Wearin' O the Green at the Library!

St. Patrick's Day was very cute on Thursday. Even the babies were into it!

Preschool Storytime

In honor of the holiday, our theme was "Green Things." We had fun playing along with the "Colors" song on "Wee Sing Games" and Raffi's "Five Green and Speckled Frogs."

Our books were:

The Aminal, by Lorna Balian. This book has the same theme as The Snarlyhissopus, which the kids love, and which teaches a gentle lesson.

Picky Mrs. Pickle, by Christine M. Schneider. Green dresses, green shoes, and pickle perfume make for a very narrow-minded Mrs. Pickle. Her niece takes care of that with a challenge and a taunt. Eggplant Ripple ice cream does the trick. I love the illustration of Mrs. Pickle vacuuming her lawn and the pickle flavored milk.

Scarlette Beane, by Karen Wallace. Scarlette grows a vegetable castle! Very cool!

Anna and the Little Green Dragon, by Klaus Baumgart. The kids loved it when the dragon sprayed cocoa all over Anna's face. They really weren't sure if she would do the same thing back to the dragon.

Toddler Time

We've had lots of newcomers lately, and it's always apparent how these children's personalities shine through at such a young age. There's the child who cries every time the room gets active and/or noisy, the child who has absolutely no desire to leave Mom's lap, and the child who gets right up in front of me and tries everything I suggest. I just hope parents don't decide one style is preferable over the others. The parent of the fearless child may envy the parent of the cautious child at a park when that fearless child flings himself off the top of the monkey bars. And vice versa may occur when the parent of the cautious child is trying to get him to try something new that he knows the child will love. There are pros and cons either way. It's our job to give our children security and teach them wisdom. Yes, you can climb the monkey bars. No, you shouldn't fling yourself into space from the top of them.

Our books were:

Fire Truck, by Peter Sis. Even the little ones got the humor when I asked them if fire trucks can eat pancakes.

Pete's a Pizza, by William Steig. I feel SO bad that I forgot to read this book on Wednesday! If I ever obviously leave something out of the program, please don't hesitate to ask me!

Baby Time

Lots of newcomers here, too. I stopped for a moment during playtime and just looked at the carpet covered with babies crawling, chewing, exploring, interacting. Those times are golden for our little ones, and I love watching the moms getting to know each other, too. I hear them trade phone numbers, make plans to go to the park. New moms can feel alone sometimes, so I'm glad they have this opportunity to reach out.