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Summer Reading 2013: Dig Into Reading

   Although Summer Reading has technically started at my library, the programs officially start next week. We have a full week of programming for ages 1-14 (the part time librarian does the tween/teen programming). Our slate of programming this summer includes: storytime (2 identical sessions to accomodate the larger amount of children who attend over the summer), storytelling in action (interactive storytelling and craft), arts and crafts, Teen Space summer programs, board games and chess Tournament. In addition we have several one time programs that include: scavenger hunt, Girl Scout Day, Dig Into Stories with Storyteller Carl Gussin and create clay animals.

  Already Arts and Crafts is full and storytelling in action is nearly full. The programs for the school age children always seem to fill up first. Several programs this summer are new to Summer Reading. I have done storytelling in action for Summer Reading at another library but not this one. I did try it in the winter once at this library but found it was better to do it in the summer because we get a larger audience during this time.
The chess tournament idea is new too. We have had chess classes for about 5 or 6 years. The instructor who has helped us in the past now has a full time job and we cannot find a time that accomodates both of us. We also have a new instructor who has helped us during the school year but he will be away part of the summer, so he didn't think it would be fair to commit when he won't be here the whole time. Both are volunteers, so I was appreciative of any help they were able to give. We are fortunate to get a program from our Central library Program and Services Department for July (storyteller Carl Gussin) and we have another volunteer who is going to do the clay program.

 This year I am also fortunate to have a library assistant on staff to help coordinate and lead the programs with me. In addition, I have four (and maybe more volunteers) to help with craft preparation and assistance to children at the program.

 I look forward to seeing what this summer brings. More details later as the summer reading program begins.

My Flannelboard sets

   I am introducing my flannel board sets I made. The first two were for a recent storytime (last week) and the second two are for Summer Reading Club.

  Here they are:

 Five Little Apples

 Five Little Aliens

 Ten Potatoes in a Pot

Five Enormous Dinosaurs

  I actually made my first flannel board set a few years ago but these were my first successful ones. I did not know you can use sandpaper to make them stick to the board. Once I found this out, I wanted to make some. In the past, I shied away from the felt pieces because they were so hard to cut and took so long to decorate. I hope you enjoy. If you need any more information, let me know.

Toddler Time 5/20

   This was the last session of Spring Toddler Time. I usually take about a 6 week break until Early Literacy Summer Reading story time. This week's theme was bugs/caterpillars. We had a good turnout. These are the books we read:

Seals on the Bus by Lenny Hort
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (I had a nice flannelboard set for this book that I inherited (picture below
Ten Wriggly Wiggly Caterpillars by Debbie Tarbett

Here is the flannelboard set:

 

 These are the songs we did:

1. Hello Everyone

2. Shake Shake Your Hands

3. Flutter, Flutter Butterfly
Flutter, flutter, Butterfly
Sung to: "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"
Flutter, flutter, butterfly.
Floating in the summer sky.
Floating by for all to see,
Floating by so merrily.
Flutter, flutter, butterfly,
Floating in the summer sky.

4. Bumblebee, Bumblebee

Action Rhyme: “Bumblebee, Bumblebee”
Bumblebee, bumblebee, landing on my nose.
Bumblebee, bumblebee, now he’s on my toes.
On my arms, on my legs, on my elbows.
Bumblebee, bumblebee he lands and then he goes.

5. Ants Go Marching (first 5 verses)

Ants Came Marching

The ants came marching one by one, Hurrah! Hurrah!
The ants came marching one by one, Hurrah! Hurrah!
The ants came marching one by one
The little one stopped to suck his thumb.
They all go marching down around the town.
Boom, Boom, Boom.

The ants came marching two by two, Hurrah! Hurrah!
The ants came marching two by two, Hurrah! Hurrah!
The ants came marching two by two
The little one stopped to tie his shoe.
They all go marching down around the town.
Boom, Boom, Boom.

Other Verses:
The ants came marching three by three...
The little one stopped to climb a tree.

The ants came marching four by four....
The little one stopped to shut the door....

The ants came marching five by five...
The little one stopped to take a dive...

6. Itsy Bitsy Spider

7. If You're Happy and You Know It

8. Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes

9. Ring Around the Rosie

10. Farmer in the Dell

11. Teddy Bear Teddy Bear 

   We did a caterpillar coloring page and a butterfly coloring page. Much fun was had by all.

