All posts by Children's Staff
Baby Storytime – Friday, November 20
Baby Storytime is a wonderful chance for new moms/dads/grandparents/caregivers to get together in a warm and nuturing environment. The group is offered to people with babies that are not yet walking, providing an opportunity to learn about literacy and start to form relationships with other people who are caring for new babies.
Each week we gather together for songs, rhymes and reading. In addition, families are introduced to each other, providing the opportunity to get to know other people with new babies.
Although the babies may not be indulging in all the Thanksgiving food, we did read a book about lots of food being eaten! You can click on the image to find out if the book is available or you can come into the library and look over the large selection of board books that are appropriate for babies.
Thanksgiving Week Storytimes
We’ve had several questions about the storytime schedule for the week of Thanksgiving. The library will be closed on Thanksgiving day, so there will be no PlaySpace on Thursday, November 26. All of our other weekly children’s programs at the Main Library and the MacKay branch are happening next week, so take a break from your turkey and join us for storytime!
Books for Preschoolers on Wednesday, November 18 and Friday, November 20
Today we read four stories about shoes and socks!
A Pair of Socks is the story of a lonely striped sock searching for its perfect match, but none of the socks it finds seems to be quite right. After the book, we played a sock-matching game of our own in which the children received socks with different colors and patterns, then we worked as a group to help each sock find its mate. Pattern recognition is an important early math concept, so games like this are a fun way to build skills your child will need for school and the world.
Sherman has so many shoes! Flip-flops, rain boots, tennis shoes, slippers… but which shoes does he wear for which activity? Does he wear his dress shoes at the beach? Are swimming flippers the right choice to wear to Grandma’s house? Which shoes would YOU choose?
Pete the Cat loves his white shoes so much, he sings a little song about them. But then, oh no! Pete doesn’t watch where he’s walking and he steps in all kinds of messes, turning his shoes all different colors. We enjoyed singing along with Pete as we read about his day. If you loved this book in storytime, you should know that it is part of a series! Click here to find more Pete the Cat books in the library catalog.
These ducks know how to party! They put on their fanciest socks and dance the night away. When things go amiss at their weekly bash, the ducks don’t let it ruin their spirits. They just buy new socks and start the countdown until next week’s sock-hop.
A visit to a nursery school
I visited a nursery school for the 2nd time in 2 weeks. There were only a few children who were there when I visited before, but I didn’t want them listening to the same books, especially since one of them had a surprise ending, I decided to choose all new books. (These children ranged in age between 2.5 and 3.5 years old.)
I read Firefighters’ Thanksgiving after assuring the children that firefighters in Chelmsford do not get more than one call a day to put out a fire. That may happen in a big city. There are a lot of fires in this book on Thanksgiving.
I use it because the book shows them not just fighting fires but also shopping for food and cooking a Thanksgiving meal at the station. It also shows the appreciation of the community.
After we finished the story, we sang Hurry, Hurry Drive the Fire Truck.
On my last visit to this nursery school I read Tap the Magic Tree. This time I chose Press Here by Hervé Tullet. Dots multiply, change colors and move depending on the actions of the reader.
It is a simple book that teaches colors, numbers and size while having children perform “magic” acts.
The cats in this book talk directly to the reader and the listener.
“Hello. Who are YOU?”
“Are you NICE? You LOOK nice.”
The cats depend on us to turn the pages and get them out of trouble.
“Will you come and play with us again soon?”
Certainly you can play again by checking this out of the library. 🙂
Terrorist attacks in France happened between my two visits. I wanted to read a very simple book about peace. Perhaps parents and/or teachers were looking for some suggestions. I did not make it all the way through this book.
“Peace is making new friends.” “Peace is listening to different kinds of music.” “Peace is saying you’re sorry when you hurt someone.” “Peace is helping your neighbor.” “Peace is being free.” and many other things, including “Peace is watching it snow.” I told the adults to remember that.
Everyone loves the pigeon, right? These children and teachers do. They were really great at making sure the pigeon did not stay up late!
The teachers love Pete the Cat also. Pete has such a positive message that grownups love him as much as children do.
Next time I would choose Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons instead. I think it’s more age appropriate for very young children.
“Did Pete get upset? Goodness, no. Buttons come and buttons go.”
~Maureen
Write With Your Child!
Make a book together about a topic of interest
to you and your child.
Books for 4-6 year olds on Tuesday, November 17
Today our first story was about a young artist with a memorable hat. We learned a new word– can you guess what it is?
Then it was time for everyone to help me tell the story, since our next book has no words:
We also did some singing, since this next story is also a song! The CD is included at the back of the book. Even non-dog lovers will enjoy this catchy tune:
Finally, last week everyone asked to hear a certain book again, and of course I had to say yes!
Books for preschoolers on Monday, November 16
We’re getting close to Thanksgiving. Children are not as excited about this holiday, but I use it as an excuse to talk about manners. Perhaps the grownups are thankful for that. 🙂
Thanks a Million is a collection of poems by Nikki Grimes.
One of the poems is A Lesson from the Deaf. It teaches children how to use sign language to express thanks. I discussed the differences in how signs are used in my previous post, so I’ll simply say that starting with your open hand on your chin/lips and extending it toward the person you are thanking is universally recognized as a way of expressing thanks. Please is easier for little ones. Just put your palm on your chest and move it in a circle.
Gobble Gobble is a story about wild turkeys in a neighborhood. Chelmsford has quite a few wild turkey families, so I thought the children may be familiar with them. These are not the kind that are eaten at Thanksgiving.
It is important to stay away from them when you see them, however – especially if you get between the mother and the babies.
This was another book of poems. I chose 2 historic ones to share.
The first one is The Mayflower and the second one is The First Thanksgiving.
They are so short, I can share one here.
The Mayflower
Over the water and over the waves
Sailing and sailing for many days
In a big, big ship
On a long, long trip
Were the people who came to America.
Onto the land and onto their knees
Thanks for bringing us over the seas
In a big, big ship
On a long, long trip
Said the people who came to America.
My other 2 books had nothing to do with Thanksgiving. One book was about the magical life of sea creatures – presented by “Squid Kid the Magnificent”. The last book was simply fun to read and act.
Book for Toddlers on Monday, November 16
I read Pass the Cheese, Please by Barbara Shook Hazen and illustrated by Paul Harvey. I don’t have a picture to illustrate this book and tie it to our catalog. I think it is only published as a “big book” for use in preschool classrooms. I usually read it in November to introduce manners right before Thanksgiving.
This year I taught the children and the grownups how to say Please and Thank You in American Sign Language. With your hand open, place your palm on your chest and move it in a circle for Please. With your hand open and your palm facing you, touch your face near or on your lips. Bring your arm down toward the person you are thanking. Some people end with the hand resting in your other hand. Some people stop when it is pointing at the person. The sign for good often ends with one hand in the other. It gets a bit confusing.
There are many variations in the way the deaf community uses signs. When we are using signs with young children, we tend to simplify things. After all, we’ll only get an approximation from the children.
I often use www.aslpro.com when I want to learn a sign. You can restrict this site to just baby signs if you want.
I like the following site as well. Dr. Bill shows the signs, but he also discusses the differences in how people use them. For instance, I use 2 hands when I sign happy in storytime. I guess that means I’m very happy. You can also use 2 hands for Thank You to show how grateful you are.
http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-signs/t/thankyou.htm
http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/topics/babysigns/frame.htm
Thank you to all of you, children and grownups, who help me in our storytimes.
~Maureen
Dads and Donuts Storytime on Saturday, November 14
We had a great crowd for Dads and Donuts this month! We read five books together: