Adventures at ALA

Last weekend I was lucky enough to attend the ALA Annual Conference in Orlando Florida. If you are not apart of the library world, ALA is the American Library Association and every year this is an annual conference. This conference allows all libraries from across the country to come together to mingle, learn, explore and experience so much more. This was only my second conference and I haven’t been to ALA since I went five years ago to New Orleans. I was still in grad school and went with some amazing friends of mine that I was in school with. What was amazing about this conference was being able to go again with these lovely ladies. It’s amazing to see how we have grown in our fields and also with our lives.

What I love most about these conferences is that it becomes a wonderful refresher. You are among others who are passionate about a lot of the same things and it almost revitalizes you. Lately, I have been needing that revitalization.

Many of us are dealing with particular struggles in the library field. This can be interacting with interesting patrons ( I am sure many of us have some stories that are sad, crazy or possibly both), depleting budgets, trying times in our world and so much more. At the beginning of every conference there is an opening session where an author is usually invited to discuss their feelings on libraries and the discussion usually leads to the necessity for having them. This year the ALA Task Force on Equity wanted author Michael Eric Dyson to speak at the opening session and it was absolutely moving! I was cheering, I was excited and he just spoke of so many things that resonated with everything that is going on in our world today. It was at times an awkward discussion, but more on the basis that these are tough subjects that we are discussing, especially with everything that has happened recently in Orlando, and unfortunately around our world. If you have a moment, please read the amazing article that was written in the American Libraries Magazine. At the end of the article it gives you two videos that showcase his speech. I mean, the man was rapping at some points of his speech and it was just absolutely amazing! It was definitely a positive beginning to the conference, and a discussion that was needed to be talked about.

Normally, I would attend sessions at the conference. The conference allows us to continue with educating ourselves, share things that we may have learned and also share amazing programs that we may be doing at our libraries. ALA is for all libraries, so there are sessions for academics, public, health sciences, you name it! It can become such an eye opening, but also an overwhelming experience. This year however, I stuck around the exhibits. This was not my original intention as there were many sessions that I wanted to attend to. However, the most amazing thing happened this weekend, that I am still in shock and in complete amazement that it happened. I met MO WILLEMS! Lord almighty, when I saw that he was going to be at the conference I legit started to cry. This has been a dream of mine to meet this man for so long. I know this is probably the dream of many children’s librarians so it must seem a bit repetitive when people discuss him but I can’t express how much I love this man. Anthony already knows that he is my legit man crush but I have such immense respect for him on so many levels. His books allow me to be crazy silly. I get to continue with some of my acting and be theatrical but also express stories on a whole other level when I read them aloud. They bring about a whole new love of reading for children and I am sure with adults as well because his books become an experience.

So Saturday morning, I got to the exhibit doors at 8:30am (it didn’t open till 9am). I ran to the Disney booth to get in line once the doors opened and waited until 9:30am! I was not about to miss this opportunity. When 9:30 came around, out of no where Mo Willems comes running down the line, high fiving everyone that was in line. I legit stood there in complete shock and insanely excited. I honestly texted Anthony and my mom going crazy that I just got a high five from this man! It was a great author signing because not only was I able to get Mo Willems autograph but I was also able to get Dan Santat’s and Laurie Keller’s. Guys, it was worth every moment! 

Anthony asked me afterwards what I said to him and what happened but it honestly all happened in a blur of excitement. All I remember is Mo turning to me and asking if we should smile or make a monster face. I COULDN’T DECIDE! I asked if we could do both and he laughed saying “No, life is all about choices!” So I decided on a monster face because that is what I love about his books. I can be as silly as I want to be and here I am having the ability to be silly with him. Then the publishing company said smile for a second one and I was able to get two amazing pictures. I now have my own Piggie drawn out on both of my books! Plus, what is awesome, is being able to receive copies of books that have not even been published yet!

