My App picks

For the past year or so, I've been a part of a big conversation over at Little eLit about children's apps and what our role as librarians is in regards to apps.  I've come to the conclusion that apps are a resource (just like books and music and everything else we have at libraries) and that there is a vast ocean of (mostly mediocre to downright awful) apps designed for kids in today's market and that we, as librarians, are in a prime position to help parents navigate those deep waters in search of the very best apps to offer our children.

I wish there were a better way for me to share them with patrons for free (like we can with books and music), but other than a few iPads at our Central Library that are loaded with our favorites, we don't have a way to do that at this point.  To make up for that, I like to share apps in my programs whenever it's appropriate to do so.  I've shared before about using apps in WonderWorks, but I've also used apps in my storytimes (e-books are essentially just REALLY BIG "Big Books" with occasional moving parts, after all).  After getting questions from several parents (and other staff members) about what apps I recommend, I started a list which is now posted on my library's website.  I will continue to update this list as new apps are developed and/or discovered.  If you have recommendations of great apps for kids (especially for the Android market!), I'd love to hear from you in the comment section below.  Also, would you appreciate longer app reviews on this blog when I discover new ones that are rave-worthy?  Chime in and let me know!

Craft Lab: Dr. Who party!

Celebrating 50 years of the Doctor with crafts galore!

This Saturday is the special 50th anniversary episode of Dr. Who and I have some pretty serious teen fans of Dr. Who in my neighborhood, so we gathered together for some Whovian crafts.  Here's what we made:

Guest Post: How to make a short table

Do you wish you had short tables for toddler programs like Toddler Art Class or WonderWorks, but it's just not in the budget right now or you're not yet ready to commit to such a large purchase?  Yesterday, I got an e-mail from Laura Polak, Youth Services Specialist at the Oak Bend Branch of the St. Louis County Library, sharing her suggestion for making your own (temporarily) short tables.  She writes:

"I took our circa 1986 library benches, put tables on top of them with the legs folded up, and duct taped the two together.  Wrapping the tape around two or three times is enough to hold it in place, and they come in at about 16 inches tall.

 I only have three of these benches, though, so I made one more table with delivery tubs.

 This one takes a bit more time to create, but it also makes a very sturdy table.  I made this one by putting a table upside down on the floor, stacking delivery tubs on top of it and duct taping the two together.  That's it!"

Brilliant idea, Laura! What a great engineering solution. Thanks so much for sharing your idea and allowing me to post it here on LibraryMakers.  Anyone else have a great idea to share?

Toddler Art Class: Balloon "Ghosts"

Party balloons make bouncy (sometimes startling) paintbrushes.

Art Project: Painting with balloons
Supplies:
black paper
white paint
balloons

Book:
  Ghosts in the house! / Kohara, Kazuno