Blog Post
Storytimes: S is for Snake! Sssssss!
by eapearce
This week at storytimes at Traverwood and Westgate, Elizabeth told stories about snakes! Ssssssss! We heard Mama Hen’s Big Day, where Mama Hen has to find the perfect place to lay her beautiful egg, and The Gruffalo, where mouse plays a trick on all the forest creatures (including snake, of course!). We also read The Snake Who Said Shhh, by Jodie Parachini and heard the story of Samantha the snake who lost her silly snake siblings while babysitting and had to go search for them!
AADL storytimes are intended for ages 2-5 and are free and open to the public. For details about our storytimes at every location, visit the Jump page!
Blog Post
PreK Bits - "B" is for BUGS
by ryanikoglu
Ms. Rachel brought Bug Stories to Storytime.
We counted bugs and sounds from the NOISY COUNTING BOOK.
We played “Eensy Weensy Spider” … you can singalong at home with CDs EENSY WEENSY CD Of LITTLE FINGERPLAYS and NURSERY RHYME TIME.
We danced Fast and Slow to the song "Fireflies". You can hear and learn the song from the CD HAPPY AS CLAMS by Lena.
Once there was a Bug who had a bowl of SOUP For ONE ... until more Bugs arrived!
For more favorite books with bugs in them try these:
MAMA LOOK! … Baby creatures and their mothers.
DU IZ TAK? … Learn how to speak in “Bug” language.
BUG BEAR … When a bug won’t leave you alone.
FLY! … Worm can wiggle. Ant can march. What can Fly?
SOME BUGS … Backyard bug behavior in rhyming text.
BUG IN A VACUUM … Oh my! A different view!
STEP GENTLY OUT … Magnified photos of bugs, and poetic text to describe the insect world.
1001 BUGS To SPOT … A picture puzzle book.
The ANT And The GRASSHOPPER … A fable.
BUGS 7 stories about bugs all in one bag … A set from the Stories To Go Collection.
BZzzzzz ... and away we GO !
Blog Post
PreK Bits - "G" is for Growing GARDENS
by ryanikoglu
Ms. Rachel, Banjo Betsy, and Ms. Allison brought garden stories to Preschool Storytime.
“The Garden” is a story within FROG & TOAD TOGETHER …Toad finds out that growing one IS hard WORK !
We danced to “Puddles” with Charlotte Diamond's song from her CD MY BEAR GRUFF.
INCH BY INCH … an inchworm meets a robin and the rest is taking measurements.
For more favorite Garden stories try the following:
INCH BY INCH: The Garden Song … the text is the classic folksong, accompanied by lovely pictures on every page. You can sing as you read.
“The Garden Song” is a classic folk song recorded with favorite performers on any of these CDs for children:
SING With FRED by Fred Penner; PICKIN’ & GRINNIN’: Great Folk Songs For Kids with Maria Muldaur and many more artists; PETER, PAUL And MOMMY, TOO with Peter, Paul and Mary; and OWL SINGALONG with Raffi.
MY BUSY GREEN GARDEN … a tribute to bugs, bees, and birds.
PANDORA … Pandora nurses a young bird back to health and notices how the bird changes her landscape.
THERE’S A TIGER In The GARDEN … the power of imagination.
DU IZ TAK? … a Caldecott Honor Book 2017 that teaches you how to speak in “Bug” language. There are fabulous illustrations too.
UP In The GARDEN And DOWN In The DIRT … especially fun for what goes on down-in-the-dirt.
Blog Post
PreK Bits - "W" is for WEATHER
by ryanikoglu
Ms. Rachel, Ms. Allison, and Banjo Betsy presented stories and songs to go with WEATHER this week at Storytime.
“The Wind and the Clothes” and “Spring Showers” were both bunny stories from WAITING-For-SPRING STORIES by Bethany Roberts. This book is out-of-print and lives on in other library collections. You can borrow it through MelCat … the Michigan Electronic Library Catalog.
For more stories about WEATHER try these favorites:
Stories-To-Go: WEATHER … a set of weather stories, and an activity folder with ideas to expand the theme at home. Check it all out at once!
WATERSONG … Fox’s journey to take shelter from the rain …
The STORM … a little boy watches a storm coming. Will he still get to go to the beach the next day?
THUNDERCAKE … Let’s bake one!
PUDDLE … a bored child. A rainy day. A clever Mother. More to say.
TOAD WEATHER … a lovely picture book about true phenomenon.
A BOY ASKED The WIND … the world's most celebrated winds, starting with the Chinooks. Build your wind vocabulary.
PITTER And PATTER … two squirrels and introduction to the hydrologic cycle of weather.
WHOSE HAT IS THAT? … I don’t know but it looks good on YOU!
KITE DAY: A Bear And Mole Story … two friends make a kite.
Blog Post
PreK Bits - "M" is for MOON
by ryanikoglu
This week at Malletts Creek Branch Ms. Rachel and Ms. Allison introduced stories "under the moon".
SLEEPYHEADS is a story of where to find all of the sleepyheads ...
For action and music with Ms. Banjo Betsy we played "Wake Up You Sleepyheads and Go and find the cattle!". It's a fast and slow action musical game.
JUST RIGHT For TWO is a sweet story of a new friendship.
For more stories with the moon in them:
OWL BABIES … When will Mama be home ?
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOON … Phases of the moon with little Moon Bear.
IF YOU WERE THE MOON … What would you do?
LITTLE WOLF’s FIRST HOWLING … Watch for this one. It is on-order and has not arrived yet.
MOONCAKES …a story of Chinese Moon Festival.
The MOON INSIDE … Ella overcomes darkness at night.
ARMSTRONG:The Adventurous Journey Of A Mouse To The Moon … A long time ago a mouse learned to fly.
