All posts by Children's Staff
Traveling Storytime, September 2016
Traveling storytimes this new school year have gotten off to a great start. It has been really nice to meet some new children at some of the day cares and to continue to see familiar faces as well. I continue to be impressed each time as the children join in on the songs and fingerplays and are attentive and interested in the stories being read.
At most houses this month, I started with the big book version of Jump Frog Jump by Robert Kalan, a wonderful interactive story that gets the children to join in and shout “jump frog jump” to help the frog get away. At the end of the story, the frog is captured in a basket turned upside down and still needs to get away! This story was followed by a “Five Green and Speckled Frog” fingerplay.
Another story enjoyed this month was Turtle Day by Douglas Florian. This book simply tells the adventures of a turtle throughout a day, including sunning on a log, playing with other turtles and escaping from big fish. We followed this book with a fun song about a turtle drinking the water and eating the soap in a bathtub, with the fun chorus of “Bubble, bubble, bubble, bubble, bubble, POP!”
Fireman Fred by Lynne Rowe Reed is another simple story that follows a firefighter as he works with his team to put out a house fire. When done with this work, Fred finds a stray dog that needs a home. The dog (and Fred) end up with a lovely solution! Read the book to find out what happens and then sing “Hurry Hurry, Drive the Firetruck” as you pretend to put out fires together.
Other stories and songs were read and sung at different houses this month depending on requests and needs of the children.
Baby Storytime, Friday, October 7
A lovely group of babies and parents/grandparents/nannies/aunts gathered together for Baby Storytime. We talked a bit about incorporating sign language into your
daily routine. If exposed to signing regularly, typically developing children have the ability to sign words before they develop oral language. The use of sign language at a young age can help with communication for your little one before he or she can orally ask for something. One mother today coincidentally shared with the group that her son, at eight months old, has started to use the sign for “more!”
Toddler Storytime, Wednesday, October 5 and Friday, October 7
I got to sing and dance and move and shake with toddlers two times this week! Lucky me!
On Wednesday, everyone listened to the story White Rabbit’s Color Book by Alan Baker and on Friday I read Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox.
We look forward to seeing you in the library to check out these and other books to read to your toddlers.
Dads and Donuts on Saturday, October 8
We like to read at least one book about Dads during the Dads and Donuts storytime, so today we started things off with Be Glad Your Dad (Is Not an Octopus!). This new title explores dads in the animal world, like the skunk dad who sprays you if you startle him, or a tortoise dad who takes forever to get anything done!
Our next book was Count the Monkeys. The goal here is to count the monkeys in the book, but a giant cobra has scared them all away. The children in storytime had to try all sorts of things to get rid of the cobra and other intruders, and encourage the monkeys to come back so we could count them.
Preschool Storytime – Wednesday, October 5
Our group today enjoyed many songs, rhymes and books. It was a fun time together with lots of participation from the children and their adults! We read, enjoyed, laughed and smiled with five different books. I bet some kids even went home and asked for cookies.
Come on in to the library to borrow these or any other books to enjoy at home.
Books for Preschoolers on Monday, October 3 and Friday, October 7
The air is crisp, the breeze is blowing, and the leaves are falling. It must be autumn! In this week’s storytimes, we read books about the changing leaves. You can click on the images below to find these books in our online catalog.
Play With Your Child!
While playing with different toys,
describe how they feel, what they look like and sounds that they make.
Books for 4-6 year olds on Tuesday October 4
A is for….all things apple! It’s apple-picking and -eating time, and all of our stories today had something to do with apples of every description. Our first story is an alphabet book that tells its tale in spare text; but the illustrations are so expressive that not many words are needed. Will Dog finally get his paws on an apple-pie treat? Read the story to find out!
Annie the apple farmer has a beautiful orchard, and works hard to grow her apples. She sells them at the farmers’ market, and also makes cider, applesauce, and more with them. Simple text and colorful illustrations capture what’s special about the “common” apple.
Our last story follows the “life cycle” of an apple as it’s picked off the tree, taken to market and enjoyed. What happens to the seeds of that apple? Birds play a part, and so do sun, wind, and time. It all comes back around to the apple!
Books for Preschoolers on Monday, September 26 and Friday, September 30
This week we read books about spots and dots. You can click on the images below to find each book in our catalog.
Toddler Storytime, Wednesday and Friday, September 28 and September 30
Toddler Storytimes have begun again as we start the new session of Storytimes. Toddler Storytimes are geared for children between 12 months -30 months, as it is usually a storytime filled with songs, rhymes, movement and one book. There is often the opportunity to move around for some of the songs and join in on the fingerplays and motions. Toddler storytimes are on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Check our calendar to find the day and time that works well for you and your child.
This week on Wednesday and Friday, we enjoyed spirited times together with lots of movement and joining in on the songs. The group “moo-ed,” “baa-ed,” “oinked,” and “neigh-ed” together on “Old MacDonald’s Farm.” We also danced to the “Hokey Pokey” and did “Ring Around the Rosy” to name a few.
The book we read is a classic and familiar story to many. Come on into to the library to find the right books for you to enjoy at home with your child.