Down On The Farm

I think I should change to title of my blog to "The Library Blog"! Once again, we had a fun party provided by our library. This one was on Earth Day and featured a Down On The Farm theme.

As I have come to expect, Miss Janet did not disappoint! The decorations and details were wonderful.

The orchard (fruit), the garden (veggies) and cow pies (chocolate cakes).

Haystacks (pretzel sticks)

Pitchforks and hankies

View of the table, love the fresh flowers!

The window ledge was filled with pots of geraniums, old watering cans and galvanized buckets

Drink bottles with "MOO" straw flags, filled with milk at snack time, and barn shaped take home boxes

While I was admiring the decorations, the kids were having so much fun doing farm themed activities.

Hay rides!

A real saddle to play on

Playing horseshoes

May I say one more time: We love our library and appreciate its talented, hard-working staff!

Hot Wheels Fun At The Library

Spring break started with the library's annual Hot Wheels Races Extravaganza. Last year was the first year we attended, and Jonathan couldn't wait to go this year! It is always held on the first Monday of spring break.
The room is transformed into little boy heaven! Little girls, too, but the boys especially get into all the races and neat track set ups.

Some of the track for Hot Wheel races

Jonathan prepares to race his car

Racing with his friend Elise

I was surprised when I looked out and saw this:

Yes, they brought a real race car into the library!

The kids were allowed to get inside the car. That was the highlight of the morning for Jonathan! 

After the races and the experience of being a "race car driver", we had lunch with friends. It was the perfect start to spring break!

Irish Dancing at the Library

It is no secret how much I appreciate our library. We love to take advantage of all it offers! Last Thursday, we attended a performance of the Celtic Rhythum Dancers, a local Irish dance troupe. I didn't know how interested Jonathan would be, but he really enjoyed it, and so did I. The group was made up of a wide variety of ages, from preteen to senior citizens, and their timing was spot-on.

After the performance, audience members were given the opportunity to try their hand at a dance. Jonathan jumped right in there to see what he could do!

I love that he will step outside his comfort zone and try new things. I wish I did more of that! It was another fun evening and a new experience for us, thanks to our library.

Penguin Palooza!

Sunday afternoon we attended another fun party at our library. This one was all about penguins and once again, it was very creative. There are some great ideas here if you would like to "party with penguins", too!

Another great cardboard game, feed the penguin

Cute Oreo penguin, made with a regular & mini cookie

Making a cute penguin craft with an Easter egg spray painted black

Pin the bow tie on the penguin

Penguin bowling

Next up: a Jungle Safari party!

Sharks!! More Library Fun

Once again, our fabulous library had a super cute and super fun party for the kids! This one was a Shark Party, and I loved all the special details. Lots of fun games and treats for the kids. I have to share pictures of the party with you. If you ever plan to have a shark or ocean themed birthday party, or just a fun party for kids, here's some great inspiration!

Cupcakes with foam shark fins

Ice shark fins swimming in the punch. A beach towel was the table runner.

Take home treats were shark water guns in a foam cooler, love the presentation

One of our talented library employees made this 9-ft cardboard shark

The shark's mouth

Here are some of the activities.

Each child was given a felt covered cardboard shark fin

A fun cardboard boat to play in

A pool of balloons

Each child drew a shark face on their balloon, then it was tied to their leg

The object was to pop the other balloons while protecting yours. Jonathan was the last man standing!

Feed the shark game: throwing fish in the shark's mouth

Shark's teeth buried in the sand

One of the most clever ideas: pool sharks! a table was covered with ocean patterned paper and cues were made from pool noodles. This was a hit with the boys!

Another game was "Find the Shark Food". Fish were hidden throughout the children's department in the library and the kids had to find them. The child with the most fish won a prize.

The cardboard shark made a great photo booth when the feeding game was over.

This Sunday afternoon is a penguin theme party. I can't wait to see what Miss Janet comes up with for this one! These parties are free, fun and full of good ideas. We have the best library!

Friday Night Fun: Tin Can Cooking

Friday evening was the Tin Can Cooking event at our library. Jonathan had been looking forward to it all week! Our neighbor and her daughter, who is in Jonathan's class at school, joined us for the fun. First, Miss Jenny read the kids campfire books. Then they got to make a grilled cheese sandwich and cook it on a tin can!

It took a little time for the sandwich to cook

Two children shared a "stove" to make their sandwiches. The "stove" design was pretty cool!

It was a little smoky when the wind blew just right!

Chef Jonathan

The finished product was actually very tasty!

It was a family size can with a door cut in the side. A smaller can, the size tuna would come in, had strips of corrugated cardboard rolled and placed inside. Melted paraffin wax was poured on the cardboard and allowed to harden, then that was used to start the fire. Kids had to have adult supervision and they were given gloves to wear to protect their hands. Drinks and dessert cookies were provided. After eating their culinary masterpiece, the children were given flashlights for a game of flashlight tag in the enclosed reading garden.

Tag!

Before heading home, the kids spent a few minutes browsing through the books and choosing a couple to bring home.

Again, I cannot say enough good things about our library. This was so much fun!

Another Reason We Love Our Library

I have posted before about our local library and how much we love it. This past Sunday we attended a Fire Truck party hosted by the library, and it was so much fun! Upon signing in, each child received a fireman's hat and badge. Miss Janet in the children's department outdid herself with the refreshments, it was like being at a birthday party!

Love the flame picks in the cupcakes, and I want one of those drink dispensers! She made take-homes using a McDonald's french fry holder as a template (yes, I asked!).
The kids played a cute relay race game where they pulled their wagon fire truck across the room:

Put out the fire in the burning building:

Rescued the cat from the tree:

Then pulled their firetruck back to the starting point:

Next, firemen from our local fire department spoke to the children about fire safety.

Then it was outside where the real firetrucks were! The fireman showed the kids exactly how the trucks operated, including extending the ladder as far as it would go, climbing to the top and waving at those of us watching below!

The kids were then allowed to get inside the trucks to look around and sit in the driver's seat.

What a fun party, free and very close to home! Next up: Campfire Cooking party next week-end, with campfire stories and flashlight tag, then making a grilled sandwich on a tin can. We can't wait!