Games and Fun in Luck

by | Jun 19, 2013 | Keeping Up With Kids

Gamers converge in Luck Colleen Allen from Luck had her first successful board game night earlier this summer.  Here’s what she had to say:  “I must say,  I love having a job where I can do things I love and invite other people to join...

Terrific STEM Resource

by | Jun 14, 2013 | Keeping Up With Kids

If you are looking for ways to incorporate STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) activities into your programming for kids, here is another great resource!  A Wiki, set up to collect ideas for programs.  The submissions I sampled were great, with...

Harry Potter Promotion

by | Jun 13, 2013 | Keeping Up With Kids

New paperback edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, due out August 27 In celebration of the 15th Anniversary of the U.S. publication of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Scholastic is inviting public libraries all across the country to enter to...

Backpacks to Go at the Library

by | Jun 11, 2013 | Keeping Up With Kids

Many thanks to Christy Rundquist from Pepin for this article about the power of adaptation!A long time ago in a galaxy far, far, away…….Not really.  It was 2006 and Pepin was participating in an IFLS mini-grant for early literacy.  We partnered with the...

Free Audio Book Downloads

by | Jun 10, 2013 | Keeping Up With Kids

Maybe you’ve already heard about this, there have been lots of other posts and notices about it, but just in case you didn’t, it is too cool to miss!  SYNC audiobook titles are given away in pairs–a Young Adult first-in-series title is...

Conversation Sparks

by | Jun 5, 2013 | Keeping Up With Kids

A happy kid enjoys the docked iPad at the Rice Lake Public Library Here’s a cool thing that a library system in Maryland has put together, open to librarians from around the country!  Check it out: Do you want to know what others in the country are doing in...

A Few Cool STEAM Activities

by | May 31, 2013 | Keeping Up With Kids

Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math Activities are all the rage, and I can see why!  They seem pretty darn fun!  I’ve collected a couple of activity ideas I wanted to share here.First from No Time for Flashcards, a math game that involves...

Grant funds for technology

by | May 28, 2013 | Keeping Up With Kids

Money to do cool technology stuff!  Here are 2 options:Best Buy Children’s Foundation Grants are designed to help non-profit agencies teens build 21st-Century technology skills through programs that address the digital divide, and also give teens the chance...

Digging Up Creative Ideas in Boyceville

by | May 24, 2013 | Keeping Up With Kids

Many thanks to Ginny Julson, director of the Boyceville Public Library, for this submission: Every year all the kids from the elementary school come over one class at a time and do a skit on our stage to gear up for the SRP–each year we choose volunteers from...

Eau Claire’s Out of This World Videos

by | May 22, 2013 | Keeping Up With Kids

The folks at the public library in Eau Claire have stepped up their game in promotion of the Summer Library Program.  They created two videos, one to promote their program for younger kids–complete with a sequence at the end featuring even the dignified...

The Three R’s Display in Hawkins

by | May 20, 2013 | Keeping Up With Kids

Arlene Mabie is not only the library director at Hawkins, she also is the clerk treasurer for the recycling/disposal unit in Kennan (as well as a volunteer fire fighter and miniature horse-raiser…can you say Superhero?).  She is motivated to encourage and...

Achieving Balance: two blog posts

by | May 16, 2013 | Keeping Up With Kids

Today, in just one day, I read two thoughtful, worthwhile and entertaining blog posts with advice for new librarians.  Interestingly, they have almost opposite messages, but both have value, and are worth reading and fitting into your worldview.  These...