Happy Halloween Storytime

Trick or Treat! It's time for Halloween in Stillwater.

Opening Song: The More We Get Together

*We sing and clap to our opening song.  All Stillwater Public Library story times start with this song and the children learn that song means story time is starting.

Book: 10 Trick-or-Treaters: A Halloween Counting Book by Janet Schulman

Rhyme: Brown Owl, brown owl, Who do you see?
              I see a White Ghost looking at me....
              Purple Bat.... Green Witch.... Black Cat
             Pumpkin pumpkin what do you see?
             I see a Jack O Lantern looking at me!

Book: Ghosts in the House! by Kazuno Kohara

Rhyme: Five Little Ghosts

Five little ghosts in a haunted house at play,
Along came a funny skeleton and chased one ghost away.

Four little ghosts in a haunted house at play,
Along came a giant monster and chased one ghost away.

Three little ghosts in a haunted house at play,
Along came a tiny spider and chased one ghost away.

Two little ghosts in a haunted house at play,
Along came an ugly witch and chased one ghost away.

One little ghost in a haunted house at play,
Along came a big fat cat and chased the ghost away.

Can you find the ghosts and say:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ghosts come back and play!

Book: Ghost in the House by Ammi-Joan Paquette

Craft: Using orange paper plates and gluing on eyes, nose, and mouth the children created smiling pumpkins.

Real pumpkins can be decorated in a variety of ways besides carving find many examples at http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=toddler%20pumpkin%20painting&rs=ac&len=10

Beyond Storytime: Stillwater loves Halloween! Many local churches host a trunk or treat, there are pumpkin patches to visit, and the annual City Festival! Other local events.

Other books to checkout:     
Sheep Trick or Treat by Nancy Shaw
The Scariest Thing of All by Debi Gliori
One Halloween Night by Mark Teague 

Toddler Time Sheep

Toddler Time is on Thursday at 9:30am and 10:30am and geared towards little ones age 12 months to 36 months.  What we did at Toddler Time:

Enter the Storytime Room and say hello to our doves.
Get your name written on a shape to put on our flannel board to show who is here today
Start with our welcome songs
Sing "Old McDonald" aka song of the month!
Sing songs including a guest appearance by the Little White Lamb puppet

 
Read Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw
Sing more songs and dance around

 
Read the book Mary Had a Little Lamb by Sarah Josepha Buell Hale
Sang Mary Had a Little Lamb
New rhyme was about opposites called This is big

Everyone is then welcomed to stay and play with our baskets of books, toys, and stuffed animals. Great opportunity for kids to practice sharing and playing with other children plus the parents get to chat with other grownups!

Other sheep books by Nancy Shaw:
Sheep blast off!
Sheep trick or treat
Sheep take a hike
Sheep in a shop
Sheep on a ship

Early Literacy Tip
Rhyming songs (or books) allow your child to start to learn to hear that some words have similar sounds. This is a first step to understanding that words are made up of separate sounds. Being able to hear the separate sounds in words is a skill that children will need to have when they begin to sound out words on the page when they read. (Practice: Talking/ Singing)

***Can't wait to see everyone's Halloween costumes next week!

Spider Storytime

Opening Song: The More We Get Together

*We sing and clap to our opening song.  All Stillwater Public Library story times start with this song and the children learn that song means story time is starting.

Book: The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle


Song: The Itsy, Bitsy Spider (or Eensy, Weensy Spider)

 Book: I Love Spiders by John Parker

(Large book from Storytime Collection)

Rhyme: Creepy Crawly
Once there was a creepy crawly (Stand up. Creep hand up from toes)
Climbing up the castle wall-y.
Weather changed to stormy, squally (Arms up. Sway like a tree in the wind)
And the rain began to fall-y. (Flutter fingers down)
Down from the castle wall-y.
Fell the little creepy crawly.
Flump! (All fall down!)

Book: Aaaarrgghh! Spider! by Lydia Monks

Craft: Build a spider using construction paper for the body, eight legs, and googly eyes!
Try making your own at home using these ideas: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/spider/

Beyond Storytime: Spiders do not have to be scary but it is a good idea to teach your child to recognize which ones definitely need to be left alone. Try doing an image search on spiders and ask your child to describe various aspects of the spiders and how they can tell them apart.  This will not only help improve the child's verbal skills but also give you the chance to teach them how to be safe around spiders.

Other books to checkout:    
The Roly-Poly Spider by Jill Sardegna
Little Miss Spider by David Kirk
Nonfiction spider books can be found in 595.4 & 595.7

Thank You Elite Repeat!!!

Elite Repeat has generously donated funds to our Lego Club!  We are very grateful and so excited to see our lego collection grow! You can view sample of the Lego Club's work in our Facebook photo album.

Director Lynda Reyonds accepting the donation from Elite Repeat.

Great teamwork from the table building a whole sporting and games complex.

The finished product.

Lego Club is held on the 1st Wed, 2nd Wed, & 3rd Thursday of each month.  Registration is required and spaces fill up very fast.  To register call 405-372-3633 x116 or email childrensreference@stillwater.org

Firefighter Storytime

It's fire prevention week and that means the firefighters and their engine visiting Storytime!

Opening Song: The More We Get Together
*We sing and clap to our opening song.  All Stillwater Public Library story times start with this song and the children learn that song means story time is starting.

This is always a special storytime as we invite the firefighters to visit.  We usually only have time for a quick song and story then the firefighters give a demonstration about how they put on their uniform, what the oxygen tank sounds like and important safety tips.  Then the group heads outside to look and sit on the fire engine!

