We've been trying a new program at my library...Escape the Room games! Using Breakout EDU kits we've been able to use pre-made games and create our own. This program is a hit! While the kits are an investment at $125.00 plus $19.00 in shipping, we decided that it was worth the cost. Escape the Room programs encourage teamwork, listening, and critical thinking. If you plan the puzzles right you can even incorporate educational standards into the game.
Learning + Fun = Library win!

​Don't be discouraged thinking you can't create puzzles. You ARE in fact smarter than a fifth grader! Puzzles we made included math problems on recipe cards, word ciphers, measuring footprints, twister directions, counting numbers of items, time zone conversions, and more.

Check out our program plans!
Pacific Islands
Cuba
Somalia
Myanmar 

​We chose these countries as the theme of our Escape the Room because they are the most prevalent immigrant communities in our library's neighborhoods. We wanted to encourage education about diverse cultures and make immigrant children feel welcome in the community. And it worked! One girl informed her teacher that she would be extra good at this game because she was from in Somalia. :)

Set up your room using things you can find around your library. Our set up is never dazzling, but the kids have fun tearing the room apart looking for clues anyway. 

This is a program that has a huge pay-off for the medium amount of work that goes into it. We have kids coming back again and again and asking when the next one will be. So try it!
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​This program gave kids the opportunity to plan, illustrate, and star in their own comic panels. Using a green screen, iPads, and a couple of cool apps all of our participants were able to make a comic strip. However, the 6 and 7 year-olds who showed up with siblings needed more help.

I would recommend targeting an age range of 8-13 for this program. 




​Things you need:

• Green Screen
• iPad(s)
• Props (puppets and costumes are great)
• ComicLife 3 ($5.00)
• GreenScreen Wizard ($5.00)
• Optional - personal white boards and markers for storyboarding

My green screen came from amazon.com and cost about $40.00. However, you may be able to get away with just buying green fabric from a fabric store. Our green screen has been used countless times since I bought it. It's a great investment for a library.

Have the kids storyboard their comics first. This makes the picture taking process so much faster. Then have them snap all of their pictures in front of the green screen. Green Screen Wizard is so easy to use. All you do is choose a background photo to replace the green. I preloaded our iPads with pictures of oceans, space, cities, woods, meadows, forests, alleyways, volcanoes, and anything else I could think of so the kids would have a lot of options.

Next, the kids drag and drop their photos into Comic Life 3 which has built comic templates for them to use. You can change filters on photos to make them look like illustrations, and add speech bubbles, effects, and more. Comic Life 3 turns out a great product, but it takes practice to use. Practice before putting on this program! I had an entire comic made and printed out for them to look at so they could catch the vision.

In a planning a digital storytime for my library, I felt the need for a musical transition that let kids know when it was appropriate to use their tech devices and when it was time to put them away. A sort of opening and closing song specifically about technology. I use the word screen instead of iPad or phone or kindle because there are just too many varieties of touchscreen tech that families use.

Opening: My Special, Shiny Screen
     I love to play a little each day
     With my special shiny screen!
     So many ways to learn and play,
     I'll show you what I mean.
     It's tapping time!

Repeat the song using a tapping motion either against a device or a hand. Repeat with swiping, turning, and pinching to practice the movements you typically use to control touchscreen technology. End with the line, "It's screen time!" 


Closing: Time to Put the Screen Away
(Tune: Polly Put the Kettle On)
     Time to put the screen away,
     Screen away, screen away.
     Time to put the screen away,
     It's time to clap!

Sing the next verse doing the action you previously described. Add as many other actions necessary to help the child/children be ready to put the tablet, phone, etc. away and move on to a new activity. Try jumping, wiggling, stretching, marching, wave goodbye etc. and then end with "It's time to play!"


©Mariah Manley 2015