Thursday, July 28, 2011

Book Party Tonight!

Please come to my book launch party tonight in the Community Room at 6:30. We'll have loads of cake and fun stuff for the kids!

Saturday, July 23, 2011

This Week at the Library

My Book Launch Party is this Thursday at 6:30 in the Community Room. I hope to see you there! My daughter Sara and I brainstormed some great interactive ideas for the children at the party, which I think will be a ton of fun.

Preschool Storytime

This week while I was sitting in my chair chatting with the kids before it was time to start, there were two little boys who like to sit right up front at my feet. I was wearing sandals and had just painted my toenails a bright color. They noticed them, and one of the boys stared for a second. Then he reached his finger out and touched my big toe. He giggled and turned to the boy next to him and stage-whispered, "I touched her feet! Hee hee! I touched her feet!" I reminded me of the scene in "Finding Nemo" when one of the little fishies says, "I touched the butt!"

I wonder if these children know how much they entertain me?

Our theme this week was "The Beach." We read:

Ebb and Flo and the Baby Seal, by Jane Simmons. I think the kids could relate to not finding anyone to play with, and not being able to get attention when they need it.

How Will We Get to the Beach?, by Brigitte Luciani. This book is a "guess what's missing from the picture" game.

Lottie's New Beach Towel, by Petra Mathers. I like this story, but the illustrations aren't the best for a group storytime. They're quite tiny. However, one boy told me it was his favorite story.

I used the flannelboard for Rainbow Fish, by Marcus Pfister.

I also pulled out a great collection of seashells for the children to hold and inspect. They practiced trading with each other.

Toddler Time

I loved the little guy who arrived just after we had started the first song. He came barreling in, "Wait for me!!" Of course we will!

We read:

Spot Bakes a Cake, by Eric Hill. Some kids said they'd made a cake, some cookies, one girl says she makes dinner.

Pots and Pans, by Patricia Hubbell. I reminded the parents again how pulling out the pots, pans, lids and spoons is a great activity for children. Of course you need "boundaries," but it's a great learning activity. Big pot, deep sound. Little pot, high sound. Different sounds for a wooden spoon, plastic spoon, and metal spoon.

Baby Time

We had mostly 12-16 month-olds this week, which is unusual. They weren't too interested in the book time, which didn't surprise me, but they sure loved the bubbles!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

An Invitation

I'd like to invite everyone to my book launch party! We'll be celebrating in the library community room (where Storytime is held) on Thursday, July 28 at 6:30. After some refreshments, I'll be doing an interactive presentation of a few stories with the elementary age children. I promise we'll have a good time!

Thursday, July 7, 2011

This Week at the Library

First off, there will be NO STORYTIMES July 12, 13, 14. I'll be on vacation.

Second, I'm very happy to announce that the Friends of the Library approved my request to lead a series of four workshops for elementary and middle school students based on the stories in my book. Details about dates and times will come later.

Preschool Storytime

This week we had fun with turtles. No, we didn't have any real ones - sure wish we did. Our fingerplay was:

I Had a Little Turtle

I had a little turtle.
He lived in a box.
He swam in the water
And he climbed on the rocks.
He snapped at a minnow.
He snapped at a flea.
He snapped at a mosquito
And he snapped at me.

He caught that minnow.
He caught that flea.
He caught that mosquito
But he didn't catch me.

We read:

Franklin in the Dark, by Paulette Bourgeois. Franklin learns to compensate for his fear of the dark. An excellent lesson for all of us.

The Turtle and the Monkey, by Joanna and Paul Galdone. I'm afraid I said this was an African tale, but it's actually from the Philippines. The two characters do awful things to each other, but I tried to point out to the children that it all came out of an unwillingness to share.

Splash!, by Ann Jonas. This is a great book for introducing mental math. It's fun to see which kids really "get" it - our future math whizzes.

I told the story on the flannelboard of "Uwungelema," the magic word that makes the fruit fall from the magic tree.

Toddler Time

Tuesday, July 5 was interesting! I guess all the little ones slept in from the fireworks the night before. Only one child came at 9:30, and three at 10:15! The rest of the week was pretty lightly attended, too.

Our books were:

The Seals on the Bus, by Lenny Hort. It was fun "singing" this book together.

Spot Goes to the Park, by Eric Hill. At the end, when Spot's mother tells him to say "Thank you," to the duck for returning Spot's ball, Spot says "Quack, quack." I asked, "What do you think that means?" One little boy said, "Give it back!"

Baby Time

I've had extra fun the last two weeks because a mom has been coming with her twins. I get to have a live baby to bounce on my lap instead of teddy bear!

Friday, July 1, 2011

This Week at the Library

I was so excited to present my book at the library this week. Everyone is invited to my "Launch Party" on July 28 at 6:30 in the Community Room. We'll have a little celebration and do some creative storytelling with stories from the book. Bring your imaginations!

Preschool Storytime

We took a poll on who loves to take a bath, and who doesn't love baths. The vast majority of the kids like baths, but there were a few very definite "No thanks," types in the group, too. I got out the bubble machine for a while, and we did the fingerplay "Bubbly Bubbles."

We read:

Just Me in the Tub, by Mercer Mayer. Poor Little Critter has such a hard time making things turn out the way he intends.

No Bath Tonight, by Jane Yolen. Jeremy has an excuse not to take a bath on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday....

King Bidgood's in the Bathtub, by Audrey Wood. To be honest, I have a hard time finding the rhythm when I read this aloud, but the illustrations are so incredible, I put up with it.

Huggly Takes a Bath, by Tedd Arnold. The kids love the "slime pit" Huggly plays in.

I used the flannelboard for the story "The Bath," and we played a game where the children had to guess what piece was missing from the picture.

Toddler Time

Lots of new children and parents, lots of old friends back from preschool, and lots of people on vacation.

Our books were:

Eyes, Nose, Fingers and Toes, by Judy Hindley. The little ones were great about following along in the book with blinking, and wiggling, and clapping and jumping. Moving with a book makes it so much more fun.

Spot Goes to School, by Eric Hill. Lift-the-flap books never fail.

Baby Time

We had lots of big brothers and sisters this week, but they were so wonderfully behaved, it wasn't a problem at all. The babies played Peekaboo and read Find the Duck and danced to Ring Around the Rosie. Of course, bubbles are always a huge hit - with the big kids too!