There are just a little over two weeks until we kick off our summer reading program with our registration event! This week we ventured out of the library to local schools to promote the upcoming events.
Since we had such a good time with the beach theme last week, I thought I'd share some of the same books over again when I spent this Wednesday at a nearby kindergarten. The morning classes thought To the Beach by Linda Ashman was especially funny and enjoyed interacting with How Will We Get to the Beach? (see last week's post for a summary).
I also found a clever "Five Little Seashells" fingerplay on the Songs for Teaching website (http://www.songsforteaching.com/hughhanley/5littleseashells.htm) that I adapted a little to fit right in with our theme:
Five little seashells lying on the shore,
CRASH went the waves,
And then there were four.
Four little seashells pretty as can be,
CRASH went the waves,
And then there were three.
Three little seashells all pearly and new,
CRASH went the waves,
And then there were two.
Two little seashells lying in the sun,
CRASH went the waves,
And then there was one.
One little seashell lying all alone,
I put it in my pocket
And I carried it home!
We wrapped things up with Bats at the Beach, which transitioned nicely into my summer reading program pitch (author/illustrator Brian Lies also illustrated the program's poster and promotional materials).
I was prepared to do a repeat performance for the afternoon classes, but learned that I'd be seeing a handful of "extended day" kids for a second time. Luckily, I was just down the street from the library and had an opportunity to run back for some fresh material!
The afternoon classes were treated to fewer beach books and more nighttime books and the kids LOVED it! We read a couple of monster pop-up style books that I had found in our Halloween collection (Scare the Moon by Harriet Ziefert and You Monsters are in Charge by Jill Sardegna) as well as Kitten's First Full Moon.
Overall, I think this bodes well for a great summer reading program as we'll be celebrating the "Dream Big-Read!" theme with lots of nighttime stories of stars, lullabies, camping, and even a few monsters!
Friday, May 25, 2012
Friday, May 18, 2012
Sunny Days at the Library Beach
The sun was shining, it was our last week of our Spring program lineup, and it was a great week for a library beach party!
On Thursday, our preschoolers sat on beach towels while we read books by two of my favorite children's authors: Melanie Watt and Laura Numeroff. All of Melanie Watt's Scaredy Squirrel books make me smile with their cute and amusing illustrations. They feature a sweet worrywort squirrel who would prefer to stay safely at home in his nut tree and avoid the unpredictable dangers of "the Unknown." In Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach, Scaredy hopes to steer clear of falling coconuts, packs of pirates, flocks of seagulls, and other perils by manufacturing a beach in his own in his backyard, but ends up having to visit the real shore to get a seashell with authentic ocean sounds. When Scaredy's extensive preparations hit a snag, he finds himself in a crowd on the beach--enjoying the very situation that he had always avoided.
Most of the kids were already familiar with Laura Numeroff's If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and were prepared for the same pattern to follow in If You Give a Cat a Cupcake. This one fit our beach theme really well--I especially appreciate the way Numeroff draws the connection between sand at the beach and sprinkles on cupcakes, and I think the preschoolers did too!
The book How Will We Get to the Beach? by Brigitte Luciani allowed the preschoolers to try out their own problem-solving skills. In this story, Roxanne heads for the beach on a sunny day with five essentials: her baby, her turtle, an umbrella, a book, and a ball. Roxanne's car breaks down and she must find an alternate mode of transportation that can get everything there; however, the bus, bike, skateboard, kayak, and hot air balloon all force Roxanne to leave something behind. Readers get to enjoy the guessing game of figuring out what's missing from each picture and what the ultimate solution to Roxanne's transportation problem could be.
We wrapped up the beach party with dancing in bubbles to Laurie Berkner's "The Goldfish" and did a sandpaper sandcastle craft. It was a great way to end our Spring storytime schedule and transition into Summer Reading!
On Thursday, our preschoolers sat on beach towels while we read books by two of my favorite children's authors: Melanie Watt and Laura Numeroff. All of Melanie Watt's Scaredy Squirrel books make me smile with their cute and amusing illustrations. They feature a sweet worrywort squirrel who would prefer to stay safely at home in his nut tree and avoid the unpredictable dangers of "the Unknown." In Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach, Scaredy hopes to steer clear of falling coconuts, packs of pirates, flocks of seagulls, and other perils by manufacturing a beach in his own in his backyard, but ends up having to visit the real shore to get a seashell with authentic ocean sounds. When Scaredy's extensive preparations hit a snag, he finds himself in a crowd on the beach--enjoying the very situation that he had always avoided.
Most of the kids were already familiar with Laura Numeroff's If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and were prepared for the same pattern to follow in If You Give a Cat a Cupcake. This one fit our beach theme really well--I especially appreciate the way Numeroff draws the connection between sand at the beach and sprinkles on cupcakes, and I think the preschoolers did too!