Words again cannot express the amount of respect that I have for him and of course many of the authors that attended the conference. I was able to meet many of them at this exhibit. I got to meet Raina Telgemeier:

I couldn’t wait to tell her how much I loved reading Drama. It was a book that resonated a lot for me because I was a theater person growing up. She explained to me that it surprises her still today how many people tell her that because that was not her intentions when she wrote the book. That is why it is so important for these authors to write these pieces. They may not think they are having that particular impact, but they really are giving kids something to relate to and know that they are not alone.

Kevin Henkes

Adam Gidwitz

Pam Muñoz Ryan

This was another one of my favorite opportunities. I love all of her books, however I loved Echo, which I have discussed many a times here on the blog. Music is very much apart of my life still and it is very much a beautiful part of this story. She’s a wonderful storyteller but to be able to talk about our love of music was truly a memorable experience.

There were honestly many more authors that I was able to meet just unfortunately no pictures Being able to do these meet and greets has reminded me so much about how passionate I am about books, especially books for kids. As adults, we tend to know what we like to read and we are not forced to do it on a daily basis. Books written by these authors are well loved and that is certainly difficult in our world today when technology takes the reigns in many of our children’s lives. Their dedication to getting children to read astounds me and I hope that they understand how much it means to have them create such wonderful stories for our young readers.

The exhibit is such a fun part of the conference. It allows librarians to get a sneak peak at books that are to be published in the near future, look at new technologies being developed, furniture specially designed for libraries, meet artists, have discussions, meet new people, but the big deal is the FREE STUFF. A lot of the free materials are pre-release copies of books which are really helpful for librarians that focus on collection development.  I do a lot of the ordering for my children’s department, so this allowed me to gather new books, fall catalogs, free bags to giveaway to my kiddos and  a lot of awesome bookmarks. 

This wasn’t even all the bags that I collected! I had three more to add to this bunch! A lot of these books are going to be given to the kids at my library, and that is such a rewarding feeling. A lot of the bags will be given as prizes for my summer reading program and a lot of them have their favorite characters on the front which will be sure to bring a lot of excitement.

All I can say is, I had a blast! It can be an exhausting experience but there is so much to see and explore at ALA. I got to meet new people, meet friends that I know simply from Instagram and a few other friendly characters along the way.

I feel a little rejuvenated after this conference. I am still up in the air on where my career will go after I leave my current position, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to stay on top of everything that is going on within the field. My hopes is that I will attend the next conference in Chicago next year. I want to be able to attend the whole conference and actually sit in on some sessions so that I can continue to educate myself. If anyone within the library field hasn’t attended a conference it really is highly recommended. It is a great learning experience, networking experience and so much more. It can be expensive of course, but some of the experiences you partake in become priceless. I for one definitely have found this conference to be a memorable one in the books!

 

Summer Reading Suggestions

It’s hard to imagine that summer is here! Here in Florida the kids are off from school and we are getting read to launch our summer reading program. I always feel this is the greatest time of year for reading. Librarians may not necessarily have more time for reading because of how busy we are, but we are busy because that is one of the big to do lists for many while the kids are out of school. But I feel parents really get the reading bug during the summer as well. I don’t know about you, but I greatly enjoy laying out by the pool with a good read. I recently had someone on Instagram reach out for book recommendations so I thought it would be wonderful to put some suggestions here on the blog, but there are also some great resources out there to find some good reads whether for the kiddos or for us grown-ups.

There are always going to be summer reading lists for kids. Many of our kiddos come in with reading lists from school and sometimes I look at them and go oh dear. As a librarian, I do wish schools would reach out to us more in regards to these lists because a lot of the times we never have enough copies for them or many of the titles are out of print! What I do order a lot more of are Sunshine State Readers List books. Sunshine State Readers books are chosen by school librarians across the state of Florida. This organization specifically is called FAME (Florida Association for Media in Education). They have two separate lists; one for grades 3-5 and another for grades 6-8. There are a lot of great reading lists out there, but I personally love this list because they tend to choose books that I feel kids react more to. I am not bashing the classics by any means, but a lot of the times they tend to be a hard sell. There is something for everyone on this list and I tend to read a lot of the ones that are presented each year. When I was completing my masters, I read many titles from that current year for many of my assignments and I loved every one that was on the list. Two of my favorite titles that are on the 6th through 8th grade list are Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan and The Cross Over by Kwame Alexander. Both are fantastic choices for anyone to read, and I am meaning that adults would find them entertaining as well. This is especially true for Echo which I personally found to be the most beautiful story.

