Brrr! Winter Themed Storytime

Opening song: Good Morning/ Buenos Días (See My Storytime Set for song lyrics)

Opening fingerplay: One Little Finger 
Literacy: The First Day of Winter by Denise Fleming
Song/movement break: Open Shut Them 
Literacy: Pip & Squeak by Ian Schoenherr
New song/movement break: Ten Little Snowmen (clap or bounce)
I modified the song Ten Little Indians to be politically correct and theme focused. Ten Little Fill-In-the-Blank is a great piggyback song that you can use for lots of different themes. Just change the countable object. 

One little, two little, three little snowmen  
(We counted aloud and also with our fingers)

Four little, five little, six little snowmen

Seven little, eight little, nine little snowmen

Ten little snowmen dancing!

Available at Artfelt.net

Literacy: Five Little Snowmen Felt Board. 
I used the Artfelt Five Little Snowmen kit, but its not hard at all to make your own out of whatever medium. I also took and modified  the rhyme from the Nikarella blog and her idea to make felt puddles to leave behind when the little snowmen melted.

Five little snowmen standing in a row

Each with a hat and each with a bow.

Out came the sun and it stayed all day,

And one little snowman melted away.

Four little…

Three little…

Two little…

One little snowman standing all alone,

With one little hat and one little bow.

Out came the sun and it stayed all day,

No more little snowmen, they all melted away!

 
Closing Fingerplay: Two Little Blackbirds 

Post storytime activity: Paperplate snowman art activity (photo to come)
I basically just stapled two paper plates together, gave  the kids felt and foam shapes for the nose and mouth, and giant buttons for the eyes and, well, buttons. We used tissue paper strips for the scarf. I stapled craft sticks for arms and glued mitten cutouts onto them. I also used cutouts for the hats. There are more formal instructions for paper plate snowmen if you Google it. 

Media and Children

A library advocate friend of mine sent me this TED talk about Media and Children  by pediatrician Dimitri Christakis and I'm so glad to see that the discussion of children and screen time has shifted a little.
I hear it from most of my colleagues, and I've got stacks of pamphlets I'm supposed to give out to parents that basically vilifies TV and any other electronic screen having thingee and parents who let their children watch it. I don't think that's right and I haven't been able to bring myself to hand out one pamplet against screen time because I don't agree with how they make their argument.

When I was born, my mom was given a television as a gift. I've never not had a TV in my bedroom. I watched a lot of TV as a child and am still an avid TV consumer. I know that children's programs are very different from the shows I watched growing up. As you'll see in Christakis' talk, shows 20-30 years ago were much slower paced, had less violence if any at all (Ha! Tom & Jerry non-violent? Ha!) and I doubt television producers even knew what rapid sequencing or "Nonstop Frenetic Animated Action" was except to illustrate "crazy" (Think of the Pink Elephants sequence in Dumbo).  This is what the discussion should really be about and I'm happy Christakis focuses it that way: Over-stimulation causes long-term attention and perception issues in children. Small amounts of over-stimulation can be counterbalanced by heaping doses of cognitive stimulation, or face-to-face interaction with humans, especially their loving parents or caregivers.

So, this is the Sort of a Librarian stance: TV isn't bad for your child, but over-stimulation and cognitive neglect is. Spend as much time as possible playing, singing, talking, holding, reading to and just being with your child. If you're worried about violence and other questionable content, don't let them watch those programs, or take some time to discuss it with your child. Notice that that involves more face-to-face interaction. I see a trend...

Library News: Bedbugs in Library Books

A new library patron! Bedbug Coloring Pages

A friend of mine sent me this New York Times article about bedbugs infesting books. I am absolutely disgusted and terrified of bedbugs, but this article didn't strike a note of fear in me. I guess, being a public librarian, I can say that I've handled my fair share of insect infested materials from the bookdrop or in boxes of donations, or handed directly to me from a customer. I've also seen my fair share of insect infested customers. But, still, bedbugs are pretty gross.

Cats Meow! Themed Storytime

Opening song: Good Morning/ Buenos Días (See My Storytime Set for song lyrics)

Opening fingerplay: One Little Finger 
Literacy: Who Likes Rain? by Herbert Yee
Song/movement break: Open Shut Them 
Literacy: Have You Seen My Cat? by Eric Carle
New song/movement break: Where Oh Where Has My Little Cat Gone? (with puppet and felt pieces)
I modified this originally dog-theme song for my needs. The audience, my cat puppet and I sang the song together then, I would look for the cat somewhere: I had a big felt bed, big felt Jeep, big felt tree and big felt bathtub (They're all Artfelt felt pieces). So, it would go like this:

Sing or say with cat puppet:

Oh where, oh where has my little cat gone?

