Laura Carpenter
A Children's Librarian's 12-Month Programming Plan
December 3rd, 2020
​
*This is a hypothetical program, used as examples.
Welcome!
Previous Crafts:
Here are some fun previous craft projects that I've created in public library children's departments:
Make-and-Take Bookmarks:
Materials:
-Heavy, white, cardstock.
-Black Sharpie pen
-Scissors
-Markers/crayons/colored pencils
-Decorative mugs
-Signage
-Quotes to reference
​
-I outlined 3 book marks onto the card stock.
-Then I hand-lettered three quotes about reading/books onto the bookmarks, leaving lots of white space to be colored in.
-I put the heavy cardstock in the printer/scanner, and used the sheet with my drawings on it to scan lots of copies.
-I cut them all out.
-Then, in the center of large tables throughout the library, I placed:
-Decorative mugs filled with stacks of the bookmarks
-Other mugs full of markers, crayons, or colored pencils
-A free-standing plexi sign-holder, announcing the make-and-take craft and to please help yourselves.
Paper Fortune-Teller:
I paired this craft with an all-ages storytime with books featuring the night sky and constellations.
​
Materials:
-Black construction paper
-Gold and silver paint pens
-White mailing labels/stickers
-Ink pen
-Star stickers
​
-I made a paper fortune teller (instructions) with the black paper.
-Inside, I used the mailing labels to create a white space to write on.
-On each label I wrote a cheesy joke and it's answer.
-The kids loved these and I left one on my desk at all times, using it to be silly and cheer kids up/start a conversation if they looked down.
Mini Story Board:
I paired this craft with an all-ages storytime featuring picture books about otters.
​
Materials:
-Cardstock
-Construction paper
-White computer paper
-Crayons
-Pencils
-Felt
-Glue
-Scissors
​
-I glued a piece of construction paper onto a slightly larger piece of cardstock.
-Fold them in half.
-I encouraged kids to draw and color some characters or animals (I offered help with this if needed) on the white paper
-We cut out the characters
-They drew a background scene on each side of the folder paper, so they would have 2 scenes.
-We glued small squares of felt in places in the scenes, and small squares of felt onto the back of their characters.
-Now they have a story board/can play with the characters and placements.
Animal Tile Wall Art:
Materials:
-Cardboard squares
-Fun-print papers
-Markers
-Glue
-Scissors
​
-Using a large collection of fun, animal-print, papers, we drew silly animals (I helped with this), and shirts, hats, etc. for the animals.
-We then cut them all out.
-We glued them to the cardboard squares
-Decorate the background with markers.
​
Collage - Monster!
I paired this craft with a Halloween storytime for ages 6 and up. We made collage-monsters.
​
Materials:
-Cardstock (any color)
-Collage materials (foam shapes, feathers, buttons, tissue paper, pipe cleaners, etc.)
-Glue
-Eyeball stickers
​
-We glued the variety of materials onto the cardstock in the shape of silly, goofy, monsters.
Foam Square Craft:
I paired this craft with an all-ages storytime featuring picture books about emotions and colors.
​
Materials:
-Foam sheets (I cut them in half)
-Construction paper
-Glue
-Puffballs
-Eyeball stickers
​
-I drew a collection of bottles and jars on construction paper beforehand and cut them out
-Kids made the bottles contain different colors of puffballs, or combinations of colors
-The foam added a fun texture to the craft
