Now that I have restarted Pokémon Club for the school-age children at my library, I wanted to do something special for the toddlers and preschoolers that are too young for Pokémon Club, but are still Pokémon fans. With the development of a new playground near my library, I decided to do Pokémon Jr. in the Park! In this post, I will share what this program entails and how it went.
What is Pokémon Jr. in the Park?
Pokémon Jr. in the Park is a Pokémon-themed storytime and scavenger hunt at a park/playground. For the storytime portion, I read Pikachu’s First Friends by Rikako Matsuo and A Friend Like Pikachu by Rachel Chlebowski. Both books introduce toddlers and preschoolers to the different Pokémon. Plus, Matsuo’s book was perfect for a fall day, as the book shows Pikachu making an apple pie with his new friends!
After the storytime was complete, the scavenger hunt began! My library assistant and I hid pictures of different Pokémon around the playground, making sure to cover all the different sections and play areas. The kids and their grown-ups worked together to find the Pokémon, checking them off their lists one by one. When they found all the Pokémon, they got bubbles and Pokémon stickers as a prize!
How Did It Go?
This program was so much fun! I was initially nervous about the playground being too distracting during the storytime, but I was pleasantly surprised that the kids were seated and engaged with the stories. The ones that were already fans of Pokémon enjoyed the books and the kids that were not familiar with Pokémon before the program had an absolute blast getting to know more about it.
If you want to run this event at your library, here are some tips to help you prepare:
- Be sure to reach out to your community’s Parks Department before scheduling this event. You want to make sure that you have permission to run the program at the park, as well as ensure there is no other event taking place at the park. Additionally, the Parks Department may want to help with promoting the event!
- Have at least one other staff member with you. I was very grateful to have my library assistant with me, as she helped with putting the Pokémon around the playground, handing out prizes, and was an overall great support to have there on the day.
- Bring a tarp for the kids to sit on. I found that this helped replicate a storytime rug or space that kids are typically used to.
Overall, I am happy with how this program went, as I felt it was a fun, age-appropriate way to get the little ones interested in Pokémon! What are some Pokémon activities you have done with your younger patrons?
This post addresses ALSC Core Competencies I. Commitment to Client Group and III. Programming Skills.
The post Pokémon Jr. in the Park!: A Pokémon Program for Toddlers and Preschoolers appeared first on ALSC Blog.
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