Another great resource for summer reading titles is through ALSC (Association for Library Services to Children). They have also been putting together fantastic lists for summer reading recommendations. They just recently released a lovely list for children birth to preschool! I personally make sure that I add titles to the library from these lists because I trust my colleagues to select quality and entertaining titles for families.One of my favorite titles from the birth to preschool list is Tree: A Peek-Through Picture Book by Britta Teckentrup. Beautiful, beautiful book that displays a tree through all the seasons. There are cut out holes that reveal cute animals hidden within the tree as you turn the pages. I absolutely just adored this sweet picture book.

Adults can be a whole other ball game. We all have our personally preferences when it comes to reading. Some of us like quick little reads, and some of us get into extensive novels. Lately, I have had a tough time with fiction reads and have been wanting to read shorter books that don’t require much mental effort on my part. With everything that is going I have been finding it hard to concentrate. I was talking with one of my regular moms and she told me about a fellow blogger who has an abundance of reading recommendations. Modern Mrs. Darcy is going to be my new go-to for reading inspirations. First, let me say what a beautiful blog! I was so impressed with everything from the look of it, to how it flowed and just the abundance of information she has. Her summer reading list is so unique and she has read every title in order to give proper recommendations. She is truly upfront with all of the titles and explains how some of them may not be right for some readers and great for others. Under book series she recommends the Cinder Series by Marissa Meyer, which if you haven’t read this wonderful YA series I would highly recommend it. Other than that there many titles that I was unfamiliar with and it peaked my interest to possibly try them all out!

So whether you enjoy reading by the pool, or listening to a great book in the car, there are so many great opportunities this summer to get in a great read. This goes for all ages and I hope that a lot of these resources will help you find your next great read!

Slumber Party Storytime

I have been trying to grow this storytime in the hopes that the more that I do it, the more stuffed animals that I can get. I love this storytime theme, because I invite my families to come in their pajamas, and to bring their stuffed animals. I hand out this invitation at least a week or two prior so that my families can prepare.

I also come dressed in my pajamas of course! And stitch comes prepared as well.

So here is the outline for this storytime theme:

Book: The Napping House by Audrey Wood

This of course is a classic! I add a little more for participation. When it comes to the line “where everyone is sleeping”, I add “Shhhh” to have the kids join in and whisper. I do this so that it builds up to the part where everyone starts to get woken up!

Finger Rhyme: Five in the Bed

Five in the Bed
There were five in the bed and the little one said,
“Roll over! Roll over!”
So they all rolled over and one fell out
And bumped his head and shouted out,
Single beds are only made for one, two, three, four!”
There were four in the bed and the little one said…
There were three in the bed and the little one said…
There were two in the bed and the little one said…
There was one in the bed and the little one said…
“I’ve got the whole bed to myself

This is another one of my favorite rhymes that I can remember from my childhood. I have everyone hold up five fingers and we count down together as each one falls out of the bed.

Book: Beep! Beep! Go To Sleep by Todd Tarpley

This is a fairly new story and I personally think its adorable! The young little boy in this story is trying to get his little robots to bed (as well as himself), but unfortunately he is awakened by loud BEEPS! His little robots will just not go to sleep! It is definitely a sweet ending, because all the robots wished for most was a bedtime story.

Rhyme and movement: “Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear (Nursery Rhyme)”

Teddy bear, teddy bear,
turn around
Teddy bear, teddy bear,
touch the ground
Teddy bear, teddy bear,
reach up high
Teddy bear, teddy bear,
touch the sky
Teddy bear, teddy bear,
touch your knees
Teddy bear, teddy bear,
sit down please

Book: Touch the Brightest Star by Christie Matheson

This by far was the most successful book with this storytime. I got asked to read it again and again! They LOVED it and I love it too! If you haven’t read this title or Tap the Magic Tree, please do. I love any book that can become interactive because it makes the reading process a whole new experience.

