Sunday, August 30, 2009

Preschool Storytime - "Bears"

Sometimes you have wanted to know the title and author of some of the books I read so you can check them out yourselves. Here are the books I read for the "Bears" theme last week:

Big Black Bear, by Yee
Where's My Teddy?, by Alborough
Goldilocks and the Three Bears, by Marshall
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, by Martin
Kiss Good Night, by Hess (Flannelboard story)

The Bear Hunt song/chant we did can be found in book form too. One version is We're Going On a Bear Hunt, by Rosen.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Last Week at Baby Time

We had so much fun at Baby Time last week. Three sets of twins! Well, okay, one set was five-year-old siblings, but still it's so fun to see lots of twins. At one time I had 10 pairs coming to one of my Storytimes on a regular basis.

Here are some of the songs and rhymes we did last week at Baby Time:

Squelch, Squelch

Squelch, squelch in the mud. (Lay baby on back, hold feet and press them up and down)
Splash, splash in the tub. (Hold hands and "splash" them back and forth)
Gently, gently, brush your hair. (Stroke baby's head)
Tickle, tickle, under there. (Tickle baby's neck or under arms)

Rickety Rickety Rocking Horse

(Bounce baby on your knees)
Rickety, rickety rocking horse
Over the hills we go.
Rickety, rickety rocking horse
Giddy up, giddy up WHOA! (Lift baby up and lean backwards)

Pizza Pickle Pumpernickel

Pizza pickle pumpernickel
My little boy/girl deserves a tickle.
One for his/her toes
And one for his/her nose
And one for his/her tummy where the cracker goes!
(Bounce baby and tickle each part you name.)

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Back to Normal

We're back on a normal schedule this week at the library. I had a fantastic vacation at Eagle Crest in Redmond. My family took our boat and stayed in a nice condo. We took the first day to relax at the pool, then cruised and played at Prineville and Billychinook Reservoirs on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday we took a day trip to Crater Lake. In over thirty years of living in Oregon, my husband and I have only tried once before to visit there, and it was closed due to snow - in August! This time it was a gorgeous 80 degree day and the four of us thoroughly enjoyed it. We did the Rim Drive and saw so many amazing volcanic features. And my loved ones even let me stop to read the historical markers, but only because I was willing to endure the eye-rolling and teasing. Hey - I'm informed and they're ignorant, so there! On Friday we took another day to relax, play the 18 hole putting course (I won!) and eat out in Bend. My big girl's boyfriend got to come over from Sisters to join us, so that was nice. Saturday was another fun day on the water at Billychinook followed by a crazy game of "Monkey in the Middle" in the pool after dinner, we three girls against my husband and the boyfriend. The girls claimed victory, but I'm afraid we lied. Today I realized you could have sore laughing muscles.

Now it's home for laundry and grocery shopping, but I'm looking forward to seeing the little ones on Tuesday!

Saturday, August 15, 2009

On Vacation

I'm on vacation August 16-23, so there will be no Storytimes at the library and I won't be posting til I'm back. I'll miss my little friends! See you next week!

Friday, August 14, 2009

Toddler Rules

I first saw this many years ago, and I still think it's hysterically true. It's been circulated for so long that I have no idea how to find the true author, but I wanted to share it with you.

TODDLER’S RULES
1- If I want it, it's mine
2- If it's in my hand, it's mine
3- If I can take it away from
you, it's mine
4- If I had it a little while ago, it's mine
5- If it's mine, it must never appear
to be yours in any way
6- If we are building something together,
all the pieces are mine
7- If it just looks like mine, it's mine
8- If I think it's mine, it's mine
9- If I give it to you and change
my mind later, it's mine
10- Once it's mine it will never belong
to anyone else, no matter what

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Talking To Little Ones

Yesterday I was talking to a little boy who mispronounced a word. It was a very common speech difficulty for a boy his age. I think he used a "k" sound instead of "tr" in a word. (Maybe it was "truck".) I repeated the word back to him in a sentence and pronounced the word very clearly for him. He watched my mouth when I said it and then said, "Yeah, truck," and said the word much better that time.

I find that works very well with kids learning to pronounce words they have difficulty with. Whether it's a regular lisp, or a fancy word, if I repeat the word slowly and carefully, even sometimes saying "Watch my mouth," they often correct the word pretty easily. Since they can't read, they're trying to mimic words they hear that go past quickly, and sometimes the best they can do is an approximation. If we slow down for them and let them see our mouths, they see how the lips and tongue are forming the word and saying it correctly is much easier. Adults figure it out by looking at the spelling, but that doesn't work for a two year old.

That's also why I'm a firm believer in talking to our kids in a grown-up voice, using complete sentences and modeling language the way we want them to learn it. Baby talk is for puppies and kittens. I don't think we want Emily at age five to go up to the kindergarten teacher and say "Widdle Emiwy needs to go potty."

Sunday, August 2, 2009

The Best Things in Life

I have a puppy (well he's a year old now) whose favorite toys are milk jugs and soda bottles. He chases them around the house, crackles them in his jaws, and bangs me on the legs with them. Of course, the best part is that they're completely free and I don't care if he destroys them because there's always another one coming. Crispin the Pig also discovers that the best toys aren't fancy ones from the store, but can be something as simple as a cardboard box. Crispin, the Pig Who Had It All, by Ted Dewan, tells the story of a spoiled pig who discovers his imagination, the one thing he doesn't have, through a cardboard box that Santa leaves for him on Christmas. Along the way, he also discovers friendship, and that good old cliche - the best things in life are free.

In Crispin and the Three Little Piglets, Crispin's parents bring home the new sibling(s). Triplets! While the story includes the usual new sibling issues of feeling neglected and put out, the story takes a few fun turns and twists, and even manages to bring those cardboard boxes back into the story.

The best children's books teach without preaching, and Ted Dewan does a wonderful job of that with these two stories. Check them out at the library, or get them for keeps at MudPuddles.