Using Your Imagination

I had such a fun group for the first 3-5 year old storytime today! I often tend to do themes that are more concrete, like frogs or pumpkins, etc. but today the theme was "Using your imagination"! They totally bought into it even if they didn't quite understand that big word.

As I was looking for books, I found so many great stories that would work with this theme:

 The classic "Grandma's Hat" rhyme had them all laughing as they imagined being a snoring Grandpa!

These are Grandma's glasses.    Make "glasses" over eyes with fingers.
This is Grandma's hat.   Place hat over head with two hands for a sunhat.
And this is the way she folds her hands   Clasp hands together.
And lays them in her lap.   Fold hands in lap.


These are Grandpa's glasses.   Make "glasses" over eyes with fingers.
This is Grandpa's hat.   Use one hand to place a baseball cap on.
And this is the way he folds his hands   together to rest cheek on
And takes a little nap.   Place head on hands, as if sleeping.

We also played a game where our stuffed friend Marvin K. Moonie and I called out different things the kids had to pretend to be. Examples: cat, rock, turtle, kangaroo, etc.

I've always wanted to do a unicorn craft for storytime so this was my chance! Pinterest find to the rescue:

iheartcraftythings

Storytime Starts Plus Picture Book Early Readers

We are excited for a new season of storytime here at RML. Check the main page at richmondlibrary.info for times.
The sad part about storytime is that we realize how old all our kiddies have gotten and we genuinely miss those that have moved on to school! But of course we are excited that they are having new experiences and learning so much.

For our friends that can't come to storytime anymore, we have a program called "Not-too-old for Storytime" that we run a few times each season. It's for children in grades K-2 and will be on Fridays October 20 and December 8. Stay tuned for information about registration for that.

In the meantime, check out these picture books that do double-duty as Easy Readers! The kids still think you're sharing a story but you can get them to start their reading journey!

Krauss, Ruth.  The Carrot Seed
Jocelyn, Marthe. Over Under
McCully, Emily Arnold. Sam and the Big Kids
Kellogg, Steven. Is Your Mama a Llama?
Capucilli, Alyssa. Satin Biscuit Goes to School (I Can Read! Picture Book)
Lobel, Arnold. Frog and Toad Together (I Can Read! Picture Book)
Long, Ethan. Big Cat (I Like to Read) 
Rylant, Cynthia. Brownie & Pearl series
Kang, Anna. You are (Not) Small