Toddler Time 5/13

   This is the next to last week in our Winter/Spring Toddler Time Session. Today's theme was A is for Apples and Aliens. This is the first time in a while that I used flannel board sets I made. I am going to try to get pictures, as soon as I can get my hands on the library camera. The children enjoyed the two songs we did with the flannelboard. Here are the books we did:

Pete the Cat, I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin

Clifford Picking Apples and Pumpkins by Norman Bridwell

The Aliens are Coming by Colin McNaughton

   These are the songs we did:

1. Hello Everyone

2. Shake, Shake Your Hands

3. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

4. 5 Little Apples (flannel board song)

Five little apples
Lying on the floor
One rolled away and that left four
Four little apples
Hanging on a tree
I picked one off and that left three
Three little apples
I know what to do
I put one in my pocket and that leaves two
Two little apples
Sitting in the sun
I'll pick one up and that leaves one
One little apple
Waiting in my lunch
I'll eat it up with a crunch, crunch, crunch

5. Old Mc Donald Had a Farm

6. Five Little Aliens (flannel board song)

Five Little Aliens Flying Out in Space
the first one said, let’s have a race.
The second one said, watch me go
The third one said, that’s so slow
The fourth one said, my ship’s fast
The fifth one said, I’m always last.

7. If You're Happy and You Know It

8. Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes

9. Ring Around the Rosie

10. Hokey Pokey

11. Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear

   We did A is for Apple and an alien coloring page. Much fun was had by all.

Toddler Time 5/6

   There was not a theme this week and this was reflected in the books and songs. Originally we were going to do books on both boats and mothers, but I was only able to obtain the mother book. I requested the book I'm Mighty by Kate McMullan for boats, but it never made it to my library. I still kept the boat song because I thought the children would enjoy it, and they did. These are the books we used:

Pete the Cat, I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin

Don't Slam the Door by Dori Chaconas

Mama Do You Love Me? by Barbara Joose

   These are the songs we did:

1. Hello Everyone

2. Shake Shake Your Hands

3. This Old Man

4. 

Action Song: “Riding ‘Round in My Little Boat”
Riding ’round in my little [red] boat
Riding ’round in my little [red] boat
Riding ’round in my little [red] boat
Zoom, zoom, zoom, zoom, splash!

5. Itsy Bitsy Spider

6.

M-O-M-M-Y

(tune of BINGO)

I love her and she loves me

And Mommy is her name-o

M-O-M-M-Y

M-O-M-M-Y

M-O-M-M-Y

And Mommy is her name-o.

7. If You're Happy and You Know It

8. Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes

9. Farmer in the Dell

10. Ring Around the Rosie

  We did a Mother's Day coloring page and a boat coloring page. The children had fun but I noticed they were a bit fidgety today. We were barely able to get through the last story.

Toddler Time 4/29

   This week's Toddler Time theme was imagination. These fun books illustrated some funny and exciting things from children's imaginations. I began by explaining about imagination and gave them some examples. This storytime had good attendance. These are the books we read:

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin

The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse by Eric Carle

That's How by Christoph Niemann

These are the songs we did:

1. Hello Everyone

2. Shake Shake Your Hands

3. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

4.

Let’s Hear You Roar..

Let's hear you roar like a lion!
Let's see you jump like a frog!
Let's see you snap your jaws like a crocodile!
Let's hear you howl like a dog!
Pretend you're an elephant with a big, looooong, truck.
Pretend you're a monkey. Let's see you jump, jump, jump!
And now you're a mouse. Just let me see
How very, very quiet you can be.

5. I'm a Little Teapot

6.

Five Little Speckled Frogs

Five little speckled frogs (Hold five fingers (frogs) on top of your
other arm (log)
Sat on a speckled log
Eating the most delicious bugs. Yum! Yum!
One jumped into the pool (jump a finger off the log into the pool)
Where it was nice and cool
Now there are Four green speckled frogs (Hold up four fingers) (continue down to one)

7.  If You’re Happy and You Know It

8.  Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes

9. Ring Around the Rosie

10. Farmer in the Dell

11. Teddy Bear Teddy Bear

   There were coloring sheets relating to the imagination. It was a great storytime.

