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From: "PUBYAC: PUBlic librarians serving Young Adults and Children" <pubyac@prairienet.org>
To: "PUBYAC: PUBlic librarians serving Young Adults and Children" <pubyac@prairienet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2004 11:01 PM
Subject: PUBYAC digest 1334

    PUBYAC Digest 1334

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) Summer Interships/Austin Public Library
by Jeanette Larson <larsonlibrary@yahoo.com>
  2) Babysitting workshop
by Christy Jones <xyjones3@yahoo.com>
  3) Stumper -- campers on moon
by E Heideman <enheideman@yahoo.com>
  4) web addresses on space
by "Patricia Chaput" <pchaput@tpl.toronto.on.ca>
  5) NJ Garden State Children's Book Awards Announced
by "Mary Riskind" <riskind@bccls.org>
  6) Two of Three Stumpers Answered
by "Mary Palmer" <Mary.Palmer@spl.org>
  7) Those interested in Dewey results
by "Victoria Jaksic" <vjaksic@kenosha.lib.wi.us>
  8) stumper
by "Sparta-WRLSWEB" <spartalibrary@wrlsweb.org>
  9) Library policy on touching children
by Linda Goff <lgoff@lakeline.lib.fl.us>
 10) Puppet Show Help
by Tracie Partridge <t_l_partridge@yahoo.com>
 11) Censorship of the Written Word: Still Alive and Kickin': 2004
by "Don Wood" <dwood@ala.org>
 12) family game night
by Carol Mitchell <mitcheca@oplin.org>
 13) popular teen movies?
by "Kapila Sankaran" <ksankaran@springfieldpubliclibrary.com>
 14) hp 6?
by Jennifer Baker <jbaker93711@yahoo.com>
 15) cooking activities -- ideas, tips, suggestions, advice
by "Kapila Sankaran" <ksankaran@springfieldpubliclibrary.com>

----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Jeanette Larson <larsonlibrary@yahoo.com>
To: larsonlibrary@yahoo.com
Subject: Summer Interships/Austin Public Library
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Date: Tue,  3 Feb 2004 00:12:19 CST

Please forward to students who might be interested.

For the fourth year, Austin Public Library will be
offering summer internships for library school
students in our award-winning Wired for Youth Centers.
Visit
http://waller.ci.austin.tx.us/jobapp/jobs_detail.cfm?Requisition_ID=8630
for details and to apply online (I still recommend
that a resume be sent in addition). Interns are paid
10% below the starting salary.

Positions may also be filled by temporary staff (must
have MLS and meet other qualifications)but they are a
great opportunity for library school students.

I'm happy to answer any questions. Deadline for
applications is 1:00 p.m. Central Time on February 27.




=====
Jeanette Larson
Youth Services Manager
Austin Public Library
P.O. Box 2287
Austin, TX 78768-2287
512-974-7405
larsonlibrary@yahoo.com

------------------------------
From: Christy Jones <xyjones3@yahoo.com>
To: pubyac@prairienet.org
Subject: Babysitting workshop
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Date: Tue,  3 Feb 2004 03:09:07 CST

Hi All,

I was thinking of having a babysitting mini-workshop
as part of my teen summer reading program.  It would
not be a Red Cross event and no one would be
certified, but it might focus on age appropriate
activities/books/game, etc baby-sitters could use with
their charges.  I might also include a viewing of the
video Babysitting 101--just as an overview.  Has
anyone ever done anything like this before?
Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks,
Christy

------------------------------
From: E Heideman <enheideman@yahoo.com>
To: PUBYAC@prairienet.org
Subject: Stumper -- campers on moon
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Date: Tue,  3 Feb 2004 04:14:26 CST

Hi everyone,

I'm posting this for a friend.  She remembers a
science fiction chapter book from about 15-20 years
ago.  The main characters live on the moon, and they
don't know about humans. One girl is off on a
survival/camping trip, and she is dropped off in the
wilderness and has to find her way back to camp. Along
the way she finds and rescues a downed astronaut from
earth. 

If anyone knows the title, please let me know:
enheideman@yahoo.com.

