Wednesday, December 2, 2009

My Favorite Toys

I tried to spread it out a little bit and pick toys from all over the spectrum (baby toys to active play toys), but my opinions are a little biased towards the puzzle-problem solving toys. Enjoy!




Connect Four 
BESTEST GAME EVER, (in my opnion of course). This is a game that I just don't get sick of playing.
P.S. Last year my ma bought it for me for Christmas... I am very competitive  :-)

This is my favorite game to play in here. I find that children will watch as I play it and then all of a sudden there is a line and competitions. It definitely hold their attention for quite a while.
(Bonus is that it helps with small motor and aiming skills)

The one pictured here is a generic brand but the ones I am most familiar with are made by Discovery Toy. I love that they (again) are multi-faceted toys. They are creative, small motor skills, problem solving and FUN!



Corn Popper Push Along
This is a completely classic toy (to me). I wish more infant/toddler toys made real noises instead of the electronic sounds they tend to make now.



The first time I found these it took me a day to solve it. Considering I am a puzzle addict, that says something.


Flexiblocks
I saw that they actually still produce and sell these and I was uber-excited. I played with Legos as a child also, but these were just better because they could move.




When these were donated to the library the woman told me that it is an ageless toy, that small children as well as teenagers would enjoy playing with them. After she left, I played with them for an hour. It's a great item to teach stacking and nesting, but (i think) that they are better used creatively.


This one happens to be Melissa and Doug (a favorite brand), but i prefer wooden to plastic in general. I also think that they are used more often when a table is involved and the same set-up is used all the time. Though I do like how creativity and problem solving are used in creating and completing different tracks.

I know this is a brand and not just a toy, but I couldn't choose one!





Saturday, November 21, 2009

The Preface to My Favorite Toys



I have been working here for just about 4 years. I've had mom's tell me I should be a toy consultant, and sometimes, I don't think that's too bad of an idea. I love toys and playing. And I think that I have gained an amazing knowledge about toys, especially in how they have progressed over time. That is because many of the items in the toy library are the part of the original collection, when it began almost 25 years ago. I can see how many toys were ahead of their time.

Discovery Toys, for example, it's a great brand, highly trusted, but also, the toys are just different than others. They are multifaceted. For example, the Measure Up Cups aren't just stacking and nesting cups. They are also numbered, have animals engraved on the bottom, can be used for patterning AND they are volumetrically correct. I know a child may not appreciate all of these qualities, but the adult buying them sure does. Any toy that can teach more than one concept is pretty great, in my opinion.

I've seen Fisher Price change dramatically. Not only in their Little People brand of toys but also in their infant/toddler toys. In this collection, we have Little People that are small-wooden, small-plastic, chunky-plastic, "realistic"-plastic... For a short period of time I was seeing another version of Little People that were flexible, but they must not have lasted long. What also has amazed me, is that when you look at the small Little People, they were not multicultural, there was just white. Now they have a better representation, they even have Hanukkah play set (as well as a Nativity Scene, Christmas and Kwanzaa). The infant/toddler toys used to be very simple, and now they are electronic and noisey. They count, they say the ABC's. They speak Spanish! It amazes me.

Now that I have waned nostalgic about different toy companies and my love for them, I'll get to my point. I think I know toys pretty well and I know how the children interact with them. So in my next post, I am going to chose some of my favorite toys in this toy library. I do not have the most rigid criteria, by the way. Some are my favorite because because I know children love them, some for their educational purposes, and others, well, I genuinely like playing with them still :-), I think that says something.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

News From the National Toy Hall of Fame

I read this today on Strong National Museum of Play's blog...

"So, it’s a great thrill to celebrate this year’s three new inductees to the National Toy Hall of Fame—the Ball, Big Wheel, and Nintendo Game Boy ."---Play Stuff Blog

P.S. I have to say that it's pretty exciting to see the game boy in the hall of fame :-) 

Saturday, November 14, 2009

The Best Toys Lists

Parent's Choice
This list separates games from toys which is nice...and I find it's a little more family friendly (duh!) than the Oppenheim list below.

