It's All Over

Time to take a break from de-decorating the house and return to the doldrums of winter - although I saw a teeny ray of hope in my one-inch daffodils. That always cheers me up!

It was fun to see so many dads at the various storytimes last week. I guess they had time off and got to come with the kids to see what it's all about.

I think I got prophetic at Preschool Storytime. On Tuesday I arrived at the library to find a different batch of stories than I was expecting, so I had to come up with a quick Plan B for a theme. I decided on "Snow" since there were a few of the books in my box and the shelves had a few others that I wanted. I even commented to the kids that it was supposed to rain that afternoon, but it sure was cold and it sure seemed like it would snow instead! Of course on Wednesday we got to talk about the snowmen we made and the snowball fights we had. So much fun! The books I read on Tuesday and Wednesday had a couple of variations since after I got home I pulled some favorites out of my collection.

Snowballs, by Lois Ehlert
The Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats
Geraldine's Big Snow, by Keller
The Biggest, Best Snowman, by Margery Cuyler
Under My Hood I Have a Hat, by Kuskin

We sang "I'm a Little Snowman" and on Wednesday we built a felt snowman on the flannelboard. That activity is always a huge hit with the kids. I ask them to tell me how to make the snowman and deliberately misunderstand them. This way they have to think hard to choose exactly the right words to make me understand what they mean. It's fun to watch their faces as they try and try to tell me how to stack the big, medium and small snowballs, or exactly where to put the carrot nose.

I told the traditional story of "The Mitten" with storyprops.

Toddler Time

Don't forget we start a new Toddler Time at 9:30 on Tuesdays this week.

Our stories this week were:

Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise
Dear Zoo, by Rod Campbell. This book is a good example of how repetitive lines draw a toddler in. They get such satisfaction in saying "I sent him back!" on each page. Big grins every time.

We also did:

Clap, Clap, Clap Your Hands

Clap, clap, clap your hands as slowly as you can.
Clap, clap, clap your hands as quickly as you can.

Shake, shake, shake your hands...
Roll, roll, roll your hands...
Pound, pound, pound your fists...
Rub, rub, rub your hands...
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle your fingers...

This rhyme teaches so much in a little fingerplay. First is the concept of "slowly" and "quickly." Whenever you can tie vocabulary to a physical motion, it cements the learning so much faster. Then there's shake, roll, pound, rub, wiggle - words we also tie to hand motions.

Baby Time

Well, we tried to stay warm in there with a couple of space heaters. The whole building had been without heat for two days and it was cold in there. We kept our coats on and had a good time anyway.