Thanks,

Liz Heideman



=====
heidemane@library.phila.gov
Falls of Schuylkill Branch
The Free Library of Philadelphia

------------------------------
From: "Patricia Chaput" <pchaput@tpl.toronto.on.ca>
To: <pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: web addresses on space
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Date: Tue,  3 Feb 2004 04:18:04 CST

Hi everyone,
I will be doing a Grade 5th class visit  which includes  Introduction to =
the library and Researching using library material and electronic =
resources.=20
The class is studying "Space", so I would like to know if anyone know any =
great web sites about space that I can recommend to these 5th graders.
 Thanks a lot
Patricia
pchaput@tpl.toronto.on.ca=20

------------------------------
From: "Mary Riskind" <riskind@bccls.org>
To: <pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: NJ Garden State Children's Book Awards Announced
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Date: Tue,  3 Feb 2004 04:34:12 CST

Greetings Fellow Pubyaccers:
The Garden State Children's Book Award Committee of the New Jersey Library
association proudly announces its winners for 2004.
     Easy Reader category: "It's Justin Time, Amber Brown," written by Paula
Danziger and illustrated by Tony Ross;
     Easy Reader Series category: "Nate the Great: San Francisco Detective,"
written by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and Mitchell Sharmat and illustrated by
Martha Weston;
     Fiction category: "Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked
Wedgie Woman," written and illustrated by Dav Pilkey;
     Non-fiction category: "The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins," written by
Barbara Kerley and illustrated by Brian Selznick.
The Garden State Children's Book Award, in existence since 1977, is a
children's choice award intended to recognize books for newly independent
readers, grades 2-5.  All titles are American imprints, published three
years before consideration for the award.  For more information about
previous winners, the award, or the committee, go to the New Jersey Library
Association website at www.njla.org/honorsawards .

Mary Riskind


--
Mary Riskind, Director
Bergenfield Public Library
50 West Clinton Avenue
Bergenfield, New Jersey  07621
(201) 387-4040, ext. 829
fax: (201) 387-9004
--

------------------------------
From: "Mary Palmer" <Mary.Palmer@spl.org>
To: <pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: Two of Three Stumpers Answered
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Date: Tue,  3 Feb 2004 05:02:35 CST

Two of Three Stumpers Answered

THANKS to everyone who helped to answer these.

1.   Chapter book about a large family that rescues a peach (or
maybeorange) tree farm and makes it successful. 4-5th grade reading
level.
She didn't think it was All of a Kind Family story.

ANSWER:  The Queen's Own Grove by Patricia Beatty

2.   A group of children move into an old farmhouse and find messages
from other children in the walls.
4-5th grade reading level. We tried Helen Fuller Orton titles but didn't
find one to fit this summary.

ANSWER: None found.

3.   A title of a book, "The Outsiders of Oskoken (sp?) Castle"-possibly
YA or older J title

ANSWER:  The Outsiders of Uskoken Castle by Kurt Held

------------------------------
From: "Victoria Jaksic" <vjaksic@kenosha.lib.wi.us>
To: <pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: Those interested in Dewey results
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Date: Tue,  3 Feb 2004 21:45:16 CST

About 50 people responded to my request for suggestions on what to use for a
program to teach a group of home-schoolers the Dewey Decimal system.
Several people wrote back saying they wanted to know what I found out.
Several answers were repeats or very similar in style. Well, here is the
list, and if I forgot to mention something somebody sent, I apologize now.
Because the response was so overwhelming, there is the chance that some
things are sitting in one of the many "piles" on my desk.  Please forgive;)

What I did:
Acted out a skit: The Mess of the Mixed-up Books taken from a book in our J
Ref collection. Contact me if you need title or I can fax you skit.

Explained how libraries worked before Dewey-shelved by size, color, etc.,
how words "call-number" originated, explained Dewey decimal categories and
how they are read and what a Cutter is, showed examples of Dewey numbers and
had them tell me which would come first, second, last, explained what YA
was, what a + in front of a book was, and how Bios are shelved.

Played game: Gave every child a hand out with the 10 Dewey Categories on it
and 10 sub-categories in each.  Wrote titles on index cards and gave each
table 4 cards.  Gave students 5 minutes to go through cards and figure out
which Dewey category the book would be shelved in. Not sub-category, but
which "Big 100's" category.

