Seeing Things

 

Blue bites,

 

stacks of wonder,

 

paper cuts,

 

Color across pages through afternoon rain and thunder.

 

Growing kit.

 

Just when you think no one is looking...

 

while the walls are vibrating. Harmony, melody, two by two.

 

You look over your shoulder and can't recognize what's behind you.

It's been a hectic fall thus far. At the library, at home, and all around. I feel as though I've been caught in a storm the past month or so, but can finally see it breaking on the horizon. Other than the sleep I've been missing, I've also missed being here. Writing here. It's been a natural part of my schedule for over two years now and when I don't make the time for it, the effect is similar to when I don't get my cup of coffee in the morning. It's not a good situation. For me, or for anyone in close proximity.

I first started writing this post four weeks ago and already so much has changed. L even looks so much different than the pictures above. I was going to scrap it, but decided against it. I thought you might like to give it a read regardless. For those of you who visit frequently, thank you for your patience in my absence. And if you're here for the first time, thank you for visiting. Have some tea and enjoy your stay. I'm back and there's a lot coming your way!

Read Across Lawrence for Kids Recap

The crickets were a chirpin' over here at Sturdy for Common Things over the past month. Not much posting going on, but it was a necessary sacrifice-- I promise! I'm back and would like to share with you one of the main reasons blogging took a backseat...

For the month of September, I spearheaded the launch of a community-wide reading program for young readers called Read Across Lawrence for Kids (I mentioned it here back in August) at the Lawrence Public Library. Area readers 8 & up "got on the same page" by reading the same book at the same time, and also by participating in exciting events themed around the book. The featured title was the critically acclaimed middle grade bohemian fantasy, The Cabinet of Wonders by Marie Rutkoski. While I wrote a more thoughtful and heartfelt recap for the ALSC (Association for Library Service to Children) Blog (a huge honor!) highlighting this program to be posted later this month, I thought a fun alternative to outlining this massive program would to put together a photo montage. Because who doesn't love a good montage! And even better... I embedded a special song for you to play while you look through the images. And no I haven't tired of listening to it... yet. And I have a feeling you haven't either. Enjoy!

You would want to participate after seeing this poster too, right?! A poster from an assortment of fabulous marketing materials created for Read Across Lawrence for Kids (RAL Kids)!

 

Due to the fantastic support of the Friends of the Lawrence Public Library, we gave out over 600 free copies of The Cabinet of Wonders to young readers and local educators within the first few days!

 

A majority of the books were given out at the Read Across Lawrence Kids Pizza Party Kick-Off, the first opportunity for kids to pick up a free copy of the book. I briefly gave a rundown of the month's worth of RAL Kids programs offered, we watched The Cabinet of Wonders official book trailer, and then enjoyed delicious pizza donated from Wheat State Pizza.

 

A few days after the kick-off was the adult kick-off and Lawrence Book Night. The adult Read Across Lawrence title, Winter's Bone, and The Cabinet of Wonders were given out around town to lucky individuals staff members happened to stubble upon.

A local artist drew this awesome chalk drawing to promote the month of events.

 

The cover art of The Cabinet of Wonders looks very similar to cut-paper art, so we hosted local cut-paper artist, Angie Pickman, for the RAL Kids cut-paper workshop.

 

The kids created cut-paper using elements found in The Cabinet of Wonders. This was such a fun and unique program. If I hadn't worked it I would have attended. It was awesome. Read the artist's recap here.

 

At the RAL Kids Kick-Off, after I showed the official book trailer, I challenged the kids to create an even better trailer using the popular stop-motion technique of claymation at the RAL Kids Book Trailer Workshop.

 

The attendees of this workshop were responsible for creating the characters, the sets, and shooting the scenes. It was a blast! And they did a great job! The trailer premiered at the RAL Kids Virtual Author Talk Finale.

Pretty awesome, right? Make sure you watch the *entire* clip.

 

One of the ongoing activities was a Downtown Geocaching Scavenger Hunt where families could rent a simple, pre-programmed GPS device and use clues from the book to find secret container all in a walkable distance from the library.

 

Here is an example of one of the hidden boxes. Contents include a clue to the location of the next hidden item, a finder's log, pen, an item or items relevant to the book, disposable camera to take your picture, and a note about the program.

 

Another one of the the ongoing events included was our library's Cabinet of Wonders Instillation. Kids of all-ages could bring in their own artifacts to be put on display in a community cabinet of wonders collection throughout the entire RAL Kids month.

 

In honor of RAL Kids, The Cabinet of Wonders was the September selection for the monthly book club for tweens at the library.

 

One of my favorite programs offered was a Tour of Lawrence's Own Cabinet of Wonders at Watkins Community Museum of History, an exclusive tour for kids wanting to explore the very top floor of the museum, which looks very much like a cabinet of wonders.

