December 16, 2015January 8, 2016

Halloween Party for Toddlers!

I’m finally posting about Trick or Treat at the Library, our Halloween party for toddlers and preschoolers! It’s been going on for several years and was always aimed at very young children, but I got feedback this year that people avoided bringing babies/toddlers because they thought it would be a lot of candy! It’s no candy! And, really, it’s not Trick or Treating. So, changing the title for next year. Our community has another Halloween event for preschool through 5th grade, so we do something for the younger ones.

June 10, 2015June 3, 2015

Puppets for Non-Puppet-People

Puppets! They can be a fraught topic – I’ve heard a lot of librarians say that they’re just not puppet people and don’t feel comfortable using puppets. And to be honest, I kind of fall into that camp too. But early in my library career, I worked under a librarian who LOVES puppets. We did a big monthly puppet show, had a small kids’ puppet theater and big puppet theater for staff use always set up in the department, and had a truly impressive collection of puppets of all sizes.

Puppets for sale at the 2015 Kids First conference in Des Moines

June 3, 2015June 3, 2015

Flannel Friday: Going to the Beach with Props

At the beginning of May, I attended the “Kids First” conference, which is a fantastic conference for Iowa youth services librarians that happens every two years . It was hugely inspiring and refreshing to be surrounded by other children’s and teen librarians from around the state, and I left with so many ideas! It is such a perfect way to kick off such a busy season, and I can’t wait for 2017 to come so that I can go again.