Oppenheim Toy Portfolio
This award is kind of a big deal. They also chose awards in book, audio and dvd. They organize by age group and have lists of "the best toy" for each. They chose less mainstream toys in my opinion. I have quite a few items chosen over the past few years in the Toy Library.

About.com Toy of the Year Award
This one is a little more commercial, but still a detailed list.

Games turning into movies...

Story from Rotten Tomatoes...

THE PLOTS OF THE BATTLESHIP AND MONOPOLY MOVIES ARE AS BAD AS YOU'D EXPECT
Story details have emerged in the last week or so for the "board game movies" Battleship andMonopoly. First up is Battleship, which will be about an "international" five ship fleet engaged in an intense battle with... aliens. And those aliens will apparently shoot giant red or white plastic pegs, I guess. Filming of Battleship starts next spring, and the movie is expected in the summer of 2011. As for Monopoly, the premise as detailed by producer Frank Beddor is quite lengthy, but the gist is that it's about a "comedic, loveable loser" who tries to break the world record for the longest game of Monopoly, and instead ends up in the world of Monopoly City, where Monopoly money is real and the world is ruled by the evil Parker Brothers, with whom the comedic, loveable loser engages in a series of "sight gags" to defeat them. Maybe it would be impossible to come up with plots for movies based on board games that wouldn't sound rotten, but that's sort of why until recently, people didn't make movies based upon board games.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Just some observations...

I've had a weird couple weeks here. Nothing new or amazing...Just settling into the Fall. It's slow because of school being back in session. And since, for a while there, it was still nice out, it was like the children's brains were tricked into thinking it was still summer... I've noticed it takes a while for their "clock" to adjust. They would be trapped in school all day long and then come to the library... where they would not only drive me insane, but also the librarians (and on a good day, even the circulation staff.) At least then we were all affected.

I don't like yelling at kids. Actually, I really despise it. I don't want to be angry ever because this is a happy toy library, not their home and not their school. I don't want to be a parental force in their life, which is why, this is the first thing I am going to mention. How much should we have to handle? The 'we' I am talking about is professionals, working in a community place, in which we deal with children and their families. Say the children are mostly unsupervised (like here) and the people who work here are their grown-ups for the time they are in the building. How much should we put up with behavior wise? I'm okay with the occasional "Don't do that"..."Please take turns"... "Stop being so bossy"... and my all time favorite "No tattle-tailing!!!" But what if you are mediating situations with children ALL THE TIME? If it's back and forth "He did this"... "She's about to hit me"... "Why aren't you yelling at him?"... Do we have a choice to be a "parent" here? The Library OUR home, it's our work place, we have our rules. What happens when the children stop following them?

And this is where I get to my second point. Say the children stop following the rules and they are just "bad". They disrespect the staff at the library AND they make the toy library an unsafe place to be (for other children and families/adults). Those are my 2 bottom lines. As long as those lines aren't crossed, you'll pretty much be okay in my book. What do we do with those "bad" children? Do we talk with the parents? Do we demand they be supervised at all times? Do we kick them out of the library for a day? A week? FOREVER? What happens if we lose them from the library? What happens if they get in trouble and they don't come back because... (I'm having a hard time not taking the blame for what I am about to say)... they are being yelled at/ getting in trouble with, one more grown-up in their world. What if it is worse at home? Or in school? What if them being in the library after school means they don't ever hang with that "bad crowd"? Or that they're not home alone until their parental figure(s) get home from work. Could we teach them to be better?

I've known a child here since he has been around 6 years old.  I can't pretend that I don't pick favorites because I do (and everyone knows it). He has always been one of my favorites. He turned 10 this year. He is smart, really smart. He tells the new kids the rules and he follows the rules. He helps me clean up and he is just a good kid. I want to know what he is going to be like in 15 years. It would be amazing to see. The thing is, this past summer, I saw myself starting to lose him. He hangs out with different boys now. He started breaking the rules. Getting mouthy. He wasn't being a good kid. And it's all because of who he hangs with now.... because once in a while I'll see a glimpse of that kid I used to know when he was alone. Not to make it all about this one child but... How do I not lose this kid? And how do we not lose the ones in the future?

