Preschool Programming: Green

Even though it's warm and sunny, I frequently have a lot of parents who are looking for a fun and education activity on a rainy day.  

Seeger's Green is a great book for vocabulary building


I like to suggest pairing Laura Vaccaro Seeger's Green with some free paint swatches from a home improvement store.  

Seeger's book is filled with large, beautifully images that show different shades of green. Some are simple:

Laser-cut holes (the Luna moth) hint at colors on the next page.

Some are complex:

"Faded" is a great two syllable word.
What else do we see that's faded?

And some are zany:

What animal is this?  Are Zebras white and green?  Where have we seen zebras before?
So many great conversations are started on this page!

 

Get some free green paint swatches from your local home improvement store and have your kids or library group compare the colors. Which greens match the colors in the book? Which greens are bright? Which greens are dark? It's a fun activity that builds language and observational skills for Preschoolers!

Book Review: Patron Review!

An hour into my work day, our new library assistant showed me this:

A patron book review!

When I started at my branch last July, I wanted to put a "patron review" card in the back of each book. The cards are really simple; four patrons spaces are provided and once a person has finished the book, they're given the chance to write a few thoughts about the book.  The bottom of each card advertises our branch's Facebook page.  We print the cards on old fliers, unwanted print jobs, etc.  it's a great way to recycle used paper.  

The twitter name (blacked out for privacy concerns) caught my eye.  I think it's really cool that besides reviewing the book, the person listed their twitter name.  Hopefully another patron will message them and they can share some book suggestions!  

If you can't read the writing, the review reads, "This is a story that the young and young-at-heart can enjoy.  Beyond totally awesome."  

I'll post more of these as I find them!  

Preschool Programming: Shredded Paper

One of my goals for this past year has been creating better programs for my visiting preschools.  To that end, I've tried to include more literacy-enhancing programs and some STEAM-based projects.  

I was initially inspired by the children's librarian at my sister branch.  She has a lot of homeschoolers that visit and she's incredibly adept at creating interesting and fun programs.  When I initially approached her with ideas for programs, she shared this SLJ article with me:  Read, Play, Grow!:  Enhancing Early Literacy at Brooklyn Public Library.  Wow.  What a FANTASTIC article!  

I initially tried the un-sandbox program which combines uses shredded paper instead of sand:

Yay cheap programming ideas!

For my program, I borrowed a tote bin from our circulation desk.  The bins are used to ship books between branches.  I filled that up with shredded paper from our office.  (Libraries shred A LOT of paper.)  I decided to read some zoo-themed books:

My Heart is Like a Zoo by Michael Hall

 

If I Ran the Zoo by Dr. Seuss (editing out the  racist line. I changed the verse from "to the mountains of Zomba-ma-Tant / With helpers who all / wear their eyes at a slant" to say "to the mountains of Zomba-ma-Tan / With helpers who never walked but ran."  More on that in a later post.)

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild  By Peter Brown

Because I was reading Zoo-themed stories, I grabbed some pencil topper animals prizes that were left over from a past summer reading game and buried them in the paper.  After we read the stories, I opened the bin and let the kids explore.  While they were playing in the paper, we talked about:

• What the paper feels like:  Is it hard or soft?  Is it warm?  Is it cold?.
• What it reminds them of:  As they were playing with it, we talked about snow, sand, dirt -- all different things to play in.
• What colors they saw:  Some colored sheets were shredded throughout the month and were mixed in.
• What animals they found:  Noises they make, their proper names (It’s not a horse, it’s a zebra!), what colors they were.  

As you can see, my little friends were not shy about playing in the paper. 

As the animals were pulled out of the bin, the teacher and I reburied them. At the end of the visit, each child was allowed to take home one animal.  After the visit, I vacuumed up the paper on the floor (a bit, but not excessive amounts), dumped the shredded paper into the recycling bin, and returned the tote bin to the circulation desk. 

We learned that a horse with stripes is really a Zebra!

When I do this program again, I'm going to drop the animal theme.  The SLJ article suggested as much, but I didn't heed the advice.  Instead, I'm going to try to pair the activity with some snow-themed books.  The shredded paper (with the flashes of color mixed in) really reminded me of Keats' The Snowy Day.  I might mix in some rain books as well.  

We found a moose!

One of my little friends DID NOT want to put her hands into the shredded paper.  I think she was afraid that something alive was in there.  Obviously we didn't force her.  We did try to include her in the conversations we had and I gave her one piece of paper to touch.  After seeing her classmates playing in the paper for about 5 minutes, she eventually joined in.  Sometimes we all have to do things at our own speed.  

During their next visit, I was given this:

Homemade Thank You cards are awesome!

I love this card so much!  All thank yous are appreciated, but it takes a lot to beat a patriotic thank you. 

Library Display: Superheroes!