Craft:

Sometimes you just need an eye mask to help you sleep! I used foam sheets and cut out the shape using a template that I got off the internet. I had foam shapes as well that they could decorate their sleep masks any way that they want. A piece of a yarn and they are good to go!

I have an abundance of my own stuffed animals that I keep on hand. I know a lot of the kids did not want to leave their stuffed animals with me. That is totally understandable. So I take a tag and I write their name and I tie that tag around the stuffed animal for them to see.

After my storytime is over, I then take silly pictures of the animals having a fun slumber party with stitch!

I then show them all these pictures at my next storytime. Everyone thinks that it is pretty adorable, and they love all the silly antics that the stuffed animals get into while they are away! I also have fun doing it, which is why I hope that it is something that I can grow so that I can get more stuffed animals for the slumber party. It takes some planning but this a fun and engaging storytime to do for the kiddos!

Duck Storytime

I tried creating themes around animals that I have yet to do in my storytime’s this spring. I can remember when I was younger watching Barney, and the one song that I remember from all of this was “Five Little Ducks”. I remember them dancing with the big umbrellas, and Barney actually quacking when it came time to making the sounds; which of course was silly coming from a dinosaur! It’s the silly things that we remember sometime, so I knew I would have to do a duck storytime theme eventually.

Book: One Duck Stuck by Phyllis Root

This poor Duck get’s stuck in the mud! All the animals around try to help him get out, but he just can’t get out of the mud! Teamwork really does it’s magic with this adorable read.

Felt Board: “Five Little Ducks”

“Five Little Ducks”
Five little ducks went out to play, over the hill and far away
Mother duck said, “Quack, quack, quack, quack”
And only four little ducks came back
(count down until)
Sad mother duck went out one day, over the hill and far away
Mother duck said, “Quack, quack, quack, quack”
And all of her five little ducks came back .

I chose this felt board song instead of the one from Barney. Easier to do a counting lesson, which is normally what I like to do with the felt board.

Book: Giggle, Giggle, Quack by Doreen Cronin

It’s probably a little cliche but I enjoy Doreen Cronin’s farm animals. I remember when I first read Dooby, Dooby, Moo and thoroughly enjoying it. These animals get into all sorts of crazy antics when Farmer Brown is away, all thanks to Duck of course. It is sure to create a room full of giggles.

SONG: The Ducks on the Bus- Inspiration Abby the Librarian
Tune: The Wheels on the Bus

The ducks on the bus go quack quack quack!
Quack quack quack! Quack quack quack!
The ducks on the bus go quack quack quack!
All through the town!

The ducks on the bus go flap flap flap!….
The ducks on the bus go waddle waddle waddle!….
The ducks on the bus go Quack Quack Quack!….

Book: Come Along, Daisy! by Jane Simmons

Poor Daisy is super curious about her surroundings, but momma duck is calling her to come along! But while discovering things around her, Daisy can’t seem to find her momma. Definitely loved by the mom’s/grandma’s in my storytime room.

Craft:

I came up with this craft on my own. I printed out a duck template and then traced it onto yellow paper. I of course then cut those templates out. I separated out yellow, orange and white feathers for the kiddos to glue on their ducks. Last but not least, I gave them a googly eye to finish their adorable duck!

The only thing I should have done now that I think about it, was hand out a box of quackers! All in all an adorable storytime.

Windy Storytime

I have been so horrible lately with trying to keep up with this. I need to make an effort for myself and for others! Storytime is officially done for me at the moment, however, I have a few weeks that I have not posted yet, so I plan to share my other storytime themes with you all. It has been very windy here this Spring and I love doing a Windy storytime. It was a huge excuse for me to read “The Queen’s Hat” by Steve Anthony. Many of you have probably noticed by now that I am a huge anglophile.

Book: The Wind Blew by Pat Hutchins

The poor people in this town! The wind just wants to take it all and up and up it all went in this cute story by Hutchins.

