Video Game Day!

Last Wednesday was video game day!! This was the program during the November PTO meeting, and like I have said in previous write ups, I try really hard to go all out with these programs. The kids are here anyway, so why not do something extra fun to get them interested in coming down to the library?? Video games seemed like the perfect option!

I had 22 students and 2 extra coworkers helping with this program! Because these Wednesday programs run in conjunction with the PTO meetings, some of the adults that usually accompany their children to our programs are at the PTO meeting. That is awesome and totally the point of this! But it means I need extra hands around from my staff.

The Rules:

After waiting to make sure everyone was here, I went over a few things with the kids before I released them. I wanted to make sure we didn’t have any squabbles, and also that they were careful since several of the systems were borrowed. I told them:

NO fighting

You MUST share

Sometimes someone may have to sit out and watch

Mrs. Williams holds the Nintendo Switch 😉 (This system was lent to us by my amazing husband, and even on his birthday!! So I was extra super careful to not let it get broken.)

I was AMAZED by how smoothly this program went. I spent a lot of time babysitting the Switch, but I heard 0 fights and was told by my coworkers that they didn’t have any problems with anyone fighting or not wanting to share! I prepared for the worst and the kids really surprised me with how mature and kind they were. My heart was full. ❤

The Overall Setup:

We have 6 computers in the library, 3 with Minecraft and 3 that we open to a website called www.friv.com. I also had 3 iPads with games that were set out for the kids to play on.

We have our original Wii system, with Mario Kart. My plan was to set it up with my projector and screen so that the game would be on the big screen, but the cords I had on hand weren’t the right ones to make that happen. SO it went on the regular TV screen instead. I only ended up with 2 controllers for this game too. The ones I brought from home were way newer than the system and they wouldn’t connect (my husband later told me how to get them to connect, but at the time I couldn’t figure it out!). The kids really had fun doing this though!

I borrowed the Nintendo Gamecube from my parents. I used to play it when I was a kid so I was super nostalgic and I’m sure the kids thought I was a crazy lady. We had Mario Party 4 for this system, with 3 controllers attached (with cords!! So many of the systems how have wireless controllers, so this was a new thing for some of them!). This system went on the small TV I borrowed from my kitchen, since the Wii got moved to the library TV. It worked pretty well!!

At a conference last year, I saw the coolest thing. They’re called Bloxels and they work with iPads to create video games! Kids use the blocks that are provided in the game board, and by placing certain colored blocks in certain patterns, it makes things like water and land and fire. Then they take a photo with the iPad and can customize it to look how they want. SO once they do several frames its a little video game they can play! This one is a LOT of work, and it was the first time I have ever really done it so I think I am going to figure it out a little more and maybe use it again in the spring!

Last but not least, the Nintendo Switch. We got our Switch last January, and my husband loves it. About that time he told me about a really cool game they have out called Nintendo Labo. They have several different types, but essentially the box comes with cardboard cutout pieces, and there are instructions on the game to fold it a certain way and it makes a cardboard piece that is compatible with the game software. It sounds kind of confusing but it was really cool!! This was the only thing I had available for the Switch, and several kids helped me make an RC car. The other projects said they would take 90 mins, which we didn’t have, but I will definitely be using this again!

Overall the whole program was great. I definitely hit some road bumps but the kids were fantastic and they had so much fun!! I will definitely run this program again, hopefully without some of the kinks.