National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry

April is Poetry Month!

What a long title for such a cute book!  National Geographic's Book of Animal Poetry combines the photo's we know and love from National Geographic with different forms of poetry.

"A Wise Old Owl"

A wise old owl lived in an oak

The more he saw the less he spoke

The less he spoke the more he heard

Why can't we all be like that wise old bird?

--A nursery rhyme

It's Magnetic!

THE PLAN

Playtime
The kids brought out a lot of toys today.  I let them play an extra couple of minutes too today, because they seemed so involved with those toys.

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

Beginning Song
We stretched out our limbs before the beginning song today.  Toby was sick today!  He probably caught his cold from his grandmother.  Toby didn't sing, but he did lick some kids.

All About Today

Friday's weather was cool and windy.  The kids that showed up to Storytime didn't wear winter coats!  That makes me very happy!! 

Read & Listen:

We read Bridget's Beret today.  The kids were quite antsy, because they were excited for the magnets!

Learning Time:

We experimented with magnets today.  IFLS was kind enough to let me borrow their science kit.  In the science kit they had magnetic stones (similar to these) and the kids just loved them!  They were really strong, so they stuck to everything (everything that was magnetic of course).  Overall, I would talk about magnets again.

Ocean Soup

April is Poetry Month!

Regenerate

In the tide pool where I dwell, 

five arms grasp a mussel shell.

A crab comes --SNIP!--there goes my arm.

Rude, yes, but I'm not alarmed.

There won't be need to operate,

since starfish arms regenerate.

Who doesn't love the ocean and summer?  Ocean Soup: Tide-Pool Poems by Stephen R. Swinburne has poems about things that inhabit tide-pools.  Facts are also included at the bottom of every page, describing what is illustrated on the page.  This book would perfect to help children are very interested in sea life become more interested in poetry.  

Remembering E.L. Konigsburg

E.L. Konigsburg passed away on Friday, April 19, 2013.  She was the two-time recipient of the Newbery Medal, the most prestigious award in children's award.

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler : 1968

Get it in the catalog

The View From Saturday : 1997

Get it in the catalog

Rainbows!

THE PLAN

Playtime
We played with connecting blocks and textured dominoes for playtime today.

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

Beginning Song
We stretched out our limbs before the beginning song today.  Toby was back from his grandmother's house (she was sick and he took chicken noodle soup to her) and he helped us sing the beginning song.

All About Today

Friday's weather was cold and windy.  As Storytime ended, the snow started again.  

Read & Listen:

We read The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister today!  Rainbow Fish is selfish with his brightly colored rainbow scales.  It is only after he talks to the wise octopus that he realizes he will be happier by giving away his rainbow scales to some of his friends.

Learning Time:

We hunted for rainbow fish in the library for Learning Time.  I cut out 1 red, 2 orange, 3 yellow, 4 green, 5 blue, and 6 purple fish and hid them around the library.  The kids found the really easy ones first, and then I had to help them find the others.  I hid them so well in plain sight that even I couldn't remember where some of them were.  Luckily, the moms were there to also help us search.  After we found all of the fish, we talked about which ones were bigger/smaller, and then we counted each color.  I think I'm going to do more search and finds in the library, because the kids really seemed to enjoy themselves.

Mud!

Cassie (our intern) led this Storytime to fulfill her program requirement for school.

THE PLAN

Playtime
We played with a tin of buttons and a few connecting toys in Storytime!

Beginning Song
We had a new friend join us for the beginning song, Hamster.  Hamster likes when people sing to him, but he is very shy and wouldn't look at anyone until the singing started.  Cassie (our intern) forgot how to start the beginning song and needed a little help!

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

All About Today

Friday's weather was cold and windy.  The snow had finally stopped for awhile!  

Read & Listen:

Cassie (intern) read Pigs in the Mud in the Middle of the Rud by Lynn Plourde for Storytime.  The kids enjoyed the different kinds of animals that ended up in the road.  They laughed at the end when the Grandma was covered in mud.

Learning Time:

We played with clean mud for Learning Time.  We made it with baking soda and water and provided toys for them to play with in the mud.  We asked which animals were in the mud from the story and if it really felt like mud.  Sage decided it was more like wet sand.  The kids really enjoyed playing in the mud!

Jam and Honey

April is Poetry Month!

Told from the viewpoints of both the girl and the bee, Jam and Honey by Melita Morales is a very sweet treat indeed.  The girl gets to go pick blueberries by herself, but she's scared of bees.  Her mother tells her to stand still, they won't bug her because bees only want nectar.  Then, we meet the bee, who only wants nectar.  His mother tells him to fly high, because people only want the blueberries.  At the end of the book, you see the girl eating a snack of toast with honey and blueberry jam on top.  This book has the classic rhyme, where the last word of the sentence rhymes.

Red, White, and Boom!

April is Poetry Month!

Red, White, and Boom! by Lee Wardlaw celebrates the Fourth of July with poetry!  Wardlaw travels across the country to showcase how different places celebrate the Fourth of July.  The use of color in this book is amazing.  It reminds me of summer, and how it seems like things get brighter and more colorful.  

Water into Ice

THE PLAN

Playtime
Puzzles this morning at Storytime!  Miah found a box with several puzzles shaped like different vehicles, so everyone was able to split up into groups.

Beginning Song
First we shook out our wiggles.  We shook out our legs, arms, heads, tongues, and hair!  The kids know the beginning song really well, so they hardly need prompting from me.  They just start!

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

All About Today

Friday's weather was cool and sunny.  We are heading away from it being cold all the time!  

Read & Listen:

Cassie (our intern) read Snow by Uri Shulevitz today for Storytime.  The kids enjoyed pointing out the number of snowflakes on each page.  They giggled a lot at the end when the people were entirely covered with snow.

Learning Time:

We played around with ice today for Learning Time.  I placed ice cubes in plastic cups, and we talked about the five senses in relation to the ice cube.  The kids really enjoyed trying to make their ice cube melt!

Hoppy Easter!

We had a Family Storytime March 29. Here are some pictures from that fun day!

We read Jan Brett's Easter Egg.

 

We colored Easter eggs!

And watched a movie about a rockin' bunny.

Meow Ruff

April is Poetry Month!

Meow Ruff by Joyce Sidman

Who knew poetry could be so interesting?  Concrete poetry takes the shape of the item that it's talking about.  While this would not be a good book for reading out loud, it does invite the reader to peruse the pictures.

Daddy Calls Me Doodlebug

April is Poetry Month!

Daddy Calls Me Doodlebug showcases what different animal dads call their children.  The text has a beautiful rhythm and the pictures are saturated with color.  The book is a board book, allowing even the youngest reader to be impacted by poetry and reading.