Library tour

What others wrote:
-Dewey Decimal game www.storylady.com/deweygame.html
-A packet of Dewey lessons at
http://mte.anacortes.k12.wa.us/library/dewey/dewles.htm
-Library Sparks periodical December 2003 issue has Dewey incorporated into
flying lesson
-Let's Do Dewey at www.mtsu.edu/~vvesper/dewey.html
-Demco catalog has many library-related curriculum books
-Several people mentioned different versions of Dewey games, where they
would write Dewey classifications on one side of paper and get books from
the collection and have kids place books in correct category. Similar to my
game.  This is a very versatile idea and can be implemented in many ways.
-Dewey bio at www.thrall.org/dewey/dewbio.htm
-Dewey info at http://tqjunior.thinkquest.org/5002/
-take a bag of props and have kids grab a prop from a bag and tell where it
would be shelved. Put goofy things in the bag.
-bring out animal puppets and have audience try to put them in order by
number
-Dewey Rap (whoooo! What a song!)
www.thirteen.org/edonline/lessons/library/b.html
If the rap isn't on this page, I would be happy to fax it to you. The person
who sent it to me either cut and pasted it or typed it out, and let me tell
you, typing it would be painful.  Contact me if you want a copy.
-More Dewey info at
http://mte.anacortes.k12.wa.us/library/dewey/deweystory.htm
-Infamous story about Dewey and the Alien which can be found at
http://library.thinkquest.org/5002/Alien/alien.htm

Ok, I am stopping here. Hope this helps anyone interested.  Special thanks
to my friends in Missouri who faxed me a 10 page article. I can always count
on Pubyac!

Good Luck!


Victoria Jaksic
Children's Librarian
Kenosha Public Library
(262) 564-6152

------------------------------
From: "Sparta-WRLSWEB" <spartalibrary@wrlsweb.org>
To: "PUBYAC: PUBlic librarians serving Young Adults and Children"
Subject: stumper
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Date: Tue,  3 Feb 2004 21:51:12 CST

I have a 7th grade boy who is reading a horse series by Bryant. The main
character is a girl. He brought it to school and guess what, the kids teased
him. So now he is looking for a series about horses that has a boy as the
main character. He wants it to be at the young adult level. Any ideas would
be appreciated!

Darla
Sparta Free Library

------------------------------
From: Linda Goff <lgoff@lakeline.lib.fl.us>
To: pubyac <pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: Library policy on touching children
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Date: Tue,  3 Feb 2004 22:16:28 CST

Dear Pubyacers,
     I would like to know your library's policy regarding how to deal
with a child who is running wild or having a tantrum in the library.
 One of our children's librarians had an unaccompanied, misbehaving
young boy in the children's room.  He threw himself down on the floor
and had a tantrum when she asked him to walk with her to find his
parent.  At this point, she picked the boy up to take along with her and
the parent filed a complaint.  The parent objected to the young boy
being touched by a stranger.
     I am looking for any helpful information to give to my boss and the
county's lawyer.  Please email me personally at lgoff@lakeline.lib.fl.us
  Thank you in advance.
Linda Goff
Youth Services Coordinator
Lake County Library System

------------------------------
From: Tracie Partridge <t_l_partridge@yahoo.com>
To: pubyac@prairienet.org
Subject: Puppet Show Help
Date: Tue,  3 Feb 2004 22:26:44 CST


Hi, everyone.  We are looking for new puppet shows to do at my library.  We
have done a lot of the classic fairytales, such as Cinderella, The Princess
and the Pea, and Little Red Riding Hood as well as just classic children's
literature, such as Where the Wild Things Are.  Do you have any suggestions?
We are looking for ones that can be done by one or at the max two people and
do not require tons of preparation or props.  Please send your responses to
t_l_partridge@yahoo.com.  I will gladly compile the answers and post them to
the listserv if there is interest.  Thanks, again.  I really appreciate your
assistance.
- Tracie Partridge


Tracie Partridge
Children's Center Section Manager
Central Library
Wichita, KS
v: (316) 261-8500
e-mail: t_l_partridge@yahoo.com

------------------------------
From: "Don Wood" <dwood@ala.org>
To: <publib@sunsite.berkeley.edu>
Subject: Censorship of the Written Word: Still Alive and Kickin': 2004
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Date: Tue,  3 Feb 2004 22:27:00 CST

2004 Annual Conference
Monday, June 28, 2004
1:30 p - 3:30 p
Location to be announced

Censorship of the Written Word: Still Alive and Kickin'

Sponsored by the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee, Association of
American Publishers, and American Booksellers Foundation for Free
Expression

Join us for this 2004 Annual Conference program explaining how
librarians and local grassroots movements can deal effectively with
challenges!

Robie Harris, author of It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing
up, Sex, and Sexual  Health and  It's So Amazing! A Book About Eggs,
Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families, and Jerilynn Williams, director,
Montgomery County Library System (Conroe, Texas) and recipient of the
2003 PEN/Newman's Own First Amendment Award for successfully defending
Harris' books, will discuss the ever-present attempts to censor the
written word.

