Announcing: Great START! Skills for Tots and Adults Reading Together

This spring I launched a new Facebook group aimed at sharing information and inspiration about early literacy. I am already aware of two interested households that do not use Facebook, so I am experimenting with using this blog as another way to share information.

If you live in the Bellevue (NE) area, I would love to have you and your little ones join me and others for Stories at the Park. Watch this blog for information on upcoming get-togethers!

Preschool Storytime: Autumn Has Arrived!

This Preschool Storytime was presented at Bellevue Public Library on September 26, 2018.

Each Preschool Storytime includes activities that support all or most of the five early literacy practices identified as essential in helping your child develop the skills they need before they can learn to read. The five practices – singing, talking, reading, playing and writing – were developed for Every Child Ready to Read®, an initiative of the Association for Library Services for Children (ALSC) and the Public Library Association (PLA).

Reading:

The Busy Little Squirrel by Nancy Tafuri

The Leaves on the Trees by Thom Wiley, illustrated by Andrew Day

As children and adults arrived they were greeted with a trail of leaves leading from the library entrance to the Storytime room.  During Storytime I invited them to pick up some of the colorful autumn leaves I had scattered and encouraged them to talk about the colors, shapes, and feel of the leaves.  

Playing:

During Storytime everyone picked up a handful of leaves and used them as we danced to a beautiful piece of music called "The Trees Weep Leaves" by David Huntsinger.

Singing:

Hello, Friends!
(tune: "Goodnight Ladies")

Hello friends.
Hello friends.
Hello friends.
We're glad you came today!


Everybody Say Hello!
(tune: "London Bridge")

Everybody say hello, say hello, say hello,
Everybody say hello, hello Wesley!

(Wesley is my turtle puppet who pops out of my apron pocket whenever we sing this song.  Then he sits quietly on his rock and listens to the stories and sings along with us.  At the end of storytime he says goodbye to the children, gives them high fives, eats pretend food from their hands, blows kisses, and plays hide and seek!)

What's in the Green Box?
(tune: "Sally Wore a Red Dress")

What's in the green box,
The green box, the green box?
What's in the green box 
For us today?

Today's Green Box held paper and crayons!
We used the leaves that were scattered on the floor outside the Storytime room to make leaf rubbings.

Rhyme:

Open, Shut Them!

Open, shut them,

Open, shut them,
Give a little clap, clap, clap!

Open, shut them,

Open, shut them,

Lay them in your lap, lap, lap!

Waving, waving, waving, waving,

High up in the sky, sky, sky.

Wave to me...I'll wave to you.

Now let's all say goodbye, bye, bye.

We always say this rhyme at least twice, increasing the speed with each repetition!

Every Child Ready to Read^® @ your library^®, PLA and ALSC logos are registered trademarks of the American Library Association and are used with permission.

Baby & Me Storytime: October 2 & 4, 2018

This Baby & Me Storytime was presented at Bellevue Public Library on October 2 & 4, 2018.

Book:
Wild Animals 

Songs:

Hello, Friends!

(tune: "Goodnight Ladies")

Hello friends.

Hello friends.

Hello friends.

We're glad you came today!

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.

The Shape-Up Song
(tune: "The Farmer in the Dell")

We're jumping up and down.
We're jumping up and down.
We're getting lots of exercise.
We're jumping up and down.

Ideas for additional verses:
Let's bend and touch our toes...
Let's reach and touch the sky...
Let's kick our legs up high...
We're stomping our feet...
We're waving hello...


You Are My Sunshine

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine,
You make me happy when skies are gray.
You'll never know, dear, how much I love you.
Please don't take my sunshine away!

Goodbye, Friends!
(tune: "Goodnight Ladies")

Goodbye friends.
Goodbye friends.
Goodbye friends.
We're glad you came today!

Rhymes:

Slowly, Slowly, Very Slowly

Slowly, slowly, very slowly creeps the garden snail.
(walk fingers over baby)
Slowly, slowly, very slowly up the wooden rail.

