Play with Colors!

For the winter months the Early Learning Team has developed an open-ended play time for preschoolers with a different focus each month.  January was Play with Color...and I was the one to get the program together and I facilitated three of the nine programs.  It was so much fun and so rewarding.  At first I was leery of having the program run two hours, but after doing them it great to see the children have a lot of time to explore and to really dig into their play.  And parents weren't "rushing" them, like they often do at storytime.

I created the program with a variety of open-ended activities and then the Early Learning Librarian could choose which of the activities they wanted to put out for the day.  (These pictures are from three different programs, I didn't do all the activities at all the libraries)

Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiment

Play Dough

Do-a-Dot Art

Beads and Pipe Cleaners

PomPoms (with muffin tins, scoops, tweezers)

Parachute, Tunnel, Beach Balls

Flannel Board and Pieces, Balls and Tubes, "Window" blocks

Open Ended Art (construction paper, scissors, glue, crayons, tape, feathers, yarn, ribbon)

Magna Tiles

Water Colors

A variety of colorful play and learn toys (depending on the library)

I also wrote a short article for the Current (a monthly community-wide newspaper)

Winter in Spokane can be gray and dreary, but preschool children can add some color to winter by attending the library's Play with Color events at nine of our libraries in January.

Research has shown that children learn best through play and that learning is not separate from play.  Learning about colors is no different.  Children learn about colors through play and by having the time and materials to interact and experiment with colors.

 Important cognitive, language, and math skills are developed as children learn about colors starting with the ability to distinguish between items that are same and different.  Children can then start to sort like items together (color being one of the first ways children sort).   Learning that color words (red, yellow, blue) are not things, but are words to describe an object, takes time for children to develop.  They often learn and say color words before being able to distinguish between the all the colors, but this shows a depth of understanding about colors.  After children learn basic colors they begin to understand such nuances as light blue and navy blue are both blue.  Children are amazed that mixing colors together makes new colors.  Adults can tell children that yellow and blue makes green, but until a child actually mixes yellow and blue together to watches green emerge will they really be learning that color concept.

And all this learning is done while playing. 

Play with Color will feature many colorful open-ended toys from the library’s Play and Learn Storytimes, such as blocks, balls, balance bears, and wooden beads.  Along with toys children will have the opportunity to play with colors in an open-ended art project and participate in a simple science experiment with baking soda and vinegar and watch as colors mix together to make new colors. 

Please join us for this fun and engaging program at a Spokane County Library in January!

Watch for Play with Science in February and Play with Math in March at your Spokane County Libraries!

Picture Books to Help Grieving Children

 Here is a link to blogpost I wrote for my library district about Childhood Grief Awareness Month.  It's more than just a list of books to read to children who have lost someone, but categorized different death/grief picture books and when to read each kind.

Snipping Station

An internal blog post

Many children are entering school without scissor skills.  Some parents are hesitant to allow their children to use scissors in fear of what they may cut up and other parents just don’t think about teaching scissor skills.  But scissors skills are important in and of themselves, but developing these fine motor skills also aids in greater skills in writing.

A fun way to introduce and encourage scissor skills is to create a snipping station.  This is super easy to set up and children love to spend time there.  The last time I set up a snipping station there were children who choose to spend all their play time at the station!

In a shallow tub or box put in a variety of items for children to cut.  Examples include: scrap paper, construction paper, cardstock, straws, yarn, ribbon, craft foam, crepe paper, tissue paper, junk mail, envelopes, store circulars, newspaper, scraps of fabric, etc.  Provide 6-8 pairs of child scissors (this is a great opportunity to encourage waiting your turn and sharing).  Encourage the children to snip—short cuts on the edge on the items—and to keep the cut pieces in the bin.

The children are not “making” anything and they are also not asked to “cut on the line”—this is just an open-ended activity to practice using scissors. Though it is a perfect opportunity to gently help a child hold the scissors in the correct position and to encourage them to keep the scissors in a “thumbs up” position.

Fall Favorites

Because it can be tricky doing storytimes around holidays. 

