Happy "Tuesday"! It's a Snowy Day Storytime!

Surprise! We got a load of snow here in Michigan! On the fly, I switched up my storytime theme from another Opposites (Loud/Quiet) to a snowy day theme. It worked out great as the kiddos were very eager to tell me all about how much snow was falling and how excited they were to go out and play. We had a smaller crowd, but there's nothing wrong with having a more quiet storytime every now and then.

Books:
The Snowy Day: Ezra Jack Keats
Snow Day!: Patricia Lakin/Scott Nash
There Was a Cold Lady who Swallowed some Snow: Lucille Colandro/Jared Lee

What We Did:
1.) Greeting song: The Storytime Train is coming!
(to the tune of "She'll be comin round the mountain)
Well the storytime train is coming. How are you? (all: Choo Choo!)
Oh the storytime train is coming. How are you? (all: Choo Choo!)
Oh the storytime train is coming, yes the storytime train is coming, well the storytime train is coming. How are you? (all: Choo Choo!)
Let's say hello to _____________. How are you? (Choo! Choo!)
Repeat this for each child in attendance.

2.) Get our bodies ready to read! This is the way...This is the way we clap our hands, clap our hands, clap our hands.
This is the way we clap our hands, when we're at storytime!
Repeat this tune with different actions (Stomp feet, jump up and down, tap your head, whisper voice, and always end with sit in my spot)

3.) Snowman Puzzle: I downloaded and printed a 6 piece snowman puzzle from Kidsparkz. I told the kids a story about how I built the snowman last night, but the wind blew him all to pieces! I messed up all the pieces on the magnet board and had them put the snowman back together again. This went well. They had fun, especially when I tried to put the snowman back together and messed it up!

4.) Snowy Pokey: This is simply the Hokey Pokey re-written with a winter theme.
Put your right/left mitten in.
Put your right/left boot in.
Put your hat in.
Put your snowsuit in.

5.) Playtime: We divided into three stations today, we had:
a.) Play-doh

b.) Corn Sensory tub

c.) Snowflake bottle stamp: I used this in January of last year, and it smells kinda crafty, but the kids are still free to make any design with glitter glue, stamps, and stickers. Basically, take 20 oz pop bottles and dip the bottoms in white paint. Stamp them on a blue background and use the glitter glue to give it some pop. Add winter themed stickers and you've got yourself something pretty to hang for winter!

Check back next Tuesday for more Story time fun! It's our last one before I break for December. I will return in January, but keep visiting for some book reviews!
Mr. Mike

Running an Art Contest for Children! It's Great!

Traditionally, my library has held a bookmark contest for school aged children during the fall. The kids like having something creative to work on and the teachers like something for the kids to do after they're done with an assignment or MEAP testing. This year, the standardized test is held in the spring, so we decided to move the bookmark contest and have a kids ArtPrize instead. Nothing like this had been done in Ionia before, so we weren't really sure what to expect, but wow! The community responded in a big way! We received 50 entries by children ages 5-16. Nearly 500 votes were cast. I was blown away. The artwork was spectacular and the kids worked really hard at truly expressing themselves through their media.

We had four separate categories by grade level:
K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12.
We put no restrictions on what the kids could create in regards to media, we just limited the size to 3'x3'x3' (And a few of them got really close to that). We got flooded with drawings, paintings, pastels, sculptures, posters, collage, photography, a backpack, miniature models, and more! The top 3 vote recipients will be back for an award ceremony and we will be providing them with small prizes as well as recognition at their own gallery opening. We had some disappointed kiddos but I know that next year, they'll be back and judging by how close a couple of the races were, it will be even more competitive next year!
I highly recommend hosting something like this at your library. It truly benefits everyone.

To see pictures of all the entries, please visit us at our facebook page!


Mr. Mike

Happy Tuesday! It's a BIG and little storytime!

Happy Tuesday! Today we had fun exploring the opposite concepts of Big and Little. We also have some fun with puppets and sensory play!

Books:
I'm Big! By: Kate and Jim McMullan
Is Everyone Ready for Fun? by: Jan Thomas
Big Bug by: Henry Cole

What We Did:
1.) Greeting song: The Storytime Train is coming!
(to the tune of "She'll be comin round the mountain)
Well the storytime train is coming. How are you? (all: Choo Choo!)
Oh the storytime train is coming. How are you? (all: Choo Choo!)
Oh the storytime train is coming, yes the storytime train is coming, well the storytime train is coming. How are you? (all: Choo Choo!)
Let's say hello to _____________. How are you? (Choo! Choo!)
Repeat this for each child in attendance.

2.) Get our bodies ready to read! This is the way...This is the way we clap our hands, clap our hands, clap our hands.
This is the way we clap our hands, when we're at storytime!
Repeat this tune with different actions (Stomp feet, jump up and down, tap your head, whisper voice, and always end with sit in my spot)

3.) Puppet Story: Bark, George!
Luckily for me, I have a Puppet leftover from the previous children's librarian that is still in great working order. George is a large, plush dog that you can reach into and pull out some smaller animals. If you haven't read the book by Jules Feiffer, you really ought to. I have the kids say hello to George as he sits on my lap. When I tell George to bark, he Meows, then Quacks, the Oinks, then Moos. After the giggles fade away, I notice that George has something in his mouth. I reach in and pull out each of the small stuffed animals.

