Fall Storytime Update

Oh poor neglected blog...

But we've been having fun with Fall Storytime, Session 2.  The 2s, 3s, and 4s, started off with stories about families and made collages based on "The Family Book" by Todd Parr.  We followed up with windy day stories playing a fun kite game on the flannel board. Books included "Who Took the Farmer's Hat" by Joan Nodset, and "Like a Windy Day", by Frank Asch.  Finally, this past week the children made decorated card stock pine trees with mini pine cones and mixture of glue and shaving cream which hardens like puffy paint.  We shared a brand new book called "Penguin and Pinecone" by Salina Yoon.

Meanwhile, Ms. Eileen's 4s, 5s, and 6s shared books about silly birds, windy days, and Thanksgiving.  An adorable bird craft and funny books including "Grumpy Bird" by Jeremy Tankard made for lots of fun.  For Thanksgiving storytime the kids made paper bag turkeys and played with a gigantic felt board turkey and shared a new book, "Five Silly Turkeys" also by Salina Yoon.  (I guess she's our children's author of the month!)

We don't meet for storytimes during the week of Thanksgiving, but Ms. Eileen and Ms. Patty will be back next week with more great books, games, and terrific crafts.  Have a great holiday.

Library closed

The town of Marlborough is closing town buildings for Monday and Tuesday, October 29 and 30, hence the Richmond Memorial Library will also be closed.  Any items you have that are due on those days will be now due on Wednesday.

Stay safe and enjoy the opportunity for some family time and for reading. I have fond memories of my mom reading aloud by candlelight when we would lose power as kids.  Have fun making memories of your own.

The End (of Storytime Session 1)

We ended the first session of Fall 2012 Storytimes at RML with Ghosts (Ms. Eileen) and Spiders (Ms. Patty).  Ms. Eileen's 4,5, and 6 year old crafters made lovely ghosts using contact paper and all sorts of white scraps, while Ms. Patty's 2 and 3 year olds made spider webs with weaving and spiders from cupcake liners and chenille sticks.  Great fun!

Our books included the Bake Shop Ghost, by Jacqueline Ogburn and Marjorie Priceman, and the tale of the Three Little Ghosties (eating burnt, or was it buttered, toasties!).  Toddlers were fascinated with Eric Carle's "The Very Busy Spider" with its spiderweb.  And of course we sang the classic "Itsy Bitsy Spider". 

Storytime Weeks 3 & 4: apples, pumpkins and monsters, oh my!

For the last few weeks, we have been focusing on those favorite fall themes (leaves, apples, etc) and reading some favorites that lend themselves to this colorful and favorite time of year for many. Above is an illustration from David Ezra Stein's Leaves. This is how Ms Eileen feels when Fall comes around!
Ms Patty's classes also learned this fingerplay:

Leaves are falling from the trees
Swirling, twirling, in the breeze.
On the ground in a great big pile
Jump on in with a great big SMILE!

Ms Eileen's 4s & 5s enjoyed MONSTER stories this past week, so of course we had to do Tickle Monster by Josie Bissett. Not that the kids enjoyed getting tickled. No, not at all. And the 'Monster Boogie' song by Laurie Berkner provided a great backdrop!

JUST A REMINDER THAT NEXT WEEK IS THE LAST STORYTIME WEEK FOR SESSION I - CALL US, STOP IN OR REGISTER ONLINE FOR SESSION II - you can register anytime for Session II if your child hasn't done Session I - if they have, they can register after their last class next week for Session II. Online registration can be found at :
http://www.richmondlibrary.info/events.html

An Old Favorite & A New Favorite!

Ms. Eileen here - just wanted to continue with what Patty posted about my storytimes this week and the theme "Outdoors". I have sooo enjoyed it as a theme and the books are ALL just great storytime books! But I wanted to specifically mention 2 that I love- the old favorite being "We Were Tired of Living in a House" by Liesel Moak Skorpen.  Originally released in 1969 with illustrations by Doris Burn, here it is:

 And here is the 1999 version illustrated by Joe Cepeda that I used:

It is a beautifully written book, so lyrical and full of alliteration. The children move to various locations like the sea, a tree, and a pond, where they truly enjoy living until someone or something happens, and they ultimately end up back home.
"So we packed our bag with sweaters and scarlet leaves and gold, and a frog who was a particular friend, and precious stones that caught and held the sun.  And we moved to the sea. We liked the sea."
My 4 & 5 year olds were entranced!

My newish favorite is this one by Susan Gal:

For something that is really a spacial-relationships concept book, this book is pretty and funny and reads like a dream!  Check it out and be sure to follow the cutest bear ever through the pages!

