea over the summer to do a camping program for the public that would also fulfill the badge requirements for several Brownie and Junior Girl Scout Try-Its/Badges. (You can read more about the camping program here.) I e-mailed my contact on the Girl Scout council, and she e-mailed all the Girl Scout leaders in the county for me. Because this program was during the summer (generally troops do not meet during the summer), not many Girl Scouts attended, but we still wound up filling the program with the public. One of the leaders who received the e-mail from council e-mailed me to ask me if I would be willing to do a program for another Try-It/Badge, Storm Ready. (You can read more about the storm program here.) Because we did this program during the school year, we filled this program with Girl Scout troops.

My point? Requirements for Girl Scout badges of any age provide great ideas for library programs. Also, if you can build contacts in your community with Girl Scout leaders, Scouts can be great (very well-behaved) statistics.

This is where Scouting Web comes in. Scouting Web is a resource website itself. They offer links to games and crafts for all ages. Best of all, they have links to the badge requirements for all ages so you don't have to buy a Girl Scout Handbook, but still access all the wonderful ideas for library programs.

Review (Audiobook) - The Spiderwick Chronicles Books 1-5 by Tony DiTerlizzi

"Three ordinary kids, Jared, Simon, and Mallory Grace have discovered another world--without leaving this one! Two remarkable talents, New York Times best-sellers Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, have risked everything to bring this remarkable account to light. Five books--one thrilling adventure -- the Spiderwick Chronicles!
Their world is closer than you think." (back cover)

It was interesting hearing an adventure/fantasy book read to you, and Luke...I mean Mark...wasn't monotone or anything - he put an effort into changing his voice for the different characters. Then again, readers who have an imagination while reading may voice characters in their heads anyway (I am not one of those people).

Pros: Hamill does a very entertaining Miss Piggy sounding voice for Hogsqueal the hobgoblin, and the "roof scene" when the hipogriff escapes and begins chasing Hogsqueal is equally entertaining to hear.

Cons: The way Hamill voiced the childrens' mother made her sound like an evil woman who hated and blamed her 9-year-old son [Jared] for all life's problems. His voice for Thimbletack reminds me of an old, whiny Dr. Seuss - potentially very annoying.

I do recommend the story, although this is a review solely on the audiobook-aspect. I picked up the hardcover version of this book after I finished the series on audiobook and noticed the lovely pictures, which almost made me wish I had read the book instead of listen to it; however, I don't have a lot of reading time on my hands, and I drive across the state several times a month, which is why I chose the audiobook version. Overall, I think it depends on whether you are a visual or auditory learner/person.

As to whether or not Hamill is a good audiobook narrator? I made it through the entire series - my coworker did not. I guess you'll just have to listen and decide for yourself.

A heads up, if you do choose to listen to this book, *most* of the [five] books end at the end of each CD, except for book five. Book five is on the end of disc four after the music that is typically played when the end of the CD is over and Thimbletack tells you to go on to the next CD for the next book.

Amazon recommends this [audio]book for ages 9-12.

My Rating:

Resource (Website) - I Love to Create

I stumbled across http://www.ilovetocreate.com/ in a Discovery Girls magazine, and with a URL like that, I had to check it out.

I Love to Create uses certain brands to make ADORABLE craft projects (see above). If you go into Product Search, you can view their craft projects by Brand, Consumer, Season, Theme, Technique Type, or even by Keywords you type in yourself. If you need more help than the written instructions they provide on the Projects pages, you can go to their Education page to watch how-to videos for select projects. You can search for stores the carry the craft materials used to make the projects, or they also allow you to buy certain products straight from their website. For further resources they have a page of sites they love. Lastly, they allow you to follow them through their personal blogs, and on most social networking sites, if you want to keep up with ideas that may not make it to the website, or exchange your own ideas with other craft junkies (though they also have message boards directly on their website).

I'm so glad I ran across this website and I can't wait to try some of these projects for myself and with my teens!