American Girl – Holiday Fashion Show

Introduction	For my final 2018 American Girl program, I decided to go more modern girl. I actually had a young patron request that we do something with dresses, so voilà, “Fashion Show” was born. I wanted several activities to keep the kids busy.
Make a bracelet	Beads are a guarantee craft and the kids always love them. We have a whole bin full of beads and I just threw a bunch of string and beads out and let the kids go to town.
Doll Dress	The kids always go gaga for anything they can make for their dolls, and I thought a tutu in honor of the The Nutracker would be really fitting. I dug around the internet to find instructions (instructions 2) that would be the easiest for the kids. Full disclosure: adults still need to help if you have a younger crowd. I bought the fabric from JoAnn Fabric and Craft because…coupons. Rhinestones are a must. Who doesn’t want a razzle dazzle tutu.
Cookie Decoration	The holidays are not complete without your 500 cookies galore, so my super awesome coworker made me a huge batch of cookies. We kept the frosting easy and threw out a ton of sprinkles.
Fashion Show	Our final activity was walking the red carpet. I purchased a red carpet off of amazon and jazzed up a door with some fringe. The kids then walked the carpet while I had a volunteer act as the paparazzi to take their pictures. Our department invested in a a portable Polaroid printer. Super awesome since we can just print the pictures as we go. The kids also love that their pictures have the option to become stickers.
	*We have pictures of the fashion show, but cropping the pictures do not do the pictures justice.

Witches – Preschool

Introduction	Welcome – Bienvenidos
Book	What’s in the Witch’s Kitchen by Nick Sharratt
Action Rhyme	Witches Pot Boiling hot, boiling hot What shall we add to the witch’s pot? Boiling hot, boiling hot We’ll add some ______to the witch’s pot. Source: Jbrary
Counting Rhyme	Five Little Witches Five little witches sitting on a gate. The first one said, “I’m glad it’s getting late.” The second one said, “There are spiders in my hair!” The third one said, “Well, I declare!” The fourth one said, “Trick or treating would be fun!” The fifth one said, “Let’s run and run and run!” So, Wooo oooo went the wind. And out went the lightAnd the five the little witches flew out of sight! Sources: Preschool Favorites: 35 Storytimes Kids Love by Diane Briggs
ASL	Witch
Action Rhyme	Witch on the broom (Sung to The Wheels on the Bus)The witch on the broom goes hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee The witch on the broom goes hee, hee, hee, All through the night.Other verses: The ghost in the castle goes boo, boo, boo The werewolf in the field goes hoooooowl The Frankenstein goes stomp, stomp, stomp The cat at night goes meow, meow, meow Source: King County Library System
Action Rhyme	Witches Come on Halloween Tune: Camptown RacesWitches come on Halloween, Heh-heh, heh-heh! Watch out now or you might scream, Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh! Pumpkins shining bright, With their candlelight. Ghosts and goblins coming, too. Watching out for you—Boo! Source: Piggyback Songs: Seasons & Holidays
Action Rhyme	Witchy Song I’m a witch.Boom! Boom! (clap, clap) I’m a witch. Boom! Boom! (clap, clap)With a pointed hat on my head…(hands form a hat) I jump on my broom (pretend to jump on broom) And I sweep the sky (sweeping motion) While children are in bed (head resting on hands) Source: Step By Step
Game	Pass the Witch’s Broomstick Tune: If You’re Happy and You Know ItPass the witch’s broomstick ‘round the circle here. While you hear the music playing, do not fear. But if the music stops, or if the broomstick drops, You will ride the broomstick while the goblins cheer! Source: Preschool Express
Action Song	I’m a Little Witch Tune: I’m a Little TeapotI’m a little witch with a big black cat (pretend to pet cat) Here is my broomstick. (Hold imaginary broom) Here is my hat. (Pretend to place hat on head) You’d better be careful. (wag finger) You’d better beware. ‘Cause I might give you a great, big scare. Boo! Source: Preschool Favorite: 35 Storytimes Kids Love by Diane Briggs
Dance Song	Un Poco Loco
Dance Song	Witch Doctor
Cool Down	ABCs, Count to 15
Goodbye Song	It’s Time to Say Goodbye