The MOON’s ALMOST HERE … Creatures make their ways home as the day is ending.
SUN And MOON … be careful what you wish for.
YOU BELONG HERE … A rhyming bedtime story pace with all things in their places and “You belong here with me.”
FULL MOON LORE ... each month described by a phrase based on the full moon. Lovely illustrations too!
Blog Post
Storytimes: H is for Heart
by eapearce
This week at storytimes at Traverwood and Westgate, Elizabeth told stories with hearts in them! We heard about The Love-Me Bird, who has to change her call to find a mate, and saw zoo animals made out of hearts in the book My Heart is Like a Zoo. We also heard the brightly colored rhyme The Shape of My Heart and the gentle classic story A Kiss for Little Bear. And we got some love letters in the mail in a special Valentine’s rhyme (even though it’s April!).
AADL storytimes are intended for ages 2-5 and take place at all of our locations and are free and open to the public. For a full list of our storytimes visit our JUMP page, specifically for parents and teachers.
Blog Post
NEW Themes !! - Stories-To-Go 2017
by ryanikoglu
NEW SETS are ready for check-out !
There are 11 new Stories To Go THEMES, 4 sets of each theme ... added in 2017.
Each Themed set includes 5-7 books, 1-2 DVDs, perhaps a CD ... especially for use with kids ages 2-7 years old.
These sets are for easy "Grab and CheckOut" by Parents, Grandparents, Child Care Providers, and Teachers.
Every SET includes an Activity Folder with songs, fingerplays and activities to extend the theme with your children.
The NEW 2017 themes are as follows:
ALPHABET ABC-XYZ ... Reading Readiness.
COUNTING ... especially beyond 10. Math Readiness.
NIGHT TIME ... what's going on while I am in bed? Early Science.
UNDER your FEET ... what's going on underground? Early Science.
SEQUENCING & PATTERNS ... Math Readiness.
SHAPES & COLORS ... School Readiness.
GOOD MANNERS ... Early Social Skills.
HEALTHY HABITS ... food, activity, teeth, hygiene. Early Science.
BUGS ... small living things. Early Science.
MOVING DAY ... when you are moving to a different place it is a Big Change. Social Skills.
RECYCLING/ GARBAGE ... Reduce ... ReUse ... Recycle. Early Social, Science and Ecology.
Blog Post
PreK Bits - "Qu" is for QUESTIONS
by ryanikoglu
Ms. Rachel and Ms. Betsy used "Qu" for questions throughout Storytime.
DUCK! RABBIT! …"What is it?" There are two opinions.
We participated in the action rhythm "A Quooty Qua" ... to repeat our "Qu" sound.
... We changed the sound from the action rhyme "A Tooty Ta". "What does 'Quooty qua' mean?"
TOO MUCH NOISE ... "What can I do about all this noise?" Peter asks the Wise Person.
For answers to more questions, try these favorites:
WHEN The WORLD Is DREAMING ... "What do little animals dream?"
CAN ONE BALLOON MAKE An ANIMAL FLY? ... and more questions asked at the zoo.
WHO DONE IT? ... follow visual clues to find an answer.
AH-HA to ZIG-ZAG ... If you were starting an Art Museum, what would you put in it ? Here is an "Artful" Alphabet.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ...? ... things are lost?
So MANY questions !
So little TIME !
Blog Post
Storytimes: L is for Loud
by eapearce
This week at Traverwood and Westgate storytimes on Thursday and Friday, Elizabeth told LOUD stories! We heard the folktale of The Squeaky Door, where lots of farm animals get put into the bed to try and comfort a scared little boy. In The Seven Chinese Sisters, sound effects helped us tell the story of brave sisters who rescue their littlest baby sister from a hungry dragon! And, in Robert Munsch’s Mortimer, we heard the story of the boy who likes to play instruments at bedtime instead of going to sleep!
And a LOUD storytime wouldn’t be complete without the “5 Hot Dogs in a Frying Pan” rhyme. You know what happens when the grease gets hot! One goes BAM!
Storytimes take place at all AADL locations and are free and open to the public. For more information about storytimes, visit our Jump page, created especially for parents and teachers.
Blog Post
PreK BITS - "W" is for WORK
by ryanikoglu
Ms. Rachel brought tools for WORKING in Storytime this week.
Tools were introduced in OLD MacDONALD HAD A WOODSHOP by Lisa Schulman. Do you know what was built?
We used our hammers to work with Johnny in the song "Johnny Hammers".
You can find a version of this action song in the CD CIRCLE TIME SONGS & GAMES.
During THREE LITTLE PIGS "a participation musical" we worked with tools to build the houses ... and tools to make the soup ... that feeds the Big Bad Wolf.
"WHO's Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf ?"
Not ME! Just feed the poor thing !
"Tra-La-La-la-LAH!"
For MORE WORKING stories ... try the following titles:
WORK: An Occupational ABC ... look for the tools each occupation works with.
DREW The SCREW ... they all have work to do ... except Drew!
TOOLS RULE! ... they work together to make a shed.
The HANDIEST THINGS IN The WORLD ... working hands!
TOOLS ... identify who works with each set of tools.
MONKEY WITH A TOOL BELT And The NOISY PROBLEM ... Monkey works to fix a problem?
DOES A WOODPECKER USE A HAMMER? Think About How Everyone Uses Tools.
Richard Scarry's BEST NURSERY TALES collection of story classics including the THREE LITTLE PIGS.
The TRUE STORY OF The 3 LITTLE PIGS ... by Jon Scieszka. Wolf tells the story from his point of view in this up-cycle of the traditional story.
It is especially fun for multiple age groups, because it teases the imagination of older kids too.
... ONward singing "E-I-E-I-Oh" all the way !!