That is a wrap! In other words, our summer of adventure is ending, but not for long, there is always next year, and planning has already begin.

Let me introduce to you my superhero name of the week, “The Fire!” On Monday, each of our friends used codes to discover their official superhero name of the week! We welcomed Emily Wharton as she delivered the Story Prompt of the week. What fun visiting with Emily about writing and how important it is to find your writer hero within you. We also had the Cape Creator Hero stop by for a flash of a visit, Karen Eis. The inventor of our handmade superhero capes. What a day it was, and we also made our very own Super Roll Heroes by recycling toilet paper rolls.

On Tuesday, we had our third guest of the week from I-Smile Kim Brown, dental hygienist who taught us the 2-2-2 rules of healthy teeth. Did you know, you need to brush your teeth for two minutes a day and visit your friendly dentist twice a year? Thank you, Kim, for being our superhero of the day!

On Friday, Ellie, and Taryn with our final day of programming had a special superhero treat called, “Thank you, Superheroes Crime-Fighting Marshmallow Treat,” whew, now that is a mouth full! This day was thanking all the heroes that are closets to our hearts.

In closing, thank you for such a fantastic summer! Hope all of you stick around for other year-around youth programs that will be rolling out on September 13^th called Makerspace Magic that Crafts Your Story! More information coming soon!

If missed any of our summer program called Ready, Set Adventures please visit our Summer Reading Program Page to access videos and activities featured in the 2022 programs.

Thank you again!
Denise Bean, Youth Services Librarian
denise.bean@blind.state.ia.us

Ready, Set, Adventure!

Last week our Summer Reading Program took us to the beach! 

       On Monday, we brought the beach home to Iowa with our Beach Terrarium Activity and our Ocean Sounds in a Bottle Activity. We learned about the fascinating parrotfish, which produces sand. Everyone sang a song together featuring our own sea creatures – complete with dance moves!

       On Wednesday our focus was on sea turtles. We learned fun facts about their life cycles and what we can do to protect them! We made our very own sea turtles in the Pom-Pom Sea Turtles Activity. Then, it was time to sail the open seas in our handmade Whatever Floats Your Boat Activity sailboats. We closed our eyes and listened to the sounds of a sailing ship to get our creative juices flowing for this week’s story prompt: “Imagine that your boat craft became life-sized. Now you can sail wherever you want! Describe your time as an ocean voyager. What kinds of things will you do at sea?”

       On Friday, we learned about jellyfish. Did you know that jellyfish don’t have a brain, a heart, or blood? We kicked off Food Frenzy Friday with our Jellyfish Fruit Loop Activity. Next, we spread our wings with the Beach Butterfly Activity snack. While eating these delicious treats, we listened to a story about the importance of recycling and keeping the oceans clean.

Coming up this week…

Superhero Action-Adventure Week!

July 25^th Special Guest Emily Wharton

• Superhero Cape
• Super Rolls
• Hulk Bears

July27th Story Prompt Wednesday with Guest Kim Brown

• Flossing Activity with Kim
• Bonus Toothbrush Craft

July 29^th Food Frenzy Friday

• “Thank you, Mom” Flower Craft
• “Thank you, Superheroes” Crime-fighting Marshmallow Treat

Ready, Set, Adventure!

This week our Summer Reading Program took us into the wilderness!

Who doesn’t like a good old fashion scavenger hunt, especially when it is outside! On Monday, we took a dive into nature and found out the real true story behind arrowheads and a bit of their mystery of how they came to be. Plus, arrowheads just like your fingerprints not one arrowhead is the same.  Of course, we love to make cool crafts during the week. On this day, we made the Arrow Activity and Tic Tac Toe Wilderness Style Activity that becomes a “game” and “bag” all in one!

