YAAS: National Pet Day

If you want to learn about the original conception and mission of this program, read my What is YAAS? post. TL;DR: It's a weekly group for youth age 14-24 where we'll be doing community service work, library programs, hosting guest presenters, and making connections with peers in a safe and welcoming environment.

National Pet Day is on April 11th every year. I started celebrating it at the library so I could have a standing program every April, but it's turned out to be a major hit. Last year's event even had a visit from our Vice Mayor!

The main idea of this holiday is to make sure our pets have great lives. I like to take it a step further by taking time to acknowledge all the homeless pets-to-be out there looking for their forever home. Our group made tug toys out of fleece to donate to a local animal shelter, and had a visit from a City of Mesa Animal Control officer and her adorable rescue puppy! 

This video shows the basic instructions for making a toy, but you can braid or twist it any way you want as long as it's nice and tight so it takes aggressive puppies a long time to chew all the way through. Using the same technique as a summer camp lanyard works very well, as does braiding for younger kiddos. It also turns out that chewing on fleece is good for a dog's teeth! 

 

Music Lab for Kids: Easter Egg Shakers

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Over the last few months I've found this program is best structured as unstructured play time. I lay out egg shakers, rhythm sticks, and other musical instruments, and let the kids explore whatever they're attracted to. I also set up the craft as a station in one corner of the room, so families can drift over a few at a time instead of all at once. Especially since many of the participants just got out of the 30-minute structured program Learn and Grow with Rhythm and Flow, this more relaxed setup has been pretty successful.

All you need for this project are two spoons, a plastic egg, dry beans, and packing or duct tape. Fill the egg with beans (rice would work too, but would be messier), tape a spoon on each side, and you've made your own egg shaker with a handle for little hands to easily grab! We used packing tape because you can still see the color of your egg through the clear tape. Duct tape would be fun if you have colored or patterned tape, or plan to decorate it with markers or stickers.

I was once again too busy running the program to take pictures, but it was fun! I got some very positive verbal feedback from a couple of moms, that they like how I make this program both fun and educational. LGRF and Music Lab will be going on a hiatus for the summer while I focus on teen volunteers and theater day camp, but it'll be back in August!

YAAS: Melted Crayon Art

If you want to learn about the original conception and mission of this program, read my What is YAAS? post. TL;DR: It's a weekly group for youth age 14-24 where we'll be doing community service work, library programs, hosting guest presenters, and making connections with peers in a safe and welcoming environment.

I try to do a craft every month in this group, so this month we did something a little messy and difficult with a very cool outcome. 

Step 1: Remove crayon paper and grate crayons with cheese grater

Step 2: Arrange crayon shavings on paper

Step 3: Place wax paper over crayon shavings.

Step 4: Using a hot iron with no steam, iron over wax paper until crayons liquefy.

Step 5: Wait for wax to dry completely, then peel wax paper off melted crayons.

Some of our participants were slightly disappointed that they couldn't make much of a design, but the majority of the group seemed to enjoy making abstract art with melted crayons. The biggest potential roadblock of this program is safety - operating hot irons with a group of teenagers isn't for everyone. Thankfully everyone got through the night with their fingers and eyebrows intact, and made these super cool creations.

 

Baby Lapsit March 2019

My Baby Lapsit formula is:

Intro and hello
Board Book #1
Lap Bounce Journey ("Bumpy Road/Smooth Road" and two recorded songs)
Board Book #2
Movement song or another lap bounce song (optional, depends on time)
Peek-a-Boo
Goodbye
Bubbles and Community Playtime

March 5

Board Book #1

Baby Faces Peek a Boo by DK

Lap Bounce Journey
"Bumpy Road/Smooth Road"
Grownups are instructed to seat their baby facing forward on their laps and bounce along with me as I demonstrate with a roughly baby-sized teddy bear. Here is the chant:

Bumpy road, bumpy road. (Bounce baby on lap)
Smooth road, smooth road. (Move baby smoothly back and forth)
Bumpy road, bumpy road. (Bounce baby on lap)
Smooth road, smooth road. (Move baby smoothly back and forth)
Rough road, rough road! (Bounce baby higher than before)
Bumpy road, bumpy road. (Bounce baby on lap)
Rough road, rough road! (Bounce baby higher than before)
Hole! (Hold baby under armpits and let them fall between your legs)

"Gregory Griggs"

"Humpty Dumpty"

"Milkshake"

Board Book #2

Rainbow Fun by Emma Dodd

Movement Song

"One, Two Hands"

March 12

Board Book #1

This New Baby by Teddy Jam & Virginia Johnson

Lap Bounce Journey

"Bumpy Road/Smooth Road"

"Gregory Griggs"

"Pop Goes the Weasel"

"Hurry, Hurry, Drive That Firetruck"

Board Book #2

My Mom is Magical by Sabrina Moyle

Movement Song

"Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, We're Going to the Moon"

March 19

Board Book #1

Leo Loves Baby Time by Anna McQuinn

Lap Bounce Journey

"Bumpy Road/Smooth Road"

"Gregory Griggs"

"This is the Way the Ladies Ride"

"Popcorn"

Board Book #2

Love by Emma Dodd

Movement Song

"Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, We're Going to the Moon"

YAAS: Disney Jeopardy

If you want to learn about the original conception and mission of this program, read my What is YAAS? post. TL;DR: It's a weekly group for youth age 14-24 where we'll be doing community service work, library programs, hosting guest presenters, and making connections with peers in a safe and welcoming environment.

