Storytime, November 16 (Last in Session)

We were talking turkey today in toddler time, with Jim Arnosky's I'm A Turkey! Extend this book at home with this fingerplay from everythingpreschool.com:

Mr. Turkey
Mr. Turkey's tail is big and wide (spread fingers wide),
He swings it when he walks (move fingers around),
His neck is long (stand on tip toes and stretch neck and head up),
His chin is red (stroke chin),
And he gobbles when he talks(open and close hands while gobbling)

We also read Nancy Tafuri's The Busy Little Squirrel. Squirrel was getting ready for winter, and he was so busy! Maybe your toddler can help you get ready too. Tafuri is a great author for toddlers, and you'll find many of her titles in the picture book section.

If you haven't yet filled out a storytime evaluation, see the link under the November 8 posting.

I'll be looking forward to the start of regular storytimes again in January. In the meantime, be sure to check out the programs we have in December.
Happy Holidays everyone!

Storytime, November 9

ABC...1,2,3...There are so many fun books to help toddlers learn the alphabet and counting. At Holladay Library there's a "Concept Book" area that features alphabet, counting, and color books. Not sure where to find it? Please ask!

Today we started with Paul Stickland's pop-up, A Number of Dinosaurs. If your toddler enjoys dinosaurs, you might explore Stickland's other books, such as Dinosaur Roar, or his board books such as Dinosaur Colors.

If you want to move on to other dinosaur titles, you might take a look at Tumblebooks online (on our website, go to the Kid Zone and then choose Tumblebooks), and the book All Aboard the Dinotrain.

Our dinosaur song, to the tune of "Wheels on the Bus" went like this:

Pterodactyls wings go

flap, flap, flap

flap, flap, flap

flap, flap, flap

Pterodactyls wings go

flap, flap, flap

All around the swamp.

Tyrannosaurus Rex goes roar, roar, roar...

Triceratop's horn goes poke, poke, poke...

Stegosaurus's tail goes spike, spike, spike...

Brontosaurus goes munch, munch, munch...

After a flannel board rendition of The Three Billy Goats Gruff, we moved on to Bill Martin Jr.'s classic, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.

Alphabet books cover a range of ages - another favorite for toddlers includes Kipper's A to Z: An Alphabet Adventure, by Mike Inkpen.

I know the "Walking, Walking" song is very popular with the kids. Look for this and other fun songs on the CD, Songs for Wiggleworms, by Old Town School of Folk Music.

I'm looking forward to next week's storytime - I hope you and your toddler are too!

Storytime Survey

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Link to Survey

No Storytime - Election Day

Just a reminder, there will be no storytime tomorrow because the auditorium is in use for elections....so go vote instead! See you next week, but in the meantime, when your kids are missing storytime, check out Tumblebooks on our website. It's an online collection of animated, talking picture books, and is available online anytime, accessible free through our website (click on the Tumblebooks link here, or go to the Kid Zone, and look for Tumblebooks in the Reading Corner). A fun, at-home storytime for your toddler might be:
I Got Two Dogs, by John Lithgow
Wiggle, by Doreen Cronin
and, Lola at the Library, by Anna McQuinn
You can find them by title with Tumblesearch, add them to a playlist, then play them all together. You can create lists of favorites, too.
Have fun!

Storytime Surprise, Tuesday, October 19

Tomorrow's books are a surprise, but here are some of the fingerplays we'll be using:

The Hooky Spooky (to the Hokey Pokey)

You put your head in, you put your head out
You put your head in, and you shake it all about
You do the hooky spooky and you give a little shout
BOOs what it's all about!
(repeat arm, leg, etc.)

