Campfire Story Center–we love it!
Hi friends!
I loved the Campfire Story Center that Erin Drew at Ms. Drew in the Library shared with us! I took the suggestion from Ms. O to add little orange lights (widely available in October).
I set up the campfire outside our reading tent, with this $25 Vandring Spar rug from Ikea.
The campfire is a HIT!! You’d be amazed at how many first graders can crowd onto this rug, to be close to the campfire!
Do you notice that their books are open, and these students are READING?
You can see here how I set up the center. I’ve got a sign in an acrylic stand, a cardboard fire, painted red, orange and yellow, with a strand of orange lights hung loosely over the cardboard. I tried putting yellow and orange tissue paper over the lights so you wouldn’t see the wires and bulbs. But the tissue paper heated up very quickly, and it seemed too risky.
The “fire” sits on a large black circle of butcher paper (kindof like a fire pit, if you squint from real far away), and one real piece of firewood. I’ve also got a bubble tote with some books in it (in case students didn’t check out books of their own).
This center has added some real reading fun to our library. I hope you’ll try a campfire center in your library, too!
Ever so cute. I just have no idea where we would put it. TOO MANY TABLES that only ever get used during staff meetings (not every week any more) and the once a year Veteran’s Day Reception and Volunteer Reception. So why can we not get rid of one or two of them, I ask? My black and blue thighs will attest to this. Always running into things because of the excess furniture. Well. And being a bit of klutz, too. But mostly the excess furniture. ;]
Well, you can see that our campfire is nestled up against our color printer. I think you should be able to move a few tables out of your library. People can pull up extra chairs to the other tables for an hour-long meeting, right? I’m working on streamlining our furniture, too.
Grrrr…staff meeting tables. How I dislike staff meeting tables. I use them, but I would use them more if I didn’t have to have them all in the same section of the library.
Anyhow….I have got to try the campfire thing! Cari, after seeing the Ikea rug I think that makes it a more serious “have got to try this…” project! It makes all the difference!