Staring at a blank plastic kite, the first thing Jailon Austin, 7, thought about was rockets.

After searching the stencils for a shooting star, Jailon placed the star cutout in the middle of his kite and traced carefully with a blue permanent marker. Minutes after delving into his designs, he was already thinking about parading his new kite that afternoon.

“I am going to show my friends my kite,” Jailon said. “If [the library] has this again next year, they can come to it next year so we can fly kites.”

Jailon and the 15 other students decorated kites however the breeze blew them at the Selma-Dallas County Public Library summer program.

“If you like underwater stuff, you can make an underwater adventure,” said Brent Smith, program leader. “You can make this look like a big butterfly so it’s flying through the air. Your imaginations are the only thing keeping you guys at bay.”

Smith added a tail and the plastic frame after students completed decorations.

“All we need to hope for now is a wind,” said Becky Nichols, library director.

Community participation with the summer library programming is the largest Nichols and the library have hosted.

Whether at group events, such as juggler Brian Bruggeman, or at events with limited space, such as the kite decorating, program attendance has exceeded expectations.

“It’s been off the charts,” Nichols said. We’ve never had so many kids.”

Events will continue through July 21. All programs are free to the public.