Playing Catch-Up (AKA Most Rambling Blog Post Ever)

Summer has just started, and already, things are busy, busy, busy at the library!  Pat and I have both been out on the road with programming this week, so we're just now getting a chance to download some photos from the last week's events.  We'll just call this post a three-in-one special :)

Reach for the Stars Kickoff
Our first event for the summer, the Reach for the Stars Kickoff, happened on Monday and was a success with seventeen participants attending.  Usborne Books & More rep, Connie Fain, explained how the pledge-based reading club was going to work, and Pat Lewis handed out reading logs and program information to those who were interested.  The Reach for the Stars Reading Club will be open to readers from now until Monday, June 16, when reading logs and pledge sheets are due, and the Club will culminate in a gigantic Book Fair at the Ironton Library on Friday, June 27, where kids can choose prize books and help the Library pick out new books for our Youth collection.  You don't have to be from Iron County to participate; anyone with questions about the program can contact the Ironton Library for more information.

Reach for the Stars Reading Logs.  Thanks to The Mountain Echo and Cole's Funeral Home for being sponsoring businesses this summer!

The Library set up thematic book displays so the kids could check out and get reading right away!

Local Usborne rep, Connie Fain, explaining the details of the RFTS Reading Club for our patrons.

Opening Party (Look Like a Mad Scientist)
Our Opening Party took place at four branches (Steelville, Bourbon, Ironton, and Fredericktown) on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the kids made "mad scientist" costume kits to get ready for our science-based Summer Reading Program.  We had three stations set up: an Einstein wig table, a lab goggles table, and a lab coat table.  You can see the evidence of their creative crafting below!

Attendees of the Opening Party rotated between three different craft stations: Make a Lab Coat, Make Lab Goggles, and Make Einstein Hair.

Cutting out lab coats from plastic bags.

Decorating lab coats with stickers (it might not be the most scientific thing, but we had fun!).

A few patrons got creative: meet the double threat- a scientist athlete!

We also made cotton ball wigs and cardstock safety goggles.

We got a little creative with the wigs, too!

Almost finished!

We had great crowds at Crawford County...

And Fredericktown, too.

Some super scientists.

More mad scientists!

What a group!

Grow a Reader
This morning, despite a few raindrops, we held our second annual Grow a Reader story time at the Iron County Community Garden.  Linda Lane of the Community Garden gave an intro and reminded everyone about the upcoming Garden Tour, Pat and I read garden-themed stories and helped the kids make paper Mr. or Ms. Potato Heads, and Debra Henk of the University of Missouri Extension Council showed the kids how to plant potatoes in the Garden and send each child home with their own purple bush bean plant.  Much thanks also goes to Rev. Catherine (Kitty) Hillquist, who graciously invited us to use the parish porch for our crafting session, as well as provided refreshments for all the families in attendance.

A nice crowd showed up, despite the threat of rain!

Reading garden-themed stories: Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato by Tomie DePaola and this one, White is for Blueberry by George Shannon and Laura Dronzek.

We played "Hot Potato" for our game.

The group gets whittled down during our game.

Down to two players!  Who will win...?

And we have a new "Hot Potato" champion!

We moved onto the covered parish porch to color and cut our Mr. and Ms. Potato Heads.

Lots of coloring and cutting for this craft!

Then we enjoyed light refreshments and headed out to the Garden to get a tour of the planting beds and to plant some potatoes of our own, to be harvested later for the local Food Bank.

The kids (and parents) hard at work in the Garden.

Also, on a sidenote, if you'd like to see a few photos from the Last Tuesday Creative Writing Event, head on over to the Ironton Facebook page.  There's talk of putting together a teen and/or adult workshopping group in the near future, so if you're interested in joining either group, please send us a message through our Facebook page with your name, age group (teen or adult), and if possible, the best weeknight evening, Monday through Friday, that you would find it most convenient to attend classes.  With enough interest, we'll be putting together a schedule soon!

Keep reading!

Shaen