Goodbye

I have really enjoyed posting on this blog and maybe at some point in the future I will return to it. However, a few months ago I found some exciting news... I'm expecting! Life has gotten even more crazy than before and I hardly have time to update it. When the baby arrives I doubt I will have any more time. So I wanted to thank anyone for tuning in and maybe in the future I will return.

I still plan to stay at my job full-time, I could never leave it, I love it so much. However, with two fulltime jobs, mom and librarian, there isn't going to be a lot of "me" time. So goodbye for now and thanks for reading.

Dr Seuss

It was Dr Seuss storytime this week so it was time for my annual Dr. Seuss storytime. I read the traditional Green Eggs and Ham for the kids. However, Dr Seuss can be long for storytime so I skipped a few parts of the book. Immediately after skipped a part one little boy shouted out: "You skipped it!" I was so impressed by how well this four year old knew Dr. Seuss. I'm not sure I would have caught it.

Bleach spray T-shirts

The other week my anime club had a "Bleach" day where we made Bleach spray T-shirts. You take a 50% concentration of bleach and water and spray it over the shirt. You can make a design out of contact paper and when you spray the solution over the contact paper and then remove it, it makes as design as in the first picture where the teen cut out a dragon design.

With teens you do have to be careful with such dangerous chemicals. I had to stop one teen from trying to sniff the solution and another one from pouring so much on the shirt that it almost ate through the material. Aside from having the auditorium smell like a public pool, it was a fun and easy craft.

Storytime struggles

Started the storytime season again last week after a holiday break. This week we had a crowd bursting at the seams of the auditorium, as well as some newbie kids. Sitting quiet and listening is a skill that kids need to learn and most 3 year olds have not developed it. So usually when we get some first-timer preschoolers in the storytime, they are pretty wound up, jumping up on the stage, trying to play the piano, standing directly in front of the book in front of dozens of other kids craning their necks...etc.

Usually I can handle out of control kids, because their parents help out. This mother was either too overwhelmed with her charges or just figured the other parents of preschoolers would watch her first-timer children. While the group was doing a craft and I was frantically running around making sure there was enough supplies, one of these newbies grabbed a crayon and scribbled all over my flannel board. Crayon does not come out, it was ruined. I didn't get a sorry from the mom and she did not discipline any of her children....I wasn't happy but I will get the last laugh as these 3 preschoolers eventually turn into teenagers under her roof.

Deaf, Disgruntled Man

We have an elderly man that comes into our library almost every day. He is a little "muddled" in the head and virtually deaf. He cannot hear something unless you lean in close to his ear and almost shout it.

We have had numerous incidences where the man (believing since he can't hear anything that no one else can) will let out a stream of curse words VERY loud in the library. I remember one incident where he kept repeating "S---" and over again. Everyone can hear what he is saying and 20 heads usually turn to see where the choice words are coming from.

I dealt with him this week when trying to explain how much book sale items cost. He was confused about the "buy one get one free" deal we had going on. I told him repeatedly what the DVDs he had in his hand cost but he didn't seem to get it and people were staring as I virtually shouted at him : "Two dollars!" Not accepting the answer I gave him, he wandered off and began ranting (what he thought was under his breath) about how stupid our library was. Everyone on the staff heard it but being the professionals they are, the customer service staff brightly said to him as he checked out: "Have a good day!"

Influence of Movies

The other week was my last preschool storytime of the fall session. It was a dinosaur storytime and I had a flannel story with dinner species of dinosaurs. There was a T-Rex, diplodocus, stegosaurus, triceratops, and a brontosaurus. I asked the children what the name of the dinosaurs were when I held up their flannel counterparts. I've been surprised at the average three-year olds knowledge of dinosaurs, they love that stuff. This group could identify the T-rex and the triceratops with some prompting. When I held up the brontosaurus instead of the correct name they all shouted: "Long neck, long neck!" from the characters in Land Before Time. Even when told the proper name they continued to call the brontosaurus "long neck."

I have also never seen a child under six identify a clown fish as a clown fish. They all call them "Nemos." It goes to show how great the influence of movies are on television and how many hours they spend watching them.

Ninja for Hire

The other week we had a very special guest for anime club...a ninja! I found him online, his online ad said he was a "ninja for hire" and would do just about anything. I hired him not knowing exactly what to expect.

When I was sitting at my desk waiting for the ninja to show up, a policeman entered the library and asked for me. When I confirmed that I was that person, he said "There's a guy dressed in a ninja outfit with all these weapons in a car outside the library. He says he knows you. Is this true?" The policeman had a very concerned look on his face. I guess he thought the ninja was going to attack our library with his katana and shurikens. I confirmed that I did know the ninja and "Jon Ninja" came to set up.

Mr. "Jon Ninja" really did know his stuff. He knew ninja history, moves, information about weapons etc. The kids were in awe of him. For the activity I had all these cut-in-half pool noodles that they could use as swords. The ninja carefully taught the teens how to fight with them, showing them defensive moves etc. But when he let them loose they just walloped each other over the head.

Doing a lot with a little

Our library system gives each library a fixed amount of money for programming each year. I have had a lot of programs this year and found myself last month with four months to go in the year and about $200 left to spend. Some might think that was a lot but with storytimes, a teen anime club, a gaming club, after school club, teen programs, crafts, book clubs etc. that money goes fast.

I have been getting big crowds at my storytime this session. At each storytime I have a craft relating to the theme. So I have had to had to come up with crafts for 30 something kids each time for 8 weeks with practically no money. I am on the sixth week and I have successfully done it, with only spending about $20. I think that deserves an award or something. I can't even go to the grocery store to buy milk and get out spending less than $20.

The reason I'm able to do this so cheaply is simple. Preschoolers are very easy to please. You basically need paper and glue and they are happy as clams. The picture above is our last craft, a paper bear with some buttons on it I found in the back and clothes pins on the back (which are $1.50 for 50) to make the bear stand. Now if only I could entertain the teens with simple paper and glue...