Totally Tots- Winter & Snow

Our Totally Tots enjoyed a "Winter & Snow" theme on a bright sunny morning, ideally it would have been snowing but we still had fun with our snowflakes and snowmen.

We started with our opening song "The More We Get Together" followed by a quick fun song that kicks off our story time "Let's Start StoryTime".

Our first book was Ezra Jack Keats classic

 
The Snowy Day I am lucky that our library owns a big book copy which is so much more fun to read and look at when you have a room full of little ones.

We followed the book by building our own felt snowman and a fun fingerplay "Here's a Hill". One of the lines had us jumping on our sleds and ZOOMING down the hill.

Our next book was

 
Oh! by Kevin Henkes I loved this book. The combination of short text against a full page illustration with one focal point work great. I created a flannel using the images and put them up as we were reading and as we were saying goodbye we took them down.

The group was in need of some movement so we did a round of Open, Shut Them and Shake My Sillies- unfortunately they just replaced our computers but not the speakers- the kids didn't mind my singing and we all had fun.

Our final book was

 
Snowy, Blowy Winter by Bob Raczka. The kids were a bit distracted and restless maybe because we kept talking about how much fun they had had sledding over the weekend. To wrap up our session I had make Snowflakes that we used to sing "Dance Like Snowflakes".  We followed all our dancing with our closing song "We Wave Goodbye Like This".

Some of my latest reads

Over the last few weeks I have been trying to catch up with my new juvenile selections. This is an age group that I usually struggle with when recommending what to read next. Here are a few suggestions:

 
Katerina’s Wish by Jeannie Mobley. Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2012. 
Katerina’s life in America is a far reality from her dad's dream of becoming farmers and owning their own farm, instead they are living in a miners camp working their days away with little hope of ever being able to leave the mine.  All this will change when Katerina makes a wish on a magic carp after listening to old Bohemian folk tales but could wishing on a fish truly work?  Would a few seeds and chickens turn their lives around?  Everyone around Katerina starts to believe that dreams do came true, including Mr. Johnson the owner of the only store at the camp. Would he stop Katerina's dreams? Would love and tradition derail her dreams? This book reminded me of The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, set around the same time period Katerina's defiance of the traditional roles, her passion, ambition, and ingenuity makes her persevere against all odds. Great role model for girls.

Homesick by Kate Klise. Feiwel & Friends, 2012.
Kate Klise is one of my favorite authors, I love her series "Regarding the Fountain"  so when I saw this book on our New Books Shelf I had to read it.  It is a quick read where we meet Benny our main character, who is dealing with his parents separation after his mom leaves him behind with his hoarder dad. Benny has to figure how to help his dad while surviving a collapsing house but a lucky turn would have the entire town pitching in after they win the American Most Charming Small Town contest. Would they manage to clean Benny's ramshackle of a home before the dignitaries arrive or would it be to late? A good read for boys.  

 
Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin. Little Brown Books, 2012.
I picked this book  after reading reviews about it and while it had a slow start it turned to be an amazing storytelling book.  Rendi has run away from home when he arrives at the Village of Clear Sky. Here he seems to be the only inhabitant to notice that the moon is missing and the sky is oddly crying each night. This changes when a mysterious lady arrives at the Inn and they start to exchange stories. Would their exchange solve the moonless nights, the odd rivalries, and disappearances?  The book includes marvelous full-color illustrations with Chinese folklore, fascinating characters, and exciting adventures.
 

Baby Bloomers- Noise & Quiet

Our Baby Bloomers theme this week was "Noise & Quiet" same as Wednesday's Totally Tots group but with different books, rhymes, and songs.  It was adorable to see the little ones come in smiling and ready to play with the toys and books I set up for them.  The group was the same size, which works great in our small room but we had a few new babies.

This week's program started with our opening song "The More We Get Together" followed by this quick rhyme "Wiggle, Wiggle" we actually sing it twice because the tune is catchy and the little ones liked it.
Our first book was

Pots and Pans by Patricia Hubbell. We had a couple of late comers right as we started the book, which resulted in interruptions and cry-outs. I had been very excited about this book because the story carries a tune when read aloud but with all the interruptions the rhythm was broken. Overall I think this book could work well with babies and could be paired with a nice flannel.

We followed with a finger play from Mel's Desk- This Is Big and a the noise flannel I used with Totally Tots. The older babies on the group were excited to participate and share animal and trucks noises. 

The next book was

The Baby Goes Beep by Rebecca O'Connell. I had anticipated the babies to be really interested in the bold and bright illustrations, plus all the noise going around this book but it seemed they were more interested on each other.  The adults seemed to enjoy the book and could relate to the final page when baby is peaking over his crib at his sleeping parents.
I was very excited about our next song because it was the perfect transition to our last book.  I found this song "Clap My Hands" by Milkshake on their "Happy" album. The volume and pace is ideal to sing along, plus I included the lyrics on my handout so we could all sing together. It worked so well that we decided to sing it twice :)

My last book was
 
Clap Hands by Helen Oxenbury. This was another book I was very excited because I had managed to secure a large size (not big book size) ideal for everyone to see the large illustrations.  The text is minimal and the book is over in 8 pages. It was a great closing for all our clapping.

I decided to go ahead and hand out small shakers after checking with the parents for our "Hokey Pokey" rhyme song and it actually worked better than the day before with the Tots. The noise level was manageable and we were able to sing and shake at the same time. Success!

I had one last book handy and a few minutes so decided to read it as well, it was a repeat from the Totally Tots group
 
Toot Toot Beep Beep by Emma Garcia.  The older babies on the group kept making the car noises and pointed to some of the cars and trucks. 

