Family Storytime: Winter Animals

Despite the bad weather, the turnout was good for this storytime. I was able to register a new child who had dropped in with her parent.

The winter animal theme was a good theme that offered a lot of book and activities to choose from. Because I had mostly real little ones, I read four really short books and we used the flannel board so each child could bring up a different colored ball for polar bear. 

The four books that I was able to read were A Dot in the Snow by Corrinne Averiss, Virgil & Owen by Paulette Bogan, Grumpy Pants by Claire Messer, and A Splendid Friend, Indeed by Suzanne Bloom. 

We also used the flannel board to count penguins and then did a penguin dance to one of the songs on a Sesame Street cd. They liked doing the movement activity in addition to our bean bag song at the beginning of storytime. 

The kids had fun using cotton balls for their polar bear craft.

More Books:

Penguin Problems by Jory John and Lane Smith

Adrift by Jessica Olien

One Very Big Bear by Alice Briere-Haquet

Blown Away by Rob Biddulph

Polar Bear Night by Lauren Thompson

Sailing off to Sleep by Linda Ashman

Mom and Me by Miela Ford

Penguin's Hidden Talent by Alex Latimer

Archie the Daredevil Penguin by Andy Rash

Little Penguin and the Lollipop by Tadgh Bentley

Blue Penguin by Petr Horacek

Baby Polar by Yannick Murphy

The Lonesome Polar Bear by Jane Cabrera

Touch the Sky, My Little Bear by David Bedford

Daddy Honk Honk! by Rosalinde Bonnet

More activities:

If You're Happy and You Know It movement song

Time To Sleep Hibernation Bears Flannel Story

Polar Bear Wore His Red Shirt Flannel Colors

Another Playdough Party

I held the library's second Playdough Party. We will be putting on playdough parties for awhile since turnouts and feedback has been positive, although I decided to only have this program during the fall and winter months since there's plenty of summer program ideas.

This program was another fun one and I had some of the kids use the playdough mats this time around. They always enjoy taking their playdough home. 

For our next one, we will have even more playdough toys thanks to a nice donation.

Family Storytime: The Alphabet

This was a great start to winter storytime. I had a few new faces to the group and this group was very attentive and well-behaved. They were a little shy with songs, but that's to be expected during our first storytime. The alphabet theme is always a good choice because there are plenty of books to choose from and good activities. 

I was a little apprehensive at first reading Bad Kitty because it is a long one, but it was a fun story that kept their attention and made them laugh. The Alphabet Parade was enjoyed because of the colorful pictures and ABC Bunny was a short one to end storytime. 

The kids loved feeding Alpha the Alligator alphabet letters and it gave them a head's up to the alphabet song since I would sing the beginning of the song each time someone would have to bring up their letter. 

We sang our ABC's and did the movements for If You're Happy and You Know It. They also enjoyed the bean bag song at the beginning of storytime. The kids had a fun time making their craft. We went over the letter P and how penguin starts with P. 

Toddler Art: ABC's

This was a nice group with one new toddler. We read Alphababies together. This book goes over all the letters of the alphabet using cute baby pictures.

For our craft, we made an apple out of the letter A and a giraffe out of the letter G, just like it was mentioned in the story. For the apple, we used tissue paper and construction paper and for the giraffe, we used brown paint to make spots. 

I liked how one craft incorporated tissue paper and one paint. This was the perfect amount of difficulty for the group and tied well with the story. 

Afterwards, we had some playtime.

Preschool Picasso: ABC's

This was a good start for Preschool Picasso for the year and we had a couple of new kids attend. I read the classic, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom for our alphabet theme. The kids enjoyed hearing this one and paid good attention to the story.

For our crafts, we made a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom coconut tree using construction paper, paint, and foam letters. This was a perfect craft for the group to be able to use paint and it still go along with the theme.

For our second craft, we wrote out our names on a cardstock worksheet and then decorated the first letter of our name with different small die-cut pieces. This allowed the kids to practice their name and letters.

I think both of these crafts tied in well and were well-received. We even had time to read a Curious George story at the end for those who were done with their craft.

Book of the Month: Giraffe Problems

This story by Jory John is another cute book of his. I liked how this book sends the message of accepting yourself and seeing the good your uniqueness can do and how it can even help others.

Summary: A giraffe struggles to feel comfortable with his neck.

Ages: 3-7 years

"I've been admiring your neck from afar. Oh, how I wish my neck looked like yours! I'd get so much done in a day."

I found the sophisticated dialogue in the story funny and cute, but also a polite element that made the story stand out from others. The illustrations are modern and pretty. There's a part in the book where the giraffe takes a look at how perfect the other animals' necks are and this would be a good opportunity to let a child name each one of the animals.

This book was Amazon's most anticipated children's book of Fall 2018. If you like this one, be sure to read Penguin Problems. 

Winter Family Fun Fest