Star Wars Reads Day

On October 11, we hosted Star Wars Reads Day at my library.  This is the third year of this nationwide event, and the third year we've participated in it.  Along with book stores and other libraries, we planned a fun day celebrating all things Star Wars and reading!  It was open to all ages, and we encouraged families to attend together and dress up in costumes.  The officially licensed publishing partners put together an event kit that can be downloaded from the Star Wars website.  You can also sign-up for email newsletters that give you chances to send away for free things (what librarian doesn't love swag?) to give away at your event and enter drawings for free books.  The Star Wars website also has a lot of coloring sheet and activity sheets, which are great passive activities to add to your program.

Offering giveaways and reproducible activities makes planning an event like this completely doable for any size library.  I've also used The Star Wars Craft Book by Bonnie Burton, The Star Wars Party Book by Mikyla Bruder, and The Star Wars Cook Book by Robin Davis for ideas (all available in my library system).  Every year I plan different crafts and activities to keep it fun.  If you're interested in what I've done in past years, please let me know.  Here is what we did this year.

Star Wars Photo Booth

I just can't be serious. Jedi training failed!

One thing we've offered for the past two years is a Star Wars Photo Booth.  It is super popular!  My colleague Scott sets up a green screen and using fancy photography equipment and props, he creates awesome pictures that we post on our Facebook page.  (For example, see above picture.  No, I didn't really travel to a galaxy far, far, away.  I know you were wondering.  The beauty of green screen technology.)

Pretzel Lightsabers

You'll need:

Crock-Pot
Baking sheet
Waxed paper
Pretzel bags (plastic)
Pretzel rods
Melting chocolate (I recommend Almond Bark)
Sprinkles

This is a simple "craft" that fits in well with many library programs (we've made these for our Harry Potter Party and called them wands).  Melt the chocolate in the Crock-Pot.  You can make these for the kids and have them packaged and ready to grab, or help the kids dip their "lightsaber" into the chocolate and cover it with sprinkles.  Either way, it's a fun activity!

Pool Noodle Lightsabers

You'll need:

Pool Noodles
Duct Tape
1/2-inch Black Paper Tape

I wanted to make these at last year's event, but couldn't.  I don't know if you know this, but it's very hard to find pool noodles in October in Central New York.  Thankfully, I planned ahead this year and bought these babies in June at the Dollar Tree.  I purchased 13 pool noodles; 10 were cut in half and three were cut into thirds for the young Padawans.   This was the most popular craft, as kids got to promptly engage in a lightsaber battle.

Star Wars Figurines

You'll need:

Perler Beads (we bought two buckets of assorted colors)
Peg Boards
Waxed paper
Iron and ironing board

This summer, I rediscovered the joy of Perler Beads.  And you know what, kids love them too.  They are an investment, but we've used these at our Minecraft Party and our Summer Reading Finale Party and I plan on using them at future programs, so I'm getting my money's worth.  I printed out Star Wars patterns that I found online.  Kids created their design on the peg board, brought it over to me, and I ironed it to fuse the beads together.  If you've never tried Perler Beads, you must!

Yoda Ears

You'll need:

Green construction paper
Stapler or tape

I borrowed this idea from Nerd Craft Librarian.  I drew a Yoda-like ear shape, and traced this out on green paper.  I also cut out strips of green paper.  All kids had to do was staple the paper strips together, fit it to their head, and affix the ears and decorate them.  A cute and easy craft, perfect for all ages.

R2-D2 Paper Craft

You'll need:

White cardstock
Gray construction paper
Black construction paper
Blue painter's tape
Glue sticks
Scissors

I borrowed this idea from Tip Junkie.  The website said they had a printable template, but I couldn't find it.  I ended up copying the image into Publisher and manipulating the size until it was big enough to print.  I then photocopied that onto cardstock.  Using a circle cutter, I cut out gray and black circles.  Kids cut their robot out, taped on blue tape pieces and glued the circles and square to look like R2-D2.

Origami Jabba

You'll need:

Paper
Instructions

If you've never heard of the Origami Yoda book series by Tom Angleberger, you're missing out!  This book series is perfect for Star Wars Reads Day.  The website offers printable instructions on how to fold Yoda, Darth Paper and the other characters.  My colleague's son Lucas was my helper for the day, and he was in charge of "Origami Training."  He provided lessons in folding Jabba and gave participants instructions to take home with them.