Questions will be solicited from the audience following their
presentations.

------------------------------
From: Carol Mitchell <mitcheca@oplin.org>
To: pubyac@prairienet.org
Subject: family game night
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Date: Tue,  3 Feb 2004 22:41:04 CST

Has anyone had a family game night at their library? We are interested in
hearing ideas on how to organize the evening. We have an evening planned
for later this month and would like to hear from anyone who has experience
with a program like this. We are inviting all ages to our game night.

TIA,
Carol L. Mitchell, Youth Services Librarian
Champaign County Library
1060 Scioto St.
Urbana, OH  43078

------------------------------
From: "Kapila Sankaran" <ksankaran@springfieldpubliclibrary.com>
To: <pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: popular teen movies?
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Date: Tue,  3 Feb 2004 22:41:18 CST

dear pubyac,

this query is on behalf of the YA person at our library--

could you suggest popular or best loved teen movies, for younger
teens/pre-teens -- grades 6-9?

any suggestions you can give that might go along with the 2004 summer
reading theme in NJ and other states "discover new trails" or its YA
counterpart "get lost in the library" would be extra super!

i will certainly compile a list.

thank you (from myself and YA staff Janet!)

cheers,

kapila


Kapila Sankaran, Youth Services Librarian
Springfield Free Public Library
66 Mountain Ave. Springfield NJ 07081
tel: 973.376.4930 x.232  fax: 973.376.1334
email: ksankaran@springfieldpubliclibrary.com

------------------------------
From: Jennifer Baker <jbaker93711@yahoo.com>
To: pubyac@prairienet.org
Subject: hp 6?
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Date: Tue,  3 Feb 2004 22:58:42 CST

we've had several requests recently for the title of
the next harry potter installment. we've checked
amazon but it doesn't have anything. does anyone know
if rowling has said what the next one will be called?

please respond to jbaker93711@yahoo.com

TIA,
~j.

=====
~jenniferbaker
fresno co. public library

"I may not be an explorer or an adventurer or a treasure seeker or a gun
fighter Mr. O' Connell, but I am proud of what I am." "And what is that?" "I
am a librarian!"
~ Evelyn, The Mummy

------------------------------
From: "Kapila Sankaran" <ksankaran@springfieldpubliclibrary.com>
To: <pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: cooking activities -- ideas, tips, suggestions, advice
MIME-Version: 1.0
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Date: Tue,  3 Feb 2004 23:09:16 CST

Dear Pubyac,

Here is the succulent compilation of responses I received from so many of
you. Thank you for sharing your savoury ideas!

A couple of people sent attachments, which I have not included here. If you
would like to have access to the information in these, please let me know
off-list and I will gladly send them to you.

Stay well,

Kapila

==
Hello!  We did a great storytime recently about Bread!  Several staffers
brought in bread machines and baked a loaf, so that it was done just as
storytime started.  The whole library smelled great and we offered
leftovers to our adult patrons.  The kids liked the bread more than the
usual little snacks!  It was fun! -Marcia Schaffer
==
I've done a little bit, for example, "Stone Soup," in which I read the folk
tale, then we assembled, not cooked, stone soup in a crock pot--using
preheated canned broth, frozen mixed vegetables, frozen cooked chicken bits,
pre-cooked noodles.  I had washed the stone extremely well beforehand!

During our "Circle the World with Books" SRC I remember I offered two weeks
on each continent, with programs on their food, music, folk tales and
crafts.  We didn't actually cook the food, though.

I didn't specifically address allergies because all the kids attended with
an adult, so I trusted the parents to be aware and wary.  Also, they knew
ahead of time there would be food, so I considered them fore-warned, though
they didn't know what the food was going to be.-Kathy Percoco
==
I've done cooking programs at two different libraries for children age 5 and
up. The previous library had a small kitchen that was fully equipped with a
refrigerator, worktable, stove (that didn't work very well) and sink. I did
"Kids in the Kitchen" monthly, with 6-8 kids age 6-9 making things like
ambrosia (no stove required), individual cherry cheesecakes, Chex mix, and
cookies. At the Parsippany Library we have a small kitchen next to the story
hour room, so we do cookies on occasion. Sometimes we bake oatmeal chocolate
chip cookies, which are great because our oven is awful and they are
impervious to temperature changes, overhandling, etc. If you want the
recipe, I'll be glad to send it to you. More frequently we buy big cookies
at the local Shop-Rite and decorate them with frosting and things like candy
and sprinkles. The kids love this and you can handle a lot more kids than if
you need to use the oven.