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

The Passion of Toys

"Finishing a jigsaw means you have restored something that was ugly and useless to begin with" -From the book review of The Pattern in the Carpet By Margaret Drabble.

My most favorite thing in the world is when people talk about their work and what they're passionate about. I have heard many stories from engineers, musicians, librarians, and the best of all, cooks. I have friends that are cooks,waitresses and a couple that have been to culinary school. Some of the best conversations I've had in my life were about food. It wasn't just about the eating or the cooking... It's the art form of both.I would hope that anyone who has chosen a career would have some passion for it.

While reading Drabble's book review a thought occurred to me. I rarely put into words why I love what I do. I share stories about parents and silly questions. I talk a lot about the naughty kids that come in here. Friends of mine know them by name or instance. But I don't know many other people who can talk about toys, games and playing with passion. It's probably why I keep it in, not many people can relate to it. Maybe it's because we were supposed to leave all that stuff in our childhood.

But I'm growing up with these toys...

This place has become as intertwined with my life in as it has with the people who come into it. I have been apart of some family's lives for the whole 4 years. The babies I first met are in pre-school this year. I have met mothers, seen them through their pregnancies and now can watch those babies run (not walk) around this library. I have watched children from this neighborhood grow-up. I try to have this place grow-up with them. I talk about the children in here like they are my own. They're my babies. I feel awful when I have to discipline some of them. Well, I have mentioned some of those things. This is what I think I forget to talk about...

Toys are amazing things. They are a unit of communication, they bring people together. Children are able to make up their own world, games and rules-with toys. Their ability to play freely is a something I take for granted. I forget that all kids didn't have the childhood I did with the safe streets and kids my own age to play with. The streets aren't safe around here. They are becoming the best versions of themselves in this room. This is where they have the ability to be themselves. There are many educational things I could say here as well, but that just isn't my style. I'm not a teacher, simply a toybrarian.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Back to school!!!

Today is the first day back to school (most city schools at least). It has been completely quiet and stress free... Only a few parents and their children... AHHH....

This is the happiest day of the year at work... Now I have to clean up the 3 month mess... (ICKY POO!)

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

In this moment of quietness

I am listening to a older brother teach his younger sister how to play chess right now. It's one of those sweet heartwarming moments. He has to be at least 16 or 17... The girl is probably half his age. He is being very patient and she... well, she has the most confused look on her face ever. I don't know how to play chess. So part of me is amazed that this young child can even remember all of the rules. They are all baffling to me. (I do however play a mean game of Connect 4)

I needed to witness this moment this afternoon. It's a mess in here. It was very busy this morning. And now there are just these two in here, quietly playing. This doesn't happen often enough, this is what this place is meant for.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Random Miscellaneous Donations

So at work yesterday (while away at lunch), I received 4 boxes of donations. I know I have gone into my rant about "not-so-good" donations before and I won't do it again. It was some dress-up clothes which were cool, some funky purses and an Easy Back Oven. Those were the highlights. The purses and clothing are now in one combined box. Those will stay.

And then there was this bag hidden in a box. It was chock full of randomness. It was a lot of McDonald's toys. It was pieces of toys, toys that once probably belonged to a set, I don't know. It was the bag of brightly colored plastic. It was amusing to say the least. So I had a fashion show for the toys and took pictures. I uploaded them into this Photo Album for your viewing pleasure.

It was a slow day, that is my only excuse. And by the way, these extra donations is what makes me love this job so much.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Day 3, 4 &5

I came in on Thursday and Friday but they were such short days that I didn't think they warranted their own entry.

Thursday: I made an "Open" and "Close" sign for my 2 doors. This means I made a word document and printed them out, traced the BIG letters since I was making a BIG sign. I don't think the bold option on Word makes it bold enough... I colored them in as talked with random children and teachers who came in.

