Family Storytime, Penguins!

School was out in Augusta on Friday, so we decided to have a family storytime!

First we read Tacky and the Winter Games

Tacky and his fellow teammates are training for the Winter Games, but Tacky's crazy antics make it hard for Team Nice Icy Land to win any medals.  Will Tacky be a help to his team, or will he cost them the gold?

Then we talked about the types of animals that live in the arctic.  I told the kids some fun facts about penguins, polar bears, walruses and snowy owls.  We also walked like the animals we talked about.

Moving like walruses!

At the very end, we watched a movie.  Leslie made popcorn, and we enjoyed it very much!

Waiting impatiently for the movie to start!

Overall, a great time was had by all!

Easy Readers

Is your child starting to get the hang of the reading thing?  Want them to experiment with recognizing sight words?  Try easy readers!  Augusta has many easy readers.  Know which ones to choose?

There are several levels associated with easy readers:

My First:     Ideal for sharing with those children just beginning to read.

Level 1:       Has simple sentences for those readers who are just beginning to read on their own.

Level 2:       Longer sentences with interesting stories for developing readers.

Level 3:       Complex plots and challenging vocabulary for more confident readers.

Level 4:       Simple chapter books with short paragraphs and chapters

Stay tuned for reviews of easy readers in the coming weeks!

Z is for Moose

Z is for Moose

Zebra is making sure that everyone will go in the correct order in the book.  A, B, C all go correctly, but then Moose appears for D.  He gets so excited for his letter that he causes chaos.  When M does appear, it turns out that Mouse has been asked to be M.  Moose is so mad, he decides that he's going to be in each letter.  This is a fun story to read with children who are past learning their letters, so that they can appreciate how silly Moose is.

Family Storytime- Jan. 25 @ 1pm!

Punk Farm

With the flu still making its way around town, the Storytime crowd was slim today.  Just like last week, only two kids made an appearance.

We read Punk Farm on Tour by Jarrett J. Krosoczka.  The story was really informal, and the kids played with puzzles and other toys the library keeps out in the Youth Department.   There is no Storytime next week, but we do have a Family Storytime planned.  See next blog post for more details.

Boot & Shoe

Boot & Shoe

Written and Illustrated by Marla Frazee

Boot and Shoe are doggies that do everything together.  They eat out of the same dish, sleep on the same bed, and they even pee on the same tree.  The only thing that they don't do together is sit on the porch together.  A squirrel comes along and disrupts the delicate balance with hilarious consequences.

The story is priceless.  I won't ruin the book for anyone.  When I was reading the story, it made me laugh out loud.  The best pictures in the book only show the two dogs.  They show a lot of emotions through body language as hair covers their eyes.

It's Electric!

THE PLAN

Playtime
We played with a variety of toys this morning.  Only two kids showed up for Storytime, so the plan was much more fluid than normal.

Beginning Song
We did the Beginning Song first!  Toby was a naughty puppy and rearranged the schedule pieces that we use for Storytime.  I asked the kids to try to put them back into order, and they couldn't!  After almost three weeks of no Storytime, they could not remember our routine.  Rearranging the schedule pieces was good practice though.

Two Little Hands
See this post for our Two Little Hands rhyme.

All About Today

Friday's weather was cold and foggy.

Read & Listen:

Today we read A Birthday for Cow! by Jan Thomas.  Since there were only two kids came to Storytime, I read the story informally; with one kid on each side.  Surprisingly, they paid more attention to the story, and there were no complaints about not being able to see the pictures.

Learning Time:

Learning time is going to be after our Read & Listen this session.  Why?  During this session we are focusing on science experiments!  During the story, Pig and Mouse decorate for Cow's birthday using balloons.  Using that tie-in, today's experiment was about Static Electricity!  We blew up balloons before Storytime, and the kids played with the balloons.  I introduced the words "static electricity", "friction", and "attract" to the kids, writing them on the white board so they could see what they look like.  I took one of the balloons and held it to the wall, asking the kids if the balloon would stick.  They said no, and the balloon did fall to the ground.  Next, I took the balloon and rubbed it on my sleeve, then asked the kids if it would stick to the wall.  They said no, and they were very surprised to find that it did!  I then told the kids that the reason it stuck to the wall was because of static electricity.

Overall, the kids had a great time learning about the balloons.  If they don't remember the words "static electricity" to describe the science, at least they know that if they rub a balloon on their sleeve or hair, it will stick to other things.

Town Mouse and the Country Mouse

Town Mouse and the Country Mouse

Retold and Illustrated by Helen Ward.

The Country Mouse loves his country home.  That all changes when his cousin, Town Mouse comes to visit.  There are no wild animals in the city and there are scrumptious dinners to be eaten.  The Country Mouse goes for a visit and finds different dangers.

The pictures in this book are excellent.  The author uses bright colors and uses great detail.  Everything is drawn in a larger scale as a mouse would see the world around him.