FAMILY NIGHTS: Bringing Community Together Presented by: Linda Greeley

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FAMILY NIGHTSBringing Community
TogetherPresented byLinda Greeley
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Celebrating Libraries

• 1988Libraries Facing Severe Budget Cuts
• 2004Libraries Facing Severe Budget Cuts
• 2008Libraries Facing Severe Budget Cuts
• Funding is tied to how we are perceived
• The opinion of our constituents is very important
• LMC Family Nights
• Create a positive impression on students and
  parents alike

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Three Ways I Use Family Nights

• Evenings to bring people together
• During Parent-Teacher conferences
• During a Book Fair

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Evenings to Bring People Together
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Night of a Thousand Starsas part of
ALAsNational Library Week

• Reading Stars vs Celestial Stars
• Celebrate the universe
• Celebrate the reader

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Night of a Thousand StarsCelebrating the Reader

• Group activities
• Choral Reading
• It Could Always be Worse using cue cards
• Napping House using Flannel Board pieces
• Fairy Tale Theater with simple props
• Three Bears, Billy Goats Gruff

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Night of a Thousand StarsCelebrating the Reader

• Individual activities
• Flashlight Reading
• Scavenger Hunt
• With mystery illustrations to be found in books
• Finding books with certain characteristics in the
  LMC
• (i.e. certain number of pages, particular word in
  the title)
• The Important Thing about Libraries
• Using the format of The Important Book

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Night of a Thousand StarsCelebrating the Universe

• Indoor activities with the assistance of 4
  volunteers
• Play Space Bingo
• Make and eat Space Cookies
• Make Space Mobiles
• Design your Own Constellation

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Night of a Thousand StarsCelebrating the Universe

• Outdoor activities
• Four larger telescopes brought by the local
  Astronomy Club
• Stayed long after closing with parents and kids

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During Parent-Teacher Conferences
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Parent-Teacher Family Nights

• Meeting a need during Parent-Teacher Conferences.
• Got parents into the LMC who admitted they had
  never stepped into the facility in the 5 years
  their child had been in school.

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Night of A Thousand Stars

• ConstellationsStories behind the constellations
• Design a new constellation
• Space Words--Postcards from the Planets
• Space Bingo
• The Moon--
• Man in the Moon Bookmarks
• Alien Space ShipsSpace Case With Parent
• Design an alien space craft with a paper plate
• Space Games With Parent
• On the NASA web page

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Stories From Around the World

• ChinaStories of the Zodiac
• Write Name in Chinese
• ItalyStrega Nona
• Pasta Art
• The WorldCinderella stories
• Draw a picture on the computer
• AfricaAnansi the Spider With Parent
• Edible Spider
• IrelandStories of the Potato With Parent
• Potato Prints

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Kingdom of Reading

• The Knight and the Dragon
• Draw a new adventure on paper or the computer
• Paperbag Princess
• Make a paperbag princess
• King Bidgood in the Bathtub
• Make a crown
• Frog Prince Continued With Parent
• Create a family crest
• Castle With Parent
• Design a castle with blocks

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As part of a Book Fair
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Beach Party

• Beach Read
• Read stories on a beach towel or in a lawn chair.
• Oceans of books With Parent
• Read about the ocean, draw a picture, then paint
  over with watercolor.
• Flotsam
• Read the book then create a photograph using
  paint with watercolor
• Sea Shells
• Sort sea shells using non-fiction books

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Camp Read-A-Lot

• Flashlight Reading
• In a tent
• Ghost Stories around the campfire
• Read one and then tell an adult
• Animal Tracks
• Use books to identify the mystery tracks
• Smores
• Add a page to journal of what to do smore of
  while camping, then enjoy the treat with an adult

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Contact Me

• Linda Greeley
• Palmer Lake Elementary
• 719-757-1487
• http//ples.lewispalmer.org/
• lgreeley_at_lewispalmer.org