Felt Board: Five Little Kites- Inspiration: Storytime Katie

One little kite in the sky so blue,
Along came another, then there were two.
Two little kites flying high above me,
Along came another, then there were three.
Three little kits, just watch them soar,
Along came another, then there were four.
Four little kites, so high and alive,
Along came another, then there were five.
Five little kits dancing across the sky,
What a sight to see, way up so high

Book: When The Wind Blows by Linda Booth Sweeney

I had never read this book previously and I thought it was such an adorable story of what happens when the wind blows. The story follows into a storm rolling in, but it makes a storm seem like a pleasant experience instead of the scary ones. What I am trying to say is, this would be a great read for children who may be scared of storms.

Parachute Fun!

I played “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” from Mary Poppins. Perfect song for a windy storytime. I am always intrigued with how many families may not have seen this amazing classic. So I brought the parachute out and let them enjoy the music. I try my best to have them do it to the beat of the music. It is a great lesson on team work to do it this way, and a more controlled environment. I of course let them have a good shake of it, to get it out of their system!

Book: The Queen’s Hat by Steve Anthony

I’m sorry, I can’t help but adore this book. I actually purchased it for myself. The reason why I love it so much, is because it is the perfect book to introduce young travelers to London. The Queen’s hat has been blown all around the city, visiting historical monuments throughout its journey. The illustrations are precious and I LOVE the ending. If you are an anglophile like myself, this book is a must!

Craft:

Usually my go-to for a kite would be a paper bag. We were really low in the our closet but I had an abundance of toilet paper tubes. This still worked the same way and the kids LOVED them. They got to color their tubes and choose which color tissue paper they wanted for their tail. I allowed them to one tell me their color and two count each of their pieces so that they got to three.

The parachute and the craft were indeed the biggest hits of this storytime. My moms know that I love London and many of them sat with the book with their child to explain all the different places afterwards. Overall, a great storytime!

Bug Storytime

BUGS! Who doesn’t love to talk about bugs. Yeah they can be kind of gross sometimes but there are some pretty awesome bugs! Especially some awesome bug books!

Book: The Big Bug Book by David A. Carter

This is a fun pop-up book with tons of silly bugs. It can be a long one with all the different folds to open, but the kids enjoy pop-up books. This one was especially silly, because many are not real bugs but they are definitely adorable ones.

Song: The Itsy Bitsy Spider

The itsy bitsy spider
went up the water spout.
Down came the rain
and washed the spider out.
Out came the sun
and dried up all the rain,
And the itsy bitsy spider
went up the spout again

I feel silly typing out the words to this, however, you never know. What I loved about singing this one today, is that the kids are so proud when they know the song! Many a times the rhymes and songs that we may do are new to them, so when they know something I see children with immense confidence and participate that much more.

Book: I Love Bugs! by Emma Dodd

Emma Dodd’s books are always sweet. Very simple, and not a long read at all, but goes over all the different types of books that the main character loves. I love the ending of this story, with the child proclaiming that they love spiders, but in the end the spider scares them away.

Flannel: Colorful Butterflies: Inspiration Ms. Meg’s Storytime

The first to come to the garden bed
is a lovely butterfly of brilliant RED

Then in comes another and that makes two
Fly right in, my friend of BLUE

This garden is fine, the best I’ve seen
says the butterfly of the softest GREEN

Our garden needs a sunny fellow
Fly in butterfly, with wings of yellow

Little friend of PURPLE, fly in too
the garden is waiting for a color like you

Hello ORANGE, we’ve waited so long
fly in, right where you belong

Butterflies, Butterflies, you’re such a sight
Flying together with such delight!

Confession time. I had wanted to do Lady Bugs. I had found this adorable lady bug rhyme for the flannel board but I totally forgot to make them! I was so mad because I feel like my brain just hasn’t been able to focus very much on what I need to get done. Oh well. This really worked out well too and was a simple ellison block die-cut fix! The kids also love colors and who can resist some colorful butterflies.