Toddler Time Monday 4/22

  Sorry for not posting for so long. In today's storytime, I decided to try something a little bit different. Instead of only using traditional picture books, I wanted to use some books from the non-fiction section about nursery rhymes. We had a decent turnout for this program. These are the books we used:

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin

Mother Goose by Dan Yaccarino

Other Goose by J. Otto Seibold

We choose songs we did in the past (see past blog entries) and did some song versions of the nursery rhymes as well.

Our coloring pages were from various nursery rhymes.

Toddler Time 4/15

  It must be the nice weather because we had the largest storytime we had in a while. The theme this week was Silly Stories. Children enjoyed the silly stories and we had some laughs. Here are the stories:

Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin

Silly Tilly by Eileen Spinelli

Silly Sally by Audrey Wood

These are the songs we did:

1. Hello Everyone
2. Shake Shake Your Hands
3. Wiggle Your Fingers and Toes

Show me how you clap your hands:
Clap, clap, clap!
Show me how you tap your feet:
Tap, tap, tap!
Wiggle your fingers and toes!
Show me how you nod your head:
Nod, nod, nod!
Show me how you flap your arms:
Flap, flap, flap!
Wiggle your fingers and toes!
Clap your hands.
Tap your feet.
Nod your head.
Flap your arms.
Wiggle your fingers and toes!

4. I'm a Little Teapot

5. 5 Little Ducks

6. Animal Fair

I went to the Animal Fair
The birds and the beasts were there
The big baboon by the light of the moon
Was combing his auburn hair
You should have seen the monk
He sat on the elephant's trunk
The elephant sneezed and fell on his knees
And what became of the monk?
The monk.
What became of the monk?

7. Itsy Bitsy Spider

8. If You're Happy And You Know It

9. Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes

10. Ring Around the Rosie

11. Hokey Pokey

12. Teddy Bear Teddy Bear

Then we did some theme related coloring pages. Fun was had by all.

School Library Journal Think Tank 4/5

School Library Journal Think Tank

   On Friday, April 5^th, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to attend the first ever School Library Journal (SLJ) Think Tank. This event was created to give Children’s librarians a chance to learn about relevant library issues and network.

  The beginning of the event was a keynote led by Pamela Sandlian Smith. Her theme was succinctly captured in a quote she used in the beginning of her speech. She stated, “If libraries were treehouses, librarians would be the architects of dreams.  If librarians were the architects of dreams, then children would find a special place to dream of who they would become and lives fulfilled.” She wanted to stress to the librarians that they are the ones who can create unique learning experiences for children and an inviting space to do this. She discussed the Anythink Libraries, which are the Rangeview libraries in Adams County, Colorado. It’s a whole new world of libraries. Upon entering the library, one would see trees inside the room. They have the Wright Farms which include hand-on activities in an outdoor area next to the library. They had a tech training program that brought in specialists in animation and creating movies and had the staff work with these experts to create their own movies. There are also a variety of other inviting programs at these libraries.

 Next was a panel discussion titled “Creating Collaborations that Make Stronger Libraries”. It was led by Daryl Grabarek, Contributing Editor of SLJ. The panelists included: Rachel Payne, Coordinator of Early Childhood Services at Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn NY,  Susan Modak, Librarian, Montgomery Public Libraries, MD, Nicholas Higgins, Associate Director of Community Outreach at New York Public Library (NYPL) and Kathy Bennett, Library Lead Teacher at Metro Nashville Public Schools.

   Each panelist discussed a project they undertook at their library. Rachel Payne assisted in creating a readiness program to help prepare children for Kindergarten. This was created from their initial Weekend Stories program which later became Ready Set Kindergarten. It includes a variety of literary and STEM activities that are geared towards preschoolers who are going to enter Kindergarten in the fall. Brooklyn Public Library also partnered with the NYCDOE Early Childhood Division and was able to obtain forms for Pre-K enrollment and provide assistance with these forms. Volunteer interns who were library science students and education students assisted with this program.  Susan Modak created a program for teen moms and dads to educate them on the importance of early literacy and library use. She collaborated with local service organizations. They were taught techniques to share stories and songs with their children. They were even provided with free books to add to their home collection. Nicholas Higgins worked with prisoners and their children at several of the prisons at Riker’s Island. He led an early literacy awareness program for the fathers who were detained at Riker’s Island. At the end of the workshop, there was a day where children of these fathers were able to come and visit and the fathers created an audiotape of themselves reading a book to their children. Kathy Bennett runs a program called Limitless Libraries which connects the public libraries to the schools. Students can use their school ID cards to obtain materials and materials are delivered directly to the schools using their own transportation system. Teachers are also invited to take part in extended borrowing privileges.

