All posts by Children's Staff
Books for Preschoolers on Wednesday, March 23
Everyone was all smiles at today’s storytime about teeth! Click on the book covers below to find each title in our catalog.
Clarabella the crocodile has so many teeth, it takes her all day to brush them. While her friends play Clarabella brushes and brushes those crocodile teeth. By the time she finishes her morning brush, it’s bedtime and she has to start all over again!
Time for the Annual Community Read-In
The public schools have an annual tradition of inviting community workers to visit the classrooms, talk a bit about the jobs they do and read a book to the children. This year’s community read-in will take place the week of April 11th. If you are interested in being a reader, sign up here! http://vols.pt/ReadIn
When folks come to the public library looking for advice for books to read to the children, we try to match the readers to books they truly enjoy. Maybe it is a favorite from their own childhoods, or maybe it is something they enjoy reading to children. Reading in front of a classroom of children can make people nervous. It helps to have a book you love.
We have a list of some classic picture books for you to consider. If you find some books that interest you on the list, place a hold on them to pick up at the library. Give us approximately 5 days for them to arrive. (They often come sooner than that, but what would your teacher say about procrastination?)
We have dozens of books about fire fighters, fire trucks and fire stations as well as police, police cars and police stations. It is definitely an advantage when you walk into a classroom in uniform.
Children love hearing that principals were once classroom teachers. What a concept! I hate to give away the fact that one of my favorite books is Miss Nelson is Missing.
I’m afraid that it will become too popular. I walked into a classroom with this book one year. The children said, “We love this book. Our teacher read it this morning.” I said that was great. I had other books with me. “No” they said, “We want to hear it again.” If readers love the books they are sharing, children love to listen.
Speaking with a community member one year, I found out that his father had worked as a school janitor. I was very excited to introduce him to the book Hey, Al. This is a great book to read when talking about respect and empathy. It won the Caldecott Medal in 1986, which means it was judged as the best illustrated book that year.
All of our students learn about PRIDE in school.
Perseverance, Respect, Integrity, Determination, and Empathy. The schools are looking for stories to reinforce these core values. I know I’ll be able to tie Miss Nelson is Missing into these core values, and I’m sure you can do the same with many of your favorite books.
If you are stuck and want specific suggestions for books that deal with those values, we have some lists for each:
Perseverance
Respect
Integrity
Determination
Empathy
Have a great time sharing books you love.
~Maureen
Write With Your Child!
Collect photos ofrelatives and put them in a book with the name of each person.
Books for 4-6 year olds on Tuesday, March 22
Today we explored a different kind of ABC book. This story is told in three-word sentences or phrases that all start with A-B-C (as in the title). After we finished the story, we tried to make some of these sentences ourselves; though everyone knew lots of words that started with A, B, or C, it was a bit complicated to make them into phrases. We had fun trying, though!
Pete the Cat had four buttons, and Joseph had one, but both of them had to figure out what to do when they lost them. Read the stories to find out what they did!
Preschool books on Monday, March 21
Happy Spring! But wait…. It’s snowing.
We had such a mild winter this year that I don’t remember wearing my snowflake sweater in a storytime. Well I had it on today. We had a very small turnout for storytimes this morning. The schools opened on time, but it was still snowing when our storytimes began. These are the books I read:
and
Toddler Storytime, Friday, March 18
We had a wonderful time in Toddler Storytime today. During the reading of the story today, many grownups joined in on the repetitive words “had ten little fingers and ten little toes.” It is not always easy for children at this age to attend to one book being read in front of a large group, so when the little ones hear their grownups joining in, it really helps to engage them in the story. Today it worked out great!
The story that everyone helped to read today is one of my favorites, by Mem Fox.
Baby Storytime, 0-12 months, Friday, March 18
During Baby Storytime I shared a statistic from the American Academy of Pediatrics. “The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends parents start reading aloud at birth. Only 15% report heeding the advice.” This lead to a great conversation about finding good times during your day to read to your baby. Some people find reading at bedtime works well for them. Other people find that cuddling together after waking up from a nap is a great transition. Be creative and find a time or two in your day to regularly read to your baby. This habit of daily reading will serve you and your baby well in the future.
Today we read a favorite book of mine, that is so sweet and enjoyable. Start reading today and come to the library to borrow a copy of it!
Books for Preschoolers on Wednesday, March 16 and Friday, March 18
This week’s Wednesday and Friday storytimes explored the concept of shapes. We read five books together:
Playspace at Home: Ice, Ice, Baby!
This week was our first look at Mouse Paint, by Ellen Stoll Walsh. This book explores the concept of color mixing through the story of three white mice who play in three jars of paint: one red, one yellow, and one blue. The paint themselves, then dance in the puddles of paint and watch the colors mix together.
What we did: Our staff prepared colored ice cubes in the three primary colors. We had a bin with red cubes, one with yellow, and one with blue. Children could put the different colored cubes together in small plastic bowls, then watch the colors mix as the ice melted.
Why it matters: This activity introduces children to two important scientific concepts: color mixing and states of matter. The color mixing ties in with the Mouse Paint story, and gives kids a hands-on way to explore how a red ice cube and a blue ice cube will melt together to form purple water. The melting ice itself demonstrates the changing state of matter from solid to liquid as it warms. Manipulating the ice with their hands also gives kids a unique opportunity for sensory play.
How to do it at home: Fill and ice cube tray with water, then put a drop or two of food coloring in each segment. You can do an entire tray in one color, or use a different color for each cube. We used only the three primary colors: red, yellow, and blue. After the ice has frozen, remove it from the ice trays and play with the different colored cubes. As they melt, the colors will run together and mix to form orange (red + yellow), green (yellow+ blue), and purple (blue + red).
Taking it to the next level: Explore what happens if you change the ratio of the different colors. A yellow ice cube and a blue cube will make green, but what happens if you use two or three yellows and only one blue? Does it change the shade of green that you produce? What happens when you mix all three colors together? How many drops of food coloring does it take to produce ice cubes with saturated colors?
Additional reading: Another great book that explores color mixing is Hervé Tullet’s Mix It Up! This interactive concept book asks the reader to rub, shake, and tilt the pages to mix colored paint dabs together.
Read With Your Child!
Label containers that hold your child’s things.