I just finished reading this May’s School Library Journal – “The Maker Issue” – and I too love the idea of DIY in the library. I haven’t had a chance to play with a 3D printer yet, but my colleagues and I did a lot of classic crafting when I worked at the Rio Rancho Public Library. We had a weekly Knit Clique, there was usually crafting during Storytime, and the teenagers and I did some DIY fashion working with the book Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt.
This is my deconstructed Klutz shirt from that day:
However, the program that I remember most distinctly was run monthly by Stephanie, our manager of Youth Services, and it involved games and crafts related to titles in the American Girl series, and as I paged through SLJ my subconscious starting connecting the dots. Once I finished reading I had my epiphany – a Rainbow Magic makerspace program based on the Magical Crafts Fairies:
Book 1 Kayla the Pottery Fairy
Book 2 Annabelle the Drawing Fairy
Book 3 Zadie the Sewing Fairy
Book 4 Josie the Jewelry Fairy
Book 5Violet the Painting Fairy
Book 6 Libby the Writing Fairy
Book 7 Roxie the Baking Fairy
(no-bake projects inspired by baking)
These are just a few ideas for a thematic craft program that might appeal to 7-10 year olds; there are another dozen ideas out there for each one compiled above that would be easy to do in an hour or two at the library. SLJ mentioned a Handmade Crafternoons program at the New York Public Library, where the projects are based on materials in the library’s collection, and a Book to Art Club that meets at the Madison Public Library, where each month participants read a specific text and do a craft inspired by the book.
Of course, the easiest way to do magic in your makerspace is to grab a book based activity kit from the Klutz collection, which will have everything you need to get started.
What sort of thematic book crafts have you tried at the library or in the classroom?
