Q is for...

Although the letter Q is challenging...I have found a few books/songs/activities I enjoy doing with this letter.  Quack and quiet are two great q words that work well for storytime.

Books

Quiet Bunny and Noisy Puppy

Can two animals opposite in every way be friends?

Tweak, Tweak  by Eve Bunting; illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier

A little elephant with lots of questions learns what
a little elephant can do!

Songs/Rhymes/Flannel Board

I Like Qq   (from Mrs. Jones)

Q is for queen with a crown on her head,

Q is for quilt that covers my bed.

Q is for questions that I like asking,

Q is for ducklings' quack-quack-quacking.

Q is for quarter and quick and quill,

I like Q and I always will.

 

Five Little Ducks

(Traditional)

Five little ducks went out to play

Over the hills and far away

When the mother duck called,

"Quack, quack, quack, quack"

Four little ducks came waddling back.

Four little ducks went out to play

Over the hills and far away

When the mother duck called,

"Quack, quack, quack, quack"

Three little ducks came waddling back.

Three little ducks went out to play

Over the hills and far away

When the mother duck called,

"Quack, quack, quack, quack"

Two little ducks came waddling back.

Two little ducks went out to play

Over the hills and far away

When the mother duck called,

"Quack, quack, quack, quack"

One little duck came waddling back.

One little duck went out to play

Over the hills and far away

When the mother duck called,

"Quack, quack, quack, quack"

No little ducks came waddling back.

But when the daddy duck called,

"QUACK, QUACK, QUACK!"

Five little ducks came waddling back!

Jack Be Nimble

Jack be nimble

Jack be quick

Jack jump over the candlestick!

Enrichment Activities

• Stringing wooden beads
• Number quilts (from Confessions of a Homeschooler)
• Paper quilts
• Head and Tails Quarter graph

Take Your Child to the Library Day

2013 is the 2nd year of the national "Take Your Child to the Library Day" campaign!  The Bellevue Public Library is excited to participate this year! 

On Saturday, February 2, from 9 AM - 5PM we will have a drop-in activity at the library!  All children who complete the scavenger hunt to learn more about the library will win a small prize.  Don't forget to check out some book while you're here!

Snow Day @ the library

January is the perfect month to celebrate winter--and what better way to celebrate than to have a "Snow Day" at the library!  This program, for kids in 5th through 8th grades, celebrated one of the best days of the school year--a snow day!

Here is what we did:

Mug Cakes!  So delicious!

Mug Cakes

1. Put 4 tablespoons of flour into your mug

2. Add 4 tablespoons of sugar to your mug

3. Add 2 tablespoons of cocoa to your mug

4. Add a PINCH of baking soda to your mug

5. Mix your dry ingredients VERY well

6. Mix your dry ingredients again, having it mixed well is VITAL

7. Add 1 egg to your mug

8. Add 3 tablespoons of milk to your mug

9. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to your mug

10. Add a few chocolate chips or the like, if you want [we had chocolate chips, coconut, and mini marshmallows available]

11. Add a couple drops of vanilla to the mug

12. Mix VERY WELL with a fork

13. Mix VERY WELL again.

14.  Microwave for 3 minutes

15. EAT! [we had these toppings available: chocolate syrup, chocolate chips, and sprinkles]

Marshmallow Catapults from this awesome site!  They were very fun and easy to make!

Snowflakes

We copied templates for some of the simpler (but awesome) Star Wars snowflakes!

And a ballerina snowflake.

We also watched episodes from the first season of Nickelodeon's Pete and Pete.

Our turn out was small, but those who came had a fun time!

P is for...

The letter "p" is one of the best letters of the alphabet for wonderful words!  Think of all the things you can EAT!!  Pizza, peaches, pears, pie, pickles, pumpkin pie, popcorn, pretzel, peanut, pancakes, potatoes, plum, Popsicles!  Think of all the ANIMALS!!  Porcupine, panda, pig, penguin, polar bear, parrot,  panther!  Fun things! Picnic, parachute, pets, pirates, parade, pull, push, painting, piano, pinwheel, puppet, puzzles, play, presents, play-dough, princess!  Whew!  Makes me want to find my pajamas and pillow! 

