Building an epic LEGO Wall for the Library

Last spring, I posted a project on the Donors Choose website and was lucky enough to have the project fully funded! Now, this dream has become a reality; our library has a new awesome to create with LEGOs!

Creating the walls themselves was actually pretty simple! Here are the steps:

1. Gather your materials.
       - Hardboard (like this...Lowe's will even cut it for you 👏)
       - Baseplates (I used peel and stick baseplates from QT Creative)
       - LEGO blocks (you will need some pieces as you assemble the wall)
       - Velcro strips (I used 3M Picture Hanging Strips)

2. Trim the baseplates to fit your surface.


3. Sand the corners where you trimmed.

4. Peel backing from baseplate and stick on your surface. The first plate is most important!! Make sure it's straight 😆

5. Follow the directions on the baseplate package to apply the remaining baseplates.

6. Attach LEGO wall to your surface (or use them as portable boards)! 3 of my boards are attached to doors in the library with the 3M Picture Hanging Strips. They are super-easy to remove and display in the library window!
       - Make sure to let the Hanging Strips set for an hour before kiddos start using the
         boards!

I've also created a video talking about the benefits of a LEGO wall, and it includes clips of the LEGO wall creation! Find the LEGO Wall video here or watch below!

Library Scavenger Hunts: A Back-to-School Adventure

To get back into the swing of things at South Prairie, 3rd-5th graders worked on different library scavenger hunts! Each hunt had students search for important places in the library as well as the locations of popular books and series.


3rd graders did a BINGO-style hunt. Instead of a BINGO, students wrote the number that appeared next to the item/location they found.

4th graders got to do the QR code scavenger hunt this year. QR codes are a handy and easy tool to use in the library when students need to access information! With a partner, students worked to locate QR codes around the library. Each QR code provided students with essential beginning-of-the-year information. Students would then record the answer on their paper.

5th graders did something totally new to them! I created a library scavenger hunt in the GooseChase app. GooseChase is a scavenger hunt app that asks users to complete missions using photos, videos, and text.

Here are some of the missions in our GooseChase:

This was my first time using GooseChase as a facilitator and not a participant! 5th graders loved taking selfies to complete missions, working in a group, and using a new app on the iPads!