Quickly, quickly, very quickly runs the little mouse!

(run fingers over baby)    

Quickly, quickly, very quickly up into his house!


When Cows Get Up in the Morning
(a gentle bouncing rhyme)

When cows get up in the morning,
They always say "good day!"


When cows get up in the morning,
They always say "good day!"

"Moo, moo, moo!", 
That's how they say "good day!"
"Moo, moo, moo!", 
That's how they say "good day!"

Help your child think of other animals and their respective sounds as you continue this rhyme!

Our activity this week was Board Books!

Each Baby & Me Storytime includes activities that support one or more of the five early literacy practices identified as essential in helping your child develop the skills they need before they can learn to read. The five practices – singing, talking, reading, playing and writing –were developed for Every Child Ready to Read®, an initiative of the Association for Library Services for Children (ALSC) and the Public Library Association (PLA).

Preschool Storytime: Apples!

This Preschool Storytime was presented at Bellevue Public Library on October 3, 2018.

Each Preschool Storytime includes activities that support all or most of the five early literacy practices identified as essential in helping your child develop the skills they need before they can learn to read. The five practices – singing, talking, reading, playing and writing – were developed for Every Child Ready to Read®, an initiative of the Association for Library Services for Children (ALSC) and the Public Library Association (PLA).

Reading:
Apple Harvest by Calvin Harris

Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson

Singing:

Hello, Friends!
(tune: "Goodnight Ladies")

Hello friends.
Hello friends.
Hello friends.
We're glad you came today!


Everybody Say Hello!
(tune: "London Bridge")

Everybody say hello, say hello, say hello,
Everybody say hello, hello Wesley!

(Wesley is my turtle puppet who pops out of my apron pocket whenever we sing this song.  Then he sits quietly on his rock and listens to the stories and sings along with us.  At the end of storytime he says goodbye to the children, gives them high fives, eats pretend food from their hands, blows kisses, and plays hide and seek!)

What's in the Green Box?
(tune: "Sally Wore a Red Dress")

What's in the green box,
The green box, the green box?
What's in the green box 
For us today?

Today's green box held:

Play Food

Letter "a" Activity Sheets

An Applesauce Cone

Rhyme:

Open, Shut Them!

Open, shut them,

Open, shut them,
Give a little clap, clap, clap!

Open, shut them,

Open, shut them,

Lay them in your lap, lap, lap!

Waving, waving, waving, waving,

High up in the sky, sky, sky.

Wave to me...I'll wave to you.

Now let's all say goodbye, bye, bye.

We always say this rhyme at least twice, increasing the speed with each repetition!



Way Up High in the Apple Tree
(To prepare for this activity we all planted our feet firmly on the floor (roots), made our torso straight and tall (trunk), extended our arms (branches), and made two fists (apples)!

Way up high in the apple tree,
Two red apples smiled at me.
I shook that tree as hard as I could...
Mmmm!  They were good!

I got busy helping with our applesauce-making activity and didn't get many photos!

Here are two taken during our after-storytime enrichment activities:

Every Child Ready to Read^® @ your library^®, PLA and ALSC logos are registered trademarks of the American Library Association and are used with permission.

Baby & Me Storytime: September 25 & 27, 2018

This Baby & Me Storytime was presented at Bellevue Public Library on September 25 & 27, 2018.

Book:
Rain Rain Go Away by Caroline Jayne Church 

Songs:

Hello, Friends!

(tune: "Goodnight Ladies")

Hello friends.

Hello friends.

Hello friends.

We're glad you came today!

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are. 

My Little Baby 

(tune "Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah")

My little baby is (name)

Cutest little baby I kno-o-o-ow.

My little baby is (name)

And I love you so!

These Little Fingers

(tune:"The Wheels on the Bus")

These little fingers go wiggle, wiggle, wiggle,

wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle,

These little fingers go wiggle, wiggle, wiggle,

And now they're on my...head!

There are endless possibilities when singing this song with your wee one!  

