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Sunday, December 30, 2012

25 mini-adventures in the library


We spend many afternoons at our neighborhood library. At one point our time switched from going to find particular books, to just hanging out.

For hours.

Reading, exploring, asking questions, sharing, talking....

I wanted to share a quick list of fun things you can do at the library other than just check out books. Any of these ideas would be a great boredom buster. Just tell your kid you have an adventure in mind and embrace the mission with verve. You will have a great time!

Please share the interesting, fun or just odd things your family does at the library in the comments!

You can download a copy to keep in your purse or journal here.

1. Look at microfilm from your birthday, or a hundred years ago, or when grandma was born.

2. Look for the biggest book in the library. Take your picture with it.


3. Browse the travel section, find a place you want to visit, make some plans.


4. Go to the cookbook area, choose a recipe, go the store, get the ingredients and cook it that day.


5. Everyone find a poem, read it out loud and then copy it into your journal.


6. Choose a random CD, listen to it all the way through.


7. Kind Bomb


8. Scan the books of quotes. Find a good one and write it outside on the sidewalk with chalk.


9. Bring paper and colored pencils. Draw from the easy I-Can-Draw-Books for an hour.


10. Take a present to the librarians.


11. Leave a thoughtful review on a post-it note in a book you really loved.


12. Find out what services your library offers. Ellison machine? Study prints? Study rooms?


13. Occupy! Have a meeting, writer’s group, books club, homeschool co op, adventure planning committee at the library.


14. Make photocopies of your hand, funny book titles, weird images....


15. Make a list of suggested books and media for your library to buy. Make the library YOUR library.


16. Arrange a library tour.


17. Browse books on the flora and fauna of your area. Learn to identify something new.


18. Check out the corresponding children’s or adult section to your favorite area (reptiles, art, mystery...)


19. Ask about the special collections.


20. Read a biography from the children’s sections on someone you know very little about.(I choose Justin Beiber).


21. Find a baby name book, make a list of funny name combinations, choose a new name for the day.


22. Hunt for authors with your same last name.


23. Look in the reference section. What is the weirdest reference book you can find?


24. Buy old magazines, cut them up and make happy posters, rehang in the library.


25. Make sure each kid has their own library card and bag. Do not fuss about late fees. Ever.

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30 comments:

  1. LOVE these ideas! I plan to use some with my students as well. Thanks so much!

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    1. thanks! i would love to hear how they work out!

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  2. Wonderful ideas. Love this, "make the library YOUR library". Thank you for sharing.

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  3. this is brilliant thanks so much! And your course sounds unbelievably cool. I might consider doing it. I run an online experimental art course - it sounds similar to yours except the experiments are all about art. I wish had more time and a 10 year old that liked doing what I like doing! I will be back to visit here some more.

    Have a wonderful new year :)

    Amelia.x
    (via inside out)

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    1. your site looks amazing! i would love to sit down and talk with you! next time i am in london!

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  4. Speaking from the Librarian side of the desk. I LOVE this list.

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    1. thank you! i am glad it is approved :)

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  5. Speaking from the Librarian side of the desk, I LOVE this list.

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  6. Thanks so much for linking this up to The Children's Bookshelf. I'm tweeting, sharing, etc. It's great.

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  7. As a public librarian and a homeschooling mom, I LOVE these ideas!!!

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  8. I like this list! I wouldn't suggest photocopying your hands though. Hands leave oily prints on the copier bed, which somebody has to come clean up.

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  9. I run a small, in-home preschool. We live on a bus line and frequent our library. I think we'll start with the cook book suggestion. Love it!! Thank you, Emily

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  10. Great suggestions! I loved these ideas and want to share them with my library customers. Great blog btw!

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  11. I am a Children's Librarian, and I am going to print this list up (giving credit to you of course!) and put it up in my Kid's Room! The only idea I don't like is the Kind Bombs. Pieces of paper fall out of books all the time and make a mess on the floor! I am forever picking up and throwing away all kinds of "bookmarks". Another suggestion would be to have a poster with "Kid's Kindness Komments" (or another such idea) for kids to write and post their kind bombs. Nancy Brewer Ledyard Public Libraries

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  12. I am a mom, blogger (islacunninghambooks.blogspot.com), children's book writer and I ADORE this list!! I just shared a link to your blog on my facebook page (www.facebook.com/islabooks)! Thank you for the great ideas!! I remember playing at my dad's office as a kid and we had so much fun photo-copying our hands. The copies would be cute keepsakes of their little hands, too. We'll just make sure to wash them first (in response to the comment above). ;)

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  13. Wonderful post. I'd love to use it with your image for my ABCs of Thrifty Teaching Tools.

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  14. Great post. i translated it (most of it...we don't have everthing) in Dutch for our library :-)
    I've got one other great thing you can do: make poems of booktitles. i don't know how they are called in English. you select booktitels, make a pile and it's a poem

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    1. I see them usually just called "book title poems." I want us to have a contest at our library, to encourage people to create them.

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  15. What a great list! I just shared it to my library facebook https://www.facebook.com/ValleyPlazaLibrary

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  16. This list is fantastic! I will be sharing it on my library's facebook page as well - I hope you don't mind!

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  17. A librarian here saying "Thank you" for all the great ideas. I hope lots of families take you up on these suggestions. If they do, I'll probably recognize them. "Hi. What's a fauna and where can we find books about them?" :-)

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  18. Really nice intro for fine PR projects - as well as getting folks to know what's in and what can be found!

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  19. This is amazing! Can I share it with my fourth grade parents? Great ideas for spring break fun.

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    1. Yes - I love that idea!

      Just put a little mention with my blog so people can check it out if they want.

      Thanks!

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  20. LOVE THIS!!! And as a Librarian, I especially appreciate #10 and #25!!!

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  21. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! This middle school media specialist will totally be taking advantage of some of these! Thank you!

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  22. Just saw this on pinterest. I love the one about finding the weirdest reference book. My 10 yr old will love that!

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  23. I like to look at anything posted on their boards regarding upcoming community events or resources. They always lead to more mini adventures.

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  24. We had a great time in the historical documents room looking up our neighborhood and finding our house and the homes of nearby friends. I also love old photographs of our town and delight in finding those relevant to my profession, my daughter's school, or landmarks we know. In another section, reference, I love the big 'picture books' of architecture and art, I like to chose my favorite building or garden in big cities I have not yet visited. Thanks, Amy for the inspiration for more library adventures!

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  25. Definitely using this tomorrow when I take 4 kiddos to a brand new library! So excited!!!

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