More Library Summer Fun

So, to say we spent a lot of time at the library over the summer would be a serious understatement.  Some weeks we were at the library 3 times, between fun activities they had going on and trying to meet the quota of required attendance in order to earn certain prizes.  But it was great, and I loved having kids old enough that they all enjoyed themselves.  What a fun position to be in.  I know it won't last much longer, as Cat will soon become a full-blown big kid, bored with all things young.

Anyway, there were some cool things going on at the Orem Library, including the awesome author/illustrator workshop we attended with Kathryn and her kids and the Shakespeare For Kids where Jack stole the show (in my book, anyway).  The Shakespeare For Kids program continued every Monday afternoon for 7 weeks.  We didn't find out about it until week 3 for The Winter's Tale, but we attended all of the remaining sessions.  Cat and I loved it.  Jack and Eliza got more and more bored each week, but we endured anyway.  (Okay, so this is probably the major exception to what I said about all the kids enjoying themselves during our summer activities... way to start out a blog post, Brett...)

The last week of the Shakespeare program, the play was Much Ado About Nothing and Cat was finally chosen for a part.  They were originally going to give her a big part but realized that role needed to be played by someone who resembled a different role, so they gave it to another girl.  Cat was still thrilled to be involved, though, even if her role was as Ursula, Hero's servant.  I think she had one line.  But oh well.

Cat is in the purple shirt and blue floral skirt.

By the time we were attending this, the last Shakespeare activity, J & E didn't even try to act interested.

I really liked the way this activity was run.  I thought the leaders did a great job.  One thing that made it even more fun for kids was that when a character was supposed to insult another character, one of the leaders would give the child a list of Shakespearean insult combinations, similar to the one found here, and let the kid choose how to insult the poor unsuspecting mumble-news.  (If you like Shakespearean insults, click here for a fun random insult, some generated from the insult kit, and some actual quotes from his plays.  Very cool.  You better not make me mad, or I just might have to use some strong Shakespeare words... thou "idol of idiot-worshippers!")

Another thing that impressed me was that even though the majority of the play was performed in modern language, they taught the kids one actual line from each play.  They told them the line before they began the play and had the kids repeat it for them, and at the beginning of reach session they reviewed all of the previous lines that they'd memorized.  The line from Romeo and Juliet was "A plague on both your houses" and the line from The Winter's Tale was "Exit, pursued by bear." (Those may or may not be the only two I remember after hearing the lines reviewed 5 times....)  They told the kids that at the end of the 7 weeks they would have a prize for anyone who could repeat at least 2 lines for them.  I thought about trying to review a few of the lines with my kids so that they'd be able to earn the prizes, but forgot about it.  Of course, Jack and Eliza weren't behaving well enough to receive a prize anyway, so that didn't worry me.  And Cat impressed me by remembering enough lines to earn herself a prize.  With no help from me.

Cat + Skittles = LOVE

Other Fun Library Stuff:

Stories + Music + Movement = Super Fun Story Time at the Orem Library
Cat is in the pink soccer jersey and Jack is right behind her in the white shirt and plaid shorts.

Toddler Story Time at the Provo Library
(my kids are on the left side)

Outdoor Story time under a tent at the Provo Library
the thing is... you have to get there super early to get a spot under the tent

We learned our lesson for the next time.  You can see Jack and Eliza on the bottom right.

Making and proudly displaying a sun catcher from the Provo Library craft time.

We probably could have found several summer reading programs to be a part of, but I felt that two was enough.  So we did the one at the Provo Library and one sponsored by the Governor of Utah.  More on that in a minute.

The Provo Library's had two parts - First, if you read a certain amount, decided by each individual, then you earn a free book and entry into a private swimming party at a local pool with slides and everything.  Second, if you attend a certain number of the summer story times or craft activities, you could earn a ticket to attend a summer Trick or Treating party at the library.

All of the kids earned the book + entry to the pool, but the pool party was in the evening after bedtime, so just Cat and Ben went and I stayed home with Jack and Eliza.  And I love these pictures of the kids with their new books.  The selection they had there was impressive, and although I advised the kids, I did let them choose their books all by themselves.  It's fun to see what they ended up with.  Along with the book and entry into the pool party, the kids received an impressive collection of coupons for free kids' meals or free ice cream, etc., at various local restaurants.  We've been using those for months now and still have several more left in the stash.

The high school students who were handing out the prizes at the library didn't check the sticker charts very carefully, because they gave all of the kids tickets to the Trick or Treat party.  Cat actually hadn't earned enough stickers to be able to attend, since she chose to spend time with a friend one day while I took Jack and Eliza to the library.  I thought maybe I'd let her keep the ticket, since it wasn't our fault that they'd given it to her by mistake.  But I realized that this would be a good teaching moment, and we talked about what the honest thing to do was.  I also thought it might help her gain an appreciation for the importance of deciding how she spends her time, and how choosing to do something fun today might mean giving up something better tomorrow.  I'm not sure how much of it sank in, but she decided to give the ticket back, and she didn't go to the Trick or Treating party.

A dragon and a princess-ballerina-with-pink-leggings-and-shiny-shoes.
Ready for candy. 

They Trick-or-Treated at tables in the ballroom, and all of the tables had either a hands-on activity or an activity page to take home.  I love that one of the librarians dressed up as Olivia.  It's hard to see in the picture, but it was pretty cute.

After waiting for 15 minutes or so and slowly making our way to each of the tables, the kids didn't receive that much candy (see the little bag in Eliza's right hand?) but they had a great time.  A festive way to celebrate library busy-ness over the summer.

I just like these pictures of Jack going down the stairs after the party.

How cute is he?

The other reading program we participated in was Governor Herbert's Summer Reading Challenge.
This one was very specific about reading for 20 minutes a day for a certain number of days.  I thought it might be hard to keep track, but the prize was really cool - a certificate signed by the Governor and First Lady.  Neat, right?  They arrived in the mail recently, along with coupons for free kids' meals at a few restaurants, and we were pretty excited.  Now the certificates are proudly displayed in the kids' rooms.

Summer Reading?
Check.