Storytime Week Two: Lions and Outdoor Fun

Ms. Eileen is focusing on Outdoor stories this week, while Ms. Patty is tackling Lions as a theme.  Ms. Eileen and her 4 to 6 year old friends are doing scratch-off leafs as a craft, and reading "Are You Ready to Play Outside" by Mo Willems, and "Acorns Everywhere" by Kevin Sherry, among other books.  The two and three year olds have been making lion masks, a beginner cutting exercise, and roaring up a storm with this little action rhyme:

Lion, lion, jungle king
Doesn't whisper, doesn't sing
Doesn't yell, and doesn't snore
The only sound he makes is ROAR!!!!

We've also read "We're Going on a Lion Hunt" by David Axtell, and interpreted the very gorgeous "The Lion and the Mouse" by Jerry Pinkney.

Storytime Week One:

We began this Storytime season with Friends for the 2s and 3/4s and stories about Harvest for the 4-6 year olds.  In Ms. Patty's groups we played "Round and Round the Village" and decorated friendship cut-outs while Ms. Eileen's groups did potato printing and read about the wonderful vegetables being harvested now.  Here's a glimpse of some of the books we read.

Storytimes Begin!!

It's that time of year again; time for Fall Storytime!  So here's the run-down for everyone.

Two year olds,with a caregiver, Thursday or Friday at 10:00 a.m.  
I keep storytimes with 2 year olds very consistent in terms of time and general outline: We start at the craft table with a simple, child-directed craft, then move to the storytime rug at about 10:10 and begin with a sing-along to 'The More We Get Together" and a simple action rhyme.  Stories, flannel board games and more action rhymes round out the next 20 minutes and we end promptly at 10:30.

Three & Four year olds, Wednesday or Thursday at 1 p.m.
Storytime with 3 and 4 year olds are generally without caregiver, although some children may wish to have their special person stay in the storytime room with them, at least initially.  if your four year old is not yet ready to be on his or her own at storytime, this is the session they should choose, but all 4 year olds are welcome.  Storytime lasts for about 40-45 minutes and generally END at the craft table.  Some children will finish the craft within moments, others will linger for quite some time, and that is fine with me.

Four, Five, & Six Year olds, Tuesday at 10 a.m. or Friday at 1 p.m
This storytime is best for the independent 4, 5 and 6 year olds and last for about a hour.  Crafts will require more dexterity and skill, and the stories will often be longer in length.   Sessions include games, interactive activites, and stories and end at the craft table.  Note that the Friday session fills up early.

Call the Richmond Library at 295-6210 to sign-up
Sign-up begins September 5 for Marlborough residents and September 10 for non-residents.

Storytime Session 1 starts September 18th.
Storytime Session 2 starts October 30.
Sessions last for 5 classes (not class the week of Nov. 19)

Some general guidelines: 

-Children must be the proper age at the beginning of the storytime session. 

-You may sign-up for either Session 1 or Session 2 (see below for dates) at this time.  At the last class of Session 1 attendees may then sign-up for Session 2.

- Please be prompt to storytime.

Ms. Eileen's Storytime: Eggs!!!

I discovered a new theme for storytime that is super fun - eggs! I've done chickens and spring and bunnies before, but a whole storytime on eggs was a new one. I wondered if I could find enough books at first that didn't have to do with "Easter eggs" but ultimately I did. The theme just lends itself to other themes like chickens and even patterns if tying in the Easter egg theme.

For our craft, I saved the shells from Easter eggs my family had dyed, and separated them by color scheme. I cleaned the shells and let them dry, then peeled off the dried paper-like membrane. Be sure to break them into small pieces (like the size of a fingernail or so) because if they are too big, the curve won't stick in the glue well. I drew out a basic flower picture on paper, and had the kids glue the shells to the flower in any arrangement they wanted. They could do patterns or even one color. They did a great job! And that was just the 3-5 year olds. We'll do the same on Friday for the 4-6 year olds. Older kids with more patience could make a nice mosaic with the shells.

Here are some books I used, depending on the age group:

Eggs and Legs: Counting by Twos by Michael Dahl

One Little Chicken by Elka Weber

An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Aston (beautiful!)

Spotty, Stripy, Swirly: What are Patterns? by Jane Brocket's Clever Concepts

Good Egg by Barney Saltzberg

Spring Storytime II, Week 1: Boo-boos and Bandaids

This week's theme is all about ouchies, boo-boos, getting hurt and getting better with kisses and band-aids.

This Week's Books:
Bunny Days, by Tao Nyeu
How to Heal a Broken Wing, by Bob Graham
I Broke My Trunk, by Mo Willems
Boo Hoo Bird, by Jeremy Tankard
A Sick Day for Amos McGee, by Philip Stead, ill. by Erin Stead
Doctor Ted, by Andrea Beaty and Pascal Lemaitre
Bark George,by Jules Ffiefer

This Week's Music:

This Week's Action Rhymes:
Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

This Week's Art/Craft: Band-aid Fireflies
Plus Boo-Boo Bear!