This Week at the Library

Another funny story:

A girl today was leaving Toddler Time when she stopped and said to me, "Next time when I come to Storytime, can you not stamp hands and give M&M's?" Absolutely adorable! I told her that I'll bet she would love that, but it just wouldn't work out for the other kids. Her mom told her that Storytime isn't the same as XYZ where she gets M&M's afterward. So I'm competing with a place that gives out M&M's? I'll never come out ahead!

Preschool Storytime

This week we were all about noise, and we sure had fun making lots of it! I read:

Quiet, Wyatt!, by Bill Maynard. Poor Wyatt keeps getting shushed, but when he saves a puppy from certain doom, everyone looks at him with a little more respect.
Mortimer, by Robert Munsch. Exceptionally silly, of course! If your child is trying to remember how Mortimer's song goes, it's: Cling clang, rattle bing bang, gonna make my noise all day! (twice)

I told the old folktale "The Brementown Musicians" and we all made lots of loud animal noises. I also told the story Too Much Noise, from the book by Ann McGovern. Again, lots of loud animal noises! Kids don't often get to make as much noise as they want, so I like to give them the opportunity every once in a while.

Toddler Time

This has been an odd summer for attendance. 9:30 Tuesday we had three kids. 10:15 Tuesday, about 25. 11:30 Wednesday maybe 10 kids, 10:15 Thursday probably 20. But large group or small, we have a good time. We pulled out "Here is the Beehive" for the first time in a while and got lots of smiles. We read the books

Pots and Pans, by Patricia Hubbell. As I told the parents, it's a great activity to let your toddler make a drum set out of pots, lids and spoons. There's really a lot of learning that goes into that kind of experimentation.
Spot Bakes a Cake, by Eric Hill. We had some good interaction talking about the pictures - Look at all those chocolate bars! Does that cake look good? Why are there dog bones on the cake?

Baby Time

Lots of older siblings today, but I think it went fine, if a little busy. We have stuffed animals and a basket of blocks and balls just for them so parents can have the opportunity to enjoy a baby activity like they did with their firstborn.