Q is for Quiet and Loud...and other opposites!

This ended up being such a fun storytime!  too bad we had a "snow day" on Wednesday so we only had storytime on Thursday.  Here's what we did!

Books

Quiet Bunny and Noisy Puppy  by Lisa McCue

Animal Opposites: A pop-up book   by Petr Horacek

Songs/Rhymes/Fingerplays

Sing a Song of Opposites  (from The complete Daily curriculum for Early Childhood, Revised (2011), Pam Schiller and Pat Phipps, p. 292.)

(tune:  Mary had a little lamb)
Actions to suit words

This is big and this is small
This is big, this is small
This is big and this is small
Sing along with me!

Tall and short
Happy and sad
Fast and slow
Loud and quiet

Parachute Opposites (words by Tammy Henry)
(tune: Farmer in the Dell)

The parachute goes up, the parachute comes down
Up, down, up, down
The parachute goes up and down.

Fast/slow
Moves left/right
In/out
Up/down...then under!

Hickory Dickory Dock

Hickory dickory dock
The mouse ran up the clock
The clock struck one
The mouse ran down
Hickory dickory dock.


Enrichment Activities

Short and Long cut and glue activity from here

Opposite Matching Game from Playdough to Plato

Water "Table"--float and sink

The Game of UP and DOWN--Balloons

Grief is Like a Snowflake

No one ever knows when tragedy may strike.  Statistics show that most children will face a significant loss in their childhood.  Though not a pleasant subject, being prepared to answer children’s questions about death and help children through their grief is beneficial.  Parents and caregivers will be instructed by a representative from Ted E. Bear Hollow, Omaha’s center for children, teens, and their families grieving the death of a family member or friend.  Miss Tammy will share a gentle story about loss, followed by light-hearted snowflake fun for children of all ages!  This program will last about 45 minutes.

Books

Grief is Like a Snowflake by Julia Cook; illustrated by Anita DuFalla

Snowflakes Fall by Patricia MacLachlan and Steven Kellogg

Songs/Rhymes/Fingerplays

Snowflakes, Snowflakes (from Holiday Zone)
Tune: "Are You Sleeping?"

Snowflakes, snowflakes,
Snowflakes, snowflakes,
All around,
All around--
Whirling, twirling snowflakes,
Whirling, twirling snowflakes,
Hit the ground,
Hit the ground. 

Snowflakes, Snowflakes

Tune: "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star"

Snowflakes, snowflakes, dance around,
Snowflakes, snowflakes, touch the ground
Snowflakes, snowflakes, in the air
Snowflakes, snowflakes, everywhere
Snowflakes, snowflakes, dance around
Snowflakes, snowflakes, touch the ground

Activity:  Snowflakes using coffee filters and Epsom Salt for "sparkles".

We had three adults attend the workshop and I had four children (ages 6-11) for stories.  All of them are dealing with a recent loss in their lives.  Although numbers are important to look at when measuring the success of a program, sometimes a number alone does not tell the whole story.  Even though the turnout for this program was relatively small in number those that attended left with important information about helping their child(ren) through loss.  It will be impossible to quantify the number of others who may be served later because they heard about the program but didn’t attend, who later need that information and remember that the library had offered a program, or those who share with someone later that they heard about our program.  

Go for the Gold!

We're celebrating the 2014 Winter Olympics this month at the Do It Yourself table for the whole month of February!!

We have four different activities you can do anytime you visit the library

* Make an Olympic Torch!

* Learn more about the Olympics by doing the Scavenger Hunt! (from Teacher Pay Teachers)

*Play the Winter Olympics Sports Matching Game! (adapted from Classroom Jr.)

* Do the word search, maze, or coloring page! (from Activity Village)

Also keep up with the medal count of 6 countries on our bulletin board and 15 countries in our booklet!

I wrote the event the gold medal was won for on the circle before hanging it up.
Russia won the gold medal count with 13!!

P is for Pets...and other animals we love!

What child doesn't dream of having their own pet?  Growing up my sister had a dog and later another sister had a cat.  I had fish for a few years.  Now I share my home with my daughter's gerbil, Twister (who I enjoy a lot more than I thought I would!)

But I always wanted to have a turtle...maybe that's why I love the book The Birthday Pet that I will be sharing with the children.


Books

The Birthday Pet  by Ellen Javernick; illustrated by Kevin O'Malley

Pet Shop Lullaby  by Mary Ann Fraser

Songs/Rhymes/Fingerplays

I Have a Pet 

(Reveal pictures of each pet on magnet board after the children guess)

I have 6 pets, now can you guess?

I’ll tell you all about them,

Now do your best.

He has strong legs and he loves to hop.

He has long whiskers and ears that flop.

Here’s one more clue, and it won’t be tough.

His cute little tail is like a powder puff.

Bunny

He carries his house wherever he goes,

Some pets move quickly, but he’s quite slow.

Hard as a rock is his outside shell.

Can you name him, can you tell?

Turtle

He hides in the seaweed and only comes out

When he sees food sprinkled all about.

Round and round in the water he swims.

Maybe that’s why this animal stays so slim.

Fish

Cute as can be and very tiny too.

On cheese and crackers, he likes to chew.

He scampers about on his tiny toes.

Can you guess? I’ll bet you know!

Mouse

His wings are pretty with colors of blue,

And yellow and green are in there, too.

He repeats after me everything I say.

He talks and talks for most of the day.

Parrot

This pet has whiskers and sharp, sharp claws.

Her favorite toy is a soft yarn ball.

She climbs the curtains and rules the house.

And she can’t stop looking at my little mouse.

Cat

Put your finger on your knee

(tune: If you’re happy and you know it)

Put your finger on your knee, on your knee

Put your finger on your knee, on your knee

Then turn yourself around

Stomp your feet upon the ground

Put your finger on your knee, on your knee.

Additional verses:

Elbow, ankle, nose, bellybutton

I Had a Little Turtle

I had a little turtle

His name was Tiny Tim

I put him in the bathtub

To see if he could swim

He drank up all the water

He gobbled up the soap

And when he tried to talk

He had a bubble in his throat.

What other pet did we put in the bathtub?

Enrichment Activities

Playdough

Pattern Blocks (animals pattern from Pre-Kinders)

Dog chasing a ball tracing sheet (from Homeschool Creations)

Puppets