One summer the region did a food theme and we had weekly cooking classes for
kids age 5 or 6 (don't remember now) to about 9 and for 9 to 14. We did food
from a different culture each week. That also was the summer the library had
a cafe and we found out after all the pr was out that we wouldn't have
access to the sink in the story hour room kitchen. We had two choices: sink
but no stove in the meeting room area, or stove but no sink in the story
hour room. We opted for the sink but no stove, so did foods that didn't
require cooking or that could be cooked in a microwave or an electric frying
pan or wok. Again, it was very successful. -Paula Lefkowitz
==
Cooking with pre-schoolers, we usually make no bake oatmeal cookies with our
storytime group.  We have the hot stuff already cooked on top of the stove
(or
microwave will work).  Then the kids add the dry ingredients, stir and scoop
out their own cookies, wrap them up till they cool then eat at will!

A summer reading program a 'Friend of the library' did for us involved
having
different fruit cut up and they made fruit salad.  She did discuss cooking
techniques, but this was a simple dish the kids could put in what they
wanted.

Both programs the youth enjoyed.  I realize it's not like Home Ec. but it
works for us. -Amy Blake
==
We've done a few food-based programs. We don't have kitchen facilities, but
we do have a program room. We have a microwave and refridgerator handy and
we bring in other items from home as needed. We just got some funding for a
convection toaster oven, so we will probably expand into cookies this year.

We've done the following with school age kids:
Candy making for Harry Potter parties. We made microwave fudge and other
melt, mold and refridgerate candies, dunked gummy frogs in chocolate, etc.

Pancakes. The kids mixed up the batter and the librarian cooked them on
electric griddles.

Ice cream. We either make the custard at home and bring it in, or use an
eggless recipe. We've brought in the ice cream makers from home in the past,
but we've recently acquired one just for the library.

With preschoolers we've done the following:
Apple sampler. We used one of those peeler/corer devices to prepare a number
of different kinds of apples to taste and compare.

Pumpkin seeds. We emptied out some pumpkins and roasted the seeds in the
toaster oven. The kids did the pumpkins.

Mini-pizzas. The kids constructed the english muffin pizzas, we put them in
the toaster ovens. (Multiple ovens are key.)

With our teen group we also had a chocolate fondue party. They did all the
chopping and dipping. They really loved it. We used an electric fondue pot.

We're pretty clear before we start about health and safety rules. Luckily,
we have a sink in the room. Everyone must wash hands thoroughly and in the
cases where group food is touched, kids must wear food service gloves
(non-latex). Approaching a heating element is verboten. As a general rule,
we avoid recipes that call for peanuts. We always canvas the group for
allergies before we start and emphasize that they must have a parent's
permission to eat. Thus far we haven't had any problems. Also, we are very
careful never to set a knife down where a child can reach.

