Cool Stuff-Roll Paper and Craft Cups

I was setting up for my recent Toddler Crafts program and realized that we were using some materials that every children's librarian should know about.  I am a big fan of things that make our jobs easier.

My first cool thing is giant butcher paper on a roll.  We buy ours through Discount School Supply and we use it for almost all of our programs.  Our biggest use for it is as a table cover.  We put it down before the program and roll it up afterwards (as long as it isn't too gunky) so we can reuse it.  Since paper is down on the tables, we tell kids that it is okay to write on it if they finish their crafts early.  Kids will draw pictures, practice writing their names, and play Tic Tac Toe (big winner!).  Butcher paper is also a great mural background.  Anytime you need a quick activity, you can tear off a piece of paper and have kids decorate it.  They are fascinated by the large size of their canvas.  Our roll of butcher paper lasts 4-5 years so it isn't something that you have to constantly replace.  It is definitely worth the investment.

Have you ever used Craft Cups?  We used to use foam cups, but sometimes they are too tall for little hands to reach in, grab an item, and be able to pull it back out again.  These are relatively sturdy and are perfect for sorting or holding small amounts of materials.  They can even hold paint or glue for a one-time project.

You can spread them out or stack them up to keep them together.  These are also sturdy enough that they will last through multiple programs so you can stack them up and use them again.


What are your favorite things to use?

Dino Collages

Let me start off by saying that I love to do collage programs.  They are relatively inexpensive to do and you get some great results.  I like that the kids can be creative and they always surprise me with their ideas.  With this program, we registered 36 4-8 year olds. 

Materials Used
We bought the Colorations Colorful Collage Kit 5 years ago from Discount School Supply.  While it looks expensive, you will use it for years.  Every time we run a collage program, I do buy something new to refresh it.  This year I added fat yarn pieces in different colors and shiny star stickers.

You will also want some sort of base for your collage.  I have used cardstock, paper plates, and various figures.  Discount School Supply sells some that are already sticky.  Lakeshore Learning sells some where you need glue (unfortunately you won't find them on the web site).  This year I found dinosaur shapes at Lakeshore Learning.  Each pack of 24 came with 4 different dinosaur shapes.

You will also want glue.  Due to the number of people in our program, we pulled out all of our glue sticks and regular white glue.  We also got some new glue gel that is awesome.  I found ours at Discount School Supply and Office Depot.  When back-to-school sales start in the fall, we will be stocking up on this as it doesn't run and it dries clear.

I also pull out our child scissors.  With the size of the boards, it is fun to cut the pieces to fit, whether they be feathers, foam stickers, or yarn.

Set-Up
We set up 1 long table at the front of the room for all of the supplies.  The kids pick up their collage shape, a paper plate, then pick out what they want to add to it.  All of our supplies are on trays or in bins along the table.  They take their pile to another table to work on their collage.  These tables have the glue and scissors scattered along them.  They are also covered in brown craft paper to avoid messes on the tables.

The Program
While we say the program is 1 hour, some kids are done in 5 minutes and some take the whole hour.  It all depends on the kids and their creations.  This is also a great program to stagger registration times if you want to fit in a lot of kids as those who finish in 5 minutes will clear out pretty quickly.

Flannel Color Books

I have a 4 month old niece and nephew and this year for Christmas I decided to make them flannel color books based on this idea.  If you are going to do something like this, don't start December 1st.

The letters are all made from the Cricut Birthday Bash cartridge.  They are 1 1/2 inches tall.  Most of the shapes are various AccuCut dies and Cricut shapes that I had floating around.  The felt shapes were glued to the felt (use small dots to adhere if you are going to sew too).  To outline the shapes, I used a blanket stitch.  The book is bound together with 1 inch binder rings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The purple one is my favorite because the wings actually flap!

 

 

 

If you decide to make one on your own, expect to spend 2-3 hours on each page.  These take a lot of time to put together, but the giftee will love them!



 

 

 

 

Stickers in the Library

The problem-I work at a busy suburban library location with one reference desk.  One summer, it seemed that we were constantly in the children's room picking up puppets, books, etc.  While this needed to be done, if we spent all of our time cleaning, it took away from other duties, such as planning for programs and ordering books.

Our solution-we bought a bunch of stickers through Smilemakers when they were on sale.  Then, we hung signs in the children's room that ask kids (and parents) to pick up the puppets and books when they were done playing with them.  We tell them if they clean up, then they should stop by the reference desk to pick out a sticker for helping.

The result-I was pleasantly surprised at how well this worked.  We now have a steady stream of kids (usually ages 2-6 years) coming up to the reference desk to ask for their stickers.  Staff still has to pick up the children's room, but nowhere near as much as that one summer.  As an added bonus, staff get to interact with kids who don't normally come up to the reference desk and the kids learn how to talk to adults and ask for what they want.  It has turned into a good in-house p.r. move.

Cool Stuff-Magnet Tape

I was shopping in Lakeshore Learning last year and found the coolest thing!  Have you seen Magnet Tape by Dowling Magnets?  This magnet tape is thin, similar to Scotch tape, and is great for just about anything in the library.  I put it on the back of magnet board pieces, signs, and decorations.  I never used to like magnets as mine always fell off and seemed thick.  Magnet Tape has become a part of my "must have" supplies.