Book: Some Bugs by Amy Diterlizzi

I LOVE this book. It is very simple in text, but I find the illustrations to be beautiful. Just like I Love Bugs, this book discusses all the unique bugs that we can find, especially within our own back yard. This is a great book to recommend for bug lovers, because at the end of the story, the author has included the pictures again of all the bugs and what the names of the bugs are.

I was so happy to find out that my co-worker has bugs to look at! The kids LOVED this. They each had a magnifying glass and they were able to look at all the bugs that I had displayed. This was great for learning how to take turns, because I didn’t have enough to hand to each child at once. We mostly had butterflies, but I had a couple creepy crawly ones for them to look at.

Craft: Lady Bug

Very easy to make and I swear my kids are obsessed with lady bugs. I cut white paper plates in half to create the body. I then used an ellison block to cut out all the circles for the bugs spots. I pre-did the lady bugs head, so that it wasn’t an abundance of gluing for the kids to do. I then cut out red tissue paper. The kids then glue on all the pieces to create their cute lady bug.

I thankfully had a good turn out because next week I plan on doing my slumber party storytime. So be prepared for some fun pictures! Fingers crossed I get a good turn out then.

Spring Storytime

It’s spring time! My apologies for being a little MIA. Last week after my storytime, I ended up going home in a significant amount of pain. Just the day before I had gotten two cortisone shots for my back and well, I did not sit well with me the next day at all. I am not sure how I got through my storytime. But here I am back at it this week and we celebrated springtime! It is also spring break here which didn’t leave me a lot of kids oddly enough. I am sure many are out on vacation.

Book: Finding Spring by Carin Berger

I love the illustrations in this book. They are so precious and I feel the storyline fits the adorable story. Baby bear is so excited to see spring that he sneaks out of his hibernation time to locate it during the winter. He gets confused thinking that snow is spring, but upon awakening learns what spring is really like.

Rhyme:

Five Little Flowers 

Five Little Flowers Standing in the sun
See their heads nodding, Bowing one by one
Down, down, down Comes the gentle rain
And the 5 little flowers Lift up their heads again

One little flower growing just for you.
Up came another and then there were two.
Two little flowers growing near a tree.
Up came another and then there were three.
Three little flowers growing more and more.
Up came another and then there were four
Four little flowers growing side by side.
Up came another and then there were five.

I unfortunately was unable to find the original inspiration for this rhyme, but this can be done numerous different ways. As you can I used finger puppets that I have. I did the rhyme but I also had the kids tell me the colors of the flowers.

Book: When Spring Comes by Kevin Henkes

Another adorable piece about spring AND it’s brand new! I love the illustrations by Laura Dronzek; they are just darling. The book explains all the beautiful and fun things that can be done when spring comes; even playing in the crazy amounts of rain we can get from time to time.

Felt Board Activity:

There’s something in my garden,
Now what can it be?
There’s something in my garden
That I can’t really see.
Hear its funny sound….
Ribbit – Ribbit – Ribbit
A Frog is what I found!
Ribbit-Ribbit-Ribbit

Repeat with other animals, such as a squirrel (squeak-squeak-squeak), rabbit (thump-thump-thump), chicken (tweet-tweet-tweet), duck (quack quack)

 

I hid the animals within the grass before storytime began. As I read the rhyme and they guessed the animal, I would pull the animal out from the grass. I love this rhyme and again I wish I could remember where I originally found it. Some of these rhymes are when I first started here at the library 3 years ago!

Book: What Does Bunny See by Linda Sue Park

Who doesn’t love a book about colors? This one was perfect for spring, and the kids loved letting me know what the colors were. One girl kept wanting the color to be pink, no matter what one was coming up next.

Craft:

This one I kind of came up with on my own. I printed out these swirly trees onto large blue paper. I cut into small pieces pastel colored tissue paper to create a spring looking tree. They would scrunch up the pieces and glue them wherever they wanted. Something so simple, but fun and colorful.

Again it was a very small group, but a success nonetheless. The kiddos that I had enjoyed it and that is all that matters.

 

 

Messy Storytime

Who doesn’t love getting messy? We know our kids tend to get in lots of messes, so why not do a fun messy storytime theme? I really enjoyed this one and I had a lot of great participation from the kiddos which is always a good thing!

