This summer we had a Stuffed Animal Sleepover at the library. Eighteen stuffed animals spent the night at the library! We started out by reading a few bedtime stories. Both of these books are about bedtime and they also have stuffed animals in them – perfect!
BOOK 1: Sweet Dreams Maisy by Lucy Cousins
BOOK 2: Goodnight Piggy Wiggy by Christyan Fox
After listening to bedtime stories and eating milk and cookies, the children tucked their stuffed animals into bed.
Once they were all tucked in, the children and families went home, while the animals stayed the night at the library. Check out all of the fun the stuffed animals had during the sleepover! (Our teen volunteers stayed after the children left and helped to take pictures of all of the stuffed animals playing in the library. You can see all of the pictures HERE.)
The next morning, children came back to the library to pick up their stuffed animal friend and a picture from the night before. (We sent the pictures to Walgreens after the program and then picked them up the next morning before the library opened.)
Parents and children LOVED this program and asked when we were going to do it again. It was so much fun to see the amazement on the children’s faces when they saw the pictures of their animals. Most children decided that their stuffed animal friends would need a nap after staying up so late. 🙂
We did something very similar at our library this summer! We had 27 children and their “stuffies” participate. Children dropped off their animals after filling out a short survey with questions like, “what is your Stuffed Anmial’s Name?” and “Is there anything we need to know about your friend?” We got so many creative responses and we let them almost dictate some of the picture we took later, like a snack before bedtime, Yoda practicing his Jedi mind skills, etc. Our teen volunteers stayed after the library was closed to help take pictures. Our animals even played Hide and Seek! We made a photo slideshow with captions to share with the children and their families when they returned the next morning to enjoy brunch provided by our Friends group. They really enjoyed it! What a great, inexpensive, non-time consuming, rewarding program! We can’t wait to do it again next summer.
LikeLike
How fun! I’d love to try out a survey, brunch and a slideshow the next time we have a Stuffed Animal Sleepover. Thanks for sharing these awesome ideas Gina!
LikeLike
We’re having our sleepover tonight! Thanks for your great ideas, I loved your photos. We make a small keepsake book (folded photo sheet) that can be picked up in a few days for each child.
LikeLike
Have you found a certain time or day works out best for your family programs?
LikeLike
We have been holding ours at 6 pm for the last year and it seems to work well for our patrons. Our library closes at 7 pm, so it gives us an hour before closing. I think it depends on each library’s patrons though!
LikeLike
Pingback: Stuffed Animal Storytime & Sleepover : Sturdy For Common Things