Vancouver Public Library

I just realized this post was still only saved in draft form... whoops! Last summer my husband and I took a little vacation to the Pacific Northwest (without our 3- and 1-year old kids, yay!). We spent some time in Washington, a day in Seattle (including a stop at the Seattle Library), and visited friends in Lynden. Then I had a conference to go to in Vancouver, British Columbia. We made a few quick stops in downtown Vancouver, including the Vancouver Public Library -- though we didn't have the time to go inside. But the architecture of the building is amazing!

We're not into many tv shows, but one that we did follow was the Fox show called Fringe. It's a sci-fi series that only had 5 seasons and 100 episodes (and is a little complicated to explain... Wikipedia describes it as a "hybrid of The X-Files, Altered States, and The Twilight Zone"). We discovered that most of the series was filmed in and around Vancouver, so we checked out a few key places while we were there. :) The Vancouver Public Library's exterior was shown as the Fringe Division's Headquarters. Pretty cool to see it in person!

Image from fringetelevision.com

Storytime: Eyes

Age: 18-36 months (coloring page instead of craft), 3-5 years (with craft)

This school year in storytime I decided to use the alphabet to give me inspiration for themes. So this week, E is for Eyes!


1) These Are My Glasses - Laurie Berkner
My current opening song that we sing acappella every week. I start by asking them to show me their glasses and their book so that they remember the signs. We sing it through twice, then I'll ask them to quietly put their "books" in their lap.

These are my glasses (make the letter o with each hand)
And this is my book (hands together)
I put on my glasses (put "glasses" over eyes)
And open up the book (open book hands)
Now I read read read (hold book up in front of face like reading)
And I look look look (put glasses over eyes and look around room)
I put down my glasses and… (lower glasses)
WHOOP! Close up the book. (clap as if closing a book quickly)


2) Mystery Box
This week I put in a big googly eye.


3) Baby Duck and the Bad Eyeglasses - Amy Hest

The kids sat really quietly through this one. I saw many sad faces when I emphasized how Baby Duck felt about her glasses. None of the kids wear glasses yet, but many of their parents/grandparents do.


4) Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes
I had to do this song really slowly for my younger kids, helping them figure out where their different body parts were.


5) Look at Your Eyes - Paul Showers

A nice simple, non-fiction book about the parts of the eye (iris, pupil). I clipped a few of the pages together.


6) I Spy with my little eye 
Our club room has a beautifully painted mural around the top of the walls. A local artist originally painted it in the 1960s, then touched it up in the 90s. The kids are always looking at it, so I thought I'd play a little game of I Spy with them. I asked them to look around and find a frog, basketball, rainbow, turtle, and dinosaur.

 

7) Song – We are the Dinosaurs - Laurie Berkner
By I-Spying a dinosaur last, it led right into my kids' favorite song!


8) Eye Guess -  Phyllis Limbacher Tildes

A neat lift-the-flap book having kids guess which animal they see based on their eyes. Very realistic pictures.


9) Song & Rhyme Cube
Twice in each class:
If You're Happy and You Know It & Hey Diddle Diddle (18-36mo.)
5 Little Monkeys & I'm a Little Teapot (3-5yr.)


10) Close Your Eyes - Kate Banks

Unfortunately this one didn't go over well at all. It's a cute book, I love the illustrations and the concept (when you close your eyes it may be dark but you can "see" whatever you choose to see), but it was over the heads of the kids.


11) E is for Eyes coloring page (18-36 mo.) or E is for Eyes craft (3-5 yrs)
Wow, did I really do 11 things this week?! This was a super simple craft that gave me a chance to use up the weird colored (red, purple, pink, yellow...) googly eyes that I found in my closet. I cut out the letter E and they just glued on whatever eyes they wanted, wherever they wanted.

Other "eye"-deas :)
Whose Eyes are These - Peg Hall
I Can Read with My Eyes Shut - Dr. Seuss
Little Donkey Close Your Eyes - Margaret Wise Brown

Storytime: Donuts

Age: 18-36 months (coloring page instead of craft), 3-5 years (with craft)

This school year in storytime I decided to use the alphabet to give me inspiration for themes. So this week, D is for Donuts!


1) These Are My Glasses - Laurie Berkner
My current opening song that we sing acappella every week. I start by asking them to show me their glasses and their book so that they remember the signs. We sing it through twice, then I'll ask them to quietly put their "books" in their lap.