Book: Dog’s Colorful Day: A Messy Story About Colors and Counting by Emma Dodd

I adore this picture book by Emma Dodd. It encompasses so much with the counting and learning the colors. This is a great book for participation as it counts all the colored spots the dog collects during his colorful day!

Rhyme: “This is the Way” Inspiration from Literary Commentary

To the tune: “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush)

This is the way we wash our hands
(rub hands together)
Wash our hands, wash our hands
This is the way we wash our hands
So early in the morning!

Continue with other body parts
(arms, belly,legs, teeth, etc…)

Very cute rhyme to do with the kids. I had a lot of smiling faces as we went through the motions of washing each of the body parts. Instead of teeth, I did hair at the end for something fun and silly.

Book: Little Oink by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

I love these books by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. Other titles include Little Pea and Little Hoot I find them so silly and adorable! Sometimes the kids don’t get the silly scenario of the books so I prompt them with questions such as “should you make a mess?” and “What should you really do?”

Felt Board: Five Pigs So Squeaky Clean. Inspiration Storytime Katie

(Tune: “Five Green and Speckled Frogs)
Five pigs so squeaky clean
Cleanest you’ve ever seen
Wanted to go outside and play
Oink! Oink!
One jumped into the mud
Landed with a big THUD
Then there were four clean squeaky pigs.

So silly me didn’t take a picture of the other side of my piggies! On the other side are muddy pigs after they jump into the mud. So as I go through the rhyme, I just flip it over to the other side.

Book: Mouse Mess by Linnea Riley

Boy this mouse can sure make a mess! Adorable story of a mouse who decides to raid the humans food. During this time he makes a mess, but doesn’t realize it’s him who is creating it.

Craft: Messy Masterpiece

I normally roll into the storytime room tables for them to do their craft, however today I didn’t bring them. I have been having back issues and this craft really made it easy to do something different without needing them and putting more strain on myself. I gave each child a tray where they were able to collect their random craft items for their messy masterpiece. All I gave them was white paper and the glue sticks and let them create whatever they want. This again is by far my favorite activity. They didn’t even play with the toys afterwards because they were so entranced with working on their project! Sometimes you just have to let the creativity flow and get a little messy!

 

 

 

Picnic Storytime

When I worked at Borders I would do storytime in the children’s book section.  What I remember from that (which is hard to believe was over 10 years ago) was doing a picnic storytime with the kids! It was by far one of my favorites and I finally did one for my preschoolers today. It was a great time had by all and it was a packed house today! I had 40 people attend storytime. That is both children and their parents/guardians, which for my storytime room is quite a lot. I love doing this with a packed house!

Book: We’re Going on a Picnic by Pat Hutchins

Very cute story, but I will say that because I had a smaller book I felt that I had to guide the kids to understand what was going on within the story. I would ask “huh? Who is that that they are near?” They would say mouse and I would exclaim “Uh oh, I wonder if he will follow?” I think that helped them to pay close attention to the story, for as our characters try to find place for their picnic, their basket gets lighter and lighter along the way.

Activity: Let’s Pack Our Picnic Basket

Didn’t have a picnic basket unfortunately, but any basket works nonetheless. I printed out these images and laminated them for later usage. I made enough that each child got a food or drink item. I then held up the item and if they had the item that matched, they would bring it up and put it in our picnic basket. My kids love this kind of participation, and with such a big group there was so much excitement! They were very eager to help pack our basket full of goodies!

Book: Mouse’s First Summer by Lauren Thompson

So, of course a little confusing reading this book now, but it is absolutely perfect for a picnic storytime! It opened up a discussion on what season is actually coming next, even though in Florida our weather is just right for this book! I had the kids guess each item that Mouse was describing, which made for fun interaction in storytime!

Felt Board:“Five Hungry Ants”-Inspiration from Storytime Katie

Five hungry ants, marching in a line
They came upon a picnic, where they could dine
They marched into the salad
They marched into the cake
They marched into the pepper
Oh-uh! That was a mistake!
AAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCHHHHOOOOOOO!

