Be Creative: Make Your Own Kaleidocycle
Sara Pena
We here at Brooklyn Public Library invite you to Make Your Own Kaldeiocycle. Try it at home or look in our Calendar of Events for a local branch hosting this activity! No matter where you make it, you can receive a Be Creative sticker for your Book Your Brooklyn Summer@BPL gameboard. You can learn more about Summer@BPL on our website. MATERIALS NEEDED: Paper with Printed Template (Sample templates from We're Calling Shenanigans and Easy Peasy Fun) Tip: If you have it, we recommend printing this out on cardstock or other heavy paper.…
Figure It Out: Build Your Own Robot Hand
Sydney Geyer
Brooklyn Library invites you to Make your own Robot Hand and receive a Figure it Out sticker for your Book Your Brooklyn summer gameboard with this fun activity. Try this at home or look in our BPL events calendar for a local branch hosting this fun activity! You can learn all about Summer@BPL on our website. CRAFT MATERIALS NEEDED: One piece of cardstock paper, a pencil, scissors, string or twine, tape and straws. How to: Trace a hand and wrist onto the piece of cardstock. (The bigger the hand you trace the better, so ask a caregiver to lend you theirs…
Kids Create: Pipe Cleaner Daffodils
Marlene, Assistant Branch Manager - Cypress Hills
Spring has sprung here in Brooklyn! And in honor of all the growing new plant life, we are making some beautiful flowers out of pipe cleaners. Supplies: Pipe Cleaners 3 yellow 1 orange 1 6-inch green Glue Pencil (optional) Steps: 1. Fold all 3 yellow pipe cleaners in half, open them up and arrange them in a star. Twist them at the middle so that they stay in place. 2. Take the end of one of the pipe cleaners and roll it tightly (like a snail!) Repeat until all the "petals" have been rolled up. Arrange them to your liking. …
Kids Create: Yarn Friends
The Kensington library loves crafts with yarn. This month we are making cuddly yarn friends! Supplies: Yarn Scissors One piece of cardboard that is seven inches long and another piece that is four inches long. You can make your cardboard pieces with a ruler and a cereal box Buttons Stickers Any swag to jazz up your doll! (Optional) Steps: Wrap your yarn around the seven inch piece of cardboard 30 times. (Pro-tip: the thicker your yarn, the more full and cuddly your doll will be. Don’t worry if you don’t have a thick yarn. I didn’t have any, and it still works…
Fly Guy's Castle
Kat Savage, Neighborhood Library Supervisor, Adams Street Library
One of my favorite books on the 2020 Summer Reading list is Fly Guy Presents: Castles! (also available in ebook format) I love joining Buzz and Fly Guy on their field trips in the Fly Guy Presents series. In this book, they visit a castle and learn so many great castle facts! I enjoyed learning about castles so much I wanted to try to make a model of one. So I took notes from the book, and decided to create a castle that featured three architectural features: Let me show you how I created a castle with just a few easy-to-find materials. Follow the step-by-step directions below…
Kids Explore: Magical Adventures with Fairies
Kids Create: Pride Pom-Poms
June is Pride Month! If you are part of the Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, Trans, Queer, Intersex, Asexual (LBGTQIA) community or an ally, show your pride with rainbow pom-poms! The History of the Rainbow Flag In the 1960s, before the creation of the rainbow pride flag, the LBGTQIA community represented themselves with a pink triangle, but this symbol had a dark history. Nazi Germany had forced the gay community to wear pink triangles in order to persecute them. One man, Gilbert Baker, wanted a new symbol, one where he could spread love instead of hate. It was a night dancing that Gilbert…
Kids Explore: Flag Day
Celebrate May Day With Fun Activities
Hasina Islam Kathy Gerber Elizabeth Willse
Every May 1, people around the world celebrate a spring festival known as May Day that once heralded the start of the growing season during Medieval times. Today, some people weave flower crowns, or give paper baskets filled with flowers to friends and family on May Day. Others dance around a maypole -- a bare tree or log that has been adorned with ribbons. May 1st is also “Lei Day” in Hawaii, where people give each other necklaces made of flowers. How do you celebrate spring? Bring the garden indoors with these fun crafts and activities! Celebrate Spring Activities Library…
Kids Create: Ramadan Crafts
During Ramadan, Muslims around the world fast from sunrise to sunset. Muslims follow a lunar calendar, a calendar that follows the phases of the moon. Every year Ramadan’s dates change. Ramadan may be 29 or 30 days and the dates change every year, moving ahead by approximately 11 days. This year Ramadan began on the evening of April 8, 2022and will end on Monday, May 2. These easy Ramadan crafts are a fun way for children to decorate their home or learn about Ramadan. Ramadan Crafts Ramadan Crafts for Kids from KidsWorldCitizen.org 12 Beautiful…
Kids Create: Fairy Homes
Emily Gorbach
Although we may be stuck inside, we can't forget to leave room for magic! There is no better way to foster a sense of wonder than by making tiny homes for some of the forest’s most enchanted creatures- fairies! For this simple, open-ended craft, kids can use their imaginations to construct their own tiny fairy home with simple materials and miscellaneous craft items. What you’ll need: Paper cups, milk cartons, paper towel rolls Decorative paper or construction paper Scissors (to cut a door) Decorative tape Pompoms Sequins Markers, crayons, or colored pencils Stickers…
