Fun library activities came full circle

Sock Funny Comic

As a small kid, the local library where I grew up had fun summer library activities. It was a way to get the kids into the library and expose them to reading in a friendly way.

These activities would be once a week for an hour and might last for the entire summer. I attended them as a kid then went and checked out library books after it was done. I remember how much I enjoyed them. One time we made paper muppets with paper bags and then acted out a scene we created ourselves. It was creative and social and I made friends during these activities.

Sock Funny Comic
sock funny comic

Why am I sharing this? To share this. When I was a teenager I was in the library and asked if they were doing the summer events. I wasn’t going to attend but I was curious if kids would still have the experience I had and remember. The head librarian said they were not. She said no one had volunteered so it wasn’t something that they were doing. I decided right then to volunteer. I explained to her that I had attended them as a kid and could provide free activities that kids would enjoy. She was thrilled and we agreed to a schedule and I started the next week.

I can’t remember all of the activities that we did, but I remember one of them very clearly. As a kid I remember doing sand paintings where you would use glue or other sticky material and then put that on paper and use different colored sand to make a drawing. It was lots of fun for me and I would bet for others as well. I went into the community and sought donations and the place that had sand had a nice gentleman that I have already mentioned. He didn’t hesitate and when I told him all I needed was a bucket of sand he said take as much as you want for the kids. I might have bought things as well I don’t remember. Not every merchant was so generous.

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The kids loved the sand drawings. They came up with some very creative things. Oh, we also did a puppet show. I got some new socks which worked better and we used different crafty things to do that as well. The parents and kids thanked me and it was a wonderful experience.

It doesn’t take much to make other people’s lives better. Often it just takes a decision and the rewards far surpass the costs.