I talked with my boss for a little while. She is supportive of any BIG sign idea I have which is nice. We talked about a child who was here the day before. He is misbehaving... but generally a good kid (I was told). We are very lenient with children. Mostly because we want them to come here, we want them to have some place to go. But the different conversations I've been having since then about this child (and other children) have all lead to the same question... How far do we let them go? How many times do we let them misbehave? How do we correct the behavior without kicking them out of the library? We all fear that we will lose them from the library system.

Friday: I came in for 2 hours. I dumped out mess behind my desk and attempted to organize it. I honestly don't know if I accomplished much since there is still mess. It looks a lot neater though...

Monday (today): I have already been here for 7 hours. I'm going on 15 something children in and out of here unsupervised... And I wonder why I haven't gotten anything done. I've finished up the signs... That's it. I don't like days like these. When there are 5-10 kids in here at a time and I am the only adult paying attention to them it is impossible to do anything else.

A mother came in with her 3 children in the late afternoon. This is when there were about 10 kids in here without a parent. She asked my most favorite question ever. Gently, quietly, politely, she asked "Where are there parents?" I wish I knew. I had a hard time explaining it to her though. And this is when I have to have different rules... If the unsupervised kids are getting in the way of the Mom, or being too wild around her children, they have to find something quiet(er) to do. This also goes along with the little kid/ big kid rule. Little kids rule the roost. They always win. Big kids have to stop what they're doing to allow the little kids to play.

During my lunch break I was outside for a moment with one of the clerks taking in the humid weather. 2 cops pull into the parking lot. Immediately we smirk and joke around that someone called them again. Children/ Teens have been making a habit of it, making 911 calls from the pay phone. It would have been all good and fine if the cop hadn't gotten an attitude with us. He assumed we didn't work there... once he figured it out he did change his tune though. Just another day in the neighborhood.

I have 40 minutes before I go. I am going to attempt to clean up the room but I'm thinking my chances are slim.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Day in the Life: Day 2

10:00 am: Walk into work and fill out my time card (tomorrow is pay day! Woohoo!)

10:05: Attempt to open my door for the Toy Library and it's stuck... finally get it open and realize the construction guys were working on it yesterday and added a piece that forces the door to shut. That would be all fine and dandy IF they added the kickstand part at the bottom of the door. The cleaner found something to wedge underneath for now. I still fear it will randomly shut.

10:10: I then realize that since my door was moved into the middle of the library, I have no signage. It's just a blank doorway... kind of boring. So I wandered around the library saying over and over again I needed a BIG sign. I took the toy library sign out of the window for now... but eventually I want a banner of some sort to go over the doorway.

10:15: Check my e-mail, see the job posting I've been waiting for. I printed it out and then within 15 minutes the children's librarian AND my boss printed it out and brought it to me. Should I be taking a hint? Ha!

10:30: Decide to make copies of the instructions for the donations I did on Monday. It took me like 4 tries to get them to copy correctly on our new fancy copier... but then i cut them up, stapled them together and put the originals in the filing binders.

My volunteer came in around this time and stayed until 12:30 or so. We sat at the desk, she counted toys to make sure the bag/ game was complete and we chatted about whatever has been happening the last week since she came in. I tried to get a few things out of my bin, counted up a backpack set... ate a snack, read a few blogs. You know, the easy stuff.

1:30: Not sure what the rest of the day is going to entail. I'm waiting on a group now... I'm energized enough to do some cleaning and organizing, but I fear I'll be interrupted halfway through because my lunch break is in 30 minutes...

2:40-5:30: After returning from lunch the day has been a random blur of chit chat with a teacher, random children who have come in, and the mess that is my desk. I cleared off the desk itself and put to use a fancy new wooden organizer. Behind my desk is a whole other story. I have bins of toys and half filled bags of toys. Every single toy in the bins go somewhere, that is the reassuring part about all of this. It's just a matter of finding where...

Tomorrow I need to talk to graphics about my BIG sign idea.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Day in the Life...