Oh where, oh where can she be?

With her pointy ears and her wiggly tail,

Oh where, oh where can she be?

Me: "Is she hiding underneath the bed?" Lift up the bed so they can see she's not in there.  

Audience: "No!"

Me: "I guess we'll have to keep looking for her."

Sing the song again.

Me: "Is she in the bathtub?..."

Literacy: Meeow and the Big Box by Sebastien Braun
Closing Fingerplay: Two Little Blackbirds 

Post storytime activities:
Parachute Play: We sang Ring Around the Rosie and Fishies in the Ocean

Art activity: What can you make with a box? Collage. I don't have any pictures, but it doesn't matter because this art activity didn't really hit its mark. I expected that after reading Meeow and the Big Box parents and children might get the idea that a box is a blank slate for your imagination. So, here's  some foam shapes, dot painters, crayons and markers for you to create something with a flat piece of cardboard. Nothing happened. They treated it like it was any old piece of paper and just stuck things on it willy-nilly and spelled out their names. Me and my big ideas, again!

My Baby-Toddler Storytime Set

So every librarian does their storytime differently. This is how I structure my baby-toddler storytimes and the regular songs and fingerplays that I use. 

Opening song: Good Morning/ Buenos Días (Sung to the tune of Frere Jacques)

Good morning! Good morning!

How are you? How are you?

Very well I thank you.

Very well I thank you.

How about you?

How about You?

¡Buenos días, buenos días!

(Bweh-noes dee-ahs)

¿Cómo está, cómo está?

(Coe-moe ehs-tah)

¡Muy bien, gracias, muy bien gracias!

(mwee bee-N grah-see-ahs) 

 ¿Y usted, y usted?

(E ou-stead E ou-stead)

Opening fingerplay: One Little Finger

One little finger, one little finger

One little finger goes

tap, tap, tap

Point to the ceiling

Point to the floor, 

And place it in your

lap, lap, lap.

Two little fingers, two little fingers…

Three little fingers, three little fingers

Four little fingers, four little fingers…

Five little fingers, five little fingers

Five little fingers go clap, clap, clap…

Literacy: Book, felt or puppet story

Song/movement break: Open Shut Them

Open, shut them

Open, shut them.

Give a little clap, clap, clap!

Open, shut them

Open, shut them.

Put them in your lap, lap, lap.

Creep them, creep them,

Creep them, creep them,

Right up to your chin, chin chin.

Open up your little mouth (AHH!)

But do not let them in!

Literacy: book, felt or puppet story

Song/movement break: I usually introduce one new or different song here

Literacy: book, felt or puppet story

Closing fingerplay: Two Little Blackbirds

Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill

One named Jack, one named Jill.

Fly away Jack. Fly away Jill

Come back Jack. Come back Jill

Two little blackbirds on the go

One named Fast, one named Slow.

Fly away Fast. Fly away Slow

Come back Fast. Come back Slow

Two little blackbirds sitting around

One named Up, one named Down.

Fly away Up. Fly away Down.

Come back Up. Come back Down.

Closing song/movement: Hokey Pokey

You put your right hand in,
You put your right hand out;
You put your right hand in,
And you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey-Pokey,
And you turn yourself around.
That's what it's all about!

You put your left hand in,
You put your left hand out…

You put your right foot in,
You put your right foot out…

You put your left foot in,
You put your left foot out…

You put your whole self in,
You put your whole self out…

I see you face. You’re thinking three books? With toddlers? This girl is crazy! But it works a lot of the time. Just have to have the right combination of song and movement distractions, plus be prepared for wiggly kids. If you’ve lost your audience to the wiggles, close the book and improvise.

Food! Yum! Themed Storytime

November 29, 2012

Opening song: Good Morning/Buenos Días (See My Storytime Set for song lyrics)

Opening fingerplay: One Little Finger
Literacy: The Red Hen by Ed and Rebecca Emberley followed by a feltboard Red Hen story.

She baked a cake and iced it all by herself.

She decorated the cake all by herself.

 


With the feltboard Red Hen story, I had cue cards that had pictures of a cat, rat and frog on the front and what they say on the back. I held these up when it was time for the animals to speak and the audience said their lines along with me. I like to include a language element where ever I can and I saw this as the perfect opportunity. The cat said: "¡Yo no! Dice el gato." The rat said: "Not I!" said the rat." The frog said: "Ribbit, said the frog."