Tonight program was originally supposed to be a group discussion, but it's been a long month and the kids and I were both ready for some fun. We decided to make tonight all about Disney trivia!

Our warm-up game was made by an anolymous user on this create-your-own Jeopardy game website called JeopardyLabs that I discovered by accident. The second game was one I created myself. The Disney Parks trivia stumped everyone except a visiting dad, but our YAAS! members did pretty well on the rest of the questions! Everyone walked away with a prize, a smile, and at least two juice boxes. It was a good night.

Warmup Round

Jeselyn's Super Tricky Disney Jeopardy

 

YAAS: Hygiene Packs

If you want to learn about the original conception and mission of this program, read my What is YAAS? post. TL;DR: It's a weekly group for youth age 14-24 where we'll be doing community service work, library programs, hosting guest presenters, and making connections with peers in a safe and welcoming environment.

The idea for this program originally stemmed from wanting to make a donation to a women's shelter in honor of Women's History Month. We ended up assembling hygiene packs for A New Leaf shelters to use at whichever of their locations needs it most.

YAAS! members donated toothpaste, shampoo, pads and tampons, and other necessities, and my family donated mini shampoo and conditioner packs we found in bulk from The Dollar Tree. We were also able to purchase a small amount of supplies using our programming budget. The result was over 50 hygiene packs that A New Leaf can give to anyone who needs them. 

When I called to inquire about the donations, they also asked if I'd like to schedule a tour for our group. In a few months, YAAS! will have the opportunity to travel outside the library and see the facilities where our donations are being used, which is a very cool opportunity you don't often get after donating to an organization. Stay tuned for that outing... in the meantime, here are some happy young adults making hygiene packs for those in need!

 

 

YAAS: Women's History Month

If you want to learn about the original conception and mission of this program, read my What is YAAS? post. TL;DR: It's a weekly group for youth age 14-24 where we'll be doing community service work, library programs, hosting guest presenters, and making connections with peers in a safe and welcoming environment.

March is Women's History Month, and we take it very seriously at our library! In addition to this program, my coworker Sarah did a Women's History Month storytime and a giant book display. Plus, next week we're further celebrating WHM by assembling hygiene packs for a local women's shelter. 

This week, we welcomed my friend Sydney, who is a social worker and very involved in educating young people on black history and women's history. Sydney gave a presentation on famous women from the 1700's to present day, including some of our newest Congress members who have the distinction of being the first of their gender, race, or religion to be sworn in. Here's a full list of the women Sydney presented:

• Michele Obama (1964-): First lady of the USA 2008-2016, writer and activist
• Jane Elliot May (1933-): Created the blue vs. brown eyes experiment in 1968
• Sojourner Truth (1797-1883): Born a slave, became free in 1827 and advocated for abolition, women's rights, and civil rights until her death
• Jane Adams (1860-1935): Known as the mother of social work
• Marsha P. Johnson (1945-1992): Trans woman, LGBTQ+ rights activist, known for being one of the original instigators of the Stonewall Riots
• Sylvia Rivera (1951-1992): Latina LGBTQ+ rights activist, founded Street Transgender Action Revolutionaries (STAR) with Marsha P. Johnson
• Gloria Steinem (1934-): Known as the mother of modern feminism, prolific writer and activist
• Harriet Tubman (c1820-1913): Most famous conductor of the Underground Railroad, born into slavery and became free in 1949, advocated for abolition, acted as a Civil War spy
• Maya Angelou (1928-2014): Poet, memoirist, actor, singer, activist, worked with Malcom X and Dr. MLK Jr. during the Civil Rights movement
• Rosa Parks (1913-2005): Her actions sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, civil rights activist, granddaughter of slaves
• Mary McLeod Bethune (1975-1955): Educator, stateswoman, philanthropist, civil rights activist
• Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962): First lady of the USA 1933-1945, one of the most politically involved first ladies to date
• Ellen Degeneres (1958-): Comedian, TV show host, actor, LGBTQ+ activist, publically came out as a lesbian on her sitcom in the late 90's and it was a Big Deal
• Ilhan Omar (1981-): First Somali-American to be elected to legislative office and US Congress
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (1989-): Youngest woman to serve on US Congress at 29 years old
• Debra Haaland (1960-): One of the first Native American women to be elected to US Congress
• Sharice Davids (1980-): First openly LGBTQ+ Native American elected to US Congress
• Ayanna Pressley (1974-): First black woman elected to the Boston City Council, first black woman to represent Massachusetts on US Congress

As always, my kiddos had excellent insightful questions and soaked up the discussion like sponges. I really appreciate that this presentation included a lot of influential women from their lifetime! It made the subject more real and topical to them, instead of sticking only with women from centuries ago.