For example:

Your fingers can go pat, tickle, rub, clap, wave, tap...

on your baby's feet, back, head, tummy, knees, cheeks...

Goodbye, Friends!
(tune: "Goodnight Ladies")

Goodbye friends.
Goodbye friends.
Goodbye friends.
We're glad you came today!

Rhymes:

Pizza, Pizza, Pumpernickel

Pizza, pizza, pumpernickel,
My little baby shall have a tickle.
One on the nose,
One on the toes,
And one of the tummy where the pizza goes!

I'm Toast in the Toaster

I'm toast in the toaster,
(bounce gently)
I'm getting very hot.
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
(sway side to side)
Up I pop!
(raise baby into the air

Our activity this week was Bean Bags!

Each Baby & Me Storytime includes activities that support one or more of the five early literacy practices identified as essential in helping your child develop the skills they need before they can learn to read. The five practices – singing, talking, reading, playing and writing –were developed for Every Child Ready to Read®, an initiative of the Association for Library Services for Children (ALSC) and the Public Library Association (PLA).

Pajama Storytime: September 11, 2018

This Pajama Storytime was presented at Bellevue Public Library on September 11, 2018.

Books:

I'm Going to Give You a Bear Hug! by Caroline B. Cooney, illustrated by Tim Warnes

Bubble Bath Pirates! by Jarrett Krosoczka 

Goodnight World by Debi Gliori 

Pirate Piggy Wiggy by Christyan and Diane Fox

Each Pajama Storytime includes activities that support one or more of the five early literacy practices identified as essential in helping your child develop the skills they need before they can learn to read. The five practices – singing, talking, reading, playing and writing –were developed for Every Child Ready to Read®, an initiative of the Association for Library Services for Children (ALSC) and the Public Library Association (PLA).

Preschool Storytime: Trains

This Preschool Storytime was presented at Bellevue Public Library on September 19, 2018.

Each Preschool Storytime includes activities that support all or most of the five early literacy practices identified as essential in helping your child develop the skills they need before they can learn to read. The five practices – singing, talking, reading, playing and writing – were developed for Every Child Ready to Read®, an initiative of the Association for Library Services for Children (ALSC) and the Public Library Association (PLA).

Reading:

Freight Train by Donald Crews

Chugga Chugga Choo Choo by Emma Garcia 

Singing:

Hello, Friends!
(tune: "Goodnight Ladies")

Hello friends.
Hello friends.
Hello friends.
We're glad you came today!


Everybody Say Hello!
(tune: "London Bridge")

Everybody say hello, say hello, say hello,
Everybody say hello, hello Wesley!

(Wesley is my turtle puppet who pops out of my apron pocket whenever we sing this song.  Then he sits quietly on his rock and listens to the stories and sings along with us.  At the end of storytime he says goodbye to the children, gives them high fives, eats pretend food from their hands, blows kisses, and plays hide and seek!)

The Wheels on the Train
(tune: The Wheels on the Bus)
The wheels on the train go clickety clack,
clickety clack, clickety clack.
The wheels on the train go clickety clack
all along the track.

The whistle on the train goes Whoo!  Whoo!...
The conductor on the train says, "All aboard!"...
The people on the train go bumpety bump...

Put Your Finger On

Here is a Youtube video of this song,    
sung by Parachute Express

What's in the Green Box?
(tune: "Sally Wore a Red Dress")

What's in the green box,
The green box, the green box?
What's in the green box 
For us today?

Today's green box held Jigsaw Puzzles!


Rhyme:

Open, Shut Them!

Open, shut them,

Open, shut them,
Give a little clap, clap, clap!

Open, shut them,

Open, shut them,

Lay them in your lap, lap, lap!

Waving, waving, waving, waving,

High up in the sky, sky, sky.

Wave to me...I'll wave to you.

Now let's all say goodbye, bye, bye.

We always say this rhyme at least twice, increasing the speed with each repetition!

Every Child Ready to Read^® @ your library^®, PLA and ALSC logos are registered trademarks of the American Library Association and are used with permission.