They can be very fun, as long as the group size is controlled (we've never
done one with more than 25 kids) and the rules are clearly spelled out
before you start. Also, all food programs with preschoolers are done with a
parent or caregiver present. The younger the child, the more you'll need to
premeasure and mix. If you don't have a sink in your room you'll definitely
need to set up some sort of washing area. -Paula Anderson
==
Hi!  I have done several years of "cooking" activities for summer reading or
special events with these ages (not this  year - no $).  I do a Lunch Bunch
program where the kids come to eat their sack lunches while I read to them
for about 30 mins.  They can count the time listening for their summer
reading and parents know I am fixing a dessert type snack afterwards.  I
have access to a sink, stove, mini refrigerator and microwave (I use staff
room one on a book cart).  The schools here had an encephalitis outbreak one
year that banned homemade treats so I made sure that summer I always wore
plastic gloves after I washed my hands for cooking, which made it quite
awkward for me to stir and mix.
    I would pick recipes for the programs that could be tied into the theme.
I also tried to group the ingredients so I didn't have to buy a lot of
things for just one recipe (i.e. one bottle of vanilla extract for the
summer, bulk bags if I needed to use it for more than one recipe).  I got
monies from our Friends group to pay for ingredients.  Group size was always
limited to 25 since most recipes would make about 3 dozen (parents want the
treats too!) and that way I didn't have too much left over (pages did take
care of those).  I usually changed the names of the recipes to go with the
theme.
      Setup is cleaning out microwave and scrubbing one table from the
meeting room to assemble on, then cover it with a tablecloth.  Ingredients
are set out on the table along with any bowls, measuring cups or spoons, and
everything needed.  I usually check everything I need the night before and
set up about an hour before the program.   Having the ingredients on the
table in advance shows everyone is going to be in this and I always ask if
anyone is allergic to anything on the table.  I did have one child once say
he was allergic to peanuts so he left before I even opened the jar of peanut
butter.  I got more vigilant after that with saying if you are allergic to
anything on the table, DON'T EAT IT!
      Once the majority of kids are done eating, we all go to the cooking
table.  I make a big show of washing my hands as I talk about what we are
going to  make today.  I have the recipe printed out for myself and have the
kids tell me what I am adding.  Rules are no elbows on the table (pulls the
cloth off and things fall) and if you are coughing you must stand back,
little ones up front, taller ones in back.  As I open things, the little
ones LOVE to take the empty bags and boxes to the trash can so they can say
they cooked!  I explain simple cooking rules as they apply to the recipe
(heat chocolate 30 sec at a time in the microwave so it doesn't burn and
show them how it can look solid, but really it has melted)  I do NOT let
them do anything with hot ingredients.  Once we are done, they get in line
and have their share put on paper towels or plates.  There are no seconds
till everyone has had firsts and older kids are expected to help little ones
carry to their places to eat.  I am always amazed that going over the
recipes verbally  they can recite back to me at the end what we made, what
order the ingredients went in, and how much of each we used.  I have had
several parents come in to say they did the recipe later on from just what
their child told them when they got home.  My biggest hit ever was Pigeon
Poop the year we did a building theme.  It is a white chocolate based mess
with pretzel sticks, mini chips, rice cereal, peanuts, and looked like its
name.  The next year when I was talking Summer Reading in the schools, I
swear every other classroom had kids asking if we were making that again and
how good it was (I didn't try it - hate white chocolate!) so the awful names
do stick in their minds.
    Cleanup is much easier with a tablecloth since it can be shaken outside.
I use the cheap plastic ones and if it can't be easily washed off, I toss.
Leftovers are taken to staff room and vanish.   I will miss doing it this
year, but with budget cuts I have no planning time and we are not doing any
staff programming this year.
      Hope this helps.  If you need more info, let me know and I could snail
mail you copies of what I have done (if you have a theme in mind let me know
that, I may have done a similar one already!)  Enjoy!  deborah cox
decox@desmoineslibrary.com
==
We had a preschool group "cooking" at the library last summer as part of
our "Hands On" program (a weekly program where kids tried something new
each week).

For the cooking program, the kids first made paper chef's hats (I think we
found the pattern in one of the Hat Tricks books).  We do not have a stove
in the program room, so we had to limit it to things they could make
without the stove.
Some suggested recipes:

Trail mix (Have large bowls of the ingredients on the table.  Add measuring
scoops, cups, and spoons.  Let the kids measure and mix their own bag of
trail mix according to whatever recipe you create.

Fruit salad--Yummy, yummy (Sorry about that, I had a Wiggles moment there
:) )
Kis can cut up fruit (with supervision, of course) and add a little fruit
juice --maybe even flaked coconut to make an ambrosia.

A fondue pot or small crock pot can melt chocolate or almond bark.  Kids
can dip pretzels or fruit, especially if you turn the pot of a few minutes
before so the dip is not hot enough to burn.  (We did this with 2nd & 3rd
graders one summer when we read The Chocolate Touch.)
Kids can also dip plastic spoons into the chocolate and then let them dry
to make great stirrers for hot chocolate or coffee.  Wrap the dried
stirrers in celephane, add a twirly ribbon, and you've got a neat gift for
mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, etc.

Fruit punch -- mix assorted fruit juices, Kool-aids, and other kids drinks
to make a one-of-a-kind creation.  A frozen ice ring with fruit makes a
great finishing touch.

After the kids created their masterpieces, they had a picnic.  I sent home
a list of all the recipes we had tried, and a bibliography of books that
feature kids cooking.

It was a lot of work, but it was one of the most popular programs we had
all summer.

Sharon Anderson
Cape Girardeau Public Library
Cape Girardeau, MO
==
I held a series of after school programs for grades 1-3 and 4-6 based on
food. I hold these after school
programs regularly at the library, and always have a theme. So when I wanted
to do food as the theme I came up
with "Read It and Eat It" for the younger kids, and "Gross Grub Club" for
the older kids. I should also mention that I have
held these twice each, at 2 different libraries, one with a meeting room and
one without, but I never used the
meeting room. We just did everything right there in the middle of
everything.