Scarecrow (to Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear)

Scarecrow, scarecrow turn around
Scarecrow, scarecrow jump up and down
Scarecrow, scarecrow arms up high
Scarecrow, scarecrow blink your eyes
Scarecrow, scarecrow bend your knees
Scarecrow, scarecrow flap in the breeze
Scarecrow, scarecrow climb into bed
Scarecrow, scarecrow rest your head

Five Little Pumpkins

Five little pumpkins
Sitting on a gate
The first one said,
"Oh my, it's getting late!"
The second one said,
"There are witches in the air!"
The third one said,
"But we don't care."
The fourth one said,
"Let's run and run and run!"
The fifth one said,
"I'm ready for some fun!"
WOO-OOOO went the wind
And OUT went the lights
And five little pumpkins
Rolled out of sight.

The Ghost

I saw a ghost (fingers circle eyes)
He saw me too (point to yourself)
I waved at him (wave)
But he said, "BOO!" (to person next to you)

Early Literacy - Developing Narrative Skills

On Tuesday in storytime, we asked a lot of "what's next?" type of questions - what do you think bear will do?" or "where do you think the ducks are going?" These kinds of questions encourage the development of a child's narrative skills - their ability to tell stories, and one of the six prereading skills. When a child can explain what went on, and the order in which it went, it helps them to understand the meaning, contributing to later reading comprehension. Dinosaur vs. Bedtime is an example of a book that easily allows you to do this - dinosaur heads off the right side of the page roaring, but we don't know until the page turn who he might challenge next. Other opportunities for developing narrative skills present themselves during the day - tell each other about your day at dinnertime, for example. I've always loved having puppets in the library, and listening to the stories the kids whisper to themselves using the characters. Your child's stuffed animals would work just as well. What stories can you tell with your toddler today?

Ducking into Autumn....Storytime, October 12

The leaves may not be turning in the valley yet, but the fruit is ripening. Found some Jonathans at the farmers market on Saturday - tasty for eating but sadly, too small for pie. We're starting storytime off with:

Ducking for Apples, by Lynne Berry
a new addition to Berry's rhyming "duck" series (these ducks do all sorts of fun things...camping, skating....).

Then we'll explore autumn with a wide-eyed young bear experiencing it (with alarm!)for the first time, in David Ezra Stein's Leaves, one of my favorites for fall, now also available as a board book. (Another favorite is Fall Is Not Easy, by Marty Kelley, but the humor in that one is more preschool/early elementary than toddler....still, if you have an older child, check it out....).

We'll close with Bob Shea's Dinosaur vs. Bedtime an excellent book for bedtime, naptime, storytime....if your child likes this one (there might be one or two that don't - it could happen), check out Dinosaur vs. the Potty, Shea's new book.






Some new songs and fingerplays:

Three Red Apples

Three red apples
Hanging on a tree
The juiciest apples
You ever did see
The wind came past
With an angry frown
And one little apple
Came tumbling down.
(two, one..)

and another, along the lines of "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear":

Dinosaur, dinosaur
Turn around
Dinosaur, dinosaur
Touch the ground
Dinosaur, dinosaur
Roar, roar, roar
Dinosaur, dinosaur
Sit on the floor

And, of course, one to go with Leaves:

Leaves are floating softly down (raise arms and flutter fingers downward)
They make a carpet on the ground
Then swish! The wind comes whirling by (sweep ground with hands)
And sends them dancing to the sky (flutter fingers upward)

See you tomorrow for some storytime fun!

A Little Bit of This....Storytime, October 5

It is fall, isn't it? And sometime soon the leaves will be changing, etc., etc. But with 80 or 90 degree days we've been having, they're not doing that yet, so in the meantime....we'll be doing a little bit of this, and a little bit of that this week. These are some books and authors that I really like for toddlers.

Books (click on the title to place a hold on the book)

Gotcha, by Gail Jorgensen

This is actually the only book by Jorgensen that we still have in the system - most of her books are out of print. I wish they weren't! It's Bertha Bear's birthday, and she's celebrating with cake, but the fly wasn't invited....

Tall, by Jez Alborough

Jez Alborough is probably a favorite author of many a toddler, even if they don't know what an author is. Check out some of his other books, about characters such as Duck (try, Duck in the Truck) or Bear (My Friend Bear).





Where is Tippy Toes, by Betsy Lewin

This is a new one that just came in, and seemed like fun for our toddler time....Betsy Lewin does more illustration than writing - she's done a lot of the illustrations for Doreen Cronin's books, for example (Click, Clack, Moo).







Songs

Happy song

Walking, walking

and, we'll be adding the Wiggle Song (from the Dragon Tunes cd). The actions are somewhat self explanatory:
Wiggle your fingers
Wiggle your toes
Wiggle your hands and
Wiggle your nose
Wiggle your pinkies
Wiggle your thumbs
Wiggle and a giggle
And beat that drum
Come on and let's get busy
Wiggling is so much fun
Come on and let's get busy
Lot's of fun now everyone

--- Chorus ---
Na na na na na na
Wiggle up
Na na na na na na
Wiggle down
Na na na na na na
Wiggle all around
Na na na
The Wiggle Song

Some of the fingerplays and action rhymes we'll be doing include:

Me
I can stand
up very tall
Then make myself
so very small

I can be
tall like a tree
But here I am
Just being me

Make a wish
Big chocolate cake
Ice cream in a dish
Here are the candles
Now make a wish!

Birthday cakeToday is my birthday,
Let's make a birthday cake
Mix and stir
Stir and mix
Then into the oven to bake.
Peek in the oven
How long does it take?
Sniff, sniff,
It smells so good!
My beautiful birthday cake.

If it's as rainy as it's supposed to be, it might be fun to go home after storytime and bake a cake - your toddler's job is to dump in the ingredients and lick the spoons, of course. Or, maybe just stop in the bakery down the street and browse the display there....

Catch that train! Sept. 28 storytime

We'll be doing:

Freight Train Trip! A Lift-the-Flap Adventure, by Susanna Leonard Hill

This book combines two things toddlers love: trains, and rhyme. Rhyming books help develop early literacy skills as kids start to recognize the different parts of words (phonological awareness). Some other rhyming books to try with your toddler:
Sheep in a Jeep, by Nancy Shaw, or
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, by Bill Martin


Meeow and the Little Chairs, by Sebastien Braun

Kids should recognize this character from last week....







That's Not My Train, by Fiona Watt

There are a series of these books, which can be found in the board book section of the library.





In addition to some of the songs from earlier weeks, we'll be adding:

Choo Choo Train
This is a choo choo train
Puffing down the track
Now it's going forward (bend arms and move in forward circular motion)
Now it's going back (reverse  motion)
Now the bell is ringing (ring bell)
Now the whistle blows (pull the whistle)
What a lot of noise it makes (hold ears)
Everywhere it goes!

Up, Up, Up
Here we go up, up, up (reach up)
Here we go down, down, down (reach down)
Here we go forward and backward (swing arms)
And here we go round and round (rotate arms)

See you in storytime!

Fun with Boxes! Sept 21

Two big boxes that the library received a shipment in prompted this storytime, which included:

Sitting in my box, by Dee Lillegard

Wild animals of all shapes and sizes join a boy in his box, until - wait! It's too crowded in here. Who wants to get out?

 

Meeow and the Big Box, by Sebastien Braun

Meeow uses his imagination to turn his box into something fun. What can you do with a box?

Also see these other books about Meeow:

Meeow and the Little Chairs

Meeow and the Pots and Pans

Meeow and the Blue Table

Not a Box, by Antoinette Portis

Why are you standing in that box little bunny? Because, it's not a box! It's my....mountain, rocket ship, whatever I want it to be, not-a-box!

Other books by Portis:

Not a Stick

A Penguin Story (I especially like this one)

 

The kids seemed to really enjoy being Jack-in-the-Boxes:
Jack in the box
Sitting so still (crouch down)
Won't you come out Jack?
Yes I will! (jump up)

And, a song about surprises in boxes:

I See a Box

  (sung to “If You’re Happy and You Know It”)

 

Someone’s at the door.  I hear knocks. (knock)

I open up the door.  I see a box. (shout “hurray!”)

