Why Dream Big Read Is a Great Theme!

This year's theme for the Collaborative Summer Library Program Dream Big Read is a fantastic theme for children. Every sumer program has one goal which is to encourage youngsters to read. This year's theme fulfills that goal in several different ways. It can be viewed as universal, personal, magical, musical, inspirational, attainable, and remarkable. For each of these descriptive adjective there are ways to help children discover a passion for reading and their dreams. Dream Big is a universal message. It appeals to every child, young, old, rich or poor. Children are natural dreamers. They see the possibilities of fantastic tales and accepts them without question. Not only that, they see the value in dreaming. Every child around the world has dreams and it is something that makes us unique and yet similar as humans. To introduce this year's theme, provide bookmarks that remind patrons that dreaming is a pastime in every country. At the same time that dreams are universal, they are also very personal. For each child dreaming is easy but each dream is different. One way that libraries can tap into this natural gift of dreaming is to encourage children to share their dreams at the library. Bulletin boards are a natural place to display these dreams. In bold letters in the middle of the blue board place the words, "I dream of ...." On 3x5 cards, invite children with help from parents to write down what dreams they have. Remind children that no dream is too big or too small. Dreams come in all sizes. Dreams can be magical. They invite every child to look upon a star and make a wish for a dream to come true. That is exactly what Disney taps into every time they produce a movie. Cars that talk. Toys that come to life. Fairies that flutter around Never Never Land. These are all examples of magical worlds that take the child to places where dreams become reality. For a family story time hour librarians can choose books and crafts that embrace this magic. Begin and end the story time with the catchy little verse, "Starlight, Star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may I wish I might have this dream I dream tonight." There are many songs, perhaps too many to count, that speak about dreams. One activity that is quick, easy and cost effective is a quiz that families can take to challenge their memories. This can be one on the website or as handouts at the reference desk. Find ten to fifteen popular songs about dreams. For each of these songs write down one line which contains the word "dream". Challenge your patrons to write down the name of the song in which this line is song. For example, a librarian could use this line, "Merrily, merrily, life is but a dream." Everyone should know that this line is from the classic children's rhyme, "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." For every quiz that is filled out a child could win a sticker, bookmark, or candy. Lives of famous people often inspire readers to dream big. For older children, challenge them to read one biography of someone who had big dreams and made them come through hard work, never giving up and believing in their dreams. It is without a doubt that every librarians knows of at least one child that comes into the library wanting to know more about their favorite sports figure. They dream of one day becoming like their heroes and playing professional sports. In other words, inspire young patrons to find out how to make their dreams a reality. Reading how others have achieved their goals is not only inspirational but makes the dream attainable. Speaking of attainable, one craft that is easy to do with children as young as six to teens is making a dream catcher. Native Americans have long had the traditions of ensnaring bad dreams in the net so that they disappear at the light of day. While good dreams pass through the net allowing for a peaceful night for the dreamer. Dreams can be memorable and might even fall into the category of remarkable. Where else but in fiction can elephants fly, robots take over the world or flights beyond the galaxy are made possible. In works of fiction there is the ability of making the impossible become a reality. For example, readers have loved Jules Verne's and H.G. Wells' tales of science fiction that in their day seemed impossible. Time machines, submarines and other mechanical devices conjured up in the mind take readers to a place and time where everything is possible. It is remarkable what the mind can dream and achieve. Granted the time machine has not become a reality yet, but as long as there are dreamers the possibility of creating one that works still exists. This year's theme is full of possibilities. It's tempting to sit back and dream of all the wonderful activities that are possible. However, time is of the essence. Mow it's time for librarians to stop dreaming about their programs and get to work on showcasing the library as a place where dreams come to life!

DREAM BIG READ ALL SUMMER LONG

This year's Collaborative Summer Library Program theme is Dream Big. Which is very appropriate for libraries all across the country. Seriously, if there were ever a time that libraries needed to dream big, it is now. Too many libraries are experiencing budget cuts, staff layoffs and less hours. Yet this inspiring theme brings librarians back to square one with their young readers and reminds everyone that libraries are the perfect place to dream big dreams. All hope is not lost, so as the strong advocates of reading all summer long, librarians will plan programs that will fill the summer months, but the memories will last long after the little ones are back in school. What should creative libraries do for Dream Big... Read. Well, the ideas are endless but as the theme says, read. That is read further in this blog. Summer Reading Programs don't always have to go along with the CSLP, but this year's theme is just too wonderful to pass up. This is due in part that all children dream. (Don't let the secret out, but so do some adults.) They dream of hitting a home run in the big league, or becoming a world class ballerina or some just dream of a tree house where everyone in the neighborhood hands out. All dreams are important, whether they are big or small. All paths to dreams and how to make them come true can easily be found in the library. With this in mind it is never too early to think of ways to entice children to participate in the summer long programs. It's as easy as giving them a sneak peak to the summer's events. One way to give a hint but not spoil the surprise is to place clues around the library to see if children can piece together what the theme is for this year. For example, pictures of night skies, stars, and other items that are related to dreams. Once the children have found the pictures (four or five) have them fill out a form that asks them what they believe all the pictures have in common. If they get it right, the library could provide a small gift such as a sticker, pencil or piece of candy. Another activity that might take some time, and a little bit of money but it may worth the effort in order to grab children's attention and interest in coming to the library during he summer. Have a craft day before summer where each child could make a dream catcher. Once the dream catchers are made, ask the children if the staff could hang the catchers in the library. Most children will enjoy having their work of art on display. Once the library is decorated, a sign can be placed at the check out desk "Catch your dream at the Library this Summer." If this doesn't generate questions and interest, it would be very surprising. Last but not least, if a librarian wants to generate a "buzz" simply place the word "Dream" all around the library. Patrons who notice the signs will begin to wonder about the placement of the word in the library. When the questions begin to come, answering them will be as easy as, "stay tuned, it's coming this summer." It's a little bit of sneaky way of getting interest,but it's all in fun. The purpose of Summer Reading programs is not to fill the days with long reading assignments. (If it were, kids would take off faster than a tornado.) Have fun with the theme. If the librarians are having fun, the children will too. So get a little creative, but by all means get started EARLY. Children are already DREAMING about summer vacation. Why not help them find their dreams a the library!