I have used precooked food, rolled in a microwave, cooked food in the lounge
oven and brought it in, used the hot plate in the middle of the floor, food
that didn't require any cooking...any way you can think of, I have done it.
I have never had any accidents or problems.

I will include my program plans so you can see exactly what I did. These
programs were extremely successful. The kids
and parents both loved them. I never had a problem with food allergies. If a
child had an allergy they wouldn't come to
the program with that food. They just checked to see what I had planned from
week to week. Parents are very forgiving
in that way.

These programs certainly promoted a lot of books both fiction and
non-fiction. That is always a good justificaton for using
food! I used lots of picture books, cookbooks, and juvenile fiction in my
programs and the kids would check them out afterward.

I should also mention that I do serve food at nearly every program I do
whether or not it is the theme. Even at
story time, I always hand out cookies. We have a "Cookie Fund" jar that we
keep at the circulation desk for
contributions. We always get more than enough donations to pay for the
cookies. To fund the after school programs
I tend to use my general Children's budget which is generous enough to allow
that.

I hope I have answered a few questions for you, but if you have any more let
me know! Also, I will be presenting some of my after school program ideas at
ALA in Orlando next June. I'll be talking about this food program and will
have lots of photos from it. It will be part of the "Program This" program
sponsored by ALSC.

Good luck!

Jennifer Cunningham
Wright Memorial Public Library
1776 Far Hills Ave
Dayton, OH  45419
==
just a precaution...anytime you are heating or cooking
food you should probably check with your health
department to make sure you aren't violating any
codes. if you are just mixing room temp. ingredients
you should be okay though.
Jennifer Baker
==
Instant pudding is easy, ice-cream (in babyfood jars, butter (in babyfood
jars), peanut butter (ask about allergies first!).  That's it I'm outa
ideas!

Teresa LaMorte
YS, HHH Community Library
Dix Hills, NY
==
I've done microwave cookery with elementary kids.  At that library the
microwave was on a cart so I just wheeled it into the meeting room.  We
melted chocolate and dipped pretzels to start.  We also made cupcakes using
regular yellow cake mix and flat bottom ice cream cones.  You stir the cake
mix up as directed and then fill the ice cream cone about 2/3s full.  Cook
one at a time.  Set the cone upright exactly in the center of the microwave
oven.  I can't remember off the top of my head just how long each one takes,
but because microwaves can vary so much I would suggest experimenting ahead
of time with the unit you will be using so that you know what to expect.
There's little or no cooling time required and then the children frosted
them using canned icing with craft sticks/tongue depressors.  I also had
various sprinkles and other toppings out for them to add.  Someone needs to
police the frosting table to make sure that the craft sticks are not licked
clean and then stuck back in the container.  Also have to watch that the
sprinkles are not all over the first kid and the floor and furniture before
anyone else has a chance.  Lots of ways to keep that situation under
control.  I put together a brief handout of recipes the children could try
at home with adult supervision, but that's many years and several jobs ago
so I have no idea if I even have a copy any more.

Enjoy,
Stephanie

Stephanie Robinson Borgman
Juvenile Specialist
Harris County Public Library
Houston, Texas
==
We've done quite a bit of food programming, with some
cooking involved.  By that, I mean that it's not
always necessary to cook for a food program.  Mailbox
magazine usually has a no-cook snack page in each
issue, and these can be done as listed or elaborated
on quite a bit.  Having said that, we have also cooked
in our food programs.  We've used a toaster oven to
make mini-pizzas, a microwave to make chocolate
cookies, an electric skillet to make green eggs and
ham as well as pancakes, and an oven to bake
gingerbread cookies (and all of these have been very
successful and fun programs--I would be happy to give
you more information about them if you need it).  For
the most part, these programs involved the kids mixing
up the materials and adults doing the actual
baking/cooking.  All of our programs take place in our
library's large meeting room.  But cooking programs
work best when done with smaller groups.  If you have
a large group, it helps to divide them up into smaller
groups and have adults available to help each group.
As for allergy precautions, usually advertising the
program as a food or cooking program will be enough to
alert parents to ask questions.  Having an instruction
sheet with ingredients listed is a must--this way
parents can see exactly what food items are being
used.  If you know that someone has a food allergy,
having an alternative activity/food available for them
is sometimes a possibility.  Cooking programs can be a
lot of fun, and the kids love them.