   After lunch we were invited to listen to Keynote Speaker, John Hunter. We were very interested in hearing about his World Peace Game. He created this life size game to teach his fourth grade students how to problem solve. There are 50 interconnected problems in this game. In order to solve these problems, the children must work together; one cannot solve the problems alone.  He has done this program for 35 years.

   There was a mini presentation about the MyLibraryNYC project. Since I am from one of the NYC public library systems, I was aware of this program. Lynn Lobash was the presenter and runs the MyLibraryNYC project. This project, similar to Limitless Libraries, links the school libraries and the public libraries. Teachers receive extended borrowing privileges and students had the opportunity to receive a special library card through the schools with a variety of privileges. They also have a shared catalog and children can order books from the public libraries that are delivered to their schools. This is a pilot project and is currently in 83 schools and 51 sites.  Our schools do not have the shared catalog but we do provide books to participating schools.

  Next was the Unconference portion or Think Tank of the event. Led by Kiera Parrott, Head of Children’s Services at Darien Public Library, Darien, CT.  We met in groups to brainstorm a variety of topics. The topics included: School/Public Library Partnerships, Common Core, Early Learning Initiatives, Apps (incorporating technology), Rethinking the Physical Space (maker spaces, play spaces), Readers, Thinkers, Makers (Innovative Programs), Serving Kids with Special Needs and Librarians in the Wild (inspiring outreach).

  Our group was Readers, Thinkers and Makers (Innovative Programs), led by Amy Koester, who has led some innovative programs herself. One such program was her Star Wars Day. She has more information on her blog about it @ showmelibrarian.blogspot.com. There was focus on programs for toddlers and preschoolers, school aged and teens. Some great program ideas for the littlest members of the library were: drive in movie (from Marge Loch Wouters @ tinytipsforlibraryfun.blogspot.com ) , transportation playtime, Dads and Donuts,  New Years Eve Party and many more. For the school age children, some ideas were: Life Size Candy Land,  March Madness for books and Lego Programs. For teenagers the program ideas included: Music Festival at or sponsored by the library, Ghost and Neighborhood Stories and Very Important Performers (can be used with school age children too). There were many more ideas. Please comment below on these ideas and include a link to your website if this was your idea. Amy Koester will have a more detailed post about this Think Tank session on her blog. If you have some innovative program ideas, please include your blog site in the comment section.

  I also met some great librarians including: Marge Loch-Wouters, Melissa Depper, Amy Koester, Cecelia (sorry I forget her last name from Kings Library System in Washington State) and Renee Grassi. I got to listen to some great presenters such as: Pamela Sandlian Smith, the librarians from the Library Collaboration Discussion, John Hunter and Kiera Parrott. I met some others, but I am sorry if I forgot your name.  It was a wonderful day and I would recommend it to other librarians.

 If you have some innovative program ideas, please include your blog site in the comment section.

Toddler Time 4/8

  For this week's Toddler Time, our theme was pop up and lift the flap books. I wanted to use books that were interactive. Children always love lifting the flap or seeing the items pop up in the book. And indeed, this was a success in storytime. Here are the stories we used:

Seals on the Bus by Lenny Hort

 The Very Lazy Ladybug by Isobel Finn

Who's Under that Hat by David Carter

Peek a Boo Zoo by Dian Curtis Regan

   Here are the songs we did:

Hello Everyone

Shake Shake Your Hands

Seals on the Bus (song/book)

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Lady Bug Song

Sung to:"Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"

Lady Bug, Lady Bug
she landed on my nose
I went “kerchoo!” and
off she flew!
Her body is round with
big black dots,
My mommy told me
they're called spots.
Lady Bug, Lady Bug
she looks really neat
With her bright red wings,
And tiny black feet!

