Happy New Year!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday. I did!


Not quite as many little ones at Storytimes this week, but that's understandable. I'm really, REALLY looking forward to the Symphony Storytimes on Wednesdays at 1:00 in January. I'm just hoping the crowds aren't unreasonable, and no one gets turned away.


Preschool Storytime


Our theme was "Stones and Rocks" this week, and I got to tell one of my all-time favorites on the flannelboard - Anansi and the Moss Covered Rock, by Eric Kimmel (the Portland State professor I took a storytelling class from way back when). The kids loved saying "KPOM!" and falling over on the rug.

I also told the flannelboard story "The Stone in the Road." I don't have the author - sorry!


I told the Aesop's Fable "The Crow and the Jug," and the children were fascinated with me dropping rocks into the "jug" of water and watching the water rise. Besides the moral "Where there's a will, there's a way," they learned a little science lesson too.


I only read two books (just one on Wednesday), Lizard's Home, by George Shannon, where lizard outsmarts the naughty snake, and A Rumbly, Tumbly, Glittery, Gritty Place, by Mary Lyn Ray.


Toddler Time


We did "Whoops, Johnny" this week, and while it seems like a pointless little rhyme, when you ask your child to do it on your hand, you'll see what a challenge it is. The eye-hand coordination required is not easy for toddlers. Give your child opportunities to work on it with you. You'll probably need to guide their hands at the beginning as they try to touch their index fingers to the tips of your fingers.


Our books were:


Barnyard Banter, by Denise Fleming. Lots of fun animal noises!

Here Come Poppy and Max, by Lindsey Gardiner. Moving like the animals in the book is fun, and then guessing what the animal coats are on the endpapers is entertaining too!

Baby Time

Oh, how our babies grow and change so fast! Just think what 2011 will bring to those little ones! Crawling, walking, talking, graduating to Toddler Time! I love looking at some of the toddlers and remembering them when they came to Baby Time. Now they're singing, dancing and talking to me! I love it!