These are my glasses (make the letter o with each hand)
And this is my book (hands together)
I put on my glasses (put "glasses" over eyes)
And open up the book (open book hands)
Now I read read read (hold book up in front of face like reading)
And I look look look (put glasses over eyes and look around room)
I put down my glasses and… (lower glasses)
WHOOP! Close up the book. (clap as if closing a book quickly)


2) Mystery Box
This week I put a real donut in the box...

3) The Case of the Missing Donut  - Alison McGhee

I did end up paper clipping a couple of pages in this one. I made sure to point out that the dog's name was Deputy, so the kids wouldn't get too confused. A very cute book.


4) Shape Monster feltboard

Since the boy and the dog ate the donuts in the previous book (oops! I gave away the ending! but you knew it was coming, right?), it made sense to pull out our shape monster and let him eat too. This is a great activity to let ALL the kids be involved in the rhyme. It can easily work for small groups (we've done it with only 3-5 kids, each with a different shape), or for a bigger group (using multiples of each shape). My monster is just a piece of brown felt cut to the basic shape above, with a pair of googly eyes.


5) Curious George and the Donut Delivery - Margret & H.A. Rey (18-36 mo), The Donut Chef - Bob Staake (3-5 yrs)

I used the Curious George book with my younger class (with pages clipped), and it went ok. It helped that most of them knew who George was, but it wasn't the best read-aloud book. The older class might have been able to understand it a little better, but I really wanted to use the Donut Chef book with them. THAT is a cool book. I wish I had tried it with the younger ones.


6) Mmm Donuts 
Found this little game at Lindsy's Preschool Alphabet (I did change the words slightly). I cut 10 donut shapes from some foam sheets we had, scattered them on the floor in front of me, and one by one had each kid come pick one up.

Down around the corner, at the bakery shop,
There were (#) little donuts with colored frosting on top.
Along came (name), hungry for a treat,
And s/he picked the (color) one to take home and eat!

We counted out loud how many donuts were left before moving on to the next person. Once everyone had one, I went down the line asking "[name], what color donut do you have?" and they would tell me and I'd take it from them.


7) Song – We are the Dinosaurs - Laurie Berkner
My kids LOVE this song. They ask for it every week. The dinosaurs stop and eat in the song, so we pretended they were eating donuts. :)


8) If You Give a Dog a Donut - Laura Numeroff

This was the book that inspired the theme today. I love the "If You Give a..." books (my daughter's second birthday party was themed around the mouse and cookie book).


9) D is for Donut coloring page (18-36 mo.) or D is for Donut craft (3-5 yrs)
Basic idea for this craft from Jean Warren. I cut out a large D (with a tiny center) from brown paper. The "frosting" was white glue mixed with a bit of white tempera paint (so it wouldn't dry completely clear). The kids used paint brushes to apply their frosting. Then I'd chopped some small "sprinkles" out of scrap paper that they scattered over the frosting.

My 3-year-old daughter's version

10) Snack
Ok I couldn't have a storytime about donuts without bringing some in... Just a small thing of glazed donut holes for the kids and parents. And a bigger box of the good stuff for the staff. :)


Other donut ideas:
The Great Doughnut Parade - Rebecca Bond
Arnie the Doughnut - Laurie Keller

This was a very hard storytime to find books and activities for. But I really really wanted to read the Laura Numeroff book, and we'd already done a dog storytime over the summer. We made it work!!

Mystery Box

When cleaning and organizing my storage closet, I came across a cute, sparkly, hinged treasure-chest-type box.

It's about 7x7x2 inches

It sat in the back of my mind for a few weeks, until I was planning my school year's storytime themes (based on the alphabet). How about I put something small in the box each week, that lets the kids know what our topic is for that week?

I actually hide all of my storytime books and craft supplies under a sheet, so that when the kids come in they have no idea what we'll be talking about. After we sing our opening song, I invite the kids to come up and I slowly open the box.

We're at the point now where some of the older kids try to guess what the topic will be. "Next in the alphabet is G. Is it grapes today? Or grass? Or goats??"

Storytime: Colors

Age: 18-36 months (coloring page instead of craft), 3-5 years (with craft)

This school year in storytime I decided to use the alphabet to give me inspiration for themes. So this week, C is for Colors!


1) These Are My Glasses - Laurie Berkner
My current opening song that we sing acappella every week. I start by asking them to show me their glasses and their book so that they remember the signs. We sing it through twice, then I'll ask them to quietly put their "books" in their lap.