I open up the box.  The box is full of socks.

I really do not want a box of socks. (boo hoo, pretend to cry)

 

Repeat with rocks, then sing:

 

Someone’s at the door.  I hear knocks.

I open up the door.  I see a box.

I open up the box.  The box is full of blocks.

I really, really want a box of blocks.

We closed with "Polly Wolly Doodle," which we'll use again:

We clap our hands as we sing our song
Polly Wolly Doodle all the day
We clap our hands as we sing our song
Polly Wolly Doodle all the day!
Come along, come along
We are going on our way
Come along, come along
Singing Polly Wolly Doodle all the day!

(repeat with: stamp our feet, turn around, wave goodbye)

See you next week!

Fingerplays and Action Songs We'll Use Again

Some of the songs and rhymes that we used in the first storytime and will be using again include:

The Happy Song (if you're happy and you know it....)
  We'll start out with this song each week, doing three verses. We clap on the first verse, stomp on the third. Help your child think of suggestions for what we can do on the middle verse.

Walking, Walking, from, Songs for Wiggleworms by Old Town School of Folk Music

Walking walking
Walking walking
Hop hop hop
Hop hop hop
Running running running
Running running running
Now we stop
Now we stop
(Repeat: tiptoe, marching)

We also used (hold up five fingers):

This Little Bunny has two big eyesThis little bunny is very wiseThis little bunny is soft as silkThis little bunny is white as milkThis little bunny nibbles awayAt cabbage and carrots, the live long day

Another fun "tickle your palm" rhyme to use:

Round and round the garden
The little bunny goes
Hippity hop, hippity hop
I'm gonna get your nose!

Welcome to Toddler Terrific!

In this Tuesday's storytime, I'll be talking a little about the six pre-reading skills that help your child become ready to read. Each week, I'll demonstrate or talk about easy ways to encourage these skills. You can also find more information at http://library.utah.gov/programs/youth/documents/Talkers-2.pdf. The six skills include:

PRINT MOTIVATION: thinking that books and reading are fun

VOCABULARY: knowing the names of things

PRINT AWARENESS: recognizing print and understanding how books work

LETTER KNOWLEDGE: understanding that each letter has its own name and sounds

NARRATIVE SKILLS: being able to tell stories and describe things

PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS: recognizing and playing with the smaller sounds that make up words

Our books on Tuesday, September 14 feature things that grow. You can place a hold on most of the following books by clicking on the title. We'll be reading:

We're Rabbits!, by Lisa Westberg Peters, illustrated by Jeff Mack

Ten Red Apples: A Bartholomew Bear Counting Book, by Virginia Miller

If your toddler enjoyed this book, you can find other titles featuring Bartholomew, such as Be Gentle!, where he learns how to behave around a pet, On Your Potty, and I Love You Just the Way You Are.

Who's In the Garden, by Philis Gershator, illustrated by Jill McDonald (hold unavailable)

There are lots of farmer's markets this time of year - for a fun sensory exploration, take your toddler along to sample fruits, vegetables, honey and other goodies, expanding their vocabulary and perhaps their letter knowledge by talking with them about the names of things - "look, what's in that basket? It's red and round, and starts with the letter A..." The last of the Holladay Community Garden's farmer's markets is this Saturday, September 18, from 4 to 8 in front of City Hall. The Dunmore Lasses, a traditional Irish/Scottish ensemble, will play from 5 to 8. The market in Murray Park goes Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. through late afternoon, until October 30, and of course there's the downtown market in Pioneer Park, now on Tuesday evenings as well as Saturday mornings. For a complete list of markets, see http://utahsown.utah.gov/FarmersMarkets.htm

Other garden books to enjoy with your toddler: A Garden of Opposites, by Nancy Davis, Lois Ehlert's, Growing Vegetable Soup, or What Does Bunny See, by Linda Sue Parks.