Books

Panda and Polar Bear  by Matthew J. Baek

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

Flannel Board/Songs/Rhymes

5 Little Piggies

Five little piggies rolling in the mud,

Oh, my goodness!  They need a scrub!

The farmer took one piggy out.

"Oink, oink, oink", the pig did shout!

Continue down through 1

No little piggies rolling in the mud

They look so clean after their scrub

The farmer turned his back and then...

Those piggies rolled in the mud again!

 Same pig flipped over

One Little Penguin

(sung to: Five Little Ducks)

One little penguin in the snow

Waddles fast and waddles slow

Flaps his wings and calls, "Come on!

Join me for some winter fun!"

Two little penguins in the snow

Waddle fast and waddle slow

Flap their wings and call, "Come on!

Join us for some winter fun!"

Three little penguins in the snow

Waddle fast and waddle slow

Flap their wings and call, "Come on!

Join us for some winter fun!"

Four little penguins in the snow

Waddle fast and waddle slow

Flap their wings and call, "Come on!

Join us for some winter fun!"

Five little penguins in the snow

Waddle fast and waddle slow

Flap their wings and call, "Come on!

Join us for some winter fun!"

Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater

Peter, Peter pumpkin eater,

Had a wife, but couldn't keep her.

He put her in a pumpkin shell,

And there he kept her very well.

Enrichment Activities

• Play dough and cookie cutters
• Pattern blocks and mats
• Make felt pizzas
• Paint brush/paint can matching
• Puppets

S is for Snow!

This outreach storytime was presented to Kindercare and Welcome School this month

Snowy Day  (from this site)

The day is snowy and the wind is bold. Dress up warmly, you mustn't get cold!
Put on your coat and zip it up tight, put on your left boot, put on your right.
Put on your scarf and put on your hat, put on your mittens and clap-clap-clap!
Go outside and play and play. Come in again, and then we'll say-
Take off your coat that was zipped up tight,
take off your left boot, take off your right.
Take off your scarf, take off your hat,
take off your mittens, and then take a nap!

Book: Perfect Day for It!  by Jan Fearnley

Snowflake Hokey Pokey (to the tune of the Hokey Pokey) 

(adapted from this site)

You put your snowflake up, you put your snowflake down,
You put your snowflake up and you shake it all around.
You do the snowflake pokey and you turn yourself around, two stomps on the ground.

You put your snowflake in front, you put your snowflake in back,

You put your snowflake in front and you give your knee a wack.
You do the snowflake pokey and you turn your self around, two stomps on the ground.

You touch your snowflake to your head, you touch your snowflake to your toe,

You touch your snowflake to your head and you shake it  to and fro,

You do the snowman pokey and your turn your self around, two stomps on the ground.

Book:  Snowman Magic by Katherine Tegen; illustrated by Brandon Dorman

5 Little Snowmen

5 little snowmen standing in a row,

Each had a hat and big red bow.

Out came the sun and it shone all day,

1 little snowman melted away.

Down, down, down…

Continue counting down

Book:  Who Likes the Snow?  (reading left side only)  by Etta Kaner; illustrated by Marie Lafrance

N and O are for...

I admit...I had a very hard time coming with a complete storytime featuring the letter "O"--especially since I had committed to focusing on the short vowel sound for all the vowels.  [When children are learning to read they begin with words like pot and top--the letter o making the short o sound.]  So I decided to combine N and O together for this storytime.  I think it's better to present a quality storytime, than trying to stretch it too far to make something fit into "the theme".

Books

Squid and Octopus: Friends for Always, "The Hat"  by Tao Nyeu

Night Shift Daddy  by Eileen Spinelli

Songs/Rhymes/Fingerplays

Flannel Board: Five Nocturnal Animals

From Nature Boxes for Early Childhood Educators, Debbi Williams, Story County Conservation Board

Five nocturnal animals, sitting by the door.