Craft: Credit to Fun-A-Day

Witches – Toddler

Introduction	Hello Everybody, Yes Indeed
Book	Happy Halloween, Witch’s Cat by Harriet Muncaster
Nursery Rhyme	Soft Kitty Soft kitty, warm kitty, Little ball of fur. Pretty kitty, sleepy kitty, Purr, purr, purr.
Book	Zip! Zoom! On a Broom by Teri Sloat
ASL	Witch
Counting	Halloween Witches Tune: Ten Little Indians One little, two little, three little witches (count out three fingers) Flying over haystacks (Fly hand up and down)Gliding over ditches Slide down moonbeams without any hitches (glide hand downward) Heigh-ho! Halloween’s Here! Source: 35 Preschool Favorites: 35 Storytimes Kids Loves by Diane Briggs
Action Rhyme	Late Last Night Last night or the night before, Twenty-four witches came knocking at my door. I gave them candy but they wanted more. I didn’t know what to do, so I shut the door! Source: Preschool Express
Action Rhyme	Witch’s Snack A very old witch was stirring a pot. Oooooooooo two little ghosts said, “What has she got?” Oooo…Oooo…Oooo…Oooo Tippy-toe, Tippy-Toe, Tippy-toe Boo! Source: 35 Preschool Favorites: 35 Storytimes Kids Loves by Diane Briggs
Action Rhyme	Ghosts and Goblins Tune: Frere Jacques Ghosts and goblins, ghosts and goblins All Around, all around. Witches on their broomsticks, Witches on their broomsticks, Halloween, Halloween. Source: Piggyback Songs: Seasons & Holidays
Dance Song	Stirring Our Brew and 3 Little Witches by Dr. Jean
Cool Down	ABCs, Count to 10
Goodbye Song	Say Goodbye

Craft: Credit to Fun-A-Day

American Girl – Caroline Abbott

Introduction	Caroline Abbott was one of the first dolls I ever purchased for my library and unfortunately, she is now retired from American Girl collection. Almost four years later, I FINALLY decided to do her for my program!
About Caroline	I really dug through Caroline’s books to get inspiration for this program. All the activities we did were directly inspired by Caroline’s books.
Food	Since I try and provide some food, I found that biscuits and honey would be a very easy food option. My volunteer spent most of her time in the kitchen prepping the biscuits and making sure the biscuits did not burn.
First Activity	Oh, paper dolls have a special fondness in my heart, so I was excited to find the history of paper dolls in Caroline’s books. I thought my patrons would have fun making their own dolls. I found further inspiration from Thy World on affordable paper dolls. I was excited that my patrons could make boy or girl paper dolls. I had a volunteer make several clothing templates and then I put a ton of scrapbooking paper out for the participants to pick what they wanted to use.
Second Activity	Everyone love pockets! Unfortunately, during Caroline’s time, girls had to make “pockets” instead of having them sewn into their dresses. We simply used felt and I had a volunteer pre-poke holes to make the sewing aspect easier for the kids. This was kind of pain. However, the kids got a kick from it.
Third Activity	Our last activity was embroidery. I wanted this activity to be accessible for all participants and decided to use burlap and plastic needles (real needles gave me too much anxiety). I will say the youngest kids were more meh about it because it does take time and patience, but my older kids really got into it! Rhythms of Play really broke down what I needed.

Rhyming to Read: The Lion and the Unicorn

Opening Song	Welcome
Opening Activity	Bread and Butter Bread and Butter Marmalade and Jam Let’s say hello as quiet as we can (whisper hello)Loud as we can. Slow as we can. Fast as we can. High as we can. Low as we can. Nice as we can. Source: Jbrary
Rhyme	The Lion and the Unicorn The lion and the unicorn Were fighting for the crown The lion beat the unicornAll around the town. Some gave them white bread, And some gave them brown; Some gave them plum cake and drummed them out of town.
Sorting Activity	Dairy vs Grains I had the kids tell me if the picture fell into Grains or Dairy. I had a trick picture of a plum. They yelled fruit right away!
Matching Activity	Match the Rhyme I found some clipart that related to the rhyme. I then had the kids identify each piece while I hid them under the bread slices (not all pictured). The kids then played a game of memory.
Activity	Toast in the Toaster Toast in the toaster. Toast in the toaster. Getting Very hot. Tick tock, Tick, tock, Up I pop!
Battle of the Unicorns and Lions	I divided my group up into four teams. Two teams of unicorns and two teams of lions. I then gave each group a mason jar filled with heavy whipping cream. While I played the Rocky theme song, the groups had to see who could make their butter the fastest! The little kids went gaga for this. It does take some time with little kids’ strength! I strongly encouraged the adults to also shake the jar also.
Treat	We made butter! I then had white bread and brown bread (Technically I bought honey wheat. I wasn’t sure if all little kids enjoyed true wheat bread.) for them to enjoy their butter. I also had grape jelly as a stand-in for plums.

