I Dig Hidden Treasures!

This week we are scouring the seven seas looking for buried treasure!  Stop by the Do It Yourself table behind the children's computers to an activity anytime you are at the library!

• Find "treasures" in the discovery bottles

•  Pirate joke and crossword puzzle

• Do the Pirate Scavenger Hunt (and win a prize!)

Lunchbox Storytime

Tonight I read outside to six families while they ate their picnic meals.  Thankfully it wasn't too hot in the shade!  Here are the books I shared with them tonight:

Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs
by Mo Willem

How Martha Saved Her Parents from Green Beans
by David LaRochelle

There was an Old Pirate who Swallowed a Fish
by Jennifer Ward

The families were great with joining in on the last two lines..."Yo, ho, ho! Watch his belly grow!"

Park and Read--Two Springs Park

Tonight we visited Two Springs Park in southeast Bellevue for another edition of our Park and Read!  We had a nice crowd out in wonderful summertime weather!  Our library director even came!!

Here are the books we shared:

Our next Park and Read is Wednesday, June 19th at Pawnee School (7310 S. 48th St.)

Legos Outreach

Tuesday I visited Birchcrest Elementary and presented a Lego Challenge for Mrs. Scott's 3rd & 4th grade summer school class.  Their summer school class has been focusing on being creative, problem solving, and "thinking outside the box", so this mini Lego challenge fit right into their learning!

After encouraging the students to visit the library and participate in the summer reading program we divided the class into three groups and rotated between the three different challenges (each lasting about 15 minutes).

Challenge 1:  Same Pieces
All the children had the same number and size of pieces to use to make a Lego creation.  It was fun to see the different creations using the exact same pieces!

Challenge 2:  Random Pieces
Each child got a 1 cup scoop of Lego bricks in a bowl.  The challenge was to use all the pieces in a Lego creation--without trading pieces or getting more.

Challenge 3:  Tallest Free-Standing Structure
The students had a great time working on building a sturdy, tall tower.  They could build it together or individually, usually the group of children broke into two smaller groups.  It was awesome to see them working together!

The last 30 minutes was for "free play"--many of the children continued working on their free-standing towers.

Thanks for inviting me to your classroom Mrs. Scott!!  You have a great group of creative kids!!

I Dig Gardening!

This week's theme for the summer reading program is "I Dig Gardening!"  So our Do It Yourself Table has three different activities involving the garden!

Play Garden Memory

Do the garden word search

Make a "Tops and Bottoms" craft

Remember to stop by the library any time this week to participate!

Park and Read/Lunchbox Storytime

Each Monday during the summer reading program we have an outdoor storytime, which we have been doing for years and still draws lots of families!  This year we had to move our noon "picnic storytime" to a nearby park because our shade tree was dying...and was taken out.  The evening event is held on the library lawn (using a different shade tree) and is a repeat of the noon storytime.

Mrs. B and I read aloud several books and draw names for prizes (every child receives a prize) while the patron eat their packed meal (they bring their own blankets to sit on).  Our prizes consist of items that have been donated, books, and things we picked up at Nobbies or Target.  We also give away some of the Upstart SRP promotional items.

Here are the books we read today:

Kitchen Chemistry reported in Omaha World Herald

BELLEVUE PUBLIC LIBRARY

Kids stir up learning, edible slime at 'Kitchen Chemistry'

By Lizzie Johnson / World-Herald staff writer

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Jaysie Lewis' two favorite colors are blue and hot pink.

So when it came time for the 11-year-old to pick a color for her slimy bowl of puffy paint, it was a tossup. After deliberating, she selected blue food coloring.

“It looks so cool,” Jaysie said, mixing the viscous substance with her hands, her fingers turning blue. “But I'm definitely not going to eat this.”

Puffy paint was just one hands-on activity Saturday at the Bellevue Public Library's “Kitchen Chemistry.''

Participants could also make edible slime, homemade root beer, Jell-O worms, elephant toothpaste and artwork. The event was for students in fifth through eighth grades and part of the library's summer reading program.

Tammy Henry, the children's librarian assistant “crazy enough to run this,” said the event took about a month to plan.

“Everything is edible,” Henry said. “But it might not all taste good. There was a day we tried all the recipes to make sure they would work.”

The event encouraged scientific curiosity and a hands-on approach for children who may be stuck between programs aimed at either older or younger students.

“I have a question,” Henry asked a group of students. “Why does the puffy paint expand in the microwave?”

The answer: baking powder.

Emily Mettlen's eyes widened as she absorbed the information. This was the first library-sponsored event for the 10-year-old.

“I think it's actually pretty cool,” Emily said. “You can actually turn basic science into making stuff. I like to bake, and I definitely like to eat. This combines both.”

Original article