Pajamarama (ages 12 and under)

The libraries where I have worked have served smaller populations, so I try to cater programs to a wider age range. Pajamarama is designed to be a late-evening last hurrah to the day where kids (including a family with kids ages 0-12) can come together and do something fun. I usually aim for about a half hour and sometimes include a readaloud.

Well-loved doll hair can quickly become a hot mess express.

You can be the hero that brings them back to greatness.

Not recommended for American Girl dolls or anything fancy.

Program Blurb:

Refresh your Barbie's hair at this pop-up salon where we will wash and detangle her hair while you wait.

Supplies needed:

• Liquid fabric softener, unscented/free and clear preferred

• Gloves if kids are doing it, or if you have sensitive skin

• Spray bottle

• Paper towels

• Vinegar

• Sturdy comb

Prep work:

Make solution of one-part fabric softener one-part water and place in a spray bottle. 

Make solution of one-part vinegar and one-part water and put it in a cup or little tupperware container. This is where you'll rinse out Barbie's hair.

Program agenda:

Spritz fabric softener/water solution onto the doll and use comb to detangle. Rinse off in the vinegar/water solution. Squeeze dry hair into paper towels.

Put hair into the style you want it to hold -- if straight, just lay Barbie flat, or you can use pipe cleaners or craft wire to hold Barbie's hair into curls. Tiny braids will also give Barbie sweet beachy waves. Wrap in paper towel and leave to dry. 

Discuss timelines, dinosaur species, how the fossil record works -- and eat a nice pudding snack.

Supplies needed:

• chocolate pudding

• other fun pudding mix-ins, like sprinkles or crushed cookies

• gummy dinosaurs with at least 3 different species inside. (Haribo brand has 4 species - t-rex, stegosaurus, brontosaurus, and triceratops. I'll be referring to these.)

• Clear cups (like punch cups)

• a large wall or handout to draw a timeline

Prep work:

• make the pudding ahead of time and portion out small baggies for each child that include each specie of dinosaur.

Activity:

• Discuss how not all dinosaurs lived at the same time. The brontosaurus and stegosaurus lived during the jurassic period, but the t-rex and triceratops lived later during the cretaceous period. Older fossils would be further down in the fossil record, and newer ones higher. Have them practice this activity by making their own fossil record out of pudding and treats. For older kids, they can try and figure out for themselves the correct order, but younger kids will need help knowing that brontosaurus and stegosaurus gummies would go on the bottom, then some pudding, then the t-rex and triceratops gummies, then more pudding.

Create an interactive archaeological experience for children without having to leave the library or spend big bucks. Recommended for school aged children, or younger children closely supervised by caregivers due to a potential choking hazard from small items. It gets messy, so it is best for outside, or atop a tarp.

Supplies needed:

• Large underbed storage containers OR a small kiddie pool

• Small skewers that can be used as stakes, and any kind of string or ribbon

• Sand, can be found at low cost at home improvement stores

• Shark teeth or fossils, can be easily found online at low cost

• Cups or bowls to place fossils in when found

Supplies not strictly needed, but would be fun:

• Small plastic pincers

• Small brushes, like paint brushes

Prep Work:

Fill container with sand. Mix in fossils, making sure to spread them as equitably as possible. Use the stakes and string to measure off equal-sized sections of the “dig site.”

Extra enrichment:

Create a picture sheet identifying the different kinds of fossils in the mix so children can identify what they’ve found. Have children estimate how many they think there are of each type, based on what they’ve seen, then create a wall chart to show how many of each kind were found.

Check the outside of your building, especially any stone work, to see if there are any small shell fossils visible in the rock.