Scavenger Hunt – Mickey Mouse Edition

Our department loves to do scavenger hunts for the kids. They are so easy and great for program numbers. The schools recently had Spring Break and we decided on a Disney themed Spring Break week. Our Scavenger Hunt was inspired directly from The Ultimate Disney Party Book. Highly recommend for lots of ideas. A super awesome volunteer made our Mickeys and I laminated them.

Sweet Treats – Preschool

Introduction	Welcome – Bienvenidos
Action Rhyme	I Eat I eat apples- crunch, crunch, crunch I eat sandwiches- munch, munch, munch I eat lollipops- lick, lick, lick But I eat ice cream quick, quick, quick! Source: Music Makers for Kids
Book	If Snowflakes Tasted Like Fruitcake by Stacey Previn
ASL	Candy
Book	A Cooked-Up Fairy Tale by Penny Parker Klostermann
Action Rhyme	Sweet Candy Canes Tune: Are You SleepingCandy canes, Candy canes Are so sweet, Are so sweet. They are nice and minty. They are nice and minty. Good to eat. Good to eat. Source: Totally for Twos: Stories and Songs by The Mailbox
Action Rhyme	Baking a Pie The kitchen is so warm and nice. (hug self) And smells of apple pie and spice. (sniff) Five, four, three, two, one minute more — (count on fingers) Mother opens the oven door. (open pretend oven) And then she puts the pie on a rack. (set out pretend pie) Ummmm, when we eat it, our lips smack! Source: Busy Bees: Fun for Two’s and Three’s by Elizabeth Mckinnon
Action Rhyme	I Love Cookies I love cookies, I love cookies, I love cookies, thick and thin. I love cookies in my tum, I love cookies, yum, yum, yum. In my tum, yum, yum, yum – oh, I love cookies, I love cookies, I love cookies, thick and thin. Source: Busy Bees: Fun for Two’s and Three’s by Elizabeth Mckinnon
Action Rhyme	Pudding on a Plate Pudding on a plate, pudding on a plate (rock from side to side) Wibble, wobble, wibble wobble Pudding on a plate! Candies in a jar, candies in a jar (bounce up and down) Shake ’em up, shake ’em up Candies in a jar. Candles on a cake, candles on a cake Blow’em out, blow ’em out (baby: adult blows on baby) Candles on a cake. Source: King County Library System
Dance Song	Sticky Bubble Gum by Carole Peterson
Dance Song	I Feel Crazy So I Jump in the Soup by Laura Berkner
Cool Down	ABCs, Count to 15
Goodbye Song	It’s Time to Say Goodbye

Craft: Inspiration came from this craft.