These are my glasses (make the letter o with each hand)
And this is my book (hands together)
I put on my glasses (put "glasses" over eyes)
And open up the book (open book hands)
Now I read read read (hold book up in front of face like reading)
And I look look look (put glasses over eyes and look around room)
I put down my glasses and… (lower glasses)
WHOOP! Close up the book. (clap as if closing a book quickly)


2) Mystery Box
This week I filled the box with colorful scarves.


3) The Crayon Box That Talked - Shane DeRolf

Probably my longest book of the day, I wanted to make sure we got through it without the kids getting antsy so we read it first. I think I've mentioned before that I'm a sucker for rhyming books... and this one definitely has that cute, lilting, rhyming rhythm. It has a great message at the end too.


4) Feltboard - I Have a Crayon
I handed out crayon-shaped felt pieces and recited this rhyme, asking the kids to come up and put their crayon on my board when I called their color. If you have lots of kids, you could instead place the felt crayons on the board yourself as you recite the rhyme. Let the kids guess the colors before putting the crayon on the board. They're good at figuring out which color is next based on the rhyme!

I have a crayon, I'll give it to you. 
Here is my crayon, my crayon of blue. 

I have a crayon, a lovely little fellow. 
Here is my crayon, my crayon of yellow. 

I have a crayon, I think it's just right. 
Here is my crayon, my crayon of white. 

I have a crayon, it's here on my head. 
Here is my crayon, my crayon of red. 

I have a crayon, I found it in town. 
Here is my crayon, my crayon of brown. 

I have a crayon, we can draw a circle. 
Here is my crayon, my crayon of purple. 

I have a crayon, what do I see? 
Here is my crayon, an orange one for me. 

I have a crayon right in my sack. 
Here is my crayon, my crayon of black. 

I have a crayon, it's just right I think. 
Here is my crayon, my crayon of pink. 

I have a crayon, the best ever seen. 
Here is my crayon, my crayon of green.

(from Abby Librarian)


5) Lemons are Not Red - Laura Seeger

The kids enjoyed telling me what the correct color of each item was. And I pointed out the light in the house on the last couple of pages and it was cute to see them light up when they understood it.


6) Songs – Shake Your Sillies Out & Hot Potato - the Wiggles
They were feeling a little wiggly by this point. I passed out colored scarves for them to dance with during these songs.


7) Dog's Colorful Day - Emma Dodd

I like to make the kids count with me whenever a book involves numbers. Pointing at each dot as we count helps teach the one-to-one correlation that takes kids lots of practice to learn. There are also lots of possibility for a flannel board to go with this story (check Pinterest or Google it), but I try to limit myself to one flannel story a week.


8) Clothing Colors rhyme
A simple little action rhyme to help kids learn to follow directions.

If your clothes have any red, put your finger on your head 
If your clothes have any blue, put your finger on your shoe
If your clothes have any green, wave your hand so that you're seen
If your clothes have any yellow, smile like a happy fellow
If your clothes have any brown, turn your smile into a frown
If your clothes have any black, put your hands behind your back
If your clothes have any white, stamp your feet with all your might
(from SurLaLune Storytime)


9) Brown Bear, Brown Bear - Bill Martin Jr.

No description needed. A classic book. My oldest daughter learned her colors thanks to this book, and at age 3 she now "reads" it to my one year old.


10) C is for Colors coloring page (18-36 mo.) or C is for Colors craft (3-5 yrs)
My younger kids coloring page was of the animals in Brown Bear, taken from Make Learning Fun -- I whited-out the numbers and words.

For the older kids craft, I took inspiration from Sadie's rainbow craft. I cut out a big letter C in the middle of black construction paper. Then I took colored paper and cut strips. The kids glued the strips (whichever colors they wanted) across the C, then we glued another solid piece of black paper over top. Flip it over, and you have a colorful letter C!

My 3-year-old daughter's version

Other color ideas:
Harold & the Purple Crayon - Crockett Johnson
Good Night Sweet Butterflies - Dawn Bentley
Blue Goose - Nancy Tafuri
Pirate Nap: A Book of Colors - Danna Smith - we had just used this one during our summer reading program
Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes - Eric Litwin - we had also just used this one over the summer
White Rabbit's Color Book - Alan Baker - I almost used this one. I even made the felt rabbits from Sunflower Storytime. But I couldn't find any good buckets, and I had a ton of other good book and flannel choices.

There are sooooooo many storytimes out there about colors. I was amazed...

Song & Rhyme Cube

I saw the idea for a song cube in a few places, including Mel's Desk. I wanted to include more classic rhymes and kids songs this year, and this was the perfect way to do that. I made mine from a full tissue box, covered in scrapbook paper. Since I had a hard time narrowing down the songs I like to only 6, I made my little pictures removable (stuck on with poster putty)!