4.) Action Rhyme: This is Big, Big, Big! This is a fun rhyme I got from Storytime Katie.
This is big, big, big. (Throw hands out wide)
This is small, small, small. (Bring hands in close)
This is short, short, short. (put hands close and show vertically short)
This is tall, tall, tall. (put hands apart and show tall)
This is fast, fast, fast (pretend to run very fast)
This is slow, slow, slow (pretend to slo-mo run)
This is yes, yes, yes. (nod your head)
This is no, no, no. (shake head no)

5.) Big/Little sort- http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/sorting-activities. First, we sorted the fist into two piles. Little fish and big fish. Then, we mixed them up again and the kids helped me put them in order from smallest to largest.

6.) Playtime: Today our three stations were Pla-doh, Sensory table (corn), and sponge painting.

a.) Sponge painting- Cut sponges into different shapes and set out a few paper plates and paper. Stand back and watch how many different ways they can use the sponges to paint! They can stamp, smudge, streak, paint on the sides, and more! I love turning the kiddos loose on a project and let their creativity expand!

b.) Pla-Doh
c.) Sensory Corn Bin- This was a trial run at a sensory table. I have a space issue and have no real storytime room. So, I set a sterilite tub full of feed corn. I also purchased some funnels, measuring cups and used some of my kids' sand toys that were stored away for the winter. Kids can learn so much from a sensory tub. First, the corn feels fun. Next, they learn about measuring and other concepts such as more/less and empty/full. They learn about what will and what will not fit inside a container. It was a big hit.
We have two storytimes left in our fall session. I hope you've enjoyed the information presented here. Thanks for reading, commenting, and sharing. See ya next week!

Happy Tuesday! CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP! It's a Gator/Croc Storytime!

Happy Tuesday! Today we read stories all about some of the biggest, baddest reptiles in the world! We had a great time reading stories with Gators and Crocs.

Books:
The Watermelon Seed by: Greg Pizzoli
Open Very Carefully, A Book with Bite by: Nick Bromley/Nicola O'Byrne
Two Tough Crocs by: David Bedford

What We Did:
1.) Greeting song: The Storytime Train is coming!
(to the tune of "She'll be comin round the mountain)
Well the storytime train is coming. How are you? (all: Choo Choo!)
Oh the storytime train is coming. How are you? (all: Choo Choo!)
Oh the storytime train is coming, yes the storytime train is coming, well the storytime train is coming. How are you? (all: Choo Choo!)
Let's say hello to _____________. How are you? (Choo! Choo!)
Repeat this for each child in attendance.

2.) Get our bodies ready to read! This is the way...This is the way we clap our hands, clap our hands, clap our hands.
This is the way we clap our hands, when we're at storytime!
Repeat this tune with different actions (Stomp feet, jump up and down, tap your head, whisper voice, and always end with sit in my spot)

3.) Flannelboard Story- Five Little Monkeys Swinging in a Tree
I used clip art monkeys, a gator, and a palm tree. The rhyme goes like this
Five little monkeys swinging in a tree
teasing Mr. Crocodile. Can't catch me! 
Along comes the crocodile, slowly as can be
and SNAP! Only four little monkeys left in the tree.
Repeat until done.

4.) www.gonoodle.com
At this website, you can start your storytime/classroom with a subscription to free brain breaks. There are many options such as Zumba, my favorite Koo Koo Kangaroo, and others. The website keeps track of how often you use it and awards your group points when they do something fun. Today, ours was Ninja Training. Click the link to see!

5.) Scarf Songs- I don't go much for scarf movement all the time, but I found a couple of delightful short ones at www.jbrary.com that the kids had a great time with.
Popcorn-
Popcorn, popcorn
cooking in a pot (wad up the scarf into your hands)
Shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it (Shake hands with scarf inside)
Until it POPS! (Jump and throw scarf into the air with POPS!)
Toast in the Toaster
Toast in the toaster
Getting really hot (Crouch way down)
Wait a few minutes and 
Up it pops! ( Jump and toss scarf on pops!)

6.) Playtime: Today our three stations were Pla-doh, block play, and glue/salt paintings.

a.) Glue/salt paintings. Glue/Salt/Food Coloring. That's all you need. Draw a design on cardstock with Elmer's glue. Sprinkle salt all over the cardstock until all of the glue is covered. Shake the excess salt off. Have the kiddo squeeze the food coloring out onto the glue in droplets. The salt will absorb the color. They turn out cute and textured too! We had a great time with this project! The squeezing of glue and food coloring is so good for their little hand muscles! It always amuses me to see the different levels of involvement with process art crafts. Some are SO careful about it, and some are so free and messy!

b.) Pla-doh. It's a fine motor skill day at the library! Squeezing, shaping, squishing, flattening!

c. Block play- Cooperation, creativity, more motor control, manners, and respect. Those are the themes of block play. Most importantly, it's fun!

Thanks for checking me out! I appreciate the hits I get each and every week! See you next time!