Good luck,

Tracey Jipson
==
Decorating precooked cookies/cupcakes is a lot of fun.    Buffet style, with
different toppings in containers.  The kids can frost the cookies and then
decorate.

Graham cracker gingerbread houses are fun too.  Use the smallest milk
cartons as the base.  Stick graham crackers to them with frosting, in the
shape of a house.  Then use frosting and candies to decorate.

Lorie O'Donnell
==
I just did an ice cream program (seemed appropriate on a freezing day in
January!).  It was a HUGE hit with all ages.  We made ice cream in ziploc
freezer bags - shaking 5-10 minutes until done.

You need two bags per person - a gallon size and a sandwich size.  In the
sandwich size bag put:  1 C. Half and Half, 1 T sugar, 1 t vanilla.  Zip the
small bag shut and place in the larger bag.  Fill the larger bag 1/2 full
with ice and add 6 T of Rock Salt (I found the rock salt in the spices
section of a grocery store near the table salt).  Zip the large back shut
and SHAKE!

Some notes:

*there will be some bags that break - it's those shakers that go a bit wild
flinging the bag everywhere - so do it outside or on floor that can be
cleaned easily.

*Make sure to buy the freezer type bags.  They are a bit stronger than the
regular ones, so don't break as easily.

*I only had sprinkles available as a topping, but you could go all out and
include, fruit, nuts, etc.

*each bag made enough for two kids to enjoy, so I had them shaking in pairs.
Some just slid their bags back and forth on the floor and the ice cream
still firmed up!

Enjoy!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Cassie Veselovsky
Youth Services Librarian

Capital Area District Library
Lansing, Michigan
==
You can try making "ants on a log"  The log is a celery stalk filled with
peanut butter (if allergies are not a problem) or cream cheese. Dot the
top of the log with raisins (the ants). You can make "Apple Smiles" Cut a
nice red skinned apple in 1/8ths--remove the core, of course. Smear one of
the white sides of a slice with a generous amount of peanut butter. stand
a few mini-marshmallows up in the peanutbutter like teeth. Take a 2nd
slice of apple and apply peanut butter on one of the white sides and place
it on top of the "lower lip" and tah-dah!! you have an apple smile!! I
once made an entire cookie sheet full of these for a treat for my son's
kindergarten class and it really is rather disconcerting. You almost
expect them to start "clacking" at you like a bunch of novelty wind-up
false teeth! Warning re: making graham cracker houses using small milk
cartons as a base--I tried it once and could not for the life of me get
the crackers to stick to the containers. I would strongly urge you to try
out ALL recipes ahead of time so you can identify any pitfalls the kids
might run into. I once said I would help my son's class turn candy canes
into Rudolph the red nosed reindeer. Simple, right?? glue on 2 googley
eyes, a small red pompon for a nose and twist a brown pipecleaner around
the cane for antlers. HA!! Certain glues will not stick a pompon to the
clear plastic wrapping used on the candy cane.--not even if you sit there
like a dumby pressing it to the tip of the cane! Try children's cookbooks
that have recipes that don't need any or minimal cooking. For a cooking
program w/kis I would say the KISS axiom should be followed --Keep It
Simple, Stupid. Good Luck. You will have fun!!! S2

Sue Steiger
Wayne County Regional Library for the Blind
30555 Michigan Avenue
Westland, MI. 48186
==
I had a lot of fun with a group decorating pieces of bread.  We spread the
bread with either marshmallow fluff or peanut butter.  Then you offer
different items such as raisins, bananas, grapes, etc. to "draw" a picture
on the bread.

You can also make a rabbit using different foods.  Use a bed of lettuce in a
bowl.
Canned pear half -- rabbit's face
American cheese -- ears
Raisins -- eyes
Maraschino Cherry -- nose
Toothpicks -- whiskers

I tried to get around allergies by offering many different foods (suck as
the marshmallow fluff vs. peanut butter on the bread).  When I did this, it
was a registered program, so we asked people to share any food allergy
information with us when they signed up.

Have fun!

Julie Dietzel-Glair
Frederick County Public Libraries
==





=====================================
Kapila Sankaran, Youth Services Librarian
Springfield Free Public Library
66 Mountain Ave. Springfield NJ 07081
tel: 973.376.4930 x.232  fax: 973.376.1334
email: ksankaran@springfieldpubliclibrary.com
=====================================

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End of PUBYAC Digest 1334
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