Submitted by Sarah Brubaker
Check out these highlights from some of the unique offerings patrons enjoyed systemwide May 1–7, 2025.
Star Wars Celebration at the Cumming Library (5/1)
43 children, 33 adults
“Lots of families joined us for the fourth annual Star Wars family program! Cosplayers with the 501st/Rebel Legion joined us this year; R2-D2 and a Jawa absolutely delighted all the kids in attendance. The tiniest attendee was scared of the Jawa at first, but kept coming up to her again and again until she was dancing with the Jawa and having a blast. The R2-D2 was remote operated, and it was very amusing seeing all the dads flock around the operator, once they spotted him, to talk about the robotics. Craft stations included: a Chewbacca puppet, a cardboard tube Ewok, a Yoda ear headband, a custom R2 Droid, and a catapult. There was also a Jedi Obstacle Course, a coloring sheet table, and a Jawa droid scavenger hunt featuring famous droid characters, and of course, a Star Wars book table! Families did lots of crafting together, checked out items from our Star Wars collection, and had a great time!” - hosted by Kaity Bowers
43 children, 33 adults
“Lots of families joined us for the fourth annual Star Wars family program! Cosplayers with the 501st/Rebel Legion joined us this year; R2-D2 and a Jawa absolutely delighted all the kids in attendance. The tiniest attendee was scared of the Jawa at first, but kept coming up to her again and again until she was dancing with the Jawa and having a blast. The R2-D2 was remote operated, and it was very amusing seeing all the dads flock around the operator, once they spotted him, to talk about the robotics. Craft stations included: a Chewbacca puppet, a cardboard tube Ewok, a Yoda ear headband, a custom R2 Droid, and a catapult. There was also a Jedi Obstacle Course, a coloring sheet table, and a Jawa droid scavenger hunt featuring famous droid characters, and of course, a Star Wars book table! Families did lots of crafting together, checked out items from our Star Wars collection, and had a great time!” - hosted by Kaity Bowers
Bubble Play with Big Idea Bubbles at Hampton Park Library (5/2)
37 children, 31 adults
“We had a blast in Ready, Set, Preschool today! Families could choose to rotate through activity stations in the meeting room or head outside to the parking lot for some bubble play. Inside, I set out a craft, coloring sheets, counting activity sheets, do-a-dots, a few sensory bins, a literacy station, and the lava tiles. Since it was a hot morning, many of our patrons enjoyed the option to come back inside and cool off while exploring the indoor stations after some fun with the bubbles. Overall, it was a great morning and a fun way to send off our families as we begin preparing for Summer Reading Fun!” - hosted by Chase Truran
37 children, 31 adults
“We had a blast in Ready, Set, Preschool today! Families could choose to rotate through activity stations in the meeting room or head outside to the parking lot for some bubble play. Inside, I set out a craft, coloring sheets, counting activity sheets, do-a-dots, a few sensory bins, a literacy station, and the lava tiles. Since it was a hot morning, many of our patrons enjoyed the option to come back inside and cool off while exploring the indoor stations after some fun with the bubbles. Overall, it was a great morning and a fun way to send off our families as we begin preparing for Summer Reading Fun!” - hosted by Chase Truran
Art from the Heart: Color Our World at the Cumming Library (5/3)
15 children, 10 adults
“We had families join us this Saturday morning to create paintings together inspired by our summer theme, Color Our World! The families had so much fun creating together, and even kids and parents who were hesitant ended up participating and enjoyed creating something. We started with a painting tutorial, where I went over a few basics like how to handle the brush, background and foreground, and mixing paints. They started to sketch and get ideas before coming to the front for all the paint colors they would need. We had some absolutely beautiful finished artworks, and they will all be displayed in a gallery in the children's area all summer long! So sweet to see families working together, learning painting skills, and being proud of what they created!” - hosted by Kaity Bowers
15 children, 10 adults
“We had families join us this Saturday morning to create paintings together inspired by our summer theme, Color Our World! The families had so much fun creating together, and even kids and parents who were hesitant ended up participating and enjoyed creating something. We started with a painting tutorial, where I went over a few basics like how to handle the brush, background and foreground, and mixing paints. They started to sketch and get ideas before coming to the front for all the paint colors they would need. We had some absolutely beautiful finished artworks, and they will all be displayed in a gallery in the children's area all summer long! So sweet to see families working together, learning painting skills, and being proud of what they created!” - hosted by Kaity Bowers
