Every year in my library system, we write proposals for programming. These proposals are based on a need we see in the community as well as the library's 5 year Strategic Plan. The patrons at my branch have been asking for school-age programming for a few years, but until recently there had not been a good way to fit it in.
Enter the Homeschoolers.
Our branch has a very large homeschool population, both of secular and religious oriented families. When K and I asked around for more info on what the interest was for school age programming, 4 out of 5 inquiries were by parents who were homeschooling their children.
So, we wrote a proposal and started a pilot. Homeschool Adventures! (Say it like you have the Theme from Indiana Jones in the background. Go ahead. Try it. I'll wait.)
Originally, we had the kids broken down by age. K would take the 6-8s and I would take the 9-12s. After the first session, we threw that out the window. Because, wouldn't you know it, the families like to keep everybody together. The kids socialize remarkably well across ages and even with the parents of other families. It really is a community.
What makes it fun for us as librarians is that we get to essentially do teaching units based not only on our expertise, but also the interests of the kids and the curriculum needs of the parents.
To date we have done the following programs:
Originally, we had the kids broken down by age. K would take the 6-8s and I would take the 9-12s. After the first session, we threw that out the window. Because, wouldn't you know it, the families like to keep everybody together. The kids socialize remarkably well across ages and even with the parents of other families. It really is a community.
What makes it fun for us as librarians is that we get to essentially do teaching units based not only on our expertise, but also the interests of the kids and the curriculum needs of the parents.
To date we have done the following programs:
- Constructables- The kids got to build whatever they wanted with marshmallows, gumdrops, straws and toothpicks.
- Card Making- K is a master card maker. She led them through the finer points of stamping and decorating holiday cards
- Snack Geography- We formed a voting game and map activity around snacks from different countries.
- Library Scavenger Hunt- We gave a tour and had the kids hunt down a list of items in the stacks.
- Storytelling- K demonstrated oral storytelling and then we did 2 Round Robin Stories. (with 20 kids)
- Simple Snacks- We made Friendship Soup and salad with ingredients contributed by the group.
We organize the programs to be completely interactive. Often we take whatever the kids component is and describe it on the large white board in our program room. This is done both for evaluative purposes (I take pictures to display for the higher ups come service plan season) and to show the kids that these programs belong to them. These are not programs that the library just puts on for them. It is literally their program.
We are getting a growing number of families to these programs. Often we have over 20 kids ranging from age from 4-13. We gear the Homeschool Adventures for 6-12 but do not bar younger or older siblings, and this seems to be agreeable to all involved.
We are getting a growing number of families to these programs. Often we have over 20 kids ranging from age from 4-13. We gear the Homeschool Adventures for 6-12 but do not bar younger or older siblings, and this seems to be agreeable to all involved.