Cookie Oven

Sweet Treats – Toddler

Introduction	Hello Everybody, Yes Indeed
Book	How Do Dinosaurs Eat Cookies by Jane Yolen
Nursery Rhyme	Do You Know the Muffin Man
ASL	Candy
Book	Count My Cupakes 1-2-3 by Joyce Wan
Finger Rhyme	Two Little Candy Canes Two Little Candy Canes (Hold up 2 fingers) Way up high on the Christmas tree? (point to the top of a tree) Two little candy canes winked at me (2 hooked finger/winking) I shook that tree as hard as I could? (wiggle body) And down came the candy canes (bring fingers down) Mmm, Mmm, they were good!! (act like your eating them) Source: King County Library System
Action Rhyme	Cupcakes The cupcakes are here, the cupcakes are there The cupcakes, the cupcakes are everywhere! The cupcakes are up, the cupcakes are down The cupcakes, the cupcakes are all around The cupcakes are in, the cupcakes are out The cupcakes the cupcakes are all about. Source: One Little Librarian
Action Rhyme	Let’s Make Jam! Tune: Ten Little IndiansLet’s all squish and squash some berries. Let’s all squish and squash some berries. Let’s all squish and squash some berries. Now we’ve made some jam!Let’s all spread it on some bread now. Let’s all spread it on some bread now. Let’s all spread it on some bread now. And now we’ll eat our jam! Source: Totally for Twos: Stories and Songs by The Mailbox
Action Rhyme	Andy Spandy Sugar and Candy Andy Spandy, sugar and candy All pop up! (stretch tall) Andy Spandy, sugar and candy All pop down! (crouch down) Andy Spandy, sugar and candy All pop in! (hug yourself) Andy Spandy, sugar and candy All pop out! (jump up with arms outstretched) Source: King County Library System
Dance Song	Jelly in the Bowl by Carole Peterson
Dance Song	Milkshake Song by Anne-Marie Ann
Cool Down	ABCs, Count to 10
Goodbye Song	Say Goodbye

Craft: Inspiration came from this craft.

Cookie Oven

Little STEAMers – Robots

Introduction	Welcome
Finger Rhyme	5 Shiny Robots Five shiny robots, playing marbles on the floor, One went home and then there were four, Four shiny robots, playing in a tree, One went home and then there were three, Three shiny robots with nothing left to do, One went home and then there were two, Two shiny robots, think of something fun, One went home and there was one, One shiny robot pretending to be a hero, His mother called him home and then there were zero Source: King County Library System
Book	Robot Zombie Frankenstein by Annette Simon
Action Rhyme	I Am A Robot I am a robot (march in place with robot arms) I am a robot Clank Clank (bend forwards and back at waist) Clank Clank (bend side-to-side at waist) ZZZZZZZZrt (raise arms up while shaking them) CRASH (Either fall, or “lose power’ or clap) Source: Future Librarian Superhero
	ACTIVITIES The purpose of this Little STEAMers was to introduce our patrons to new technology toys the library owns.
Craft 1:	Finger Robots I technically combined two different craft inspirations (Inspiration 1 and Inspiration 2)to come up with this little guy.
Activity 1:	Osmo If you are contemplating buying the Osmo…DO IT. They are so much fun. My coworker had to pull me away from it when I first tried it out. The kids LOVED this station and many parents inquired where they could purchase it. Osmo recently rolled out an edition for the Kindle (much easier on wallet than purchasing an Ipod).
Activity 2:	Code-a-Pillar Code-a-Pillar’s are also fantastic. I had toddlers and older kids interested in this device. Toddlers liked to chase it while my big kids tried to make different combinations with all the pieces. Super awesome as it starts to teach coding at an early age.
Activity 3/4	Little Bits and Snap Circuit These were two least popular stations, as well as the most in-depth participation to get working. I think my crowd was a smidgen young for them, but I wanted them out for guardians to at least know of their existence. There is also a Snap Circuit Junior. Both of them are super cool if you have the right age group for it.

Rhyming to Read: This is the Way the Lady Rides

Opening Song	Welcome
Introduction of Rhyme	This is the way the lady rides, Nim, nim, nim! This is the way the gentleman rides, Trim, trim, Trim! This is the way the farmer rides, Turot, Turot, Turot! This is the way the hunter rides. Galop, galop, galop, galop!For this part, we said the rhyme and did different movements for the each section. For the last galop, we would all fall down to the ground.
Die-Cut Horses	I had a volunteer cut out a different color die-cut horses. We made the horses make different galloping movements.
Rhythm	I handed out bells and we worked on different rhythms to the rhyme.
Dance Song	Galloping Country Style We galloped around the room.
Obstacle Course	I put hula hoops around the room and some random buckets. The kids had to run around the hula hoops and jump over the buckets. I played I am a Horse by Jeanie B.
Take-Home	I’m currently not in the mood for crafts, so I made a take-home food bar. I called it a Horse Bar and I put favorite food of horses. We had carrots, pretzels (as a substitute for hay), and marshmallows (as a substitute for sugar cubes). This was a big hit with the crowd.
Goodbye	It’s Time to Say Goodbye