So, many Librarian Bloggers are logging their days at work to show how multi-faceted our jobs are. Though I am starting this project waaay late, but it's better late than never. I needed an excuse to keep blogging... and I never know what to say about this place, everyday seems the same in the summer. So a day by day would be good for me, just to get me back in the habit, if nothing else. I haven't added my info to the wiki yet, but I will tomorrow :)

10:00-11ish: Walked into work with coffee in hand (on time!), and I see something in my mailbox. I have 2 printouts from people's cards with problems. One recently had a child, and I mentioned to her in passing that I would help her out with renewing the toys if she thought would forget. Well, she didn't take me up on the offer, but now that she has fines on her card she wants them cleared. Great. The other printout was much easier; toys had been brought into the library but not returned in the computer.

See a pile of toys that were returned over the weekend, bring toys from circ desk to the toy library. Halfway back boss lady starts a conversation with me. Asked her about medical emergency and waiving fines... And I got a hesitant yes. Walk into toy library with toys, try and put some away, put others into an over flowing bucket of toys needing to be counted. Still deciding If I want to count toys in bucket or now.

Log onto computer, take care of patron problem #2, check e-mail and see nothing. Meaning I don't see a response about a grant I worked on, received the money, put a toy order in and never received toys. Annoying. I then get distracted on facebook looking at pictures. It’s a good thing I can’t played bejeweled at work… listen to a couple songs on yahoo as I clean up desk.

11:00ish: Over an hour in and still quiet in toy library. Begin an e-mail to woman with overdue toys. Construction and maintenance guys come in to work on the hallway. I will actually miss the guys when they finish up, they have been kind of fun to have around.

Toy Doctor comes in to drop of toys he’s fixed. He left grumpy because a tractor he had just fixed, broke again. It was my fault, couldn’t even blame it on a kid. I took it out of the bag and dropped it on the ground… wheel broke right off. Ooopsy.

11:30: Group of children comes in with a provider. She immediately walks out to bring something to her car, while gone 2 girls need to pee and they’re all whining at each other. Whine to children’s librarian about patron problems.

11:45: Open up Google reader and read Unshelved comic. Very amusing. See Day in the Life of a Librarian blogs from a couple different people, get inspired and begin writing. 12:15: Take a break, get my water bottle and make iced tea. Coffee really isn’t doing it for me lately. Weird. Decided to work on donations while I have the quiet time... It would be nice to clear off some shelf space.

1:15: Class from the attached school comes in. While finishing up the small batch of donations I chat with the teachers.

2:00: 8 kids come in without parents and play games. 10 minutes later I leave for a lunch break. I left a page with the kids... Poor Aderlin.

2:40: I come back from lunch and I am impressed...the room is in good order. 8 more boys are in here playing basketball with a summer camp.

2:45: Hear a camp counselor tell a kid he wants to choke him. Great. I want to start another project but there are too many kids in here now. It's distracting. 5:30 Room emptied out around 4 from the summer camp. I attempted to put a few toys together that were missing pieces. Boss lady walked in around 5 and commented on how quiet it was. NEVER say how quiet it is. Within 20 minutes a group of 6 children came in. They are kind of rowdy but they aren’t doing anything bad enough where I could kick them out. They’re mouthy. 5:52: Got the kids to somewhat clean. I’m done working for the day… unfortunately there are still a few minutes left….

Friday, June 19, 2009

The Wall is Gone (Part 2)

The hall before...
The wheel is now in limbo, we're deciding we're to put it.



No more wall...
Side view, the two rooms at the side are now one.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

And then the wall came down...

Getting to work today was a bit of a hassle. I'm tired and I was kind of running late as it was, then I couldn't find a spot in my lot because of a bigwig staff meeting so I had to park on the street. Coffee in hand I walk in kind of confused... a wall was missing. This is the funny part about working for a library in such a large system. You plan things for years and years and they may or may not happen. There are meetings every week and brainstorming and the moving of furniture and books. And then you wait. For a very long time... you wait for the plans to fall into place. And then all of sudden you walk into work and the wall is gone. So I knew this was happening eventually, but I had no warning it was going to happen today... It feels like the whole world is upside-down-turned-around.

