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Our library sees about 40-50 kids in the Children's Department each day after school. The circulation desk is scheduled with one librarian after school. There is a constant line of kids who have questions, need to check-out materials, want to get on a computer, etc. Keeping that many kids occupied or engaged is challenging, so I had to up our passive programming game to satisfy the need for restless kids who have been sitting all day long, quietly.
Programming ideas that have worked
iSpy Board
The most popular and longest-running has to be our iSpy Board. It is a board covered in black paper, which I glued objects to in ROYGBV color order. I added the items in groups (all butterflies, all strings, etc.) and counted them as I put them up, writing those totals down until the board was filled. I am constantly adding to it to keep it fresh - some are just cut-outs from colored paper. It has been up for 9 months, and the kids still play every single day!
How it works:
In a Word document, I typed out questions. "How many eyes are there?" "How many snakes are there?" "How many spiders are there?" - a question for each item on the board. I printed them out and cut them into strips. Each day, a kid can randomly choose a strip of paper, and they must count that item from the board. They get one turn each day and one guess. If correct, they get a prize (small piece of candy, sticker, etc). If they are wrong, they can try again the next day. I never give out the answer if they are wrong.
Bulletin Board Paper: https://amzn.to/3WI2KGt
My Favorite Glue Gun: https://amzn.to/3UWN8h2
Ideas for items on the board:
Spiders Balloons Letters Worms
Popsicle Sticks Straws Numbers Paintbrushes
Googley Eyes Crayons Chenille Stems Pom-Poms
Bats Colored Pencils Handprints Push Pins
Smiley Faces Hearts Legos Bows
Bracelet Making
It's not just for Swifties! Put the supplies out, and you will gather a crowd sitting for hours, making bracelets. I set out various materials in our children's and teen areas.
I use my FAVORITE activity trays to keep beads and other supplies from getting everywhere : https://amzn.to/44Chzfi
The most popular
bracelet kits (and best bang for your buck) can be found here:
Clay Beads: https://amzn.to/4aoWpmg
Pony Beads: https://amzn.to/4asln4h
Letter Beads: https://amzn.to/3QQDQ3A
Bracelet Cord: https://amzn.to/4bE7WiH
Rubber Band Loom: https://amzn.to/4dMThU4 (you can make the loom tool out of two pencils, but most kids use their fingers)
Community Puzzle
This is an easy one! We have a dedicated puzzle table in our teen area that gets used regularly. We've been lucky enough to have some puzzles donated to us, but I've also purchased some fun ones, too, to complement themes and displays.
Fun Games
We have a shelf of games for anyone to use while visiting. Some of the more popular ones that are easy to set up and have minimal directions (no one likes reading directions) include:
Blank Slate: https://amzn.to/4bjmZPd
Connect Four: https://amzn.to/4dMUaMo
Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza: https://amzn.to/3WQM4g1
Chess: https://amzn.to/44JZJXS
Mancala: https://amzn.to/3WFYHKF
Spot It: https://amzn.to/4bLgTH7
Battleship: https://amzn.to/3wEIDy3
Uzzle: https://amzn.to/4bImxK8
If you have iPads, I also recommend the game "Keep Talking". From the description,
"Played by two or more people in the same room, Keep Talking makes one player the bomb defuser and the others the experts reading a manual on how to disarm the device. The catch? The person with the bomb can’t see the manual, while the players with the manual can’t lay eyes on the bomb."
Each time the game is played, the logic puzzle is different. It's a lot of fun and gets kids to work as a team.
Scavenger hunts are also very popular, but that is for another post! I hope this is helpful! Have fun!
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