I love fall and the holidays in the fall.  But after an experience of a family leaving storytime when I started reading a Halloween book (and then they didn’t come back the next week…or the next…or ever) I have avoided reading any holiday specific books during my regular storytimes.  Although the District doesn’t have a policy against doing holiday themes in storytimes we want to be aware and inclusive of all our families and I never want another family to walk out of my storytime because of a holiday book!  Many of our outreach storytime visits discourage any holiday themes.  So instead of Halloween and Thanksgiving books here are some of my favorite fall themes for storytime!

• Apples
• Dressing Up
• Food/Eating
• Gratitude/Saying Thank You
• Hibernation/Animals in Fall
• Leaves
• Pumpkins
• Spiders
• You Don’t Scare Me!  (Books about being brave)

 A few books to consider:

Super Rawr! (by Todd H. Doodler)

Just What Mama Needs (by Sharlee Glenn)

Apple Farmer Annie  (by Monica Wellington)

The Apple Pie Tree (by Zoe Hal)

Before We Eat: From Farm to Table (by Pat Brisson)

Snip, Snap! What’s That? (by Mara Bergman)

A few rhymes and fingerplays you can use:

Dress-Up 
A pretty princess wears a crown
Bunny's ears flop up and down.

A beautiful ballerina dances round and round,
A butterfly flies without a sound.

A cowboy with his boots and horse,
A doctor with a stethoscope.

I like to dress-up and to pretend,
On my own or with a friend!

5 Little Pumpkins
5 little pumpkins sitting on the gate
The 1st one said, "Oh, my! It's getting late!"
The 2nd one said, "There's a chill in the air"
The 3rd one said, "But we don't care"
The 4th one said, "I'm ready for some fun"
The 5th one said, "Let's run, run, run!"
The whooooosh went the wind
And out went the lights
And the 5 little pumpkins rolled out of sight.

Fall Riddles
Beneath your feet you hear them crunch

Then they get raked up into a bunch.

What are they?  LEAVES

This drops off trees and there it lies

Til someone baked it into pies

What is it? APPLE

This stands in the field and scares a bird,

But it doesn’t say a single word.

What is it? SCARECROW

It’s cold in autumn, if it blows

It swirl the leaves to make a show.

What is it? WIND

Of all the flowers this one’s queen

When yellow petals and seeds between.

What is it? SUNFLOWER

It’s big and orange and quite a catch

When you pick it from the patch

What is it? PUMPKIN

My all-time favorite fall book:

The Little Old Lady who was not Afraid of Anything  (by Linda Williams)

Simple Flannels for Babies

​I have been on the lookout for simple flannel board rhymes to do with babies.  I posted about my first successful one in October 2017.  I make very simple, one-cut felt pieces, so I don’t have to worry about small pieces falling off and creating a choking hazard.  Here are a few more I’ve found that I have loved doing with the little ones.

Colors

(You can sing this to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)

Orange and yellow, green and blue

These are colors just for you

Orange as a flower, green as a tree

Yellow as the sun and blue as the sea.

Orange and yellow, green and blue

These are colors just for you.

Over in the Meadow

Over in the meadow in the sand in the sun

Lived an old mother turtle and her little one

“Dig”, said the mother. “I dig”, said the one

So they dug all day in the sand in the sun.

Over in the meadow where the stream runs blue

Lived an old mother fish and her little fishies two

“Swim”, said the mother. “We swim”, said the two

So they swam all day where the stream runs blue

Over in the mead in an old hollow tree

Lived an old mother bird and her little birdies three

“Sing”, said the mother.  “We sing”, said the three

So they sang all day in the old hollow tree.

Five Little Babies
Adapted from Yakaberry.com

Five little babies were playing one day
One saw a ball, and he crawled away
Four little babies were playing one day
One saw a rattle, and she crawled away
Three little babies were playing one day
One saw a blanket, and he crawled away
Two little babies were playing one day
One saw a teddy, and she crawled away
One little baby was playing one day
He saw his friends, and he crawled away.

One Two Three

One little two little three little puppies

One little two little three little puppies

One little two little three little puppies

Bark like this all day.  Ruff! Ruff!

Can substitute kitties or just about any other animal!

More on Math

A few weeks ago I was able to attend the Gift of Childhood Conference.  Douglas Clements was the keynote speaker and I also attended one of his workshops.  He is a researcher of early childhood math education from the University of Denver. 