BKLYN Kids Presents: National Wildlife Week
National Wildlife Week starts today, April 6th. We know that it may not be easy right now to find ways to get outside and explore nature and wildlife. With these crafts, books, and other resources, you will be able to bring the wildlife exploration closer to home! Kids Create New York Zoos and Aquarium: Build Your Wild Self (Based on an Activity from the Bronx Zoo) You can choose to do this on paper or on the computer. Start by drawing yourself, and replace some of your features with aspects of different animals: What kind of eyes do you have? Cat eyes that see in the…
BKLYN Kids Presents: National Physicians Week
Doctors, nurses, and medical professionals are working tirelessly around the clock to keep us all healthy, especially now. To celebrate National Physicians Week from March 25-31, 2020 we have come up with a booklist, crafts, and activities to inspire you. Here is a list of books you can read with your kids, including some they can read independently, to help answer questions about what doctors do, and what a child can expect at a doctor visit. Kids Create Cotton Swab Painting: Super fun and easy, all you need is cotton swab / cotton balls , paper…
Kids Create: Modern Collage for The Culture
Iman Powe-Maynard
February is black history month, and today, on Valentine's Day, kids can celebrate their love of black culture while honoring artists who made beautiful impacts on the world of modern art. At Paerdegat Library we chose to honor three black modern artists whose names/surnames begin with the letter B: Romare Bearden, Betye Saar and Jean Michel Basquiat. These artists used various art mediums, or elements, to create different types of art that included collages, assemblages, graffiti, cartoons, paintings and prints. You can make a collage out of anything, and we used…
Kids Create: 2020 Desk Calendar
Iman Powe-Maynard
As we begin the new year, kids can have fun keeping track of the passing days with this cute desk calendar! Materials Construction paper Regular paper Cardstock or cardboard Glue Tape (optional) Scissors Markers Below is a tutorial for a 2019 desk calendar. We made one for this year at Paerdegat, below. Check out this book list about time, the seasons and the calendar!
Kids Create: Gratitude Holiday Coloring Pages
Iman Powe-Maynard
This time of year is often when we reflect on what we are grateful for. It's a fun season for some kids, but it can also be a tough time for others. Studies have shown that coloring and practicing gratitude are both effective ways to increase happiness. Gratitude reduces toxic emotions, including fear and frustration. It can also cause people to live happier, more satisfied lives and enjoy increased levels of self-esteem, hope, empathy, and optimism. Other studies have shown that children who practice grateful thinking have more positive attitudes toward school and family. Kids can…
Kids Create: Fun Fall Crafts
Iman Powe-Maynard
As the fall season brings festive holidays, kids can make decorations and keep organized with these crafts at the library. Pipe Cleaner Spiders During this decorative time of year, kids will enjoy creating these easy-to-make itsy bitsy spiders. Hang them in a window, wear them as rings, or place them somewhere frightening fun! What you'll need: Pipe cleaners - black, brown or any color you like Pom poms - same colors as above Wiggly eyes Glue Scissors Bunch four pieces of pipe cleaner and twist together in the middle, forming four "legs" on each side…
Kids Create: What's Your Forecast?
Spring has lived up to its reputation for being a rain-filled season, but we’ve also had some wonderful days filled with sunshine. We’re able to easily recognize weather changes when we look outside, but what about some of the emotional weather changes we’re dealing with on the inside? Making connections between the weather and our emotions can give kids the opportunity to identify how they are feeling. At Sunset Park we recently read some books about weather and the kids had a great time shouting out how each kind of weather made them feel. They shared moments of feeling happy like…
Kids Create: Flower Blossom Trees
Elizabeth Blake
When the days seem to last a little bit longer, and the flowers begin to poke out of the ground, we can finally start believing that spring is on its way. The sunshine and the warmer weather always inspire me to “think spring” in my arts and crafts programs. This week in Kids Create, we created Cherry Blossom trees with just a few, easy to find materials. This is a craft I’ve made every spring, since originally being inspired by an old boss of mine. Materials: Tree template printout Assorted tissue paper (cut into small squares) Glue This simple, easy…
Kids Create: Cereal Box Bookmarks
We recently made bookmarks at Sunset Park Library. Here's where I got the inspiration. Using recycled cereal boxes, we cut out and hole-punched rectangles and used paint, markers, glitter, and lots of fun add-ons to decorate our bookmarks. The kids had a great time being the illustrators of their own bookmarks. Find fun Kids Create programs at library branches across Brooklyn!
