Misadventures of the Monster Librarian

The other day Prairie Dawn worked with the tweens and teens to make these solar powered ovens to cook SMORES with; an activity that they loved. We were blessed with a sunny day--anyone else tired of the rain yet?!--which of course made the ovens work, and gave the kids some time to enjoy being outside on the lawn, instead of in the Library.  Great and simple STEM program.  Solar Powered Oven for SMORES Instructions: Hit up local pizza shop for donation of small pizza boxes (enough for 1/kid) Pop a hole in the lid and cut a big square in the center  Layer the bottom of the box with black construction paper Cover the inside of the box lid (where the hole is) with plastic wrap, taping it so it'll stick on the inside of the lid Tap foil to the lid and position it upright with the help of a popsicle stick Put graham cracker down, chocolate, marshmallow on black construction paper inside the box Close the lid so SMORE is visible through plastic Make sure the...

"The conference report on House Bill (HB) 64, the state’s two year main operating budget bill, was adopted on a 4-2 party-line vote at about 2:30a.m. this morning.   The Senate is expected to approve the report later today and the House will vote tomorrow . Rep. Ryan Smith (R-Bidwell), Sen. Scott Oelslager (R-N. Canton), Sen. Bill Coley (R-Liberty Township) and Rep. Kirk Schuring (R-Canton) voted for the report.   Sen. Mike Skindell (D-Lakewood) and Rep. Denise Driehaus (D-Cincinnati) voted against the report. PLF – The Conference Committee kept the language increasing the PLF percentage to 1.7% of the total General Revenue Fund (GRF).   This is a huge success because anything can happen in Conference Committee.   However, they chose not to include a provision guaranteeing us the actual dollar amounts estimated in the budget documents. Tax Package – The Conference Committee made a few changes as they worked out the differences between the Ho...

Today was a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) day. This morning the younger kids made hovercrafts with CDs, balloons, and pop-top caps. Prairie Dawn already had the CDs and pop-top caps already hot glue gunned together, so the kids were only really doing the balloon part, but she talked about friction with the kids, and what was causing the hovercraft to move. The parents loved that the craft was simple and something they could take home and that the kids could use all day on the floors! 65 attended! That's our biggest program this summer! Teens dissected owl pellets this afternoon, which was a great thing that definitely got some of our fence-riding boys to come out! As you can see from the link, it was a pretty inexpensive thing, and a nice break for Prairie Dawn to not be doing so much prep work!

Some Summer Reading photos: Some of our younger kiddos made Batman symbols with tissue paper and contact paper. Elementary students painted Capt. America shields! 3-D comics Making 3-D comics; each kid got a pair of 3-D glasses to take home (Relatively expensive bought in bulk through Amazon ) Teens made bleach superhero t-shirts We traced superhero symbols onto foam, then cut out the shapes, laid the foam on the shirts and gave them a few blasts of bleachy water. These turned out AWESOME!

Wow. I miss you blog. Work and life was very hectic and stressful this spring, and I didn't want to post any of the grumpy gumbo I was stewing in for a couple months here, so I held by tongue, and look at what happened! Months are gone! I'm back. And of course it's Summer Reading time again, but I feel like Prairie Dawn and I have hit our stride--this being our 3rd Summer Reading together--and things haven't felt stressful AT ALL yet, and it's week 2!! More soon on what we've done!

"Pastoral" The little sparrows  hop ingenuously  about the pavement  quarreling  with sharp voices  over those things  that interest them.  But we who are wiser  shut ourselves in  on either hand  and no one knows  whether we think good  or evil.  Meanwhile,  the old man who goes about  gathering dog-lime  walks in the gutter  without looking up  and his tread  is more majestic than  that of the Episcopal minister  approaching the pulpit  of a Sunday.  These things  astonish me beyond words. --William Carlos Williams