 

 

Any week that we have a little extra time at the end of storytime (maybe it was a topic that didn't have as many activities, or the books were shorter), I'll pull out the cube. I roll it to the side of the room, and the kids know they are not supposed to touch it, but just tell me what picture is on the top.

I also have a word underneath each picture, to start the kids on letter and word recognition.

The songs and rhymes I currently have cards for are:

• Itsy Bitsy Spider (spider)
• I'm a Little Teapot (teapot)
• Five Little Monkeys (monkey) -- I have a big furry glove with monkey heads velcroed to the fingers
• Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (star)
• If You're Happy and You Know It (face)
• B-I-N-G-O (dog)
• The Wheels on the Bus (bus)
• Head Shoulders Knees and Toes (body)
• Humpty Dumpty (egg) -- we have flannel pieces for this
• Hickory Dickory Dock (clock)
• Hey Diddle Diddle (cow) -- we have flannel pieces for this

Storytime: Bears

Age: 18-36 months (coloring page instead of craft), 3-5 years (with craft)

This school year in storytime I decided to use the alphabet to give me inspiration for themes. So this week, B is for Bears!


1) These Are My Glasses - Laurie Berkner
My current opening song that we sing acappella every week. I start by asking them to show me their glasses and their book so that they remember the signs. We sing it through twice, then I'll ask them to quietly put their "books" in their lap.

These are my glasses (make the letter o with each hand)
And this is my book (hands together)
I put on my glasses (put "glasses" over eyes)
And open up the book (open book hands)
Now I read read read (hold book up in front of face like reading)
And I look look look (put glasses over eyes and look around room)
I put down my glasses and… (lower glasses)
WHOOP! Close up the book. (clap as if closing a book quickly)


2) Mystery Box
This week I brought a tiny stuffed bear from home.


3) Leaves - William Corderoy

A cute little book about a curious baby bear in the fall. Perfect for this time of year. (I was surprised when I searched for this one to link that it's older and not available from Amazon directly. I even had a hard time finding a picture of the cover. It's a great little book!)


4) Where is Bear? song 
Found this song at Storytime Katie. I had a cute soft teddy bear that I hid behind my back and pulled out for this song, then had him lay down in my lap to go to sleep. Then I had the kids shout "wake up bear!" and started again. We did it 4-5 times before deciding to let him sleep. Tune of "Where Is Thumbkin."

Where is bear? Where is bear? 
Here I am! Here I am! 
How are you this winter? Very tired, thank you. 
Go to sleep. Go to sleep.


5) The Three Bears - Byron Barton

I love the bold, simple pictures in Byron Barton's books. This one is a great rendition of the classic Goldilocks tale.


6) Six Busy Bears
This is a rhyme I found in my filing cabinet. It looks like it's from a book, the rhyme is a photocopy and the flannel pieces are white interfacing that's been colored. I did a Google search and didn't come up with anything... so I have no idea where it came from! In my 3-5 year old class we had 5 kids, so they could each have a piece to bring up. I just did it myself for the younger class since there were more than six kids.

Six little honey bears going out to play
Busy as can be, on a fine spring day (I changed spring to fall this time!)

The first little bear is eating honey in a chair
The second little bear is flying balloons in the air.

The third little bear is looking for rain in the sky
The fourth little bear is riding her tricycle on by

The fifth little bear is going fishing in the creek
The sixth little bear is playing cowboy hide and seek

Six little busy bears, tired as can be
Hear Mama Bear calling, "Come on home to me!"

Six little tired bears better run home quick
And away they all go - one, two, three, four, five, six (take bears off flannel board one by one)

Six little honey bears will come out to play
After a good night's sleep, on another fine spring (fall) day.





7) Baby Bear Sees Blue - Ashley Wolff

A relatively new book (published in 2012), I just love this one! The pictures are realistic, yet simple. I even had the bright idea to create flannel pieces and have the kids help me tell the story. It was also a sneak peak at next week's Colors theme, though they didn't know it... :)


8) Song Cube


9) B is for Bear coloring page (18-36 mo.) or B Bear craft (3-5 yrs)

Inspired by a handful of pictures from a Google Image search for "B is for bear craft."

My 3-year-old daughter's version

Other bear ideas:
Bear Snores On - Karma Wilson
Scare a Bear - Kathy-joWargin
Brown Bear, Polar Bear, and Panda Bear - Bill Martin Jr.