Dr. Clements spoke about the immense importance of providing better math opportunities for young children.  We can continue to add math concepts into our storytimes to strengthen children’s understanding.  In fact, recent research showed that counting predicted arithmetic success in Kindergarten, which in turn predicts later school achievement in all areas.

Here are a few other tidbits I learned that I’d like to pass along:

• Subitizing (knowing how many without having to count)  When children are subitizing larger numbers (6 and above) we can ask how they know because usually kids will “see” at least one number and then they add the other number they “see”.  For example 8—the child could see 5 and 3 or maybe they see 4 and 4.  Children may know that 4 and 4 is eight.  If children know the number don’t make them count; this discourages subitizing, the very thing we are trying to teach.  However, when children are subitzing 1-5 we do NOT want to ask “how many”.  We want them to be able to look and just know; thus not being able to tell us “how” they know with numbers one through five.   
• Placing items to count horizontally is best when children are first starting to count.  Using just one color or one type of item is also best.
• Count as you add items to the flannel board.  Put one monkey on board, count one, put next monkey on say two and so forth.  This helps children hear and see the number.  After counting be sure to ask, How Many? to help children with cardinatility—understanding the last number they say is “how many”.
• Don’t just count to ten, go on to eleven or twelve! Try a movement activity, such as jumping, and count the number of times a child can jump—hearing numbers past what they can recite helps children gain a greater understanding of numbers. 
• Try a flannel board such as “Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed” but have 2 or 3 fall off at once. Dr. Clements believes that we often don’t challenge children enough in regards to math.
• Use math language more in every day situations.  We can help children see numbers by talking about numbers.  Instead of saying “Pick up the blocks” you can say, “Pick up the three blocks”.  

The Bookworm

I recently discovered a great new resource for stoytime—The Bookworm, a monthly publication from the Idaho Commission for Libraries.  They offer three newsletters each month focusing on Babies and Toddlers; Preschoolers; and Kindergarteners.  Each 2-page newsletter has book suggestions, rhymes or songs, and using the 5 practices—singing, talking, reading, writing, and playing with children.  Each month they focus on a specific practice and uses terms from Every Child Ready to Read 1^st Edition—narrative skills, print awareness, print motivation, vocabulary, letter knowledge, and phonological awareness—to teach parents and caregivers about the importance of early learning.  I love the “Here’s How…” section that gives easy, everyday ways parents can help foster early learning.  These would make great parent tips during storytime!

Here is the link to check-out this great resource!

Mr. Rogers

Internal Blog Post

With a newly published book “The Good Neighbor” and the recent documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” I have been thinking about Mr. Rogers and the impact and influence he has had on the education of young children and the example he has set for those of us who work with children. 

I remember watching Mr. Rogers as a preschooler and then off and on again with my younger siblings.  One of my favorite parts of the show was when he would use Picture, Picture so I got to see how things were made, such as colored constructions paper and crayons.  Those real life things fascinated me!  So I enjoyed when we went on a “field trip” with him too.

As I have reflected on Mr. Rogers and his television show I have come to truly admire him and thought about how I can emulate some of his traits during my own storytimes.

1. Slow  Mr. Rogers was never in a hurry.  He took his time—his speech was slower, his words in his song were slow and clear, he took his time showing us something. I never felt rushed during my time with Mr. Rogers.
2. Pause  Mr. Rogers would pause.  He would make a statement and pause so it could “sink in”.  He would ask a question and he would pause, waiting for me to respond.  He would pause while he was showing us something.
3. Quiet  Mr. Rogers wasn’t afraid of letting it be quiet for a few moments.  He didn’t fill every moment with action or talk, which goes right along with slowing down and pausing. 
4. Eye Contact  Mr. Rogers would talk to me and look straight in my eyes.  He would pause and look at me and wait. 
5. Words  Mr. Rogers put feelings and thoughts into words.  He acknowledges feelings—sometimes you feel angry, sad, or confused.  He taught me that those feelings are not wrong or bad but instead to learn to acknowledge those feelings and learn how to express them appropriately.  Mr. Rogers didn’t talk down to me.  He used clear, concise language but never in a demeaning way.  He also “narrated” what he was doing or thinking.  “Let’s feed the fish.”  He also expressed words of affirmation to each child—“You are special” and “I like you just the way you are”.

