Family Programs

Mini Golf
Mother's Day Tea & Crafts

Mini Golf

Get families moving throughout the library with indoor mini golf! Rent or purchase golf holes and supplies from a vendor or do it on the cheap with ideas found below. Many of the supplies mentioned below may already be hiding around your library or in a supplies closet. This program works great as a single event or passive program.

SUPPLIES

I typically do this program in February to provide families with an opportunity to be active during the chilly winter months. This also means the local mini golf centers have putters lying around getting dusty. I called a nearby golf center and they were willing to lend us their putters for free! I simply promised to mention their generous donation on our website, facebook page, and to the program’s attendees. The attendees also signed a Thank You card for the center.

As for the golf balls, the golf center would likely provide them too, but I happen to be an avid golfer and decided to personally purchase some brightly colored balls knowing I would use them over the summer.

To construct the holes, we utilized buckets, cardboard tubes, weeded World Book Encyclopedias, toy blocks, cardstock paper, solo cups, and lots of duct tape. If you aren’t feeling creative or inspired by your supplies closet, ask Teen Volunteers or TAB members to create the holes for you and BAM, you just saved yourself two afternoons of tinkering.

Solo cups were cut in half and taped down to the floor to act as the holes. Flags designated each hole (we numbered them, but you could create fun names) and were made with cardstock, duct tape, and old paints sticks.

PASSIVE PROGRAM

Instead of designing an entire course, just set up a few holes and leave them out for a week…your custodial staff won’t love you for it, but the patrons will! Kids can stop by the youth desk at their leisure to get a ball, scorecard, and putter. Traffic at the youth desk increased the week we did this as adults and kids kept asking, “why the heck is there a cardboard tube decorated like a train tunnel in the DVD aisle?” As an additional incentive, kids who participated were entered into a drawing for a $5 Target gift card.

FAMILY EVENT

An alternative, which your custodial and security staff will greatly appreciate (“What do you mean it won’t be easy to jump over my 2-foot-high cardboard Very Hungry Caterpillar to get to the exit in an emergency?”), would be an event with a 9 or 18 hole course. Kick things off by gathering attendees for an introduction (“Here are the putters and balls…there are 5 holes in this room, 4 more downstairs, etc.”) and a warm-up. The parents were surprisingly willing to do a few jumping jacks and toe touches to warm up and stretch out with the kids. Next, families chose the hole of their choice to begin. A few waited around to start at hole #1, but the rest were happy as clams to choose their own starting point.

Mario Mini Golf Hole Building blocks taped together to form tunnels with Mario Bros characters.	World Book Mini Gold Hole Weeded World Books arranged to form tunnels and lanes.	Give a Mouse a Cookie Mini Golf Hole Cardboard tubes and laminated pictures of Characters and objects from If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff.
DOWK Mini Golf Hole Diary of a Wimpy Kid Hole with laminated characters and a moldy (paper) piece of cheese.

Mother's Day Tea & Crafts

Mother’s Day is all about celebrating and honoring the most amazing woman in your life, whether that be mom, an aunt, grandma, or a friend. This program is for children of all ages and moms of all types. We typically hold it on the Saturday before Mother's Day at 2pm for 24 individuals. The ideas found below can easily be adapted for larger crowds as well.

Tea for Ruby by Sarah Ferguson Introduce tea time etiquette by reading Tea for Ruby by Sarah Ferguson.	Tissue Paper Headbands Fold and fluff tissue paper into flowers. Tie a pipe cleaner around the base of the flower and wrap it around a plastic headband for a fancy hair piece.	Paper Ties Print tie outlines on cardstock. Decorate with markers, cut, then punch holes to string yarn/ribbon for fastening around neck.
Flowers & Gem Bingo This template includes two bingo cards per page in landscape view.

INTRODUCTION

"Welcome children and mothers! Today we'll begin with a story to polish up our tea time etiquette, followed by a craft that will ensure we are dressed appropriately, and finally enjoy some treats and play a game.

My mom is an important person in my life because she is caring, kind, and always willing to help me. What are some things your mom does for you? [You will be pleasantly surprised by the things that pop out of children's mouth's, but if you get crickets, try these questions...] Who drives you places? Who gives you food? Who washes your clothes?, etc."

READ ALOUD

Introduce tea time etiquette with Tea for Ruby by Sarah Ferguson The Duchess of York and Illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser. Ruby is invited to tea by none other than the Queen! Ruby tells everyone she meets about her engagement and each one reminds her to polish her manners. However, the Queen turns out to be someone who loves Ruby no matter what...grandma!

After reading the book, use the following questions to lead a quick discussion about the story and manners:

Who was the queen? (Her grandma!)
What manners did Ruby need to learn for tea?
- Chew with your mouth closed
- Say “please” & “thank you”
- Use a fork & napkin
- Remember to wait your turn
- To not interrupt or shout
- Sit up straight

CRAFTS

Dressing appropriately is another important manner. Ensure everyone is dressed in their finest by making wearable crafts.

Fancy Flower Headbands - Fold, fluff, and tie tissue paper flowers to thin plastic headbands (headbands available at most dollar stores or Wal-Mart) with pipe cleaners.

Paper Ties - Print the outline of a tie on cardstock. Let attendees cut out their ties, decorate them with markers, punch a hole on each side of the tie knot, string yarn through the holes, and tie around the wearer's neck.

TEA & TREATS

Get to the tasty treats already! Delectable finger foods to offer include melon balls, shortbread cookies, strawberries, and mini pastries, such as petite eclairs which are often available in the freezer section of your local grocery store. Cucumber sandwiches are a tea time classic as well. A sweet alternative would be raisin bread and apple butter sandwiches. Assemble full size sandwiches and cut them into fours with a sharp knife to make finger sandwiches. If you are low on funds, ask local bakeries or staff for tasty donations.

Minimize caffeine intake for the kids by offering an herbal tea opposed to a traditional black tea. We served herbal raspberry tea and were surprised to find the kids were enthusiastic to try it. Many lined up for multiple servings! Also offer ice water and/or lemonade as an alternative.

ACTIVITIES

Questions To Ask Your Mother - Set discussion questions out on the tables to get mom and child chatting while they enjoy their treats. The following questions seem simple, but it may be the first time young children become aware that their parents have interests too!

What is your favorite color?
What is your favorite food?
What makes you laugh?
If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would it be and what would you like to see?
What were your favorite things to do as a child?