4 hungry ants…
3 hungry ants…
2 hungry ants…
1 hungry ant…

Such a cute countdown rhyme. My kids love to pretend sneeze because it’s in my end song for storytime. So as always the kids loved pretending to sneeze for each of the ants after the went into the pepper!
Book: Ants at the Picnic by Michael Dahl

I originally wasn’t so thrilled about reading this book in storytime but it worked out very well! The book starts with 100 ants and counts down by tens as they carry away the items from the picnic. The kids loved seeing them all being carried off and we counted back up to 100 by tens after the book was done.

Craft: Picnic blanket and Ant

This craft happened by accident. I originally was going to have them make the ants for their craft, however, there was some miscommunication as to what I wanted our pages to help me with and they ended up making the whole ant! Totally not a problem for I thought that they kids could practice some weaving with paper to create a picnic blanket. I cut slits into the red paper and cut white strips to weave within. Definitely a craft to be done with an adult, but such a great idea for motor skills practice! That way they walked away with a cute ant puppet and their craft!

Again, so surprising to have that many people at storytime today! I can’t complain at all though because I love it when I have a full house. There is more interaction among everyone and we have loads of fun. Definitely a great storytime day!

Moose Storytime

I can’t believe I haven’t done a moose storytime theme yet. I got the idea honestly because of my mom. She has always wanted to see one and it inspired me to finally do it as on of my storytime themes. So this one was for my mom!

Book: Moose on the Loose by Kathy-Jo Wargin

My kids were kind of young this morning, so I didn’t get as many responses to the many questions asked within this book because of shyness. But they were absorbed in it! I love that it asks so many questions which lead to a lot of interaction in storytime. So I hope the afternoon crowd will pipe in! What would you do with a moose in your house?

Song: Moose Pokey-Inspiration Storytime With Miss Molly

(Tune: Hokey Pokey)

You put your hooves in
You put your hooves out
You put your hooves in
and you shake ’em all about
You do the Moose Pokey
And you turn yourself around
That’s what it’s all about.

You put your antlers in
You put your antlers out
You put your antlers in
And you shake it all about
You do the Moose Pokey
And you turn yourself around
That”s what it’s all about.

You put your tail in
You put your tail out
You put your tail in
And you shake it all about
You do the Moose Pokey
And you turn yourself around
That’s what it’s all about

Who doesn’t love a good hokey pokey?

Book: If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Numeroff

I love these books don’t you?  My favorite is actually If You Give a Pig a Party! But honestly who could resist this adorable moose?

Felt Board: Five Big Muffins-Inspiration Mansfield Richland County Public Library

five big muffins on the window sill.
Moose came along and ate his fill.
Now how many muffins are on the window sill?

_____ big muffins are on the window sill.
Moose came along and ate his fill.
Now how many muffins are on the window sill?

(Continue)

_____ big muffin(s) on the window sill.
Moose came along and ate his fill.
Now no more muffins are on the window sill.

I don’t always use felt for my felt board. When I want items to look a little cutesy, I print out clip-art images and laminate them. We have Velcro that I then put on the back! Can’t go wrong with blueberry muffins.

Book: Ernest the Moose Who Doesn’t Fit by Catherine Rayner

This is such an adorable book. I was disappointed in myself that I hadn’t read it before. This poor moose doesn’t fit within this book! He and his adorable friend find ways to make sure that he does fit!

Craft: Moose Antlers

I did wear these for storytime today and the kids got a real kick out of it. But I am not feeling so hot and well, I’d rather not take a picture of myself today so you are stuck with adorable stitch! One of my pages worked on this craft for me and she loves to take the time to work on the crafts! She herself wants to be a librarian so she jumps on any chance to help us out. She cut out the antlers and long strips of paper. Each kid got two strips because one unfortunately doesn’t fit around the head.The kids and parents wrapped the paper around their head to measure and then glued/or taped the antlers onto the strips! Easy peasy and it was so cute seeing them running around with their antlers on.

I am sure the toddlers are going to LOVE this storytime tomorrow. I myself loved it and I hope you all do too.