Library Out Loud - Come draw with me

One of the programs that my predecessor had done was called Read, Scribble, and Snack.  I can't claim any responsibility for this program other than the name change.  It is fairly popular with my after school crowd though.

Now I call it LOL: Library Out Loud (get it? after our blog name!)  The premise is easy.

1) Offer a snack, as this IS after school.
2) Offer drawing paper, pencils, pastels or any other medium.
3) Put in an audiobook of the kids choice (or read to the kids).
4) Hang out and draw.

This week, we worked on Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo (Newberry Award winner this year!) I brought in a couple different books to vote on.  The kids could draw from the book or from their imaginations.  Most of them had their own ideas of what they wanted to do.

You can see here some of the kids drawing, and even see my own creation - yes that is the squirrel named Ulysses from the book...or a reasonable facsimile!

I get a good mix of kids out of the main library space and into the meeting room, where they can hang out and chat with me about whatever, draw whatever, and fuel up (most importantly to them).  Not all of the boys enjoy drawing, so I allow them to play a quiet game off to the side if they would rather do that.  They want to be included but they also don't really want to sit and draw, and that is OK.  This is one of the after school programs the kids ask for, so I am happy to continue it.  Once you have these art materials (or get donations), the upkeep is light.

Some kids really like audio books, so why not include them into your programming?  The materials are right there on the shelf, and you might get one kid hooked on a book.  Go for it!