Wednesday, we had a another very special author and illustrator in the house, named Bruce Arant. He read from both of his books titled, Simpson’s Sheep Won’t Go to Sleep and Simpson’s Sheep Just Want to Sleep. Bruce with his warm touch of imagination allowed us to envision as if we were right on the farm with Mr. Simpson himself. As we wrapped up our hour of fun Bruce provided our friends with a Story Prompt of the week. Drumroll please; “What do Sheep Dream About?”

Friday was all about edible foods in the wilderness, such as the edible Bird Nest Activity. So delicious indeed! Since we enjoy the sounds of birds chirping happily in the trees, we mixed glitter glue with dish soap and ended up with Window Decals for Migrating Birds.

Coming up next week with Ellie and Taryn
Tropical Beach Week!

July 18^th Fun at the Beach!

• Beach Terrarium
• Ocean Sounds in a Bottle

July 20^th What is your summer vacation story?

• Pom-Pom Sea Turtle
• Whatever Floats your Boat

July 22^nd Time for a vacation, but where would that be?

• Beach Butterfly
• Jelly Fish Fruit Look Activity

Ready, Set, Adventure!

Last week our Summer Reading Program took us on a journey into nature!  Monday, we enjoyed a day off in celebration of Independence Day, July 4th with a bang, boom, and pop!  On Wednesday, we had a very special guest visitor stop by from New York, Dan Gutman. He is an American writer of children’s fiction books, such as Genius Files and My Weird School. Just naming a few. He brought with him a gigantic banana that sent laughter all throughout the studio. Not only did he make an appearance, but he read out of his new book, which is set to hit the shelves in October. But for now, we will keep this under wraps… SHHhhhhh! It was such a special time with Dan, we cannot thank you enough for stopping by to say hi. Of course, since we were in Nature Week, we used recycled sponges and paint to make Butterfly Sponge Art come to life.   On Friday, we rocked it! Did you know you can take Starburst candy and discover how a rock is formed?  Also, on this same day, we made beautiful, textured one-of-a-kind Wire Rock Art. Our time ended by enjoying our delicious snack, called Eat My Dirt, topped with edible worms. One more fun fact, did you know that a worm can live up to 10 years?

See all the cool stuff we learn at our Summer Reading Program. It never ends!

Coming up this week

Wilderness Camp!

July 11thth Wilderness Scavenger Hunts

• Arrow Activity – Keep Aiming High!
• Tic Tac Toe Wilderness Style!

July 13th Special Guest Author Bruce Arant

• Pinecone Sheep!

July 15th Edible Food in the Wilderness

• Window Decal for Migrating Birds
• Edible Bird Nest

Ready, Set, Adventure!

Last week was our third week of our Summer Reading Program and it took us to infinity and beyond during Science Camp!

Monday, we took off in a rocket and explored the moon, and of course, many other fun planets too. We turned yarn into Yarn Planets. Adding texture is always a good time, we splattered, squished, and let dry, the results of our space art – Moon Art!

On Wednesday, we discovered stories through space. Did you know that the word astronaut stands for “Star Sailor”? Or how about this, an astronaut’s suit weighs more than 220 pounds and will take 45 minutes to put on? We had a good, yummy time with the Summer Skies Marshmallow Constellations Activity. We even danced to the Moonwalk Freeze Dance.

Friday, we enjoyed eating like an astronaut.  We spent time with Chris Hadfield in the cabin of a spaceship and learned the tricks and tips astronauts do while in space. As the week of learning all about space came to an end, we mixed ingredients together and made Astronaut Chocolate Pudding, while enjoying the sounds of space in the background.

Coming up this next week

Disney Week – Where the Magic Begins!

June 27^th Most Popular Disney Movie of all Time

• Apple Scented Cinnamon Pinch Pots
• Clothespin Race Car

June 29^th All about Puppets Today – Roll that Movie Clip!

• Puppet Creations with Guest Liz Soenen
• Puppet Build-A-Story Play

July 1^st Food Frenzy Friday with Disney

• Click Clack Musical Maker
• Orange Cream Cake