After this book we just moved to our closing song "We Wave Goodbye Like This".  Some families stayed in our story hour room after the program ended, which I always encourage because it give us a chance to get to socialize plus the babies were having so much fun playing and interacting with each other.  I truly enjoyed this session and our families, at the end of my day yesterday I was reflecting and realized how blessed I am to have this amazing job. 

Totally Tots- Noise & Quiet

Today's theme was "Noise & Quiet" and we sure did make a lot of noise. The group is growing and the kids are starting to know each other and myself. They were ready to go with our "Let's Start Story Time!" song, which we repeat three times for good measure, another hit was "Shake My Sillies Out". Here is today's program:

Opening Song- "The More We Get Together"
Song: Let's Start Story Time!"
Book:

Clap Your Hands by Lorinda Bryan Cauley. The kids loved the story and were really good at following the directions- clap your hands, wiggle your nose, roar like a lion, etc. 

Song: "Shake My Sillies Out"
Rhyme: "Open, Shut Them"
Flannel: "What noise do they make" I got the idea from Katie's Story Time Secret blog. I used different pictures (truck, train, dog, cat, baby, sheep) pictures and had the kids do the different noises.
Book:

Meeow and The Pots and Pans by Sebastien Braun. Some of the kids weren't totally into the story while others were curious to know what Meeow and his friends were going to do with all the kitchen utensils.
Rhyme: "Where Are We"
Song: "If You Like Books and You Know It"
Book:

Toot Toot Beep Beep by Emma Garcia.  This was a fun book and one that could work with my Babies group as well.  I am actually going to create a flannel using the pictures of all the different cars and trucks. 
Song: "Hokey Pokey" with egg shakers- here is where they noise level got a little bit out of hand. They all loved the shakers granted there was very little singing. 
Fingerplay: "Here Is the Choo Choo Train"
Closing Song: "We Wave Goodbye Like This"

Overall it was a great session, specially since the room was packed and it was a bit to warm.  The kids were engaged and loved the songs and stories. 

Baby Bloomers- All About Babies

Today I had my first Babies programs, at our library we call this program  "Baby Bloomers". It is casual with no registration required since we know that getting ready and out the door on time with a baby is not an easy task.  I recognized some of the parents and babies from other programs or just from visiting the library as they are regular patrons.  I started with a quick introduction about myself and about how the program in general.  I decided to use a little "Curious George" to be my baby helper since he is easy to move around and the babies like him.  The program went like this:

Opening Song- "The More We Get Together"
rhyme: Wiggle, Wiggle, Wiggle
We started with

Itsy-Bitsy Babies by Margaret Wild

Fingerplay: Ten Fingers

Flannel- Babies Can Do. I used pictures from "I Can Do" to show babies clapping, dancing, stomping, bending, etc.

Then we read Here Are My Hands by Bill Martin Jr.
Rhyme: Me, /Complete

Song: Head & Shoulders, Knees & Toes

Our last book was Ten Tiny Babies by Karen Katz

Fingerplay/song: Where Is Big Toe? This one got a little confusing but we all had fun.

Our Closing song is "We Wave Goodbye Like This"

Totally Tots Story Time- All About Me!

Today was my fist Tot story time, I called them “Totally Tots”.  I must confess that I was very excited and a bit nervous, and of course today of all days I woke up with a horrible “frog” voice but it all worked out nicely and the kids had a great time. 

My theme today was All About Me.  I am using “The More We Get Together”  as my opening song  followed by a short “Let’s start story time” rhyme.  Wiggle rhyme.  

We read

Incredible Me by Kathi Appelt

Fingerplay:  Ten Fingers

Song: Shake My Sillies Out

Here Are My Hands by Bill Martin Jr.

Fingerplay: I Have a Nose

Song: Head& Shoulders, Knees & Toes

From Head to Toe by Eric Carle

Rhyme: Me, Complete

Our Closing song is “We Wave Goodbye Like This”.

 Kids loved to dance around with Shake My Sillies Out, the fingerplays were also popular and they adored the big picture book illustrations.

New YA Titles

Over the last few weeks I have enjoyed some new YA titles.

Waiting by Carol Lynch Williams. Simon & Schuster Books, 2012.  Grades 9 & up. Almost a year after the death of her older brother, Zach, London's loss and guilt are just as painful. Her mother's refuses to talk  to her and her father's inability to connect with her only intensifies the emptiness of their home. She is caught between  the guilt for her brother and the role she played and her need to feel alive. When a new handsome boy and his family move into town London starts to awake and fight to reveal what truly happened.  London will have to choose between her old boyfriend , Taylor, a painful reminder of her brother and what they used to have and Jesse the alluring stranger who doesn't know of her past. While religion has played a role in their lives, London's redemption is her own. I love Williams's free verse style, the short passages that moves you to find out why or what happened to this family, the tension and grief are palpable. Check it out at our library.

Unspoken (The Lynburn Legacy #1) by Sarah Rees Brennan. Random House Books, 2012. Grades 9 & Up. 

This is the first book on a new series and if you liked  Holly Black's  White Cats or Lish McBride's Hold Me Closer, Necromancer you will enjoy Brennan's Lynburn Legacy. In the English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale the supernatural and magical worlds have coexisted for centuries with the Lynburn family protecting the town. Kami has grown sheltered from this knowledge even though she has an unsual ability. She has been able to talk with a boy in her head all of her life. Kami and Jared have shared each others secrets, felt their pain and their happiness.  When the Lynburn family returns to town strange ritualistic deaths start to happen.  Kami will discover that Jared is not imaginary but quite real and part of the dangerous Lynburn family. They would have to trust of each to discover the secrets the Lynburn's andtheir little town are hiding including a murderer, sorcerers, and magic powers.  This is a fast pace read, the mix of supernatural abilities and everyday life is achieved through characters' voices and the believable settings. Check it out at our library.