Supplies
1. Red, white, or pink construction paper or cardstock.
2. Scissors
3. Small heart shaped stickers (approx. ¼”) or tiny google eyes.
4. 1” heart or teardrop shape stickers for ears, or just make ears out of paper.
5. Red, pink, or white yarn for tails. Narrow ribbon will also work.
6. Glue stick or tacky glue.

Preparation
1. Pick color of paper for your mouse. Fold paper in half. Cut half of a heart shape (may want to draw a pencil line of this to follow first).
2. Cut the half heart shape out with scissors.
3. Cut a piece of yarn or ribbon about 5” or so for your mouse tail.
4. Put some glue stick or glue on the inside fold line of mouse (about 2-3” long). Place mouse tail on glue and press down for a few seconds.
5. Add stickers for eyes and ears (or make 3-d ears out of construction paper leftovers).
6. Baby mice can be made exactly as above by cutting the folded half heart much smaller.

The 2012 theme is You Are Here Now: Poems of Place. Where is your creative space? Where can you be yourself? Do you have a secret place? Some examples of poems of place are The Swing by Robert Louis Stevenson, Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost, or Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein. You can find these poems and other poems of place at poets.org.

Prizes: Six winners of $25 each. Winners will also receive a book and a Kennedy Center Imagination Celebration poster.

Eligibility: Open to all fourth and fifth graders in the Pikes Peak region. Meets Colorado Model Content Standards 1, 2, and 4 for Reading and Writing.

Contest Rules:
1. One entry per student. Teachers are urged to review poems and submit no more than five per class.
2. Each poem must be the original work of the contestant.
3. Poems will be judged on originality, including poem title and adherence to the theme.
4. Submit two typed, double-spaced copies of each poem on 8½” x 11” paper (no handwritten submissions or illustrations will be accepted). Include on a separate piece of paper: name, telephone number, home address, school name and address, and teacher and principal names. Poems will not be returned. Please keep a copy.
5. Entries must be postmarked by February 18, 2012. Submission of a poem constitutes full permission to exhibit, use, and publish the poem for any purpose – printed or electronic media – and to publish the name, school, and photographs of the student without compensation.

Mail entries to:
The Jean Ciavonne Poetry Contest
c/o Nancy Maday
Pikes Peak Library District
P.O. Box 1579
Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1579
Or fax to: 632-6043

Questions? Call Nancy Maday at 531-6333, x2405. Awards will be announced in mid-April as part of the Imagination Celebration and Young People’s Poetry Week.

Check out last year’s winners reading their work in these PPLD TV-produced videos. The 2011 theme was Poems of the Abyss.

Become a part of this fascinating adventure by joining this special book club featuring the exciting series the 39 Clues. Enjoy a book discussion, activities, and lots of fun. For all kids ages 8-12. Registration required.

3rd Wednesday of the month at 3:00 p.m.

Cluck, cluck! Meet some of the friendliest chickens ever, hear amazing chicken tales, and make a gadget that sounds just like a chicken. Laura Foye brings her favorite birds for you to pet, and will entertain and inform you about these interesting barnyard animals.

• Sat., Jan. 7 at 2 p.m. , East Library
• Sat., Jan. 14 at 10:30 a.m., High Prairie Library
• Sat., Jan. 14 at 3 p.m., Penrose Library
• Sat., Jan. 21 at 10:30 a.m., Palmer Lake Library
• Sat., Jan. 21 at 2 p.m., Cheyenne Mountain Library
• Sat., Jan. 28 at 10:30 a.m., Ruth Holley Library
• Sat., Jan. 28 at 1:30 p.m., Briargate Library
• Sun., Jan. 29 at 1:30 p.m , Sand Creek Library
• Sat., Feb. 11 at 10:30 a.m., Ute Pass Library
• Sat., Feb. 18 at 1:30 p.m., Rockrimmon Library
• Sat., Feb. 25 at 10:30 a.m., Westside Community Center, 1628 W. Bijou
• Sat., Feb. 25 at 2 p.m., Fountain Library

PPLD knows how important early literacy is to families and the community. That’s why PPLD’s Children’s Department has created the Countdown to Kindergarten Carnival, an early literacy program designed to get families interacting with one another in ways that are both fun and effective in improving early literacy skills.