There was a wall that created a hallway leading to my toy library. That wall is now gone to make more room for the teen center. Next they will move my doorway into the middle of the wall... maybe about 10-15 feet to the right. I think that I'll have more visibility to the library so all in all its a good change.

On another note... 1 week until school lets out. I am not prepared in the least (mentally or physically). I still have to clean up the shelves so old mess doesn't get in the way of new mess. I still have 100 bags missing pieces. And then last but not least I have many donations to put into the system.

I need an IV of caffeine.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

New Toys!!!

The Toy Resource Center has new toys!!!


Over the last couple months we've received 2 large donations from The Pirate Toy Fund. We have a lot of new outside toys for those hot summer months coming up and a brand new batch of games for the icky rainy days. Come in and take a look!!!


Games

300 WISHES GAME

LITTLEST PET SHOP GAME

ZIG ZAG

SPEED STACKS

APPLES TO APPLES- TO GO

CRANIUM-CADOO

SCRABBLE JUNIOR

HI-HI CHERRIO (NEW)

MONOPOLY TOWN

IMAGINIFF

HORSE SENSE

RUSH HOUR

IN A PICKLE

DOINK IT DARTS

TARGET DARTS

KLUTZ BOOK OF MARBLES

GRAB & GO MEGA MARBLES

BOOBY TRAP

OTHELLO

TIP-IT

MAGNETIC SNAKES & LADDERS TABLE

PICTIONARY JR

NEW YORK STATE IN-A-BOX

PAYDAY

SPIROMANIA

ZINGO

OCTI FOR KIDS

SCATTERGORIES

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL TWISTER MOVES

DIAMOND EDITION SCRABBLE

3 STONES

DELUXE BINGO CAGE

LP BINGO WITH EDDIE

MINITURE BOWLING

ZIGITY

DUCKS IN A ROW

SNOUT

SLAMWICH

SNAP

CHESS & CHECKERS

LABYRINTH

Outside Play Toys

OCTOPUS WIGGLE

HOVER DISC-SPONGE BOB

RING TOSS

T-BALL WITH HOME PLATE

LIGHT-UP BATON

PACKAGE OF 3 SPORTS BALLS

FOOTBALLS

JUMP ROPES

FUN BOWLING

FOAM BAT & BALL

T-BALL SET

NERFOOP

DELUXE GOLF SETS

JR. LACROSSE

GALAXY BOWL- JUMBO FUN GAME RUG

BOXING GLOVES & PUNCHING BAG

SOCCER BALLS

2 PC PLAY SOFT BALL

Other

MARBLEWORKS-WILD RIDE

CHUNKY PUZZLE-CONSTRUCTION

3D WORD PUZZLES

PLAY PEGS- ON THE FARM

BUSY POPPIN PALS

POPTUNES BIG ROCKERS GUITAR

TUMBLE TREE TIMBERS

LINCOLN LOGS- ROCKY MOUNTAIN RANCH

MOBILO

PHONICS TILES

SPELL & MATCH

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Workshop?!?

I was approached recently by a woman in charge of UPK programs in the Rochester area. I believe we had talked before. I would love to say I remember the conversation, but I talk a lot with everyone who enters this room, so I don't. I must of made an impression because she came in asking if I would do a workshop for teachers. I explained to her than I had no education background what-so-ever... that I was just a librarian. I just play with the toys, I joked. I attempted to further explain that there was someone else who could better do it, but she seemed prettty keen on me speaking. I am enthusiastic apparently.

Two realizations came out of that conversation, one was already known, but it was nice to be reminded. This place is important and what I do is important. I should never say again "I'm just a librarian..." Because I am more than that here. Every person who has worked here as left their imprint, I am lucky to be leaving mine.