How can we apply some of these principles as we conduct storytime at the library? 

Two ways I am going to follow Mr. Rogers’ example:

1.       Slow down during storytime.  Give the children time to digest the story or song.  I’ll try not rush from one book, song, activity to another.  Enjoy the moment of learning!

2.       Be more attentive to children by looking them in the eye and pausing to let them say what they would like to say.  This may be easier during play and learn if the storytime is large.

How has Mr. Rogers had an influence on your own interactions with children?

The Why

An internal blog post

I was able to attend an early learning conference last week and gained a lot of great information, ideas, and insights.  I love learning new techniques, talking with like-minded individuals who love working with children, and being reminded again about “the why”.  Why do we do what we do in early learning?  Thinking about “the why” focuses me again on the important work we do with young children, their caregivers, and families.  Being reminded of “the why” also keeps me motivated and energized!

Here are three of “the whys” I took away from the conference applied directly to storytime.  Reflecting on these, and other “whys”, reminds us that we don’t do storytimes to just read a few books and sing a song or two then put out toys to play with.  We can, and should be, doing so much more!

• Why do “messy art” in storytime?

Children learn best through open-ended play; meaning children have the freedom to interact with the environment and objects in their own way.  This includes how they interact with art supplies.  Children learn through play, experimenting, and trying new things.  Children learn best and are more motivated when their art is their own—they make the decision as to what it will be and are validated for their efforts because there is no “right” way to do it.  This adds to the child’s motivation, confidence and resilience, which are all necessary to order to continue to learn.

• Why do math activities in storytime?

Research has shown that early math skills have the greatest predictive power to later learning.  Children need a lot of expose to math concepts, because of course, that is how we all learn, through repetition.  Math is linear—one concept builds upon the previous.  The next layer can’t be added if the child doesn’t first have a firm grasp on the previous concept, including math vocabulary.  Thus a strong foundation is needed and early math expose and activities help to build that.  Storytimes are an ideal place to point out math concepts in books, songs, flannel boards, etc. by counting, asking how many, and asking the child to verbalize math ideas.

• Why use movement activities in storytime?

Children need time to move.  In fact, children learn better and are more focused after doing a physical activity.  Movement activities help to develop executive function, stimulates motivation, grows neurons in the brain, and improve memory.  So be sure to add some simple movement activities which could include actions with songs, stretches, yoga poses, or even a quick GoNoodle video!

A Tip from Kindergarten--Stations!

Internal Blog Post

Sometimes in storytime I set up an activity that the children swarm.  All of them want to do it first thing and very quickly there isn’t enough room for everyone or enough of the activity to go around.  Then kids get hurt feelings or maybe a little aggressive because they want to be in on it.  Here’s a trick from the Kindergarten classroom that that easily be used in storytime to help all children enjoy the activities you have…just not all at the same time.

This is also a great tool to encourage and develop executive function skills—yes, the dreaded, “waiting your turn”.  Here’s what I did during Art Week that made the flow so much smoother:

I had three tables set up with three art projects as well as an area with toys.  Each of the tables had a different table cloth/paper covering.  I decided how many kids could comfortably be at each art table, then cut out scraps of colored paper to match the color of the table cloths.  I then passed out the colored squares of paper to the children (making sure sibling got the same color) and they were to start at the table with the same color table cloth as their square.

Here’s how that looked:

• Red Table—Can You Paint with That?  There was enough room for 6 kids, so I passed out 6 red colored squares.
• Black Table—Chalk Art  There was enough room for 4 kids, so I passed out 4 black colored squares.
• Green Table—Painting with Ice with enough room for 4 kids, so I passed out 4 green squares.
• I cut up a bunch of yellow squares to pass out last—which was to play with the toys first.

I told the parents/caregivers what I was doing…and why…and threw in the bit about how this would be something kids would be expected to do in Kindergarten.  I was pleasantly surprised that the parents/caregivers really helped the kids follow through with waiting their turn as well as watching when a station had an open spot.  Even the kids who had to play first did a great job waiting to go to an art station.