The book How Will We Get to the Beach? by Brigitte Luciani allowed the preschoolers to try out their own problem-solving skills. In this story, Roxanne heads for the beach on a sunny day with five essentials: her baby, her turtle, an umbrella, a book, and a ball. Roxanne's car breaks down and she must find an alternate mode of transportation that can get everything there; however, the bus, bike, skateboard, kayak, and hot air balloon all force Roxanne to leave something behind. Readers get to enjoy the guessing game of figuring out what's missing from each picture and what the ultimate solution to Roxanne's transportation problem could be.
We wrapped up the beach party with dancing in bubbles to Laurie Berkner's "The Goldfish" and did a sandpaper sandcastle craft. It was a great way to end our Spring storytime schedule and transition into Summer Reading!
Friday, May 11, 2012
Sounds of the Season: Happy Mother's Day!
This week, our storytime groups prepared for Mother's Day by reading books that focused on families and honored Mom!
But what makes a holiday more festive than some great musical accompaniment? And who knew there were so many songs and rhymes that include references to dear "Mama"? Our Thursday preschool group formed a crazy team of monkey puppets that bounced right along to a fun Caribbean arrangement of "No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" (performed by Asheba on the CD Putumayo Kids presents Animal Playground). Naturally, we had puppets representing Mama and the doctor too! Other songs included in our Mother's Day storytime soundtrack included following:
"Five Little Ducks (Went Out to Play)"
"Down by the Bay"
"Mama Don't Allow (No Music Playin' Around Here)": the Muppets have a great version!
We also made up our own actions to go along with this poem adapted from the Whatcom County Library System Storytime Theme Handbook:
My Mommy
My Mommy’s very special,
I think that you’ll agree.
She picks the greatest stories,
To read aloud to me.
Sometimes she take me shopping,
Or we play a game of ball.
She always gives me great big hugs,
She’s the best Mom of them all!
Can you think of any other Mother-themed songs or rhymes? Have fun looking for a special way to celebrate!
But what makes a holiday more festive than some great musical accompaniment? And who knew there were so many songs and rhymes that include references to dear "Mama"? Our Thursday preschool group formed a crazy team of monkey puppets that bounced right along to a fun Caribbean arrangement of "No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" (performed by Asheba on the CD Putumayo Kids presents Animal Playground). Naturally, we had puppets representing Mama and the doctor too! Other songs included in our Mother's Day storytime soundtrack included following:
"Five Little Ducks (Went Out to Play)"
"Down by the Bay"
"Mama Don't Allow (No Music Playin' Around Here)": the Muppets have a great version!
We also made up our own actions to go along with this poem adapted from the Whatcom County Library System Storytime Theme Handbook:
My Mommy
My Mommy’s very special,
I think that you’ll agree.
She picks the greatest stories,
To read aloud to me.
Sometimes she take me shopping,
Or we play a game of ball.
She always gives me great big hugs,
She’s the best Mom of them all!
Can you think of any other Mother-themed songs or rhymes? Have fun looking for a special way to celebrate!
Friday, May 4, 2012
Cinco de Mayo Fiesta!
Our maracas and our All the Best of Mexico CD sounded throughout the library this week during our Cinco de Mayo storytimes and activities.
Monday's open craft program had a record number of crafters in attendance when we made mini chile pepper pinatas out of toilet paper rolls and crepe paper. (Yes, they technically came for the candy, but had fun creating in the meantime!)
Thursday's preschool group decorated spoon maracas, which also made great use of some leftover Easter eggs. The maracas became the voice of the culebra (rattlesnake) as we read Manana Iguana, by Ann Whitford Paul. Then we got even more festive shaking them to the enthusiastic "Ole!" refrain of Chicks and Salsa by Aaron Reynolds.
Cinco de Mayo also allowed us a good opening to discuss the bilingual materials available in our collection. We presented Kitten's First Full Moon (by Kevin Henkes) next to its Spanish counterpart (La primera luna llena de Gatita). The preschoolers were especially amused by the fact that two books could look the same and have the same story, but have different words inside.
Finally, our Thursday and Friday craft--a cup and plate sombrero--made for some great photo opportunities. Here's Clifford modeling:
Monday's open craft program had a record number of crafters in attendance when we made mini chile pepper pinatas out of toilet paper rolls and crepe paper. (Yes, they technically came for the candy, but had fun creating in the meantime!)
Thursday's preschool group decorated spoon maracas, which also made great use of some leftover Easter eggs. The maracas became the voice of the culebra (rattlesnake) as we read Manana Iguana, by Ann Whitford Paul. Then we got even more festive shaking them to the enthusiastic "Ole!" refrain of Chicks and Salsa by Aaron Reynolds.
Cinco de Mayo also allowed us a good opening to discuss the bilingual materials available in our collection. We presented Kitten's First Full Moon (by Kevin Henkes) next to its Spanish counterpart (La primera luna llena de Gatita). The preschoolers were especially amused by the fact that two books could look the same and have the same story, but have different words inside.
Finally, our Thursday and Friday craft--a cup and plate sombrero--made for some great photo opportunities. Here's Clifford modeling:
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)