The firefly flashed away, and then there were four.

Four nocturnal animals, sitting by the tree.

The beaver started gnawing, then there were three.

Three nocturnal animals, sat on tractor new.

Bat hung upside down, then there were two.

Two nocturnal animals, looking for some fun.

Hungry owl caught a mouse, then there was one.

One nocturnal animal, watching for the sun.

Raccoon went home to bed, then there was none.

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

This activity was a TON of fun!  The children loved it!  On Thursday I added the additional verse of under and over.  Of course you have to sing the song very slow, but it gives the activity some structure.

The parachute goes up

The parachute goes down

Up, down Up, down

The parachute goes up…then down!

The parachute moves right

The parachute moves left

Right…left…right…left

The parachute moves right…then left.

The parachute moves fast

The parachute moves slow

Fast…slow…fast…slow

The parachute moves fast…then slow.

The parachute goes in

The parachute goes out

In…out…in…out

The parachute goes in…then out.

Repeat 1^st verse

1, 2 Buckle My Shoe
1, 2 buckle my shoe
3, 4 shut the door
5, 6 pick up sticks
7, 8 lay them straight
9, 10 a big fat hen!

Enrichment Activities

Dry erase boards and markers (children love practicing writing the letter o)

Octopus craft from first-school

Stacking cups
Numbers—put correct number of pom-poms on each number
I just made large numbers in Word and the correct number of circles in them.

Tammy's Top Ten Tween Books for 2012

This is a totally biased list...the only qualifications are that it was published in 2012; it would appeal to "tweens" (ages 9-12); I read it; and I liked it.  So there are LOTS of other great books from 2012 that didn't make "my" list--mostly because I didn't get a chance to read them.  I am forever behind in my reading.  But here are my "Top Ten Tween" favorites from the year that you might also enjoy!

(Titles and authors starting at top left, clockwise)

Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy

Earthling  by Mark Fearing

Lunch Lady and the Picture Day Peril  by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Seeing Cinderella  by Jenny Lundquist

The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict  by Trenton Lee Stewart

False Prince  by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Above Average  by Andrew Clements

Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin

Barnum's Bones: How Barnum Brown Discovered the Most Famous Dinosaur in the World  by Tracey Fern

Island of Silence (Unwanteds #2)  by Lisa McMann

Author

Penguins!

January 20th is "Penguin Awareness Day".  To celebrate and increase awareness our children's Do It Yourself table this month will focus on these wonderful southern hemisphere birds!

We have five activities you can do anytime you visit the library this month.

1.  Label the parts of a penguin

2.  Do a penguin word search or maze

3.  Read or look at a book about penguin

4.  Guess how many days it takes an Emperor Penguin egg to hatch

5.  Make your own penguin that tells about you!

Children have the option of making their penguin according to the "glyph" 

Boy:  Blue Hat

Girl: Red Hat

6 years old or younger: Orange feet

7 years old or older: Yellow feet

Like to eat fish: Orange beak

Don't like to eat fish: Yellow beak

Favorite season is winter: Dark blue eyes

Favorite season is spring: Green eyes

Favorite season is summer: Light blue eyes

Favorite season is fall: Brown eyes

Have been ice skating: Flippers up

Have not been ice skating: Flippers down

What can you tell about me from my penguin glyph above?

Your penguin can be hung up on our Antarctica bulletin board or you can take your penguin home. 

Penguins from just the first day!

We hope you will stop by the DIY table behind the children's computers!  Remember to fill out a drawing slip each time you participate for a chance to win a prize!

Pets are Best!

Our month long celebration of pets is over...Thank you to everyone who participated!  Did you guess my pet?  The only one that wasn't a dog or a cat!

Twister the gerbil

The "pet" on my desk will now be known as "Puggy" -- that was the most popular name suggested!

Puggy

Our winners from our Do It Yourself table are:  Josie T. and Seth P.  The prize?  A pet book from Miss Tammy or Mrs. B.  Enjoy!!  Be sure to stop by this month's Do It Yourself table!