Like most librarians, teachers, after school care leaders and program facilitators, I’m always looking for program ideas that are easy on my budget. Whenever possible I try to use every day items in my program, particularly ones that I can “upcycle”, which not only keeps costs down, but also makes the programs easier for families to recreate at home. Here are a few programs I’ve done at different libraries that are heaps of fun but don’t cost a fortune to run.
Mini Book / Zine Making
I love doing book-making programs at my library because they tie in so nicely with our commitment to literacy, while also allowing for plenty of creativity and individuality. There’s lots of different mini books you can make, depending on the age of your participants. For tweens, you can up the cool factor by referring to your mini books as zines, and talking about the independent zine-making scene.
The craft site Red Ted Art has a lot of great book making tutorials – she’s got mini notebooks, Harry Potter minibooks, garden journals, even adorable little notebooks shaped like pandas! Typically all you need to make these books is paper, scissors, and decorating supplies.
Origami
Another papercrafts program that’s easy on the budget, origami afternoons can be very successful, even if you’re all thumbs like me. Put all your origami books on display, pre-cut some printer paper into squares, and you’re good to go! You can do themed origami events (animal origami, easy/intermediate/advanced origami, seasonal origami, etc.), or just put out the supplies, put on some music, and have a relaxed afternoon of making and crafting. This is also a great activity to work into a manga/anime club meeting.
Corner Bookmark Making
The possibilities are pretty much endless with this easy craft, which requires only the most basic folding skills. Put out some pre-cut squares of different colours of paper and a range of decorating supplies, and let the kids have at it! This is also a nicely subtle way to remind kids not to dog-ear their library books…
Again, Red Ted Art has some fantastic tutorials – there’s Harry Potter corner bookmarks, heart-shaped corner bookmarks, fox corner bookmarks, monster corner bookmarks, and much, much more! Really, there’s a corner bookmark design for just about anyone.
Toilet Paper Roll Pencil Cases
I did a craft like this recently with a group of tweens, and it was a hit! Honestly this one is so simple you hardly need a tutorial, but here are a couple of fun ones to check out. Basically you wrap a toilet paper roll in decorative paper (we used scrap booking paper that a patron had donated), washi tape or colourful duct tape, or decorate as desired with stickers, sparkles, glitter glue, even pictures cut from discarded materials. You can attach a stripe of magnetic tape to the back to make a locker pencil holder (very popular with tweens), make a set of pencil holders for your desk, or even add a zipper to your pouch if you’re feeling fancy. I collect toilet paper rolls all year round, and you can quickly amass a good amount if you recruit your coworkers!
Games Wonderland
This one is all about the games – put out your library’s board game collection, source some decks of cards, and have a games night at the library (at 3:30 in the afternoon, ha)! You could run this as a drop-in program, where kids and families can play whatever games they like, or you could offer some instruction – how about a “learn to play poker” afternoon event for your tweens? I always see board games for sale at my local thrift stores and at yard sales, and patrons are often happy to donate games they don’t play anymore.
Are some of your games missing pieces? Don’t toss them – repurpose them! If you’re missing figurines or cards, enlist kids to make their own versions to replace the missing ones, and if the game is just in too rough shape to salvage, use the remaining bits and pieces in a “make your own Frankengame” program. Put out large pieces of cardstock for making game boards, assorted decorating supplies, and all the assorted game parts you’ve amassed, and let kids work together to create and play their own board games!
You could also do something similar with card games – re-purpose old decks of cards by turning them into DIY card games! Kids who are familiar with Pokemon / Magic the Gathering and other similar card games can create their own versions of characters, or come up with an entirely new game by covering the existing cards with blank paper and drawing their own cards! Fun and easy on both the wallet and the environment.
LEGO Building Challenges
It’s no secret that I love LEGO – it encourages open-ended creation, and can be used to foster team work, problem solving and engineering skills. And once you’ve made the initial investment of purchasing a tub of LEGO pieces, they can be used over and over again. I’m very lucky in that a kind patron donated a large box of LEGO pieces to the library that their child was no longer playing with, but I’ve also seen LEGO available in thrift stores and through Craiglist, so there are sometimes more affordable options out there.
In terms of programs, you could do an unstructured LEGO building hour in which you simply dump a tote of pieces on the floor and allow children to create and explore to their hearts’ content, or you could offer more structured programs, in which participants work independently or in groups to solve building challenges – a great way to inject some STEM programming into your schedule. The Lego Librarian is a fantastic resource to check out, as is the website Educating Young Engineers.
Thumbprint Art
This is another program that’s so easy and simple I feel guilty for even including it on this list, but it really is so simple and so much fun. Honestly, all you need are washable markers and/or stamp pads, paper, coloring supplies and, ideally, makeup remover wipes or access to a sink for cleaning inky hands. I like to print off blank comic strip templates and encourage kids to create their own comics using their fingertips! I really love Ed Emberley’s thumbprint drawing books – they are so encouraging and can be a great source of inspiration for kids who are certain they “can’t draw”.
So there you have it, just a couple of quick, easy and most of all affordable programs that I’ve used with kids at my libraries. With summer coming up, it’s always a good idea to have a few extra low-key programs in your toolbox, just in case an expected group drops into the library, or an outdoor program gets rained out!
Have fun!