Kids Create: Snowplace Like Home
This winter at Sunset Park Library, we found out there’s Snowplace Like Home. Together, we read “Here Comes Jack Frost” by Kazuno Kohara, and then we made our very own paper villages—and got snowed in! We worked on making our own winter scenery. All it took was some construction paper, a few pre-cut shapes, and a little basic folding talent. …and the kids loved it! They had a great time making their paper villages, and we even used Popsicle sticks, sharpies, and glitter paint to make some snowflakes to go with it. We stuck some self-adhesive magnets on the back of our snowflakes…
Kids Create: Valentine's Day Speed Crafting
Iman Powe-Maynard
Every year the team at Services for Older Adults delivers Valentine's Day cards to Books by Mail home-bound patrons and partner agencies. It continues to be a successful tradition at Services for Older Adults as we seek inclusive ways to provide Brooklyn's diverse older adult population with free and equal access to BPL resources through programming. Check out these love-filled cards we sent this year! Valentines Day Book Adventures @ Sunset Park! This past Monday, Sunset Park Library held our monthly Book Adventures program. This month was a Valentine’s Day edition speed crafting…
Kids Create: Chinese New Year's Fortune Tellers
Cortelyou Library recently made pig fortune tellers in honor of 2019 being the Year of the Pig in the Chinese Zodiac. This is a fun activity that is easy to make. Fold a square piece of pink construction paper into a fortune teller (also known as a cootie catcher). Add ears, eyes and a snout as instructed here. Older children may want to try writing fortunes inside the cootie catchers that relate to Chinese New Year’s traditions. You need eight fortunes. Here are a few examples. You are strong like a dragon. Bang a drum to scare monsters. Wear red for good luck. Read…
Kids Create: Gingerbread Houses!
Last week Central Youth Wing held their annual Gingerbread House program. Here are some highlights from the event: Our little architects had so much fun creating the Gingerbread houses of their dreams! One participant even sketched out a blueprint of his house beforehand - we love his thoughtful process! One girl is so in love with rainbows, her house ended up matching her colorful outfit: From Ginger Mansions, to umbrella-inspired houses, we were so impressed with each unique design! For a look at upcoming Kids Create programs at your branch, view our events…
Kids Create: A Window of Creativity
Kat Savage, Neighborhood Library Supervisor, Adams Street Library
When’s the last time you took a walk through your neighborhood at dusk? The little thrill that comes with a glimpse at people’s homes through lit windows is a particular delight, especially at this time of year. Julia Denos’s “Windows,” with illustrations by E. B. Goodale, captures that feeling. One spread shows all kinds of things inside a big apartment building’s windows, from “a hug” to someone “learning to dance.” In another, an aquarium fills up the window. A little girl day-dreaming. A bonsai. A basement party. This was our inspiration for our art project in Kids Create one…
Kids Create: Easy Stone Sugar Skulls
Iman Powe-Maynard
Día De Los Muertos (English: Day of the Dead) is a traditional Mexican holiday that honors loved ones who have passed away. It begins on October 31 and lasts through November 2, coinciding with some other holidays associated with the non-living: All Soul’s Day, All Saints Day and Halloween. Originally celebrated over 3,000 years ago by the Aztec people, Día De Los Muertos has increasingly gained exposure due to its imagery in Western pop culture. Sugar skulls are a major staple and one of the most recognizable images of this festive family holiday. You can easily create your own…
Kids Create: Spooky Mobile
Enjoy this spooky season with a fun mobile! Create your very own Spooky Mobile by making a haunting (not really) moonlight night scene full of ghastly ghosts, batty bats and laughing pumpkins. Materials: Construction Paper Pencil Yarn Glue Stick Scissors Hole Puncher Instructions: Draw moon, cloud, bat, ghost and pumpkin. Cut shapes out and attach moon to cloud. If desired use scraps to make facial features for the spooky figures. Take hole puncher and make a hole at the top of each cutout. Get ready to…
Kids Create: Mother’s Day Felt Banner
Nothing says "I love you mom" like a handmade gift from the heart. Create a sweet felt banner to express your love and appreciation for the special mom in your life. Materials: Felt Dowel (or branch, popsicle stick, chopstick) Twine Pom Pom Glue Scissors Instructions: Fold felt in half and cut from inside to outside to create pointed bottom. Cut out and glue desired shapes and words to decorate banner. Fold banner slightly over dowel and glue. Attach twine from one end of dowel to the other. Add embellishments…
Kids Create: DIY Block Printing
Create a fun block print with your little ones while learning about different shapes, patterns and textures. Materials: Cardboard Glue Scissors Paint Paint Brush Paper Instructions: Divide cardboard into two pieces (you will be using once piece as the base of your design and the second piece as the material for your stamp shapes). Peel one piece of cardboard to reveal corrugated side. Using your freshly peeled corrugated cardboard, cut out a variety of shapes and arrange and glue on to cardboard base. You now have made a stamp! Brush…
