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

Getting Ready to Read by Playing

Playing and pretending are great ways to get ready to read! Puppets and stuffed animals are a simple way to act out and pretend to be part of a story.

After reading a story, encourage your child to use toys or puppets to act out the story. Puppets can be anywhere from the really fancy store-bought puppets to something as simple as a paper bag with a face drawn on it. And they don't even have to match the story.

Ask your child to tell you about what he's playing. When he tells you the story, he's developing important Narrative skills. You can also add to the story and expand on their answers. For example, "Why did the frog jump in the water when he met the crocodile?" You may even be able to add some new words to his vocabulary.

Not sure what book to read? Come on in to the library! I'm sure we can help you find something both you and your child will love!

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.

Summer Reading is Here!

 Summer Reading has gotten started with a roaring rush of craziness! We thought we'd share a few pictures of what's happened so far.

Our Tuesday Preschool programs got us off to a great start. We did a storytime about seeds and plants. Instead of our usual craft, we made an edible garden, planting jellybean seeds in dirt pudding and growing some butter cookie flowers! Delicious!

Our second week with the preschoolers featured stories about machines that dig and move dirt, such as backhoes and bulldozers. The children made their own construction scene after we watched the film version of I stink! by Kate & Jim McMullan, which brought lots of giggles!

In spite of the nasty storms that were forecasted for last Wednesday, children had a good time at our Dig Into Reading Fair. We had crafts and games throughout the library, including an opportunity to have pictures taken as a dinosaur! The very talented Miss Melissa (seen above) created our dino picture cutout. She also painted our Pin the Tail on Tyrannosaurus Rex game. Thanks, Melissa!

This week the preschoolers had stories about worms and snakes and made their own twirly snake.

And, as always, we've had activities and crafts available in the children's area. Children seem to enjoy doing those while they're waiting for their programs or just sitting and enjoying that great atmosphere of the library!

And I can't forget... our volunteers are always hugely important for making Summer Reading work! So if you see one of the teens doing a great job at a program or at the prize table, please let them know that they're appreciated!

Coming up: CLIFFORD! The big red dog is coming to visit us TODAY! We're having a little birthday celebration because he's 50!!! Come at 2:00 for a chance to take a picture with Clifford and join in the rest of the birthday fun!

Winter Days are Here Again!

The Preschool Story Hour crowd celebrated winter this week! After the 54 degree high on Monday, I was a little hesitant to plan a snow program, but decided we'd have fun with snow inside even if the weather didn't cooperate. We had a nice, cold, snowy day, so everything worked beautifully!

We have several early literacy activities available for the children to play with and use while they're waiting for story time. This magnet game is quickly becoming a favorite!

We enjoyed several stories about winter, including on of my favorites, Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson.The children threw some snow balls with the parachute. We made snowflakes from coffee filters and painted them with liquid watercolors.

If you'd like to make the craft at home, coffee filters are a fabulous way to go! They're a good size, and since they're already circles, you don't have to worry about the shape you'll end up with. They seem to be easier for children to cut than construction paper would be. And if you decide to paint your snowflakes, the coffee filters soak up the paint beautifully and dry quickly! We made our craft and then watched our 8 minute movie and most of the snowflakes were already dry. We placed a paper towel underneath to contain the drips while they painted, and the paper towels were beautiful, too!



 Upcoming Programs:

Saturday, February 23, from 10am to noon: Super Scrabble Saturday for the whole family. Play Scrabble or other assorted board games!

Shopping at the Library

At our last Preschool Story Hour, the children enjoyed shopping books. We took a shopping trip, choosing from a board of food and then the children had the chance to fill their own shopping carts, but choosing items from the sales papers. It was fun to see what caught their eyes and to hear their reasons for their "purchases"! Most of them chose toys, but a few made sure to include treats for their pets and some food.

This shopping craft would be easy (and fun!) to do at home together, too. This time of year, our mailboxes overflow with sales papers and catalogs. Let your child "shop" the papers and talk about their choices. Another twist could be to have your child find items on your shopping list. This one simple activity can work on so many levels. Cutting out the pictures works on fine motor development, which helps in writing. Seeing a shopping list connected to the pictures works on Print Awareness. Talking about the purchases helps to develop narrative skills. And the fact that they're playing a game reinforces the fact that learning can be fun!

Check out these books that we shared during storytime:

Llama Llama mad at mama by Anna Dewdney

To market, to market by Anne Miranda