The 2015 Summer Reading Program, entitled "Every Hero Has a Story", has given Michelle and me a great opportunity to highlight the wonderful work done by many men and women in our community. We decided to call our main storytime "Heartland Heroes Storytime" as a way to honor and feature a variety of professions that might be of interest to children. Each week we will invite two Heartland Heroes to be our guest at Storytime, where they will answer questions from the children and chat with them informally about the work they do.
We have chosen the song "Superhero" by Go Fish, as our Heartland Heroes theme song for the summer! Here is the YouTube link to the song.
Our storytime children are ready to teach you the actions to the song:
"I'm a superhero, flying around."
"No need to worry."
"You're safe and sound."
"Battling evil, fighting for good."
"I'm a superhero"
"In your neighborhood!"
Rhyme:
Superhero, Superhero!
Superhero, Superhero, turn around.
Superhero, Superhero, touch the ground.
Superhero, Superhero, put on your suit.
Superhero, Superhero, put on your boots.
Superhero, Superhero, jump up high!
Superhero, Superhero, fly, fly, fly!
"Superhero, Superhero, turn around!"
"Superhero, Superhero, touch the ground!"
Earth's Heroes!
This week, our focus was on Earth's Heroes. Our guest on June 24 was Lisa Swanson, a Master Gardener, former Green Bellevue board member, and local volunteer extraordinaire. Epiphany Ramos, Waste Water Management Director for the City of Bellevue, and recycling guru, was our guest on June 25.
Books:
(With Lisa Swanson)
This Tree Counts by Alison Formento, illustrated by Sarah Snow
The Butterfly Kiss by Marcial Boo, illustrated by Tim Vyner
Books:
(with Epiphany Ramos)
Recycle Every Day by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace
The Dumpster Diver by Janet S. Wong, illustrated by David Roberts
Songs:
The Butterfly Song
(tune: "Up On the Housetop")
First comes a butterfly and lays an egg.
Out comes a caterpillar with many legs.
Oh, see the caterpillar spin and spin.
A little chrysalis to fall asleep in.
Oh, oh, oh, wait and see!
Oh, oh, oh, wait and see!
Out of the chrysalis, my oh my,
Comes a beautiful butterfly!
Recycling Song
(tune: row, row, row your boat)
Save, save, save the cans.
Throw them in the bin.
We can help to save the earth,
If we all pitch in.
[Repeat, replacing the underlined word with of these:]
Paper
Bottles
Plastics
The Bellevue Tree Pledge
(composed by Lisa Swanson)
Starting today, I make three promises to trees:
I will care for young trees and help to be sure they grow big and strong
I will respect big trees and the animals and birds that call them home
I will wisely use the products that come from trees, and will re-use and recycle whenever I can.
Photos from Lisa Swanson's visit:
Photos from Epiphany Ramos' visit:
Each Heartland Heroes 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).
