All posts by Children's Staff
Talk With Your Child!
Read with humor and expression in your
voice. Use different voices for different
characters.
Stories for 4-6 year olds on Tuesday, December 8
Our first story today is an old tale; there are many different versions of this story. This is one of the earlier ones. Ask your child how it is possible to make soup from stones:
Though everyone in the group certainly knows how to count to ten, we read a counting book because it has amazing illustrations. We also learned some things about the endangered animals depicted in the book:
Our last story was about two good friends who just happen to be wildly different sizes:
There was lots of active, involved listening happening at storytime today– great job, everyone!
Preschool books for Monday, December 7
Last night was the first night of Chanukah and also the feast of St. Nicholas. In 
Chelmsford Center we celebrated the Annual Holiday Prelude and Tree Lighting Celebration. I read stories in the Little Red Schoolhouse as part of the prelude. I read one story about Chanukah, and I read ‘Twas the Night before Christmas. I thought it balanced the evening well.
I was prepared to read both today in storytime, but the group was very young. My guess was that the children were just 2.5 years old. I think children need to be approximately 3.5 to 4 years old to enjoy ‘Twas the Night before Christmas. They were the right age for the Chanukah book:
We question whether the dinosaurs have good behavior or bad behavior in this book. By the end we know that they are well behaved dinosaurs. We know we will have good behavior also when there is a special holiday at our house.
Rather than longer books, I read some books that were new at the library:
Goodnight, Good Dog is a calming book for bedtime.
Mo and Beau is a great book about friends. I have 2 puppet friends who come to my storytimes – Maureen Mouse and Bobby Bear – so it was cute to read about a mouse and a bear being friends.
Go Home Flash is a great easy reader that you can find in the picture book section. The children helped me read the refrain.
I am deliberately showing the cover for Counting Lions larger than the other book covers. This is not a photograph. This is a charcoal drawing made after taking a photograph. The illustrations in the book are astounding. There is information about the ten endangered animals in this book, but we just read how many there were on each page and counted to see if we could find them all. This is a book that older children will appreciate.
~Maureen
Book for Toddlers on Monday, December 7
Last night, December 6, was the first night of Chanukah The holiday lasts for 8 nights, so I chose a story about good behavior during this time of year.
Many children are familiar with Jane Yolen’s series about dinosaurs: How do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon? and How do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food for example. I read How Do Dinosaurs Say Happy Chanukah? today. As always, we have to guess if the dinosaurs are behaving badly. We learn a little about the festivities during Chanukah and learn that the dinosaurs love the holiday and behave very well.
Many Chanukah books serve to explain the holiday to people who are not Jewish. This book celebrates the festivities.
~Maureen
P.S. Because the ch sound is closer to h in the English language, many people spell it Hanukkah. Perhaps it’s best to think of the sound of ch at the end of Johann Bach’s name.
Family Day Care Traveling Storytime – November
This past month brought more fun and excitement to the Family Day Cares. As the holiday season began with Thanksgiving and lots of opportunities for families to get together to eat, I began some storytimes with an old favorite called More Spaghetti I Say, about a mouse who loves loves loves to eat spaghetti! Another favorite this month has been Donald Crews’ book Ten Black Dots. This book allows the day care providers to extend the story into their program by offering black dots to the children to see what can be made from the dots. At some of the homes with lots of younger children, this month brought with it a chance for the children to play with the shaker eggs. Everyone loves the eggs and the sounds they make. We had fun shaking the eggs and then all trying to stop at the same time, while learning the sign for “stop.”
Here are some books that have been read this past month at different homes.
Toddler Time, Friday, December 4
Today’s toddler time was filled with lots of joy. It has been great fun to watch the children grow and develop over the course of the year. It is great to see some of the children doing the hand motions to some of the songs and rhymes and attending to the story that is being read.
Today, everyone was very attentive during a Pete the Cat story! Together we sang about the different colors that Pete’s shoes turned as he walked in strawberries, blueberries and mud. The children were delighted with the story and the grownups were a huge help as they joined in for the repetitive lines. Check out the Pete the Cat stories. They are loved by many.
Baby Storytime, Friday, December 4
Some time was spent during baby storytime today talking about the importance of starting to read to your babies right away. Reading to babies offers many benefits for growth and development and can be really fun too! Reading aloud to your baby stimulates developing senses which prove beneficial later on as your child learns to talk, read and write. Reading together also provides wonderful one on one time between you and your baby. Your baby gets to be close to you and hear your voice – two really wonderful things for a little one!
Today we read a book with baby faces and talked about making your own book at home with familiar faces, such as using pictures of relatives and friends. Babies love to look at faces. If you make a “Face Book,” feel free to bring it in to show the group.
Books for Preschoolers on Wednesday, December 2
This week we read stories about dogs, cats, and other pets.
We began with The Best Thing about a Puppy, but quickly learned that there are so many great things, it’s hard to pick just one! This book shows that taking care of a puppy is hard work, but ultimately very rewarding.
In this Caldecott award-winning book, Kitten sees the full moon for the first time. But having never seen the moon before, she mistakes it for a bowl of milk, and she wants it! Kitten does everything she can to get to the bowl of milk, but is increasingly disappointed as the night stretches on. Poor kitten!
No storytime about pets would be complete without this lift-the-flap classic by Rod Campbell. The narrator asks the zoo to send a pet, but the zoo can’t seem to get it right. First they send an elephant (too big!), then a lion (too fierce!), a monkey (too naughty!), and many more animals, before finally finding the perfect pet.
When George’s mother tells him to bark, George says “Meow!” He tries again, but keeps making the wrong sounds until his frustrated mother brings him to the vet. Can the vet get to the bottom of the problem?
Bud and Gabby are the best of friends. When Gabby gets sick, Bud finds that things are just not the same without her. When she gets home from her visit to the veterinarian, Bud shows her just how special their friendship is.
Play With Your Child!
Provide inexpensive props for your children to play with such as
large boxes, old clothes, costumes for dress up, empty food
containers, paper shopping bags and empty paper towel tubes.
Stories for 4-6 year olds on Tuesday, December 1
Today we read 3 stories. All three have illustrations that have something in common. Can you figure out what that is?
We experimented with the shapes from Windblown, making our own designs and using many different colors. There was a lot of imagination happening in the room!