By Jan Pease
This week brings our summer programs to an end. I can’t believe it! In some ways, June 5th, our start
date, seems like ages ago. But the summer has gone so fast, that at times June
5th seems like yesterday.
On Wednesdays we offered a program for students in grades
K-5. We called it “Wonderful
Wednesdays.” We collaborated with Meeker County Extension
Service so on four Wednesdays we had
“Fun with 4H.”. Two young,
energetic folks who work with 4H came and had two hours of fun with our young
people. The kids learned a lot and had a
really good time. The extension workers presented four of these short day camps
on Wednesdays in June and July. On those
Wednesdays that the Extension workers didn’t come, I filled in for them.
Since our summer
theme is “Reading by Design,” and Michael Hall visited the library in
June, we used his books, “My Heart is a
Zoo” and “It’s an Orange Aardvark” to explore using various shapes to make
pictures. It was interesting to create
pictures using hearts, squares, rectangles and other shapes.
We also learned about Zen Doodling, in which small
sections of a picture are filled in with different patterns and colors.
Our next “unit” involved unfolding geometric shapes to
make a “net,” and I’m happy to say I finally get it. Back in the day, I missed
every single question on standardized tests that involved unfolding any kind of
shape. (I’ve always known I have
absolutely no spatial sense.) Anyway, we
built shapes out of paper and then used translucent plastic magnetic shapes to
make amazing buildings and structures.
For the last two weeks we talked about what shapes are
the strongest and built shapes out of card catalog cards that would hold up a
small toy locomotive. In case you’re
curious, triangles seemed to hold the most weight. We also used straws and connectors to
construct large things like a wall with a tower taller than I can reach, a “thing”
made up of curves fastened together, and a rocket that was several feet
high.
We also loved to play bingo. I learned that bingo is great for developing
concentration and number recognition. It’s
also a lot of fun.
It’s challenging for me to face a group of elementary
students, since I concentrate more on children through age five. But I’ve completely enjoyed this summer of
“Wonderful Wednesdays.”
The final library program for young children will be
Second Saturday Story Time, Saturday, August 12, at 10:00. Beginner Book Club will meet at its usual
time, Thursday, August 17, at 3:00. Our
book will be “The Adventures of Nanny Piggins,” by R.A. Splatt. Brick Heads
will continue on Thursday nights at 6:30.
Readers can turn
in reading game sheets through August 31. It’s been a splendid summer, and
we’re ready for a fantastic fall.