Song/movement break: Open Shut Them
Literacy: Potato Joe by Keith Baker
New song/movement break: One Potato Clap (can also be a bounce, too)

1 Potato, 2 Potato 

(Make your hands into fists and stack them on top of each other while counting.)

3 Potato, 4!

5 Potato, 6 Potato 

(Make your hands into fists and stack them on top of each other while counting.)

7 Potato, More!

8 Potato, 9 Potato 

(Make your hands into fists and stack them on top of each other while counting.)

Count them up to 10… 

(Hold up all 10 fingers)

I will count all the potatoes and I will count them all again! 

(Clap along with the words. I end up clapping 8 times.)

 
Literacy: Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett
Closing fingerplay: Two Little Blackbirds
Closing song/movement: Hokey Pokey

Post storytime activity: I usually choose between an art activity or a physical activity, but this morning we did both.
Parachute play: We sang Ring Around the Rosie and Fishies in the Ocean.

Art activity: Cotton ball clouds with tissue paper streamers. I didn't take a picture of the final product, but its such an easy craft I think you can get it just from my description. This is the cloud template I used. I gave the kids glue sticks and cotton balls to glue onto the clouds, which I printed on white cardstock and passed out as is. Then I gave them some long tissue paper strips to glue on for rainbow rays. Voila!

Mother's Day and Art Supplies Clean Up Craft

Last year we made Spoonfuls of Kisses, which was super easy. So I knew that this year I was not interested in anything more complicated than that. Looking around on the net I came across Tulip cards, which looked pretty easy. I've got all the supplies and a volunteer to cut out the template. Couldn't be any easier, could it? Well, that doesn't really matter because I won't make tulip cards ever again. There's nothing wrong with the craft. It is simple and easy, but the kids just didn't get it. None of them knew what tulips were in the first place and almost all of them made the card upside down. This activity just wasn't for them. Maybe older kids would have got it.
Nonetheless, no one went home unhappy. If they didn't like their messed up tulip cards, they had the opportunity to make a craft from my Art Supplies Clean Up Kit.
What's that you ask? All the odds and ends, recycled boxes and containers and the last bits of art supplies that are just too little to use for a group craft that I've been saving. Makes for great collage art activities. I wrote about them before....

2012 Children's Book Awards

2012 Robert F. Sibert Medal Winner Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade by Melissa Sweet
Balloons Over Broadway is a biography of Tony Sarg and a history of how the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade got started.
This is a beautifully illustrated book! I love the combination of materials and styles that went onto the pages including some primary source and handmade elements.
I honestly didn't think it was going to be interesting once I found out what it was about, but the story was so fun that I had to keep remembering the fact that I was reading nonfiction. Its wonderful that sometimes the truth can be capital entertainment! I really enjoyed the book's end notes, too.

2012 Caldecott Honor Blackout by John Rocco
Blackout is the story of one night in the life of a little boy who's mostly plugged in family couldn't find the time for and what happens to all of them and their neighborhood when the power goes out.
This book would be a great to add to an anti-screen time bibliography based on the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations. It could include Blackout, Todd’s TV and I would at It’s a Book if it wasn’t for that one word!

2012 Sibert Honor Drawing From Memory by Allen Say
Drawing From Memory was illustrated really well, in fact, it’s a bit comic-book like with all of its illustrations and their placement. But what really got me stuck on this book is the story. It’s a great biography. Makes me really want to learn more about the characters and their work.

2012 Sibert Honor Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem by Rosalyn Schanzer
I've always been fascinated by the Salem Witch Trials, and have watched several documentaries and films about it, but this book is the first piece of literature I've ever read about it and I'm glad. I've mentioned it a couple times in my reviews of other books, but I LOVE PRIMARY SOURCES! And this book is chock full of quotes from trial transcripts, letters and public documents and wouldn't you know, the bibliography has web links so I can look them up! This book is perfect for people (kids especially) who like history, or who need to read a nonfiction book, but would rather it read kind of like a novel.

I did have a problem, though. I often found the storyline buried in too many facts at once. I really like how the author wrote the history in chronological story format and I obviously really like facts, details and information, but at times I felt bogged down, when I really wanted to know what happened next. I'd much rather have had several breakouts of information on adjoining pages.

