I like to put out various centers in our Activity Room to keep it fresh. They aren't out all of the time. I saw this idea somewhere (don't remember where) and created my own.
I made a heart shape in Microsoft Publisher and added "I love my library because..." I printed the shape onto pink paper and cut them out. Kids are encouraged to add what they want and put them in the mailbox.
I am a big proponent of signage for our centers so parents can see what we are doing. After all, we're not just putting these hearts out to fill time.
If the Valentine's are legible, I hang them up above the center. As always with a station like this, you will get a stack of scribbles. They are still working on their writing skills, but I am not going to display them.
As an added bonus, these are great P.R. for your library. I have a feeling that many of these will be posted on our Twitter page for fun over the next week.
With my new job this fall, I inherited an activity room. I have been working on new ways to promote early literacy and learning. Yesterday I put out a game that my nieces and I really liked to play last year-Roll a Gingerbread Man.
To make your own, start with a shape (in this case a gingerbread man) and add numbers to his body. You are also welcome to steal mine. I made six different gingerbread men so kids will hopefully be playing with different gameboards. I found a giant rubber dice by the register at Lakeshore Learning (not sold online) that we use to roll. I also put out a sign with rules.
Since putting it out yesterday, there have been many children playing the game with their caregivers. We have gotten compliments that it was fun to do something a little different. I like this game because it is relatively simple to put together. It is even something that a parent can recreate at home! It also isn't limited to this holiday season. You can use hearts, eggs, sunshines, or many other fun shapes. If you would rather use letters, it would be easy to add letter stickers over the numbers on the sides of the die.