You can use this “trick” with almost any group of activities you put out—especially if this is one you think the children will swarm. 

Children's Book Week

Children’s Book Week is May 1-7.  I know, for us doing stoytime every week is Children’s Book Week!  But it does give us a reason to celebrate the wonderful books out there with great stories, great illustrations, and a great way for adults and child to bond.

Children’s Book Week is an annual celebration of books for kids and teens.  It was launched in 1919 and is the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country. This year is its 98th anniversary.

In connection with Children’s Book Week they have a Children’s Choice Book Award through The Children’s Book Council!  I love looking at books that children have chosen as their favorites!  Although they start with K-2^nd many of the books are appropriate for storytime. Here are some from the past few years that I have used (or would be fun to use) in storytime.  

Don’t Wake Up the Tiger 

by Britta Teckentrup

Peep and Egg:  I’m Not Hatching

by Laura Gehl; illustrated by Joyce Wan

Monkey and Duck Quack Up!   

by Jennifer Hamburg; illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham

Found 

by Salina Yoon

The Pigeon Needs a Bath!

by Mo Willems

 You can find full lists on Children’s Book Council here.   

Celebrate Any Day at Storytime!

I got an awesome calendar for Christmas called “Every Day’s a Holiday”.  

It has been fun to explore all the weird, wacky, and unique holidays out there!  I’ve found that some of these “holidays” can easily translate into a fun, interactive storytime theme!

April 10th is Sibling Day so I’m putting together a storytime about brothers and sisters.

When was the last time you did a storytime featuring turtles?  Well, Turtle Day is May 23rd! 

There are lots of fun pirate picture books out there, so why not celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day on September 19th?

Some holidays lend themselves to multiple possibilities such as Lost Sock Day on May 9th.  You could do a “Shoes and Socks” theme or a “Lost Items” theme.

And don’t forget all those yummy food “holidays”! 

  

January 27th is Chocolate Cake Day (Whopper Cake by Karma Wilson)

Watermelon Day is August 3rd (Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli)

Cookie Day on December 4th (Mr. Cookie Baker by Monica Wellington).

Check out this website for lots of other interesting “holidays” you could celebrate!

What days will you be celebrating in storytime this year? 

Process Art

An internal blog post

Over the last few months I have tried to add more process art to my play and learn.  I usually do some kind of project the children can take home; though not every week.  Doing these projects during storytime is optional, but I have found that children really enjoy process art.  And the best part?  Less prep time for you!

Process art is, of course, all about the process…the doing it on their own, the exploring, the learning…and not what they make per se.  Process art will not have a “sample” to follow, will have limited (if any) instructions, a variety of supplies will be available, and each child’s art piece will be unique.  

It’s good to know what process art is, but defining what it isn’t is also important.  First and foremost process art is not a “free-for-all”.  Guidelines are always a necessity when working with children.  Yes, we want them to try new things and experiment, but not at expense of ruining the experience for others or wasting resources.  For example, it is OK to mix paint colors on your own paper, but not OK to mix paint colors in their containers; nor is it OK to paint the wall behind you. 

Two other important things to keep in mind when doing process art with young children.

• We can limit which supplies are available for use If you just really can’t do paint, you don’t have to offer it.
• You can still have a general project idea in mind.

Here are some samples of a few process art activities I have done in storytime recently.

Create your own creature—supplies included: construction paper (shapes left over from a different project), googly eyes, pom-poms, feathers, yarn, scissors, glue sticks, and crayons.  See how completely unique each creature is?

Here’s our Valentine’s Day art project.  Supplies:  scissors, glue sticks, crayons, white paper, pink and red paper folded in half with heart traced on them. 

One last tip about process art:  ask yourself "what will the children do?" instead of "what will the children make?" 

What process art have you done—or will try—in your storytimes?

A Few Tips from the Field

1.  Did you know you can reword picture book text to make it more interactive in storytime?  (I didn’t for the longest time…I was a ‘read every word exactly’ kind of girl)

One of my favorite books to read in the winter months at storytime is “Don’t Wake Up the Bear”.  I have tweaked the wording just a bit so the children can participate in the story.  The text reads, “You may come in”, whispered the hare, “But don’t wake up the bear.”  Before I read the book I teach the children “BUT…Shhhh! Don’t wake up the bear.”  By emphasizing the word “but” then saying and doing the motion for “shhhh!” it gives the children time to be ready to whisper the phrase “Don’t wake up the bear.”