Book Bricks with Lara MacLean at Post Road Library (5/3)
10 adults
“Ten creative patrons came to our Lara MacLean program today about painting a brick to look like a book cover. Lara had the bricks primed and provided indoor/outdoor paint, and the patrons were tasked with recreating a book cover onto their brick. The patrons really enjoyed this project. One of our regulars at craft programs said it is her favorite project she has done at the library.” - hosted by Melissa Reed
10 adults
“Ten creative patrons came to our Lara MacLean program today about painting a brick to look like a book cover. Lara had the bricks primed and provided indoor/outdoor paint, and the patrons were tasked with recreating a book cover onto their brick. The patrons really enjoyed this project. One of our regulars at craft programs said it is her favorite project she has done at the library.” - hosted by Melissa Reed
Forsyth Creates: Dot Painting at Denmark Library (5/6)
21 adults, 2 children
“This month's craft was Aboriginal-inspired dot paintings. I opened the program with a brief overview of the history of Aboriginal Australian art and some modern examples. The artists used the ends of paint brushes and/or cotton swabs to dot their canvas with paint, conveying a story or message through the painting. Towards the end when everyone was finishing up, they started walking around admiring each other's work and engaging in conversations. It was great to see the interactions between everyone, and the active adult group provided some humor as they walked around, joking with everyone. As I was walking around, I heard one of the teachers promoting our SRF to the other teachers. She did a great job of conveying the information and I jumped in to advertise the adult side of SRF and they were excited to hear it was an option for them as well as the kids.” - hosted by Jessica Dillard
21 adults, 2 children
“This month's craft was Aboriginal-inspired dot paintings. I opened the program with a brief overview of the history of Aboriginal Australian art and some modern examples. The artists used the ends of paint brushes and/or cotton swabs to dot their canvas with paint, conveying a story or message through the painting. Towards the end when everyone was finishing up, they started walking around admiring each other's work and engaging in conversations. It was great to see the interactions between everyone, and the active adult group provided some humor as they walked around, joking with everyone. As I was walking around, I heard one of the teachers promoting our SRF to the other teachers. She did a great job of conveying the information and I jumped in to advertise the adult side of SRF and they were excited to hear it was an option for them as well as the kids.” - hosted by Jessica Dillard
The Japanese Art of Kintsugi at Post Road Library (5/7)
13 adults
“I opened with a short presentation on the history of the Japanese art of Kintsugi. I talked about how it was based on the art of Wabi-sabi, the idea that broken things can be made beautiful. I gave instructions on how to carefully put the broken bowls back together and decorate them. The patrons compared the process to a puzzle as they tried to fit the broken pieces together. After all of the parts had been glued, the participants then began to paint the cracks gold. Each patron had a different technique and style, and there were many compliments given to each other. Many patrons expressed enthusiasm about the program, stating that they would like to try it again either as a program or at home. As the program came to a close, the patrons showed off their fixed and decorated bowls before taking them with them.” - hosted by Erica Emling
13 adults
“I opened with a short presentation on the history of the Japanese art of Kintsugi. I talked about how it was based on the art of Wabi-sabi, the idea that broken things can be made beautiful. I gave instructions on how to carefully put the broken bowls back together and decorate them. The patrons compared the process to a puzzle as they tried to fit the broken pieces together. After all of the parts had been glued, the participants then began to paint the cracks gold. Each patron had a different technique and style, and there were many compliments given to each other. Many patrons expressed enthusiasm about the program, stating that they would like to try it again either as a program or at home. As the program came to a close, the patrons showed off their fixed and decorated bowls before taking them with them.” - hosted by Erica Emling
No comments:
Post a Comment