I try to create a new display in my Pre-K area each month.  Our branch is small, so a lot of older kids frequently use the area after school for studying or to play in our makerspace.  Last month, we looked at superheroes:  The first African-American Superhero at DC and Marvel Comics, the first Female Superhero, the First mainstream gay superhero, etc.  The kids (especially) the boys really enjoyed the display.  I was given A LOT of feedback on which heroes I should have included. 

During the month, our afterschool leader used the info from the bulletin board for a category in our monthly Jeopardy game.  The category was a hit and everyone learned a bit more about the diverse history of comics.

Our branch bulletin board

Some of the heroes on the board

Some of the heroes on the board

Some of the heroes on the board

Some of the heroes on the board

Some of the heroes on the board

Book Review: Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library follows a group of 12 year olds who are invited to stay the night at their city's new, high-tech public library. The library's benefactor, Mr. Lemoncello and the head librarian Dr. Zinchenko have created a fun and challenging test to see who is smart enough to become the new spokesperson for Mr. Lemoncello's billion-dollar board game company. While astute readers will love the references to other great children's books hidden within the text, the true beauty of the story lies in the main character, Kyle. Kyle is not a reader and does not understand many of the book references being made. The other characters do not judge Kyle for this, nor does he feel badly about not understanding the allusions. Instead, he makes a mental note that the book might be worth checking out. This is a very welcoming way for reluctant readers or reading-for-summer-assignment readers to sympathize with the main character.  A great book for 9-12 year olds.

A good read for both book lovers & reluctant readers.

Book Review: Sidekicks

Sidekicks have a tough life. They're used to distract villains while the hero sneaks onto the scene, they have to wait for the witty banter to end before they can fight, and they're always second banana. To make matters even worse, they eventually go through puberty. Author Jack D. Ferraiolo provides his readers with a funny and action-packed look at the life of just such a sidekick: Bright Boy. This book will appeal to young guys who are also struggling with growing up (minus the super villains) and is a great transition novel between children's books and teen books. This is a great summer read for 'tweens, especially boys.

Sidekicks - a great read for 'tween boys!

Summer Reading

Summer Reading began yesterday at the library - it was a great first day!  This was my first time starting summer reading at my branch (I came back to the library mid-summer last year), so I set a modest goal of signing up at least 40 kids on the first day.  We blew that number out of the water!  The library had help attracting children from our local dentist office and butcher, who purchased free ice cream for the library.  That was a big draw!  We're really grateful to the businesses on our block - they take care of the library!

We also were lucky enough to have the Academy of Natural Sciences visit the branch for a program entitled Fur, Feathers, and Scales.  Our kids learned why certain animals have different types of pelts.  It was a great day!

The Academy car outside the library.  

Mr. Mike and Petunia the Possum

Mr. Mike & Athena the Owl

Blackboard Desk!

My supervisor recently returned from visiting San Diego with a list of ideas to try out around our branch.  One thing that really impressed her was their use of blackboard paint in the library.  I love blackboard paint; I've used it in other branches and I think it's a cheap and effective way to make dead space and blank walls into interactive areas.  

Years ago I had the ugliest mural in the world above my desk.  I hated it.  I desperately wanted to blackboard paint the entire thing and use it to advertise programs at the branch, cool facts from nonfiction titles, silly jokes - whatever interested me about our library at the time.  Sadly, that was not mean to be and the mural survived, haunting (and disgusting) children's librarians for years to come.  

Thankfully, I have a much more up-to-date supervisor now!  And I also have a blackboard desk!  It's been up for about a week.  I.  Love.  It.  The first day it got a little smeary because the kids are used to learning against the desk.  They're getting the hang of it now.  Here are some of the first round of pictures:  

Wise Child

A colleague and I recently swapped book suggestions.  I told her about Louise Lawrence's Earth Witch, and she suggested I read Wise Child by Monica Furlong:

Wise Child is the story of a young girl in a medieval Scottish village who is raised by the local wise woman, Juniper. Because ...of her abilities (She can read! She know Latin! She's not married!) Juniper is considered a witch by the local villagers. As the ward of a witch, Wise Child (known by her childhood nickname only) is put at odds with her local priest. Challenged to see the world in a new light, Wise Child grows from a spoiled orphan into an adept healer. Magic is freely interwoven with herbal medicinal knowledge, creating a story that is well paced and exciting. This book is a solid choice for 9-12 year olds, especially Susan Cooper fans.

New Blog!

Hello new friends,

I've had a few blogs in the past - things on beekeeping and general thoughts.  Those were a lot of fun to create, but I'd like to do something a little more career-specific.  I already blog for my work, both as a main blogger for the system and as a contributor to my branch's FaceBook page, so this is just the logical continuation.  I plan to use this blog to talk about my early literacy programs, books I like, and the general thoughts of a scattered Children's Librarian.  Enjoy!