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Keeper in the Zoo

The keeper in the zoo,
the keeper in the zoo,
Heigh-ho! The derry-o!
The keeper in the zoo.
The keeper feeds the (bears).
The keeper feeds the (bears).
Heigh-ho. The derry-o!
The keeper feeds the (bears).

continue with monkeys, 'gators, birds, etc

If You're Happy and You Know It

Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes

Ring Around the Rosie

Hokey Pokey

Teddy Bear Teddy Bear

Then we did some theme related coloring sheets (ladybugs and the zoo). Much fun was had by all.

First Ever Children's Librarian Twitter Chat

   I don't know if this has been done on Twitter with this exact topic, but I will be hosting my first one tomorrow night at 9 PM ET, hashtag #jlib. If you are a children's librarian or studying to be one, you are invited to this chat. We will be talking about a variety of Children's library related issues such as: collection development, programming, outreach and more. Feel free to submit your questions to me here or DM me on Twitter (mmlibrarian). Hope to see you then!

Toddler Time 4/1

  This week's Toddler Time theme was Spring. The turnout was not as big as in the past but we did not have storytime last week because of the holiday, so maybe families were confused. The children who attended had a good time. Here is the songs and stories we did this session:

Seals on the Bus by Lenny Hort

B is for Bunny by Tanya Lee Stone

Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert

Songs:

1. Good Morning to You
2. Shake Shake Your Hands
3. 5 Little Ducks

Five Little Ducks

Five little ducks went out one day, over the hills and far away.

Mother duck said “quack, quack, quack” and only 4 little ducks came back.

Four little ducks went out one day, over the hills and far away.

Mother duck said, “quack, quack, quack” and only 3 little ducks came back.

Three little ducks went out one day, over the hills and far away.

Mother duck said, “quack, quack, quack” and only 2 little ducks came back.

Two little ducks went out one day, over the hills and far away.

Mother duck said, “quack, quack, quack” and only 1 little duck came back.

One little duck went out one day, over the hills and far away.

Mother duck said, “quack, quack, quack” and no little ducks came back.

Sad mother duck went out one day, over the hills and far away.

Mother duck said, “quack, quack, quack” and all 5 ducks came back!!

4. 5 Little Monkeys
5. Seals on the Bus (song/book)
6. Old MacDonald Had a Farm
7. Little Birdie

Songs:

Little Birdie

I saw a little birdie go hop, hop, hop (hop little fingers on palm)

I asked that little birdie to stop, stop, stop (hold up hand, palm out)

I went to the window to say “how do you do?” (wave hello)

But he shook his little tail (wiggle bottom)

And away he flew! (flap arms)

8. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
9. Itsy Bitsy Spider

Toddler Time 3/18

   This week we had our Toddler Time in the children's room because the meeting room was being occupied for the Defensive Driving Class. We had 9 children and our theme was bunnies. We did two new songs and the children loved the second song. They also loved the second book I read.

Books:

Seals on the Bus by Lenny Hort

What Does Bunny See by Linda Sue Park

Max’s Chocolate Chicken by Rosemary Wells

Songs:

1. Good Morning Song
2. Shake Shake Your Hands
3. Seals on the Bus (book/song)
4. Five Little Ducks
5. Out in the Garden

Out in the Garden

Out in the garden, (motion over your shoulder)

where the cabbages grow,

Five little cottontails (hold up five fingers)

Are hopping to and fro, (hop fingers up and down)

Along comes a puppy dog,

Looking for some fun (shade eyes)

“Bow-wow-wow”, he barks,

6. Itsy Bitsy Spider

7. Little Bunny

Little Bunny

There was a little bunny who lived in the wood. (hold up two fingers)
He wiggled his ears as a good bunny should (wiggle on head)
He hopped by a squirrel. He hopped by a tree. (hop, hop)
He hopped by a duck. And he hopped by me. (hop, hop over fist)
He stared at the squirrel. He stared at the tree. (stare, stare)
He stared at the duck. But he made faces at me! (stare, make faces)

8. If You're Happy and You Know It
9. Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes
10. Ring Around the Rosy
11. Hokey Pokey
12. Teddy Bear Teddy Bear

Toddler Time 3/11

   The children who attended the program had a great time. The theme this week was jungle animals.

