Summer storytime finally started. We had a nice break, but I was eager to get back to reading stories aloud.
There are a lot of great, fun elephant books available to read for a storytime. We went with elephants because the summer reading theme, Reading by Design, uses Little Elliot the elephant from Mike Curato's picture books as a mascot. I was not disappointed with this animal theme.
After a quick introduction and a lively time with the bean bag song, it was time to get into our first story, Little Elliot, Big Family. The kids liked this book because we are doing a seek and find passive program with Little Elliot this summer and they didn't know he had any stories to go along with him. I found this story to be a little long for my group and I wasn't too excited that it took place in winter, but it was a good start nonetheless.
After our first story, it was time to break it up with a flannel board activity. I told the story of Elmer the Elephant using flannel board pieces and had each of the kids bring up either a gray elephant or a colorful elephant. The kids were rather hyper throughout the whole storytime, but I still managed to keep their attention for the most part and this flannel helped.
Our next picture book read was Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev. I thought this was a cute story about a boy who has a pet elephant and decides to make his own pet club for those who may not have common pets, like elephants. It's a great story encouraging acceptance. I would say this was the group's favorite out of the three books.
Next, we did another flannel board activity involving an elephant rhyme about colors and counting each of them as they were put on the board. This was easier to present than Elmer, only because a rhyme is easier to follow with an antsy group versus a full story. It also was more interactive for the kids than the storytelling.
Our last book was How to Cheer Up Dad by Fred Koehler. I chose this one because it was a sweet dad story about elephants to read the day after Father's Day. The parents enjoyed this one too.
For our craft, we made elephant finger puppets. The kids found it hilarious how you can use your finger as the elephant trunk, but you can use noisemakers too. This was a simple, fun, quick craft perfect for storytime.
Bubbles are a fun theme and I usually like keeping the Preschool Picasso and Toddler Art the same themes, so bubbles it is!
We had three crafts, but I'm thinking of switching it up a bit and adding a story and only having two crafts in the future.
For our first craft, we did bubble painting. I used bubble solution and added a few drops of food coloring in small containers. The kids were able to practice blowing bubbles, pop bubbles onto their paper, and make colorful art. I had some older siblings in this one and they seemed to like this craft the best.
The second craft seemed to be the most popular. We made fish using bubble wrap and paint to make the scales. I have to remember to use the fish theme more because a lot of the kids like it. This was good for feeling the texture of the bubble wrap and pressing it down, using it as a stamp. We used sticker eyes for the complete look.
The last craft involved finger painting. I used a dog die-cut shape and cut out bath tubs. The group glued their craft together and then used finger paint to make bubbles around their dog that was taking a bubble bath. Hand-eye coordination was used and the group is getting more used to the feeling of paint on their hands.
I had a great turn-out and the bubble theme felt perfect for the start of summer!
I must admit, I ran into some bubbles while rummaging through some stuff at home and came up with the next theme for Preschool Picasso and Toddler Art! If I was having fun blowing bubbles, no doubt the kids will!
I started browsing my Pinterest board for bubble ideas and came across a few.
I seen a great craft based on the book Mrs. Wishy-Washy's Farm by Joy Cowley. I've used this book in storytime at least three times and it's great for a farm animal theme and for a clean, bubbly one too.
After announcing our fun theme and reading the story, it was time to do our two crafts and sensory activity.
The first craft was the Mrs. Wishy-Washy craft. I showed the group how to blow bubbles by using a straw and the blue paint solution that was mixed with dish washing liquid and some water. We practiced blowing out first because I was a bit worried some of the kids might accidentally suck the paint in, but luckily we had no problem. I added the foil basin for a texture and visual sensory.
Some of the kids blew the paint out using a straw, some used the straw as a paint brush, but most used the technique of blowing the bubbles up to the edge of the cup and lightly pressing their paper onto it to make the design. The kids were better at this than me! They know their bubbles!
The next craft was making bubble circles using a variety of colored paint and the tops of paper cups. They enjoyed stamping and making fun circle patterns.
For our sensory activity, I had bubbles to blow and farm animals to wash, just like in our story. The group enjoyed cleaning the farm animals with the soapy water and sponges.
This was a fun one and I'm already working on some more bubble ideas for the toddlers next week.
Wishy-Washy, Wishy-Washy! Bubbles!
We celebrated the library's caterpillars turning into Monarch butterflies by releasing them out in the courtyard and having a butterfly coloring contest.
I have been fond of butterflies since twelve-years-old and I'm in charge of the coloring contests in our library, so it made sense to put on a coloring contest. It's always a great passive programming idea.
It's always fun to see how the kids get creative in their coloring and with the help of the other library departments, we chose winners for each of the four age groups.
They each received a bag of goodies that always includes a book!
Congratulations to the winners!
Reading by Design is our Summer Reading Club theme adopted from the Illinois Library Association and I always like to do a drop-in craft on our theme.
A design craft can pretty much be anything, but I narrowed it down to a mosaic craft. Because the drop-in is always scheduled the same day as the summer reading kick-off and because I'm happy to announce that we had our local public schools involved, I was expecting a bigger crowd. I had a great turn-out and made enough crafts available for over 50 attendees. I like how there is a two-hour time range to space everyone out and give patrons the option of coming in at a time that would be more convenient for them.
For the craft prep, I used older construction paper of all different colors that was previously used and taking up space in our office and cut square shapes out of them. I searched the Internet for possible mosaic print-outs and found a total of six for everyone to choose from that ranged from birds to flowers and to fish, which was the most popular one.
This was an easier craft to prep for and was happy about it too because with a bigger group, I didn't want it to be too time consuming. It also allowed me to use supplies we already had that would probably end up getting thrown out.
The kids used their imaginations to make colorful construction paper mosaics that imitated stained glass. It gave them practice with cutting and gluing while the older kids worked on the more difficult print-outs. Some of the group felt like coloring and we had that as an option too.
What a nice way to kick-off summer reading!
So you probably figured out by now that I'm a sucker for a good dog book and wanted to give a youth graphic novel a try so I came across the perfect fit with Korgi: Book 1 by Christian Slade. As a dog lover, it did not disappoint and I can't wait to get my hands on book two.
Summary: Korgi is a gorgeously illustrated woodland fantasy about a young girl. Ivy, her Korgi cub, Sprout, and their amazing adventures in Korgi Hollow.
In this first volume in the series, Ivy and Sprout discover some interesting things about themselves as they stray from their village and face danger for the first time.
Age Range: 7-10 years
"To be near them, is to feel more alive and happy than one has ever known. This is the great gift of the Korgi. They make the world around them more beautiful."
Illustrator and author Christian Slade has a soft spot for corgis and you can tell in this loving and adventurous graphic novel about them. Discover the place of Korgi Hollow and allow it to take you on a fun, fantasy journey.
In book one, we meet Ivy and her Korgi cub Sprout. Find out what makes both of these characters unique and special and what creatures they must defend themselves from. Every page is filled with impressive illustrations that certainly tells a great story and makes you want to read more.
Ivy and Sprout are learning more about their powers and their enemies are learning about them as well. What will happen in book 2?
I agree with Goodreads when they suggest young readers who enjoy The Hobbit and Jeff Smith's Bone will appreciate this graphic novel series.
