Summer Reading Club Outreach

Today, I visited with a local school to tell 1st through 5th graders about our Summer Reading Club program at the library. It was a great chance to see the kids in the community and spread the word about a valuable program that promotes reading. 

I was able to tell them all the details of the program, answer any questions, hand out fliers to their teachers, promote upcoming programs, and read them a short story.

The kids were so welcoming and sweet and had a lot of great questions. It was also nice to visit one of my elementary schools as a kid.

Right now, it's all about gearing up for the kickoff this Saturday because after all, "It's Showtime at Your Library..."

Playdough Party

Last week, I had another successful playdough party program. 

I had music playing while the kids and their parents played with playdough and used our toys and mats. They were able to take their playdough home and I'm glad I bought some extras since we had a great turnout that exceeded my planned twenty spots. Next time, I think I will set up the room a little different to allow for more room for everybody.

Everyone had a fun time and some cute things were made with the playdough.

My Favorite Picture Books for Storytime

I was asked to provide some input on what books we would like to add to our professional collection that we could use for storytimes and other programs. I came up with the list below that includes a variety of different themes and fits into the necessary need of being on the shorter side. These are some of my favorites that I have used on more than one occasion for programs. 

Mouse's First Spring Lauren Thompson

Mouse's First Snow Lauren Thompson

Mouse's First Fall Lauren Thompson

Mouse's First Summer Lauren Thompson

Go Away Big Green Monster! Ed Emberley

The Watermelon Seed Greg Pizzoli

The Lonesome Polar Bear Jane Cabrera

Hooray for Fish! Lucy Cousins

Where Is Little Fish? Lucy Cousins

The Alphabet Parade Charles Ghigna

The Lonesome Polar Bear Jane Cabrera

Bear Snores On Karma Wilson

Little Green Peas Keith Baker

123 Peas Keith Baker

How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? Jane Yolen

A Splendid Friend, Indeed Suzanne Bloom

Perfect Square Michael Hall

Plumply, Dumply Pumpkin Mary Serfozo

Do Crocs Kiss? Salina Yoon

Mouse Paint Ellen Stoll Walsh

Baby Bear Sees Blue Ashley Wolff

Don't Worry Bear Greg Foley

Puddle Jumpers Anne Margaret Lewis

Fidgety Fish Ruth Galloway

All Sorts of Shapes Hannah Reidy

Starry the Giraffe Andy Bergmann

Apple Farmer Annie Monica Wellington

Just Say Boo! Susan Hood

Run, Turkey, Run! Diane Mayr

It's Showtime at Your Library!

Toddler Art: Nature

My original idea for this Toddler Art was to incorporate nature into craft making like I did with Preschool Picasso, but I wasn't finding too many ideas that would be easy enough and safe for toddlers so I went a more traditional craft route.

We read The Whole Wide World and Me by Toni Yuly. This is a short picture book about a girl who notices nature and realizes she is part of nature too. The group listened very well to the book and then it was time to get to our crafts.

For their first craft, they made dandelions using their finger tips or q-tips and white paint on a pre-printed piece of blue construction paper.

For their second craft, they used tissue paper and glued that onto their paper to make a flower.

Both of these crafts used their fine motor skills and gave them different options with paint and tissue paper.

I had a few new children and they did very well with listening to the story and their crafts.

Other Books: 

Because of an Acorn by Lola M. Schaefer

Preschool Picasso: Nature

Instead of doing a spring theme, I decided to go along with a nature theme for both this month's Preschool Picasso and Toddler Art. There were quite a number of excellent books to use for this theme, but The Weaver by Qian Shi was the best fit for nature and our crafts. The Weaver tells the story about a spider named Stanley and how he collects all these things in nature for his web.

Our first craft tied in perfectly with the story since we made nature sun catchers out of contact paper, paper plates, and dandelions and leaves from nature. This craft was a bit much prep wise, but it was well worth it to have a unique craft that everyone enjoyed.

For our second craft, I used card stock, die-cut flowers, and paint. The group used their fingertips to add paint to their flower petals and painted grass, leaves, and stems. I originally had the idea to use dandelions to paint with, but they wilted too quickly for my liking.

I think the most difficult part of this program was gathering the leaves and dandelions and pre-sticking the contact paper onto the paper plates so the parents only had to add the second layer of contact paper when their child was finished decorating. It was a little stressful worrying about if the leaves looked wilty and if we had enough, but everyone enjoyed the craft and I had enough supplies.

Other books:

Finding Wild Megan Wagner Lloyd

A Web Isabelle Simler

Tiny, Perfect Things M.H. Clark

A Funny Little Bird Jennifer Yerkes

Book of the Month: Out of Wonder

Since my use of Kwame Alexander's picture book and it's companion DVD of Out of Wonder was received so well at the Power of the Pizza Poetry Party, I decided it is well deserved of a Book of the Month review.

Summary: Out of gratitude for the poet’s art form, Newbery Award winning author and poet Kwame Alexander, along with Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth, present original poems that pay homage to twenty famed poets who have made the authors’ hearts sing and their minds wonder. Stunning mixed-media images by Ekua Holmes, winner of a Caldecott Honor and a John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award, complete the celebration, inviting the viewer to listen, wonder, and perhaps even pick up a pen.

Ages: 8-12 years

How to Write a Poem

Celebrating Naomi Shihab Nye

Hush.

Grab a pencil

some paper

spunk.

Let loose your heart—

raise your voice.

What if I have many voices?

Let them dance together

twist and turn

like best friends

in a maze

till you find

your way

to that one true word

(or two).

--Kwame Alexander

Out of Wonder is a wonderful poetry anthology that celebrates famous authors and their style of poetry. This is a perfect introduction to poetry and the poets who have a beautiful way with words. These poems can be read out loud or enjoyed privately and touch the heart and soul of those who read them. The illustrations are inspiring in themselves and every element of this book is paired perfectly together. I would also recommend the audio version and especially the DVD version that has animated illustrations and soothing music that compliments every poem.

Kwame Alexander's book, The Write Thing has also been a great resource for my writing programs and deserves an honorable mention.