Here are the books we read:
1.Pete the Cat and his Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin
2.Bedtime in the Jungle by John Butler
3."Slowly, Slowly, Slowly," Said the Sloth by Eric Carle

  We started by introducing Mr. Monkey and having the children tell us what sound a monkey makes. The Eric Carle book was great because it included many jungle animals, including some less common animals from Africa. I loved how the back of the book included the illustrations of the animals and their names. We tried to ask to see what animals the children knew.

 These are the songs we did:

 1. Hello Song
 2. Shake Shake Your Hands
 3. I'm a Little Teapot
 4. 3 Little Monkeys

Three little monkeys (hold up three fingers)

Swinging in a tree (move fingers back and forth)

Teasing Mr. Crocodile, “You can’t catch me!”

Along comes crocodile quiet as can be (palms together, make weaving motion)

And SNAP! (snap palms together)

Two little monkeys… (repeat above)

One little monkey…(repeat above and change last line)

SNAP! Ha ha, you missed me!

 5. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

 6. Down in the Jungle

Begin by having children slap their hands on their knees and then clap them together to set the rhythm of the chant.

Down in the jungle With the beat in your feet, Think of an animal That you'd like to meet. That you'd like to meet ________! (Call out a child's name and have them name a jungle animal)

A (Monkey), A (Monkey) She wants to see a (Monkey)! Etc.

7. If You're Happy and You Know It

8. Head and Shoulders

9. Ring Around the Rosy

10. Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear

Then we completed the story time with jungle animal related coloring sheets.

Mother Goose Story time 3/7

Our story time from last week went well. I love the children in this group. They are adorable. We had 6 children attend and I believe when the weather gets warmer, we will have more children.

Here are the books we read:
What Do You Love? by Jonathan London
One Rainy Day by Tammi Salzano
Llama Llama Nighty Night by Anna Dewdney

Here are the songs we did:

1. Good Morning Song
2. Come Along and Sing with Us
3. Dance Your Fingers
4. This Little Piggy
5. Flying Baby Song (Up! Up! Up!)
6. Patty-Cake, Patty-Cake
7. Where oh Where are Babies' Fingers
8. The Train
9. Grey Squirrel
10. Hey Diddle Diddle
11. Where is Thumbkin
12. Now It's Time
13. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
14. Itsy Bitsy Spider
16. Alphabet Song
17. Ring Around The Rosy
18. Hands Say Goodbye..

Monday 3/4 Toddler Time

   This week's theme was transportation. Here are the books we read for this storytime:

  

   This week's attendance was good. We had 13 children and their caregivers attend. Here's the list of songs we did with these books:

Song: Good Morning

Song: Shake Your Hands

Book: Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin

Song:  Five Little Monkeys

Song: Choo Choo Train (finger play) This is a choo-choo train,
   Bend arms at elbows.
Puffing down the track.
  Rotate forearms in rhythm.
Now it's going forward,
  Push arms forward; continue rotating motion.
Now it's going back.
   Pull arms back; continue rotating motion.
Now the bell i sringing,
   Pull bell cord with closed fist.
Now the whistle blows.
   Hold fist near mouth and blow.
What a lot of noise it makes,
   Cover ears with hand.
Everywhere it goes.

Book: Wake Up Engines by Denise Mortensen

Song: This is the Way We Wash..
(use scarves to do the motions for each action)

This is the way we wash our face,
Wash our face, wash our face,
This is the way we wash our face,
So early in the morning.

This is the way we clean our hands,
Clean our hands, clean our hands,
This is the way we clean our hands,
So early in the morning.

This is the way we brush our teeth,
Brush our teeth, brush our teeth,
This is the way we brush our teeth
So early in the  morning.

This is the way we comb our hair,
Comb our hair, comb our hair,
This is the way we comb our hair,
So early in the morning.
Continue with...
...put on our pants
...put on our shirt
...toast our bread
...butter our bread
...eat our bread
...sweep the floor
....wash the floor

Song: Wheels on the Bus

Book: A Plane Goes Kazoom! by Jonathan London

Song: If You're Happy and You Know It

Song: Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes

Song: Ring a Round the Rosie

Song: Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear

 Then the children colored transportation related coloring sheets. Much fun was had by all.

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Favorite Newbery Titles

   These are my favorite Newbery titles (winners and honors books).

1. One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate- I loved this touching story about Ivan the gorilla and his other animal friends. I loved the idea of the short chapters especially since the story was told from Ivan's point of view.

2. Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata- Is a bittersweet story about a teenage Japanese American girl and her family in 1950s Iowa.  I loved how the author depicted the relationship between the two sisters.

3. From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg- This book helped develop my love of the Metropolitian Museum of Art. This is one of my favorite books growing up.

4. Holes by Louis Sachar-This book had it all, a little bit of humor, mystery and a memorable story about a teen named Stanley.

5. One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia. This is a wonderful family story but also a great historical piece of fiction about the civil rights movement during 1968's Oakland, CA.

6. The Giver by Lois Lowry- This is an intriguing science fiction story about the challenges a teenage boy faces in a dystopian society.

7. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry- This is a moving frienship story that takes place during the Holocaust in Denmark.

8. View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg- The author does a great job of telling the different perspectives of the students from Epiphany Middle School.

9. Little House on the Prairie Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder- A number of her books received honors. I remember enjoying the stories of Laura and her family and learning what it was like to grow up in family who were pioneers in 1860s in midwestern USA.

10. Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage- I have not completed this book but I included it because I am really enjoying it so far.

Top Ten Tuesday:
Top Ten (favorite) Picture Books:

1. Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

   I love a lot of Eric Carle's books but this one is my absolute favorite. The illustrations, concepts (days of the week, fruits and lifecycle of a caterpillar) are all very well done. Whenever I use this book in storytime, children love to mention the amount of fruit the caterpillar eats every day. I love to see their joy and excitement when I read this book to them.

2. Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes

  This is an adorable picture book about teasing, that is done in a very non-didatic manner. His adorable mouse character, Chrysanthemum gets teased about her name. The ending (no spoilers here) is very fitting and fun.

3. Froggy Series by Jonathan London

  These cute picture books feature a boy frog named of course, Froggy. Froggy is depicted in all sorts of situations such as: going out to dinner, going on vacation, going to the doctor and many more. I love the humor featured in these books.

4. Napping House by Audrey Wood

  This sweet but simple story is one of the best cumulative stories I know. It is fun to use in storytime, because the children love to tell me which animal goes on the bed next. The illustrations are also very adorable too and has a funny ending.

5. Nana Upstairs, Nana Downstairs by Tomie DePaola

  This bittersweet picture book features a boy and his relationship with his grandmother and great grandmother. This book is very touching and reminds me of the great relationship I had with my grandmother.

6. Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

  This simple but wonderfully illustrated picture book features a young boy enjoying a fun winter day. Through this story, you cannot help but want to be part of his journey and remember your own times as a child enjoying the winter.

7. Lunch by Denise Fleming

  I love the illustrations in this book. This basic but creative book is a great fit for storytime. Children will love to participate and mention the fruits depicted in this book.

8.  The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco

 This moving picture book about family and traditions reminded me a little of my family, who were also Eastern European Jewish immigrants. I love how the quilt brought the family together.

9. Library Mouse by Daniel Kirk

 This sweet book features an adorable mouse who loves books and writing. His stories intrigue the children and his terrific idea encourages the children to write their own books.

10. Harold and the Purple Crayon

 This is a great story about a boy's imagination. I love all of Harold's creations with his "magical crayon".

Next week will feature chapter books for older elementary school children.

Toddler Time 2/11/13 Valentine's Day

  I had thought we would only get one or two kids because of the weather (snow is done, but parking was tough). It turns out that we got 6 kids. I was pleasantly surprised. Our theme this week was Valentine's Day.

Valentine's Day


Start by introducing Mr. Monkey. Mr. Monkey introduces our books:
1.  Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin
2.  If You'll Be My Valentine by Cynthia Rylant
3.  Biscuits Valentine's Day by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

• Good Morning, Good Morning (song)
• Shake Shake Your Hands (song)

Book #1

•       Five Little Valentines (with heart valentine's on craft sticks, children participation)
•       Old McDonald Had a Farm 

 

Five Little Valentines

Five pretty valentines waiting at the store.
(Child's name) bought one and then there were four.
Four pretty valentines shaped like a V,
(Child's name) bought one and then there were three.
Three pretty valentines said: 'I love you'
(Child's name) bought one and then there were two.
Two pretty valentines, this was so much fun.
(Child's name) bought one and then there was one.
One pretty valentine sitting on the shelf.
I felt sorry for it, so I bought it for myself

