All posts by Children's Staff
Read With Your Child!
There is a huge variety of alphabet books available.
Allow your child to access these kinds of books regularly or make your own alphabet book.
Vehicles at the library
Come to the children’s room for a great view of all the onsite construction at the library! The windows in the room give you an elevated view of the machines in motion.
I want to learn the names of these machines, so I can have an intelligent conversation with all the youngsters who have been studying them for years.
~Maureen
We have a whole section of Vehicle Books. Here is a sampling:
And we have videos as well…
Books for 4-6 year olds on Tuesday, April 26
Silly books are always popular with this preschool group! We had lots of fun with this story, which involved some birds who don’t want to speak “properly”! Instead they express themselves in all manner of nonsensical ways, which led to much laughter. There’s also a bit of a message to this book, but it’s pleasantly subtle. Just enjoy the ride!
Caps For Sale is an old story, but one that is still greatly enjoyed. It’s about a peddler, his caps, and some very naughty monkeys. I had help with this story, since there were many little monkeys in my audience! Afterwards, we colored caps just like the ones in the story, and next week we’ll have lots of colorful caps with which to act out this tale. Everyone can sympathize with the peddler’s frustration as he tries to retrieve his caps. Ask your child how the peddler tricked the monkeys and finally got his caps back!
Family Day Care Traveling Storytimes – April 2016
Lots of stories and songs with animals have been a favorite at Family Day Cares lately. The smaller group often allows for some different kinds of activities and games, allowing the children to practice sharing and turn taking.
This past month I used a big poster with a farm on it and the children all got to pick an animal to velcro up onto the chart as we sang “Old MacDonald Had a Farm.” The children identify the animals and the sounds they make and then patiently wait their turn to add their animal to the chart.
Some of the stories that were read and enjoyed include the following.
Who Sank the Boat? by Pamela Allen is a story in which the reader is invited to guess who causes the boat to sink when five animals of varying sizes decide to go for a row. Some children are amazed at the ending and others say “I knew that was going to happen!”
This favorite story, Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses by James Dean shares another adventure with Pete, the cat, as he discovers that he (and his animal friends) do not really need to wear “cool blue magic sunglasses” to be in a good mood!
I also brought out a favorite and classic, Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Bill Martin Jr., with pictures by Eric Carle. Children always seem to enjoy familiar stories as they join in to help read the story. Following this book, the children were able to work with puzzle cards to make each animal in the book. At one house, we made silly animals, like a red bird’s head and a blue horse’s legs.
Preschool books on Monday, April 25
I opened this storytime with the book Boing. I asked the children what kinds of animals could jump. One child said a rabbit, one said a frog and one said a kangaroo. They were all correct, and each of those animals is in the story. The animals helped the joey (baby kangaroo) learn how to jump. And the children joined in. That was a lot of boing for the beginning of a storytime! We had to follow up with the rhyme 3 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.
After so much jumping, I kept the children on their feet and invited them to come up to the book to help me. This is an interactive book that I’ve read before. Lots of magic things happen when dots are pressed and rubbed. Everyone had a turn.
There are Cats in this Book is a very active story, but this time I did the action and gave the children a rest.
I was so happy that we had sunny weather on a Monday storytime. It’s been cold and gloomy so far this spring. I read Wake Up, It’s Spring!
Toddler Storytime on Monday, April 25
We read the latest Byron Barton book in toddler storytime. I do not have it in big book format, but the pictures are big and bright and simple, so it was easy for the children to see them even at a distance. (The room gets pretty crowded for toddler storytime.)
Byron Barton’s books are great for toddlers. These are some we have at the library:
We added 2 duckling rhymes this week to remind people to come to our special duckling storytime on Saturday, May 7 at 10:30. We sang 6 Little Ducks that I Once Knew, and 3 Little Ducks Went Out to Play.
~Maureen
April Vacation programs for children
The library is always a busy place during school vacation weeks. We encourage you to visit for special programs, books, and our audio/visual collections. The programs are free!
On Tuesdays, we will have crafts for elementary school children in the morning.
There will be a concert on Wednesday morning at 10:30 with Ed Morgan the Music Man. Children ages 2 and older will enjoy this music. Drop-in, there is no need to register.
Ed the Wizard will be here on Thursday morning at 10:30. 
Ed knows lots of magic, and he learned it all from books! This program is appropriate for ages 6 and up. You may drop-in to this.
There are fireflies in the woods, and children will learn all about them this Friday at 10:30. Hands-on Nature will be the presenter for our June Cook memorial program. This is an annual program that celebrates nature. It is very fitting that it is on Earth Day this year. Children ages 3.5 and older may drop-in to this program. If possible, bring a glass jar with a lid.
We will offer chess lessons on Saturday, April 23. Beginners attend at 9:30 am. Advanced beginners meet at 11:15 am. Gwen Meins will give instruction and leave plenty of time for practice.
Space is limited, so please register for these lessons.
Toddler Storytime, Friday, April 15
Many families came into the library today for the toddler storytime. We had a packed room and were able to have a lot of fun. Everyone seemed to really be joining in and singing along or doing the fingerplays. These behaviors work in so many positive ways for the future growth and development of your child. Many thanks to everyone for participating with energy and joy.
We read a favorite today and it seemed like many of the children were attending to the story with interest.
Baby Storytime, 0-12 month olds, Friday, April 15
Today was a great morning in Baby Storytime as we read one of my favorite authors, Sandra Boynton! Her books often include various concepts, told in silly and fun ways. Today we read Moo, Baa, La, La, La and it looked like it was enjoyed by all! Come in and explore lots of different books by Sandra Boynton.
Books for Preschoolers on Wednesday, April 13 and Friday, April 15
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Blast off! This week we read books about outer space! Click on the book covers to find each title in our catalog.
If you enjoyed these outer space books, you might also like to check out one of the library’s telescopes. The Main Library and the MacKay Branch each have telescopes that you can check out just like a book or a DVD, so you can see the moon’s craters and Saturn’s rings from your own backyard. Click here to reserve one in our catalog.
In the Friday storytime at MacKay, we also talked about Storytime from Space, an exciting project from the Global Space Education Foundation. They offer an online library of videos featuring astronauts from the International Space Station reading stories for children. If you miss storytime too much next week when we take a break for April school vacation week, you can watch Storytime from Space instead!
-Amy