 

Adults attended this event as well to learn about the secret artifacts and a few of the secrets the city keeps in the museum's attic. The education coordinator of Watkins, Abby Pierron, did an awesome job with this event!

 

For the older tweenage crowd, we hosted a raffle for advanced reader's copies of The Cabinet of Wonders author Marie Rutkoski's new book The Shadow Society. Along with the books, we also raffled off awesome swag as well! A handful of the RAL Kids readers were older, so this was a neat side element of the program.

 

The very last event of the month was the RAL Kids Virtual Author Talk Finale, where we hosted author Marie Rutkoski in a virtual skype chat with the kids at our library. She talked about her inspiration behind the books, what it's like being a writer, and what she's currently working on. And did I mention she's living in Paris for the year? We skyped with her from grand ol' Paris! Gotta love technology today!

 

Afterwards we premiered The Cabinet of Wonders book trailer, raffled away a few copies of The Celestial Globe, the sequel to The Cabinet of Wonders, and also enjoyed juice and donuts donated by Checkers Foods. The picture above is of attendees signing a RAL Kids poster as a thank you to Marie for visiting with us.

 

The adventures in reading didn't stop with September! My colleague, Molly Wetta, who works in the Teen Zone made this awesome infograph of read alikes for The Cabinet of Wonders.

If you'd like to read more about this program, please check out the ALSC Blog after October 30th! 

And if you'd like to listen to "Call Me Maybe" again... just scroll up and hit play.

You know you want to.

Pages to Projects

I'd like to take a moment to direct your attention over to "Pages to Projects", a new series I'm honored to be guest blogging for over at Library as Incubator Project. The sole intention of the series is how to incorporate elements of art education and appreciation into the ever-popular, timeless children's program-- storytime! The very first post, "Pages to Projects: Outside the Box", went live this morning! Please head over there for a looksie!!

Treasure Hunt

Like I mentioned earlier, the Lawrence Public Library's annual book sale was a couple weekends ago. They have THE BEST finds for cheap. If you're library has a book sale, go! You won't regret it. Here are a few of my found treasures...

 The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Inga Moore  
Finger Plays for Nursery and Kindergarten by Emilie Poulsson  
Perrault's Fairy Tales with thirty-four full-page illustrations by Gustave Dore  
The Mitten by Alvin Tresselt, illustrated by Yaroslava  
Grimm's Fairy Tales by Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Leonard Weisgard  

Whopping Grand Total: $8

Not A Box Storytime

Our library recently had their big annual books sale which meant afterward there were tons and tons of boxes that once housed books. I grabbed 40 from the pile and planned a storytime and craft inspired by Antoinette Portis' picture book, Not A Box, and a few others books that inspire using one's imagination by thinking outside the box. For the craft we made playhouses by decorating the outside and inside of the boxes, magically turning them into... well... not a box!

Storytime Line-Up:

Not A Box by Antoinette Portis

A fun and simple book about a bunny and the different ways he imagines his box is not a box.

 

Sitting in my Box by Dee Lillegard, illustrated by Jon Agee

A boy starts out alone in his box until animal after animal keeps making an appearance wanting to get in the box with him. You can imagine soon enough it gets quite crowded. Oh the things that happen when sitting alone in a box with a book...

 

Chloe by Peter McCarty

A favorite in our house (seen here). We've read it so much we own it. Chloe loves family fun time after dinner, but when a new television disrupts that time she has to create a few distractions of her own to get it back.

 

Magic Box: A Magical Story by Katie Cleminson

I've gushed over Katie Cleminson before here. When planning this storytime I learned about her out-of-print book, Magic Box, and immediately interlibrary-loaned it. It's awesome! Colorful and fun! The kids loved it.

Not A Box Craft:

 

Like I said earlier, the library had tons and tons of boxes left over from the library sale, so I thought I would put them to good use for the craft after storytime. I made a playhouse out of my "not a box" example, but encouraged the kids to do whatever they'd like with their boxes. The majority made playhouses, but a few made cars and one made a custom "not a box" chair.

 

Materials used: Pre-cut squares and rectangles out of colorful cardstock from a few previous crafts (including this one from a few weeks back), pages from home magazines, markers, glue, and scissors. Also, I want to mention that I cut all the tops off the boxes before storytime so the kids wouldn't have to hassle with them.

 

All the materials were laid out on a large table. To the side of each table were stacks of boxes. The kids went through the boxes and picked out the one they wanted to use. They sat on the floor and cut and glued and colored, turning their box into anything they wanted.

 

For this box, I colored different shapes with a marker, and then glued them on with a glue stick.

 

I also cut out flowers from a magazine and made window planters.

For the inside of the box, I taped cardstock to the bottom. Glue also works.

For decorating the inside, I tore out pictures from bunches and bunches of home magazines and let the kids cut out from then what they liked. Some pasted the whole page on the inside. Others cut out specific objects and pasted them in whichever fashion they preferred.

I did a little of both.

After they finished, they took their "not a boxes" home to play.