2.  Whisper-Shout

I stumbled upon this last week when I visited a preschool in the afternoon and a few of the kids were still napping.  We were singing “If You’re Happy and You Know It” and I really didn’t want wake the sleeping kids so I asked the kids if they knew how to “whisper-shout”.  When we got to the third verse we all whisper-shouted “Hooray!”  The children really enjoyed this “new way” of using their voice.  I tried it with another group of kids and they really liked it too…and bonus…it teaches executive function

3.  A Good Book

You know you found a good book when you visit a preschool after 3 months and they remember the book you read last time and hope you brought the same one to read again!  Be sure to note that book so you can use it again in other storytimes!

4.  Songs, Rhymes, Flannel Boards Don’t Have to Fit the Theme

Here’s another one that took me awhile to embrace.  I was always on the search for that “perfect” song or flannel board that would enhance my storytime theme.  Well, I have learned that the tried and true songs are almost always best…because, well, they are tried and true—and they are for a reason!  They are easy to sing, we know the words and the tune—and most parents do to, the children know or are learning these familiar songs.  Children learn by repetition and find comfort in the familiar.  I’m not saying new songs, rhymes and flannels shouldn’t be used—just don’t forget about the oldie, but goodies along the way!

Screen Time

Did you know that in October the American Academy of Pediatrics announced newrecommendations for children’s media use?  For young children the recommendations have not changed significant:

• For children younger than 18 months, avoid use of screen media other than video-chatting. Parents of children 18 to 24 months of age who want to introduce digital media should choose high-quality programming, and watch it with their children to help them understand what they're seeing.
• For children ages 2 to 5 years, limit screen use to 1 hour per day of high-quality programs. Parents should co-view media with children to help them understand what they are seeing and apply it to the world around them.

Recently I attended a half-day workshop taught by Stacey B. Landberg about screen time and children.  One of my “take aways” was to meet parents where they are.  Instead of emphasizing the AAP’s recommendations of little to no screen time, try instead to focus on encouraging parents to increase other activities and offering other “nudges” that increase interaction between parent/caregiver and child. 

Some examples:

• Low Tech (or No Tech) Tuesday
• Media Free Meal/Screen-free snacks
• Digital Free Dinners
• Screen-Free Sundays
• Media Free Morning
• No screen after 7pm
• Tech-free home zones
• Outside play twice a day
• Book sharing before bed
• TV-free kids’ rooms
• Interacting with our voices and eyes
• Putting an end to background TV
• Pretend play twice a day
• Daily Development Activities (e.g. Vroom)
• Replacing sedentary screen time with physical screen time (yoga videos, Go Noodle)

Two Kinds of Play

At the Starting Strong conference in August I attended a workshop presented by the Institute of Learning and Brain Science (ILABS) from the University of Washington about the Power of Play.  There I learned about two kinds of play and the importance of both in fostering child development.

• Free Play
• Guided Play

Free play does not mean “free-for-all”.  Children are given parameters and specific supplies to use during free play.  But this is the play that is both child initiated and child directed.  They are choosing to play and they are determining what and how play will proceed.  The child (or children) set their own “rules” of play (think about children playing house—“you be the mom and I will be the baby”).  Children are left to explore and manipulate the supplies in a way that they want, that fit into the preset parameters.  Free play is important for children so they can experiment, manipulate, discover, try new things, test ideas, and try again.  

However, children cannot learn all that they need to just through free play.  This is where guided play comes in.  This kind of play is still child centered, however, adults gently ask questions to the child during play that assists in learning.  Such questions may include: “How many? What color? How else could you…? Why did that work/not work?  Tell me about what you are doing.”  This helps the child to make connections and think critically, which they may not be able to on their own.

We need to explain to parents and caregivers the two kinds of play and why they are both important.  One way we can do this is through incorporate both of these kinds of play into our play and learn storytimes.  ...letting kids explore on their own, but also take opportunities to talk to children about what they are doing.