We also had a book display of Star Wars books, since this event does celebrate reading!  And we had a snack table with Yoda Soda, Wookiee Cookies, and Dark Side Dip and Chips.  The possibilities are endless.  I hope this encourages you to participate in Star Wars Reads Day next year, or just have a Star Wars Party at your library.  May the books be with you!

Giveaways. Who doesn't love free swag?

Book display of Star Wars books

Rocking my Darth Vader Read a Book t-shirt and visiting the Pretzel Lightsaber table...again. Don't judge.

Pancake Party

Funfetti Pancakes!

I held a Pancake Party this past Tuesday for ages 2 and up at our library.  Appropriately, it was the same day as Shrove Tuesday (or Pancake Day as it's more widely known).  The game plan was to have a storytime, craft, and then eat pancakes.  If you think making pancakes in the library sounds daunting, it really isn't.  As long as you have someone helping you with this program, it is completely doable, easy, and fun!  Here is what we did:

BOOK:  If You Give a Pig a Pancake by Laura Numeroff

FLANNEL BOARD SONG:  "Flip-Flap Jack"

This is a perfect song for a pancake or food-themed storytime.  The song lyrics and pattern are in Ready-To-Go Storytimes: Fingerplays, Scripts, Patterns, Music, and More by Gail Benton.  The children LOVE to help me out by putting felt pieces on the board, so before I started this song, I asked if anyone wanted to be my helper.  Since this song has a lot of felt pieces, I had enough for everyone.  This is a great way to make flannel board songs or rhymes more interactive.  This can be sung to the tune of "Aiken Drum," but honestly, I can never remember that tune, so I just chant the rhyme.

BOOK:  Hey, Pancakes! by Tamson Weston; illustrated by Stephen Gammell

SONG:  "I Know a Chicken" by Laurie Berkner from the album Whaddaya Think of That? 

This goes along with the "breakfast" theme and my storytime kids love using the shaky eggs.

BOOK:  Pancakes, Pancakes! by Eric Carle

CRAFT:  Paper Pancakes

We cut out circles from brown construction paper, as well as bacon and eggs from felt scraps.  Children each got a paper plate and were encouraged to put on their plate the foods they'd like to eat for breakfast.  We had blue and red circle stickers to represents blueberries and raspberries, as well as yarn to mimic maple syrup.  This is an easy craft to do with toddlers as long as you have the pieces cut out ahead of time.

FOOD:  Pancakes

Making and serving pancakes in the library sounds crazy, right?  It's actually pretty easy, but you do need to plan ahead.  I brought some supplies from home and borrowed others from staff members.  One way to keep costs down is to purchase pancake mix that only requires water to mix-in.  Granted, the pancakes aren't as fluffy as the ones made with a mix that requires milk and eggs, but depending on your budget and how much help you'll have, sometimes the easy way is the best.  Here is what you'll need to make pancakes at the library:

1.  Pancake Mix (1 box was enough for 15 toddlers; for older children, purchase 2 boxes - they eat a lot!)

2.  Maple Syrup

3.  Butter

4.  Mix-ins (chocolate chips, blueberries, etc.)  I used rainbow sprinkles and make "funfetti" pancakes.

5.  Other toppings (bananas, strawberries, marshmallows, whipped cream, etc.)

6.  Orange Juice

7.  2 Electric griddles (brought from home and borrowed from staff)

8.  Non-stick cooking spray (brought from home)

9.  Mixing bowls (brought from home)

10.  Dry measuring cups (brought from home)

11.  Liquid measuring cups

12.  Whisks (brought from home)

13.  Spatulas (brought from home)

14.  Plates, cups, napkins, forks and knives

I mixed the pancake batter ahead of time.  I had one long table set up with the griddles, pancake mix, spray and spatulas.  We set up a second table with the tableware, toppings and juice.  I manned (guarded) the griddles and make various pancakes (funfetti and chocolate chip).  Once pancakes were cooked, we put them on a plate and transferred them to the second table so kids and parents could help themselves.  I kept cooking until all the batter was gone and everyone's tummy was happy and full!