Tween Night: Bad Art Night

September’s Tween Night was a blast! It was all about creating and having fun. The only rule was to do your worst. Most of the 30 kids had no problem doing that!

Set up & Supplies:

I had two tables of random arts and crafts supplies. It was a great opportunity to clean out the workroom and use up old/unwanted supplies. We even had a bag of socks, and these ended up being a huge hit. I also set up six additional tables to serve as work stations. To protect the carpet, I laid down a painter’s plastic under all the tables. The last part of getting ready was making a fun, carefree playlist to make “art” to.

The Making of Bad Art:

True “Messterpieces” came to life. They could use anything and everything they could find on the tables. Glitter was everywhere. They were given roughly 50 minutes to create. Honestly, I think they could have kept going for hours. They were sad to leave, and that makes me feel like I did my job right. Through out the night, I saw jelly fish, rainbows, sock puppets, a “plate of poop”, and others that can’t be defined. So many creations! Before the tweens left, we took pictures of their makings that would later be displayed in the library.

What I learned:

I learned that I need to tape down the floor covering next time. It slipped my mind, and the carpet ended up being exposed. Luckily no harm was done.

I am always amazed at what kids come up with.  I want to do more programs like this in the future. I want to offer more chances at  freedom of expression.

Shout Out!

This program was inspired by Ontarian Librarian. Check out her blog! It’s fantastic!

Bad Art Night: Library Program Outline