 

We made this craft over a week ago and L still wakes up every morning and plays with it.

Life Lately

This picture pretty much sums of life lately... The laundry continues to pile up on the bed. Dishes pile up in the sink. Will is busy with school. I'm busy with work and restyling my blog. L is busy being a two-year-old. Sleep has become an afterthought. We've been working on finding some semblance of peace to keep us sane. Sometimes it feels like I only see my husband in fleeting moments. As soon as we wake he leaves, as soon as he comes home, I'm out the door. Something's gotta give. But for now, our only commitment is to the hope of a some shut eye. Even if it has to be on three loads of laundry.

Pirate Storytime

Yo, ho, ho ya scurvy dogs! International Talk Like a Pirate Day is tomorrow, September 19th! To celebrate, the Sunday Storytime was everything pirates! We talked like pirates, read books about pirates, sang pirate sea shantys, and dressed up like pirates-- eye patch and all! ARRR!!!!

Pirate Storytime Line-Up:

How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long, illustrated by David Shannon

A favorite book among children and pirates alike! It was also a great introduction into how to talk like a pirate. After the story was over I introduced a few phrases listed below and we practiced aloud as a group. All phrases and definitions were found and modified from Talk Like A Pirate.

Avast!-- Stop and give attention. It can be used in a sense of surprise.

Aye-- "Why yes, I agree most heartly with everything you just said or did."

Aye, aye!-- "I'll get right on that sir!"

Arrr!-- Can mean, variously, "yes", "I agree", "I'm happy", "My team is going to win it all", "I enjoy reading this book", and "That was a clever remark you or I just made".

Jolly Roger-- a pirate's flag including white skull and crossbones over a black field

Seadog-- old pirate or sailor

Thar she blows!-- whale sighting

Yo, Ho, Ho!-- cheerful exhortation to demand attention

Port Side Pirates by Debbie Harter, illustrated by Oscar Seaworthy

I thought I would try to sing a couple pirate sea shanties with the kids, but when I started to look a few up they were... er... not quite appropriate for storytime. Even this Disney version- yikes! But this book sung to the tune above work out extremely well.

Pirate Song

I came across this flannel board from the blog In The Children's Room and was so happy I did! It was the perfect addition to Sunday's Pirate Storytime! It goes like this...

Pirate Song (Sung to "This Old Man") via Work of Heart

This old pirate, has a hat

Where a skull and crossbones sat.

With an Ar, Ar, Ar, and an Ay Matey!

This old pirate sailed the sea.

This old pirate had a patch

Sailed the sea without a scratch.

With an Ar, Ar, Ar and an Ay Matey!

This old pirate sailed the sea.

Additonal Verses:

This old pirate has a hook, uses it to hold a book.

This old pirate has a map, keeps it handy in his lap.

This old pirate has a bird, barely knows a single word.

This old pirate has a ship, travels the world in a single trip.

This old pirate looking for treasure, more than anyone can measure!

Started out with this old pirate decorated with only a few mere pirate accessories...

...And then continued to add on items with each verse.

This flannel was so fun. It was stressful creating it at the last minute (Sunday morning), but it all came together in the end. All of these flannel pieces are my own except the ship. I used this ship template from Rovingfiddlehead Kid Lit.

Pajama Pirates by Andrew Kramer, illustrated by Leslie Lammle

For our last Pirate Storytime book, I read a new picture book with lovely illustrations about three siblings and their fantastic pre-bedtime pirate adventure.

Pirate Craft: EYE PATCHES AND PARROTS! ARRR!

You ain't a pirate if you don't have an eye patch and a trusty parrot!

I pre-made eyepatches for each storytimer to tie around their head after storytime and then they made their very own parrots to perch on their shoulders.

Materials used: Black foam sheets, black yarn, colored cardstock, feathers, glue, scissors, googly eyes, and tape.

For the eye patch, I used these instructions found on About.com as a general guideline. Since I wanted a slightly larger patch, I drew one free hand on the foam, cut it out, and then used that as a stencil for the remaining eye patches.

Cut out your patch/patches. After they are cut, carefully using scissors or an exacto knife, make small slits on each side.

Cut a piece of black yarn slightly bigger than the eye patch wearer's head. For the storytime kids, I cut 16 in. strands.

Thread the strand through the slit.

So that it looks like so.

Fit by placing the patch on the eye and then tying the ends to the back of the wearer's head.

AVAST! Now... for the parrot!

Using this template I found on Family Fun, I printed out parrot figures on red and green cardstock.

And cut them out. That was all the prep. ARRR!

After storytime and after the kids afixed their eye patches to their faces, they went on to decorating their very own pirate parrot using crayons...

...Googley eyes

...and feathers. Lots of feathers!

"Polly wanna cracker?"

Bend the tab on the line marked "A" and tape to child's shoulder.

Weigh anchor and hoist the mizzen! It's a pirate's life for ME!