I watch these kids grow up! I saw a little girl walk for the first time the other day. The mother pointed it out excitedly for me to see. I rememeber when the mother first told me she was pregnant. I remember the first time she was brought in... I have many stories similar to these. There are two little girls who come in and they are so shy, they barely look at me, let alone speak to me. Their mother told me that they each have dolls named after me. Lately I have also been getting presents from a little girl. First it was pictures of horses and the latest is a beaded bracelet with my name on it. It is sitting on my desk around the neck of a Jack Sparrow smal plush doll. It makes me giggle :)

The second realization was... it would be good for this place to have workshops again. It would be good for me to get out there and speak about this place. I have horrible stage fright, unless I'm talking about something I love... It's easy for me to talk about this place, what it does, what I do, because it is so natural. I don't have to write things down or awkwardly say "um..." every 3 seconds. I would need help to fill in the blanks about the whole education value thing though. Everything I know, I taught myself here.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Unsupervised Children

I read an article in my local newspaper yesterday about children being unsupervised this upcoming week since they're out of school for February recess... At first I was a little annoyed, but after looking at it again I think I made peace with it. The first thing I see is a headline about "unsupervised children" and then a picture from the area that I work in. It was from a rec center down the street from the library. I think that it over-generalized which population of children were being left alone to wander the streets. And then I was kinda peeved that this is not news. This is not a new thing that just started happening- kids being unsupervised all over the city and needing some place safe to be. Then today when I looked at it again I took a step back and realized that maybe this is news to some people.

"It's not a world where kids can be playing outside like they used to. ... Unsupervised after-school activities are not leading to anything productive."
---YMCA President and CEO George Romell

Read the article here...

I have been working in this neighborhood for over 3 years, so not a whole lot surprises me anymore. I may joke around about being an overpaid babysitter often, but I wouldn't have it any other way. For example I opened the Toy Library at 11 AM on Saturday. By 11:10 I had 10 children in here ranging from the ages of 4-10, and I was the only adult figure in the room. This is pretty normal for me and the other staff at the library. People ask me where their parents are all the time. And the simple answer is "Not here". They don't get it. Neither do I, sometimes. But at least they are here and not freezing their butts off outside, or getting into trouble, etc. And that is the bottom line for me. Even if it does mean that I "babysit"


Thursday, February 5, 2009

Even Games Become Movies....


Universal Pictures is sweet on "Candy Land."

Studio has set Etan Cohen to write and Kevin Lima to direct a live-action feature based on the enduring Hasbro board game.

Read more here...

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Blog post from Out of the Toy Box

"We have for a number of years been losing children. First we lost the boys to computer games. Then we lost the girls to cell phones and other Tween delights. After that we lost the Dads as those Mario playing boys grew up and had children of their own."
Read the rest here....

I just started reading Richard Gottlieb's blog. There isn't many blogs out there about play or toys so I was happy to find it. He has great insights on the toy market... plus we kind of have something in common. We would rather promote the use of board games than electronic gaming devices (like Wii)

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Just a little of this and that....

  • I just told a boy to get off a car that he was standing on (to get a toy off a higher shelf) and he told me I was causing trouble. This kid has the ability to twist it around every time I discipline him. Like I am the one in trouble! It is half defiant, half guilt trip. It is truly is amazing. I don't know where these kids get it from, the lack of respect. I want to know where the respect went. I had the fear put into me when I was a child. You never talked back to an adult, EVER! And it is not just at this library or in this neighborhood... I have noticed it everywhere.
  • I am receiving a grant from the Greater Rochester Health Foundation to buy new physical active toys for the library. I had a volunteer who is grant savvy help me apply for it. She did an amazing job, as did the grant writer in our main office. I wouldn't have been able to do it myself. So I get to buy stuff to give away to families, centers, schools and providers PLUS I get quite a bit of money to buy new items! I spent it in approximately 5 seconds through Lakeshore. Yea! More tricycles!
  • I love that I am getting new toys that promote physical activity. The whole reason I was so passionate about applying for this grant was because I have noticed a high energy level in kids after they have been in school all day long. They need to be able to release it in a safe place, out of the cold and off the streets. The library is it. So I have begun to try and clear some space for kids to run around more. They are pretty much allowed to do whatever as long as they’re not getting hurt, they’re not hurting someone else, my collection, the shelves and they are genuinely being respectful of the room (and me).