All posts by Children's Staff
Family Day Care Traveling Storytime – January
January brought with it visits to many Family Day Cares in Chelmsford. It is always so wonderful to walk into a home and be greeted with excitement and enthusiasm for the storytime ahead.
Many children heard the story about Flora and her blanket and listened with anticipation to find out where Flora had lost her blanket. All the children were so surprised by the ending.
How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? was fun to read as the children heard about different ways of acting at the table!
The Line Up Book, about a boy named Sam who lines up his toys all the way from his room to the kitchen, brought lots of responses from the providers about having a fabulous line of toys throughout the house!
The children got a chance to explore lots of different construction paper shapes after listening to the story Mouse Shapes. By actually getting to touch and play with shapes, the children made different pictures of trees, cars, snowmen and more. Having materials that relate directly to a story helps to bring the story alive and allows the children the opportunity to explore some concepts on their own. I heard several providers say that they were going to cut out some shapes so that the children could explore them at other times.
~Deborah
Toddler Time, Friday, January 29
Storytimes started up again this week and we ended the week with Toddler Time! We had a nice time singing lots of songs, chanting different rhymes and dancing around together. It was wonderful when all the caregivers joined in to read the words of the book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear together. Children continue to learn when they hear from role models. Reading together is a great gift to give to your little one. Thanks to everyone for reading along with me.
Baby Storytime, 0-12 months, Friday, January 29
Excitement was in the air as Baby Storytime started up again after the break! It was great to see some familiar faces along with meeting lots of new babies and caregivers. We did a lot of talking today to get the group familar with the storytime and to share valuable information. We also sang songs, bounced around and read a favorite story together. The grownups and babies seemed to enjoy Brown Bear Brown Bear by Bill Martin, Jr and Eric Carle.
Books for Toddlers on Wednesday, January 27
At this morning’s toddler storytime, we waddled like ducks, stomped like elephants, and jumped like kangaroos as we read Wiggle Waggle by Jonathan London. We also read Lemons Are Not Red, by Laura Vaccaro Seeger, which uses cut-outs to explore the world of colors.
Books for Preschoolers on Wednesday, January 27
Chelmsford got a few inches of snow this week, so today we read stories about sledding, snowmen, and all things snow!
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It starts with just one flake, and the adults in town ignore it. But a little boy knows the snow is coming, and he wants everyone to share his excitement |
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| This book’s stunning collage illustrations feature a family of snowmen and a flock of hungry winter birds. | |
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A big snowstorm means a day of sledding fun! |
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In this rhyming story, a little girl follows a set of tracks in the snow outside her house. The book features the repeated refrain, “Tracks in the snow. Tracks in the snow. Who made the tracks? Where do they go?” Where do you think the tracks will lead? |
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A snow storytime wouldn’t be complete without this winter classic by Ezra Jack Keats. |
Write With Your Child!
Have writing implements accessible for children, including crayons, markers,
pencils and a variety of paper, both lined and unlined.
Books for 4-6 year olds on Tuesday, January 26
Welcome back to storytime! Our first storytime of the New Year had to do with crayons and colors:
Do you have a favorite color? We played around with colors and drawing after our stories, and tried to use as many colors as possible. There were many creative artists at storytime!
Books for preschoolers on January 25
It felt great to be back in storytime with the families of the preschoolers today.
I read Last Stop on Market Street, because I wanted the adults to hear the picture book that won the Newbery Medal this year. (see my post on January 11) It is a longer book than I usually read with this group, but most of the children were over 3. This is the first time I’ve read the story to a group. I needed more practice, because some of the dialogue is in dialect. I’ve read it to my grandchildren, but I didn’t have to hold the book off to the side. 🙂 I’ll get better the more often I read it.
No Yeti Yet by Mary Ann Fraser tells a delightful story of 2 young children who go in search of Yeti, although they’ve never seen one before. By looking carefully at the cover before opening the book, your child may have an idea of what Yeti looks like. Don’t worry, Yeti turns out to be very friendly and helpful.