Kids Create: Read Across Brooklyn 2018
Kalliopi Mathios
On March 2nd, Brooklyn Public Library celebrated Read Across America with a special reading of Edward Gets Messy by BPL's own Rita Meade. Read Across America is an annual initiative of the National Education Assocation to raise awareness and motivation for reading among children of all ages. In cities and towns across the nation, teachers, teenagers, librarians, politicians, actors, athletes, parents, grandparents, and others develop NEA's Read Across America activities to bring reading excitement to children of all ages. Governors, mayors, and other elected officials recognize the role…
Kids Create: Thankful Tree
Elizabeth Blake
No matter the season, it’s important to remember the many things we have to be thankful for. One of my favorite traditions that has developed over the last couple of years at Cortelyou is creating a seasonal “thankful tree” on the bulletin board in our meeting room, inviting patrons young and old to take a minute to reflect and write down something they are thankful for. This is a passive program and patrons can choose to add to the board whenever they are attending a program in the meeting room. The best part is, it requires minimal effort to create this beautiful display/…
Kids Create: Fall Leaf Rubbings
Kat Savage, Neighborhood Library Supervisor, Adams Street Library
"What do you notice about these?" I asked as I laid five leaves on the caterpillar-shaped table. "They're all different colors and shapes," Natalie piped in right away. "Yeah! What else?" "Hm... oh! Different sizes. And some have long stems and some have short stems. And some are wavier." This is how four children, three caregivers, and myself started our leaf rubbing exploration during Kids Create at Red Hook Library on November 9th. We continued to discuss what happens to leaves after they fall -- they sit around, and eventually just disappear! One way to preserve leaves is…
Cypress Hills Celebrates Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving began centuries ago as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. When Americans refer to the “First Thanksgiving,” they are typically referring to the three day feast held by the Pilgrims and Native Americans in October 1621. After a treacherous journey across the great ocean aboard the Mayflower, the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, located in Massachusetts. Despite the many hardships they faced, the Pilgrims kept their faith and most survived the first winter, with help from Squanto, a Patuxet Native American who resided with the…
Kids Create: Choose Kind
Elizabeth Blake
Whether you’ve read (and probably fallen in love with) R.J. Palacio’s book Wonder or not, it is easy to get excited about the theme of the book: Choose Kind. In honor of the release of the movie inspired by the book, libraries all over Brooklyn are celebrating by hosting events meant to inspire our youngest patrons to choose kind. At Cortelyou, our "Choose Kind" program took place during our weekly Kids Create program this week. It was pretty simple and required just a little bit of preparation. Before the program, I made a “Choose Kind” banner for our bulletin board, and also…
Diwali: Celebrating Light & Color
Namaste! As we enter this season of dark mornings and nights, now accentuated by the end of Daylight Saving Time, we naturally turn to bright, cheery colors! And what better way to celebrate color and light, than by celebrating Diwali, the Indian Festival of Lights! Traditionally Diwali is the time to celebrate friends and family by exchanging sweets, setting off fireworks, lighting up houses and stores with beautiful bright lights, and decorating doorsteps and courtyards with intricate designs drawn with colored powders, flower petals and rice flour - called rangoli in some…
Kids Create: The Kindness Rock Project
As Summer Reading 2017, Build A Better World came to a close, young patrons at the Crown Heights Library participated in a program to create their own “kindness rocks”. Inspired by The Kindness Rocks Project, participants created their own rocks with positive, uplifting messages to inspire all those who gaze upon them. The rocks were installed as an inspirational rock garden at the front of the library building. There were about 18 participants during the scheduled program and each person made several rocks. There were unpainted rocks leftover so we invited other patrons to decorate the…
Kids Create: Fall Leaf Mobile
Build a Better World: Keith Haring
Once a month, for the past several months, Crown Heights Library has been holding a Kids Create: Artist Highlight program. During these programs, we learn briefly about a famous artist, utilizing books and databases from the library, and proceed to make an art project in the style of the chosen artist. Since January, we have covered Jasper Johns, Faith Ringgold, Georgia O’Keefe, George Seurat, and Henri Matisse. When faced with the choice of who to feature in June, I took several things into consideration. First, this was to be the final such program before the summer, when I planned to…