LIBRARY PROGRAMS
Story Trail
The Westerville Public Library Story Trail opened in November 2020, with Oge Mora's Thank You Omu. Located at Johnston-McVay Park, the trail was created in partnership with Westerville Parks and Recreation and with funding from the Westerville Library Foundation. I am very excited to be helping to bring this family outdoor literacy experience to the community. Staff create different activity prompts to accompany each story, focusing on early literacy skills and building social and communication skills by encouraging children to pause, to look closer, to ask, and to discuss what they read and see.
Story Trails expanded to Hilmar Park in Genoa Township and to Ridgewood Park in Blendon Township in 2021. Stories change every three months.
Story Trails expanded to Hilmar Park in Genoa Township and to Ridgewood Park in Blendon Township in 2021. Stories change every three months.
Sister Library Program with Gislaved Bibliotek, Sweden.
Partnership began in 2013 through the IFLA Sister Libraries Program. We have collaborated on parallel programs, sharing craft ideas and celebrating Pippi Longstocking, and a virtual graphic novel Bok Club during summer reading 2020. Our most recent collaboration was a Story Trail in each location featuring Dog Walk/Hundpromenaden, a wordless picture book by Swedish author/illustrator Sven Nordqvist.
Read with Me
The Westerville Public Library was awarded a $4,000 Dollar General Early Literacy Grant to support children in grades K-5 on their reading journey. This one-on-one reading program began virtually in November 2020 and in person in the fall of 2021.
STEAM Programs
ALSC Dollar General Strengthening Communities Through Libraries Grant for out-of-school time STEAM Programming included:
The Fairfield County District Library was awarded a $5000 grant for Out of School Time STEAM programming. Our programs included a variety of technologies. Children played and learned basics of coding with Makey-Makey, Osmo's Music Jam, and Dash and Dot Robots. In other programs children used Makedo to construct with cardboard in unusual ways and built towers, bridges and structures with Rigamajig and Keva planks. Other programs used more traditional technologies, including a sewing machine and button maker, to facilitate children's creativity.
- Mad Science Mondays/Thursdays February-May 2018.
- Spring Break Maker Lab
- Science Saturdays, February-May 2018.
- Summer Maker Programs
The Fairfield County District Library was awarded a $5000 grant for Out of School Time STEAM programming. Our programs included a variety of technologies. Children played and learned basics of coding with Makey-Makey, Osmo's Music Jam, and Dash and Dot Robots. In other programs children used Makedo to construct with cardboard in unusual ways and built towers, bridges and structures with Rigamajig and Keva planks. Other programs used more traditional technologies, including a sewing machine and button maker, to facilitate children's creativity.
Potter Palooza: Celebrating 20 Years of the boy who lived! July 31-August 4, 2018
Garden ExplorersA collaboration with the Otterbein Community Garden. Children and their families meet weekly at the garden for a story followed by hands-on activities.
Began in Summer 2017. |
WonderWorksWonderWorks is a preschool science storytime that features different aspects of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math and Science). Find more about these science programs at Cultivate Wonder (http://cultivatewonder.wordpress.com/)
Awarded Target Early Literacy Grant in Spring 2014 to support the WonderWorks storytime. Photos on the right are from a spring 2014 program about electricity. |
Books & Blocks
A book and song are shared and then it's time to build! Themes have included:
- castles
- robots
- construction
- boats
- bridges
- tunnels
- towers
- houses
- legos
- duplos
- wooden blocks
- cardboard bricks
- paper tubes
- marshmallows & toothpicks
- and more!
Picture This: The Art of the Picture Book
Featured in the August 2012 ALSC Matters:
This summer the Westerville Public Library offered a seven week class based on the art of the picture book for children in grades 3 through 5. Each week focused on the style and artistic technique of a picture book and participants created their own artworks using that technique. We began by making a portfolio for children to keep their work from week to week. We started each program with reading the featured book aloud, usually followed by a video of the artist talking about their work or demonstrating the artistic process.
Books and techniques explored included Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar (collage), Beth Krommes’ The House in the Night (scratchboard), Wanda Gag’s Millions of Cats (printmaking) and Margaret Peot’s Inkblot: drip, splat, and squish your way to creativity (inkblot). Some activities extended from one week to the next, such as making textured paper to use to create the collages, so having the program continue over several weeks was essential. One week featured two books, Ian Falconer’s Olivia and Robert Andrew Parker’s Action Jackson. We talked about Falconer’s effective use of limited color in Olivia, and then focused on the Pollock painting included in Olivia. After reading Action Jackson and watching a video of Pollock talk about how he painted, we went outside to the lawn in front of the library to try action painting, using sticks to splatter and drip, with the surface on the ground and walking around to view the artwork, just as Pollock did.
During the last class we introduced the idea of being a curator and children chose a favorite art work and wrote an artist’s statement. The culminating event was an art show for families and friends. I have a background in art history and my collaborator Becky is a fine artist, so we both brought different experiences to the program. We agree that Picture This! was one of the most fun and rewarding programs we’ve been involved in and are already thinking of possibilities for next summer.
Preschool Dance Parties
Sesame Street Sing and Dance Along, February 2013.
Preschool Favorites, August 2014.
World Music Edition, May 2014.
Music and movement activity builds literacy through listening skills and is great for kinesthetic learners.
Preschool Favorites, August 2014.
World Music Edition, May 2014.
Music and movement activity builds literacy through listening skills and is great for kinesthetic learners.
Out of the Box
Special Preschool Events, February 2013 & January 2015
Based on Antoinette Portis' Not a Box. If you give a child a box, they will make . . .
In January 2015 a special exhibit, "Story Tellers: The Art of the Picture Book" was displayed in the Westerville Public Library Meeting Rooms. With selections from the original exhibit curated by Carlo LoRaso at The Works Center for History, Art and Technology, a museum in Newark, Ohio. Sketches and preparatory drawings for Not a Box were included in the exhibit.
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