Six Carnivals at multiple library locations in early 2012 (see schedule below) will teach parents and caregivers five simple but powerful practices they can use to help young children get ready to read. These five practices are incorporated into Every Child Ready to Read workshops and can easily be integrated into everyday activities to help children learn early literacy skills. The five early literacy practices are talking, singing, reading, writing, and playing.

Countdown to Kindergarten Carnival is free and open to parents, grandparents, childcare providers, preschool teachers, and other caregivers. There are no reservations required for these drop-in programs:

• Sat., Jan. 14 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. – Fountain Library
• Sat., Jan. 28 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. – Penrose Library
• Sat., Feb. 11 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. – High Prairie Library
• Sat., Feb. 25 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. – Rockrimmon Library
• Sat., March 24 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. – East Library
• Sat., March 31 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. – Sand Creek Library

Supplies:
1. Brown sock (one you don’t use anymore)
2. 1- 1″ red pom-pom nose (or a round red button, cotton ball, etc).
3. 2- large (1″-2″) google eyes or make eyes out of fun foam or paper.
4. Brown paper- 8 1/2 x 11(or use white and color in the brown)
5. 2- 2″ craft clothespins or can use safety pins, etc.
6. 1 small bell – 1″
7. Approximately 8-10″ of super thin ribbon or yarn in Christmas colors.
8. Elmers glue or Tacky glue

Directions:
1. Have your child place their hands on brown paper and parent or other adult draws around the hands with marker, pen, pencil, or crayon. If child is old enough they can draw their own hands one at a time.

2. Cut out the handprints- these will be the antlers.

3. Glue clothespin to the back of the antlers. Let dry 10 min.

4. Glue on eyes 2-3 inches down from the heel of the sock.

5. Glue on red pom-pom at middle of the toe of the sock.

6. Thread bell on the red ribbon and tie around the reindeer’s neck.

Supplies:
1) toilet paper tube cut to 1 1/2″ high
2) brightly colored dinner napkin
3) 2 – 1/4″ googly eyes
4) 1 small cork , about 1 ” long
5) red curling ribbon, about 2″ long

Instructions:
- Toilet paper tube may be colored brown with marker, paint, etc. or it can be used as is.
- Glue googly eyes on tube about 1/2″ from top of tube. Glue cork nose on tube under the googly eyes.
- Take red curling ribbon and lightly curl with safety scissors. Glue ribbon across top of cork nose. This is the turkey’s wattle.
- Spread dinner napkin out to full length. Fold napkin in half and then fan fold napkin starting with the folded edge. Once napkin is fan folded, fold in half again.

These fun turkeys can be placed at each person’s place setting to give your family’s table extra flair for Thanksgiving.

Supplies:
1. Bar of Ivory soap (Ivory’s smell is mild unlike other soaps can smell so strong)
2. microwave and microwaveable plate
3. glue
4. anything to decorate- feathers, googly eyes, glitter, etc.

Here’s a cool project just in time for Halloween. Get a bar of soap. Ivory soap works best. Have an adult cut the bar of soap in half (you may want to experiment with a smaller piece of soap first). Lay the soap flat on a microwaveable plate. Place the plate in a microwave oven and cook on high for about 45 seconds. Watch the soap fluff up and grow fast. Once the soap has stopped changing (usually about 45 seconds, every microwave is different), take the plate out with an oven mitt. The soap monster will cool quickly. Add googly eyes with a dab of Elmer’s glue or feathers or glitter or even colored hairspray (with an adult’s help).

Like scary? Come to a Stories in the Dark program this month. In a dimly lit room spooky stories will send chills and shivers up your spine. This fright night is suggested for kids ages 8 and up!
Scary schedule:
Tues., Oct. 25, 7-7:45 pm at East Library
Thur., Oct. 27, 7-7:45 pm at Briargate Library
Fri., Oct. 28, 7-7:45 pm at Palmer Lake Library

On Sunday, September 11, kids and sometimes parents created pictures at the East Library in memory of 9/11. The pictures are posted below. Some include statements about what the child will do in memory of 9/11.

by Betty (staff)

by Taylor

by David

9/11 art afternoon at East

by Brayden

by Hayden

by Ryleigh

by Miles

by Victor

by Zachary

by Emily

by Aeva

by Kimorea

by Brianna

by Alexander

by Kody

by Meredith

by Haley

by Stacy (staff)

by Gavin

by Brenna

by Kelly

by Bjorn