Awake Beautiful Child by Amy Krouse Rosenthal was another book I chose more for parents than children. Notice the title has the letters A B and C capitalized, in order. The entire book is comprised of 3 word phrases with the letters ABC capitalized, in order. There are 32 phrases that loosely tell a story of a child’s day, leading up to bedtime.
I called up some of the preschoolers to help me find the capital letters A B and C in each phrase. I asked them to point out the letters for me. (I gave big hints to most of them – pointing with my fingers.) It is not a book that works easily in storytime, but I think it has great potential in one-to-one situations.
There is enough humor to keep adults engaged, e.g. Alert: Boring Copyright, and there are objects on each page that begin with A B or C. The author invites you to create your own ABC phrase with your child and submit it online.
We ended with a simple concept book on BIG and little. A little child wants to be big and imagines all his toys coming alive in a big way. Each time, however, he realizes the limitations of being very big. At the end he is Perfectly little.
~Maureen
Book and rhymes for Toddlers on January 25
I loved being back in storytime after a few weeks off! The toddler group is so much fun. At the beginning of the fall, children would wander up to the front of the room in order to investigate the things I had. Now they come up to the front to join me in the songs and movements. It is adorable.
I read this book today. I own the Big Book format, so that makes it easier for everyone to see the pictures.
I will read it again tomorrow during our Stay and Play program. It will be easier for children to listen to it tomorrow when they have heard it once already. Repetition is great for children.
~Maureen
Storytimes are back
Our storytimes begin Monday, January 25. We have a full schedule of 10 storytimes a week. We hope you find the perfect fit for your child.
Babies are welcome on Friday mornings at the Main Library at 10:00. Deborah leads this precious group. We sing songs, 
learn rhymes and read a board book together. Because this is a special time for babies, we ask you not to bring older siblings. Once a child begins to walk, we have more appropriate storytimes.
Toddlers are little ones who are walking. Some of them are just learning to walk. Others are really good at walking, but have a bit more trouble sitting still for stories. All toddlers are welcome to join us on Monday at 10:00, Wednesday at 11:00 and/or Friday at 11:00. These storytimes feature songs and rhymes with lots of movement. There will be a book or two, but they will be brief.
Preschoolers are ready to sit still for several stories. They don’t have to sit still for the full 30 minutes. We have rhymes and songs between stories to get our wiggles out. The stories are longer, and there is more interaction with the books. We have 3 storytimes a week for this age group: Monday at 11:00, Wednesday at 10:00 at the Main Library and/or Friday at our branch library in North Chelmsford at 10:30 am.
Finally, we have Big Kids. These are children ages 4-6 years old and enjoy going to storytime all by themselves, without their caretaker, on Thursday afternoon at 1:30. They often have lively discussions about the books, and they end their time with a craft or activity.
Have you been counting? I mentioned we have 10 storytimes a week but have only listed 8 of them. Our other 2 storytimes are perfect for active children.
Stay and Play is brand new this winter. Families with children ages 1 and up are invited to the Main Library on Tuesday mornings at 10:00.
This is the day and time when we offered crafts in the fall. We’re expanding the program a bit. We will begin with a short story before the craft. We invite your children to stay and play. We’ll have special toys in the room. We invite you to stay and play and meet other caregivers, or reconnect with families. We’ll clean up the toys at 11:00.
This is our 3rd year offering PlaySpace. On Thursday mornings at 10:00, our meeting room is 
transformed. We read a story and then invite children and grownups to act out parts of the story with crafts, activities and sensory experiences. We make the stories come alive.
Okay, I just described 10 opportunities to surround young children with Talking, Reading, Singing, Writing and Playing – the building blocks to literacy. Come join us!
Drop into our storytimes each week until May 13. (except for school vacation weeks in February and April)
~Maureen
P.S. This doesn’t even count Dads and Donuts – a storytime on the 2nd Sat of the month at 10:30 am. We have been running this storytime all year round for almost 14 years! Dads are in the majority, with children ages 2 and up, but moms are always welcome.