Caudill Update

I was so busy last week that I never got around to update my Caudill progress from two weeks ago.  I have been trying to focus on a particular award each week and depending on the award I might only get to read two or three books a week. This was one of those weeks with only two books read, you have to remember some of them are almost 400 pages! But they were great books. 


The Outcasts Brotherband Chronicles (Book 1) by John Flanagan. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes adventures and thrill.  As you read it you get to know this unusual group of outcasts as they become a "brotherband".  These young Vikings enter training to become warriors and in the process discover who they are and what becoming a "brother"means for their future.  Hal and his friends are consider outcasts each on its own way but together they will battle at sea against rival brotherbands (the Wolves and the Sharks) with a cliff hanging ending.


A Tale Dark & Grimm by Adam Gidwitz. I have to admit that I was disappointed with this book.  While the story is intriguing and somewhat dark my overall engagement was very low.  I liked the main characters and the odd twits to the traditional fairy tale stories, but there was something missing for me.

Baby Bloomers- Mother's Day

Last Thursday was our last Spring story time for Baby Bloomers. We had a great group of enthusiastic crawlers, walkers, and climbers.  As with my Tots I do hope to see them during the summer and next fall when some of them would move to Totally Tots.  We started with our regular opening song "The More We Get Together" and wiggled our way to "Wiggle, Wiggle".  Our first book was
 
I Love My Mommy by Giles Andreae & Emma Dodd. The group liked the oversized pictures.  We followed the book with a few rhymes "My Mommy" and "Love Grows". Our next book was

With All My Heart by Brian Rock. This is a brand new book at our library and it is just beautiful. The illustrations are bright and full of details. I used the different sections of the book to help the kids point to their mom's hands and arms ending with a hug.  Our group was getting a bit restless so I decided to do a few songs starting with one of my favorites "Skinnamarink"and "Head, Shoulders, Knees, Toes".  I used one of the finger plays from our Totally Tots "My Family"and the kids loved using their fingers to count their families.   Our last book was

I Love You As Much by Laura K. Melmed.  I think the parents enjoyed this book more than the kids.  We finished with another finger play "Round and Round"and our closing song"We Wave Goodbye Like This"

Totally Tots- Happy Mother's Day

We had a great time at story time today as we celebrated mom's and grandma's. We shared special stories about the many things mom's do for us- like staying up all night to sew our costumes. It was kind of sad because today was our last day of story time for Spring, but we are all very excited to start our Summer Reading program with stories at the park. We will be visiting a different park each week from early June until the end of August. We are very lucky to have lots of different parks in our town.  We started with our regular opening song "The More We Get Together"and moved right on to our first book


My Mom by Anthony Browne. We loved hearing about this supermom who can make anything grow, always makes us laugh, and will always, always, love us.  We followed with a finger play about families "My Family". The kids really liked going through the motions of adding family members.  We followed with a quick rhyme "Do You Love Me?"and our next book

I Love My Mommy by Giles Andreae.  I love the illustrations and oversize pictures of this book.  The kids loved to point out the different things mom's do with them as they related to the story.  We followed with another finger play "My Mommy" and "Helping Mother".  Our last book was

Just Like You by Emma Dodd.  When I first read this book I liked the story and the notion that we learn from our mom's or dad's but we are still our own little person.  The  kids were getting a bit restless by this book so we moved on with another song "Sometimes Mom Says..." and one of my favorites "Skinnamarink".  We took the opportunity to chat and play as we said good bye for a few weeks. 

Baby Bloomers_ Friends & Birthdays

We had a very energetic group this morning for our Baby Bloomers class.  We all agreed that it must be the nice weather we have had the last few days.  Our theme today was friends and birthdays. We started with our regular opening song "The More We Get Together" and our "Wiggle, Wiggle" which helps get some of the wiggles and extra energy out. It is also fun because most of the kids can do all the actions by themselves. Our first book was

A Good Day by Kevin Henkes. The kids liked the different animals but I don't think they were into the story.  I followed with a version of "If You Are Happy and You Know It" with verses for sad, scared, sleepy, surprised, and angry. I tried incorporating the birthday notion and we did a finger play called "A Birthday" going through the motions of baking a cake.  I tried another finger play "Mr. Turkey and Mr. Duck" but only a few kids seemed to be interested to meet these two friends. Our next book was

I Love My Best Friend by Laura Gates Galvin. I loved the photographs on this book and so did the kids. We really didn't got into the story but spent time looking and talking about the different pictures. Since the group was getting a bit restless I decided to use some songs so we tried dancing along to  "Shake Your Sillies Out" and our favorite "Skinnamarink".   I used yesterday's finger play about a girl coming to story time for the first time and knowing no one and how by the end of story time she had made friends. I used finger puppets to tell the story and the kids were really interested on touching and playing with them. My last book was going to be

How To Be by Lisa Brown. However, by this point we decided to listen to some songs and just play. It was a great opportunity to talk with the parents about a workshop I just attended on Every Child Ready to Read (ECRR) and how all the little things we do each day help build the foundational skills for children to learn to read.  From reading to singing, writing, playing, and just plain talking with our children. Every thing prepares them to be great readers one day.

Totally Tots- Friends & Birthdays

Spring is finally here and I think everyone is at the park...I don't blame them, it is just to nice to be indoors.  Our theme today was friends and birthdays. We started with our regular opening song "The More We Get Together" and our "Let's Start Story Time" which helps get some of the wiggles and extra energy out.  Our first book was

Is Everyone Ready For Fun? by Jan Thomas. This three friends are ready for fun even if it drives their chicken friend crazy.  The kids liked the over sized pictures and the unknown factor as we turned the pages to discover what it was time for...jumping, dancing, and wiggling. I followed with a version of "If You Are Happy and You Know It" with verses for sad, scared, sleepy, surprised, and angry.  They kids really liked it and we ended repeating it several times.  We then shook our selves silly with "Shake Your Sillies Out". Our next book was 

I Love My Best Friend by Laura Gates Galvin. I loved the photographs on this book and so did the kids. I read the story and then we went through it and checked out all the photos. I had several finger plays to celebrate our birthdays "My Birthday Cake" and "Make a Wish", and a fun song that got us moving throughout each month "Birthday Months". The kids really liked sharing their birthday stories with me.  I found a little story about a girl coming to story time for the first time and knowing no one but how by the end she had made friends at story time. I used finger puppets to tell the story. My last book was

How To Be by Lisa Brown.  I just found out this book and loved the simplicity of the story, the colors and illustrations, and how it all comes together at the end.  The kids really liked the illustrations and how you can be very different animals like a spider and a monkey.  We finished with another finger play "Four Friends" and singing "Skinnamarink" followed by our closing song "We Wave Goodbye Like This".