Book: The Firefighters by Sue Whiting

Craft:  Make your own firefighter hat using a strip of paper for the band and attaching a firefighter insignia. Try your own http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/miscellaneous/mfiremanhat.htm

Beyond Storytime: Learn more about Fire Prevention, includes information for adults and activities for kids http://www.nfpa.org/safety-information/fire-prevention-week

Other books to checkout:   
Let's Meet a Firefighter by Gina Bellisario
Hero Cat by Eileen Spinelli
Fire Engines by Anne Rockwell
"Fire! Fire!" Said Mrs. McGuire by Bill Martin Jr (E 398.8 Martin)

Magic Tree House Party

The Library hosted a Magic Tree House Party on Oct 11th. 

Schedule

10am Arrive and work on coloring/ game packet, Room 119 in the North Building

10:30am Watch the live streaming of author, Mary Pope Osborne

11:15am Build our own Magic Tree House using Legos!

11:30am Draw for MTH books, donated 

The live streaming worked perfectly.  We were entertained with songs and dancing by Jack & Annie and then heard Mary Pope Osborne read a section from Hurry Up, Houdini.  

If you would like to explore the world Magic Tree House, stop by the library to check out the books (don't forget about the fact finder books).  Most of the activities are from the Magic Tree House website and look for the teacher resource center.  There are lots of fun ideas on the web such as this library's bookclub.

Toddler Time Wiggle Bugs

Toddler Time is on Thursday at 9:30am and 10:30am and geared towards little ones age 12 months to 36 months.  What we did at Toddler Time:

Enter the Storytime Room and say hello to our doves.
Get your name written on a shape to put on our flannel board to show who is here today
Start with our welcome songs
Sing "Old McDonald" aka song of the month!
Sing songs including a guest appearance by the Itsy Bitsy Spider puppet
Read In the Tall, Tall Grass by Denise Fleming
Sing more songs and dance around
Read two poems out the book Insectlopedia: poems and paintings by Doglas Florian
We played and danced to the songs Shoo Fly and Bring Home a Baby Bumblebee
*The smaller group at 9:30 session got to use the scarves with these songs

Everyone is then welcomed to stay and play with our baskets of books, toys, and stuffed animals.

Early Literacy Tip
When you're talking to your baby, don't just say, "Oh that's yucky," or "That duck is silly." Tell them why too! You're giving them lots of good describing words and helping them learn about their world. That is one reason I like the book we read because it uses a variety of adjectives to describe each animal. (Practice: Talking)

Ducks/ Geese Storytime

Opening Song: The More We Get Together
*We sing and clap to our opening song.  All Stillwater Public Library story times start with this song and the children learn that song means story time is starting.

Book: Little Quack by Lauren Thompson

Fingerplay: Five Little Ducks Went Out to Play
Five little ducks went out to play,
Over the hill and far away.
Mama Duck called, "Quack, quack, quack."
One little duck came swimming back.

Four little ducks went out to play...
Three little ducks went out to play...
Two little ducks went out to play...

One little duck went out to play,
Over the hill and far away.
Mama duck yelled, "Quack, quack, quack!"
Five little ducks came swimming back.

Book: Blue Goose by Nancy Tafuri

Book: Duck, Duck, Goose (A Coyote's on the Loose!) by Karen Beaumont

Craft: Cut out ducks were glued to a pond (blue paper) and feathers were added to the ducks.

 Beyond Storytime: Take a walk around Boomer Lake and point out the ducks, geese, and other wildlife you see.  Older children can try counting the number of animals they spot or ask the child to tell you a story with the geese as a character.  Learn more about the Canada goose at http://kidzone.ws/animals/birds/canada-goose.htm

Other books to checkout:   
The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck by Beatrix Potter
The Ugly Duckling by Kevin Crossley-Holland
Duck & Goose by Tad Hills
Honk, Honk, Goose!: Canada geese start a family by April Pulley Sayre (Easy 598.4 SAY)

Read for the Record

Jumpstart's Read for the Record® - October 3, 2013

Jumpstart’s premiere national campaign, Read for the Record, presented in partnership with the Pearson Foundation, is one time of the year when millions of individuals come together to celebrate literacy and support Jumpstart in its efforts to promote early childhood education. On October 3, people across the country united to read the children’s book Otis by Loren Long in support of Jumpstart’s mission: to work toward the day every child in America enters kindergarten prepared to succeed.


 More information about Jumpstart and Read for the Record can be found at http://www.jstart.org/campaigns/read-record

At Toddler Time we read from Otis by Loren Long.  Other Otis books can also be found in the library

Otis and the Tornado by Loren Long
Otis and the Puppy by Loren Long 

On the Farm Storytime

Although many of us no longer live on farms, our need to stay connect to our rural roots is evident in the many children's songs and books that feature farm animals.  We love to teach babies how to make animal sounds and ask children to act or move like animals. On the farm storytime could only present a small fraction of the fun farm stories at the library. 

Opening Song: The More We Get Together
*We sing and clap to our opening song.  All Stillwater Public Library story times start with this song and the children learn that song means story time is starting.

 
Book:  Old MacDonald Drives a Tractor by Don Carter

Song: Old MacDonald Had a Farm

Book: There's a Cow in the Cabbage Patch by Clare Beaton

Song: Farmer in the Dell

Book: Cow That Went Oink by Bernard Most

Craft: Make a tractor.  The children made tractors with wheels that spin using construction paper shapes and brads on the wheels.

Beyond Storytime: Has your child had a chance to see animals on a farm?  If you can't get out to a farm you can visit chickens at our local Botanical Gardens


Other books to checkout:
Old MacDonald by Amy Schwartz
Down on the Farm by Merrily Kutner
My Farm Friends by Wendell Minor
Nonfiction farm books can be found in 630 and by each farm animal type.