I looked at a couple of different websites and they all recommend this book for 10+. I don't agree. The middle schoolers I worth with would not be able to pass the five-finger test for this book. I also disagree with the lack of glossary. There are a lot of old, maybe even archaic words included and not everyone has access to an instant dictionary, nor would want to always have to paw one.

Other recommended award winners and honors:
A Ball for Daisy (2012 Caldecott winner)
Me...Jane (2012 Caldecott honor)

Paint! Themed Storytime

Today was yet another day I found myself an hour away from storytime totally unprepared. Luckily, I had spied a book during this morning's class visit (You know, when a class comes, tears books off the shelves and strew them about?). I found it on the shelf and built a whole storytime around it, which worked out awesome. Bear's Picture by Daniel Pinkwater is a story that is a great way to get across to kids that not everyone has to understand your art. Plus, there are subtle notes of dealing with judgment, visualization, and perception. Then end is a nice treat. Then I found Wait! No Paint! by Bruce Whatley, which is the tale of the Three Little Pigs, but wouldn't you know it? The book's illustrator is having some difficulties and butts into the story. I remembered a couple summer reading programs ago, the theme was Be Creative! and we had a storytime-in-a-box for I Ain't Gonna Paint No More by Karen Beaumont. The box included a foam board stand up paper doll that was laminated so we could actually paint on it then wipe it off, paint, paint brushes, a tarp and paint bibs for the kids. I had a great storytime with that box. So I decided that that would be the end of today's storytime, except I drew a paper doll figure on a giant sticky note pad and used that instead of the laminated stand-up. For the paint theme finale, I read I Ain't Gonna Paint No More, which is a fun book that you can sing or rhyme along with to the tune of It Ain't Gonna Rain No More. The story is about a mom who tells her bad child that he can't paint anymore. This kid, he thinks differently and paints different parts of himself in each verse. I gave the kids who came to storytime paper doll cut outs (You can make on your own by cutting out big gingerbread men or purchase), crayons and markers. Then they colored along with the song/story. After I was done reading the book, I passed around my eye container and they chose what kind of eyes to put on their "painted" dolls. Voila! Art activity and storytime combined. Easy prep, easy clean up. Whew!

ebooks and apps for kids

Here's a great resource for librarians and parents alike. Little eLit provides information and reviews about digital products produced for children. I took a quick peruse through the blog and there are reviews of apps and ebooks as well as interesting articles on the subject. I'm not big on giving kids the opportunity to get in more screen time, but I guess if they're going to do it anyway, they might as well be reading or using a lit-based app. Either way, check it out.

My Rant on Education and Some Questionable Teachers

Every kid, in every school, in every district, in every state will not be able to understand the same things. Case in point:
A kid came in for homework help and we have excellent homework helpers at our library, yet they were stuck on a particular question on this kid's homework. He was asked to identify the picture by writing the name of the item underneath. This was an exercise in phonics, because all of the pictures were three-letter words using different A sounds. The picture my staff was stumped on was one of a tree with what looked like a stick sticking out of it and a bucket hanging from the stick. I knew what it was immediately, but that's because I watch a lot of TV. How are kids from the inner city of Los Angeles supposed to know what a tree tap is? Or is the word supposed to be sap? Or if it weren't three-letter words, I would've suggested "maple." I was tempted to send a note back to the teacher, but I let it go.

Another kid came in with this ridiculous project topic: What is the role of the library in the community? Now, as a librarian, not only do I know the answer to the question, but I can find ample articles to support my point. What makes this project ridiculous is the fact that it was assigned to a 2nd grader. I dare you... double dare you to find information explaining the role of the public library that a 2nd grader can read. Go ahead. I hope you find something and can share with me because I searched books, databases and all over the Internet, but was unable to find anything below a 6th grade level. Now, what teacher is going to send their 2nd graders out on that kind of goose hunt without searching for themselves to see if there is any information on the topic? The teacher who doesn't care or forgot that they weren't teaching a high school level course. Oh yeah! That's right. Huh.

And then there are the teachers who send all 30+ kids in their class to the library to get books and information on the same topic. Could you give us a heads-up, for goodness sakes? At 3:30 p.m., one kid comes in asking for books on China, we give him all the information he can hold. Then half an hour later the rest of the class is lined up, but all the China books were checked out by the first kid because we had no idea the whole class had the same project. Would it have hurt that teacher to give us a call on Monday to inform us they'd be assigning that topic on Friday? How much time would that take them and save us here at the library. Countless hours my friend. Countless hours.