Dancing at the Library

Last week we had our first preschool Dance Party! Children from a year old up to 6 had lots of fun dancing to some of our favorite songs and learned a few new ones.

Some of the favorite songs came from Jim Gill and Laurie Berkner. There were three cousins who get so excited every time they hear Jim Gill's Swing Your Partner. And for the first time, we danced to Laurie Berkner's "Goldfish," which I see making regular appearances in the future. We danced with scarves and maracas and did some of the classics, like the Hokey Pokey.

Why dancing at the library? Music helps children to hear and feel the rhythm of words, an important skill for learning to read.  Also, we want children to associate the library and books with good memories, so playing and having fun are always appropriate.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Dance Party comes back sometime, so keep a lookout!

Programs this week:

Tuesday, May 6, 10:30am or 1:00pm: Preschool Storyhour for children ages 4-5 (and independent 3s)

Thursday, May 8, 10:30am: Toddler Time for children ages 2-3 and a caregiver

Toddler Time

The toddlers enjoyed these stories last week:

Trashy town by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems

Walking through the jungle by Debbie Harter

Babies on the Bus by Karen Katz

Children love to say "No!" without the risk of getting in trouble, so the Pigeon book is always popular. For that same reason, they also enjoyed "No!" by They Might Be Giants.

Using popular books, such as Mo Willems, makes children want to read, which is Print Motivation, which is so important when it's time for children to learn to read. Trashy Town introduces new vocabulary, as well as lending itself for children to act out the "Dump it in, smash it down, drive around the Trashy Town!" refrain.

At craft time, the children created a garbage truck of their own using simple shapes. Recognizing the shapes helps to build letter knowledge. And the coloring and gluing develops fine motor skills, which helps in writing as the children get older.

They're on the Loose!

Mother Goose on the Loose is always a fun program with the babies. Seeing the changes in how the children interact with each other and with me is a great experience. And our group is growing again! We had several new families join us last week... Hooray!

Part of our session concentrates on body rhymes. For example:

"Fingers Like to Wiggle Waggle"
Fingers like to wiggle waggle, wiggle waggle, wiggle waggle.
Fingers like to wiggle waggle on my.... head!

Then we repeat with other body parts such as toes, knees, elbows, and, everyone's favorite, tummy!

Lots of giggles and grins and the children are learning vocabulary while singing a fun song. I heard that one little girl was persuaded to get out of the car by the promise that the fingers could wiggle waggle on Daddy's tummy when she got inside!

A favorite part of Mother Goose on the Loose is our music section. This week, we used maracas and danced to Laurie Berkener's "I Know a Chicken."


This age group is full of energy and likes to move. The half hour often flies by before I realize it. And even when they're this little, they look forward to their storytime. And they're (hopefully) developing an important love for the library and books that will help them when it comes time to learn to read.

Toddler Time

Miss Linda and the toddlers had so much fun at our last Toddler Time! The books and songs were all about the farm.

Cows in the kitchen by Jane Crebbin

Do cows belong in the kitchen? Have you ever seen pigs in the pantry? This is a fun, silly book that can be sung to the tune of "Skip to My Lou."

During the song "Old MacDonald Had a Farm," the children bounced the farm animals on the parachute... always a popular activity.

 Children chose sticks or bells to play along during "Old MacDonald Had a Band."

 They shook fruit down while singing "Way Up High in the Apple Tree."

 

Singing is our Every Child Ready to Read practice for September. Singing is fun and helps children get ready to learn to read. While singing, children can hear the sounds in words. They also hear lots of rhyming words... which help them to recognize letter sounds when they start to read.

 And don't forget that every child who shows us his or her library card in the month of September gets a prize and is entered into a drawing for a Target gift card!

Join us this Thursday, September 26 at 10:30am, for our next Toddler Time!

Preschool Story Hour

We returned to our normal fall schedule this week. First up... preschool!

What are some of your favorite books to read together? Tell me in the comments section!

For this week, Miss Holly pulled some of her favorite storytime books and songs and we just had fun!

Here are some of the books we shared:

The Baby Beebee Bird by Diane Redfield Massiee
This one gave the kids a chance to be noisy and giggle and make silly sounds! While it is a bit long, they enjoyed it and stayed with me to the end.

Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! by Mo Willems
Mo Willems does such a great job of making his characters expressive and real! And children love the opportunity to repeatedly shout "No!" without getting into trouble.

Little White Duck by Walt Whippo
This month, we're focusing on singing as our preliteracy practice. Music slows words down and makes it easier for children to hear individual sounds and syllables in words. This book has the added benefit of putting the "sound" words such as "Quack" and "Hiss" in a larger, shaped font, which allows the children to see and begin recognizing the words. I usually go through the book once just pointing out the sound words and then go back and read the story. Then the children are able to join in.

There are so many fun songs out there. Our favorite of the day was Jim Gill's "Shakin' Everywhere."
Jim Gill's Irrational Anthem and More Salutes to Nonsense by Jim Gill

We ended storytime with a short video. Since we were doing favorites, I picked Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom.
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom... and Lots More Learning Fun!

And for our craft this week, we did this fun craft, which I found on Learn, Create, Love, which has TONS of great ideas and printable crafts.

 Such a cute little guy! We just cut, glued and used the pallets of water color paints.








Our next program for the 3-5 year olds is on Sept. 18! We're going to explore the circus with books, songs, games and a craft! Join us!