(good song if you want to get to know the names of your kids at storytime)

Book #2

• 5 Little Monkeys
• Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Book #3

• If You're Happy and You Know It (song)
• Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes (song)
• Ring Around the Rosie (song)
• Hokey Pokey (song)
• Teddy Bear Teddy Bear

Coloring pages

 

Mother Goose Thursday Feb. 6th

  Mother Goose is our storytime for our youngest library users. The children range from 9 mos-23 mos. We get an average of 8-10 children each week. That seems like a good amount. I enjoy this group because they are so cute and I like their reactions to the songs and the books. Here is what we did for this week's storytime:

Song: Good Morning, Good Morning

Song: To Market, To Market

Song: Sing with Me

Book: The Big Baby Book by Guido Van Genechten

Song: Shake, Shake, Your Hands

Song: This Little Piggy

Song:  Now It's Time

Book: Swing Like a Monkey by Harriet Ziefert

Song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Song: Hey Diddle Diddle

Song: Patty-Cake, Patty-Cake

Song: Gray Squirrel

Book: Red Truck by Kersten Hamilton

Song: Itsy-Bitsy Spider

Song: ABC Song

Song: Ring Around The Rosie

Song: Goodbye Song

  We spent the last twenty minutes with puzzles and blocks. They had a good time.

Toddler Time Monday February 4th

   We just had our second session of Toddler Time for our winter/spring session. Our program is for children ages 2-4. Most of the children are 3-3 1/2. Our program is 50 minutes long, with stories, songs and coloring pages. Each week has a different theme. Here are the themes, books, and songs for the first two weeks.

Week 1: Snowmen

• Start by introducing Mr. Bear. Mr. Bear introduces our books:

1.  Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin
2.  All You Need For a Snowman by Alice Schertle
3.  Snowmen at Night by Carolyn Buehner

• Good Morning, Good Morning (song)
• Shake Shake Your Hands (song)

Book #1

•       Five Little Monkeys (song)
•       Five Little Snowmen (song with snowmen puppets on craft sticks, pictures to follow later

Five Little Snowmen

Five little snowmen sitting on the ground, (stomp feet on floor)
The first one said; 'oh my aren't we round' (make circle with arms)
The second one said; "'there are snowflakes in the air"(point and wiggle fingers)
The third one said; "but we don't care." (shrug shoulders)
The fourth one said; "lets run and run and run. (Run in place)
The fifth one said; "I'm ready for some fun." (Smile Big)
Whew went the wind (blow) and out came the sun (point)
And the five little snowman knew their fun was done. (Hang head sadly)

Book #2

• I'm a Little Snowman (song)

I'm a Little Snowman (sung to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot")

I'm a little snowperson short and fat.
Here are my buttons, here is my hat.
When the sun comes out, I cannot play.
I just slowly melt away!

• Itsy Bitsy Spider (song)

Book #3

• If You're Happy and You Know It (song)
• Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes (song)
• Ring Around the Rosie (song)
• Hokey Pokey (song)
• Teddy Bear Teddy Bear

Coloring pages

Week 2: Bears

Start by introducing Mr. Bear. Mr. Bear introduces our books:

1.  Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin
2.  Can You Growl Like a Bear by John Butler
3.  Maybe A Bear Ate It by Robie Harris

• Good Morning, Good Morning (song)
• Shake Shake Your Hands (song)

Book #1

• Five Little Ducks (song)
• Five Little Bears (song) (use bear puppets with craft sticks)

Five Little Bears:

Five little bears little bears were dancing on the floor
One fell down and that left four
Four little bears climbed up a tree
One found a bee hive that left three
Three little bears were wondering what to do
One chased a bunny rabbit that left two
Two little bears were looking for some fun
One took a swim that left one
One little bear sitting all alone
He looked all around and then ran home.

Book #2

• Itsy Bitsy Spider (song)
• Open Shut Them (song)

Book #3

• If You're Happy and You Know It (song)
• Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes (song)
• Ring Around the Rosie (song)
• Hokey Pokey (song)
• Teddy Bear Teddy Bear

Coloring pages

Week 1: The children loved the snowmen song and enjoyed participating by holding the snowmen puppets

Week 2: The children also loved the bear song and holding up the bear puppets

Attendance was good both weeks.