Story Time Blog

Story Time Wednesday July 27th & Thursday July 28th

2011-07-28T11:04:00.000-07:00

For our final story time of the summer session we celebrated the cow and chicken!
We read the following books:

The Cow Loves Cookies by Karma Wilson
Beautiful Yetta ~The Yiddish Chicken ~ by Daniel Pinkwater
Farm Flu by Teresa Bateman
Cluck O'Clock by Kes Gary

Our puppet show was full of good byes and farewells from a host of puppets. Some, like Mimi, are going on vacation. Mimi is going back to France to see her Mama. The puppets are going to miss the kids! We will see everyone in September!

We danced to "Great Big Muscles, Zippety Do Dah, Wiggly Party & Swim like a Fish.

For the Wednesday class, they made a cow. The Thursday class made a chicken. Crafts were purchased from the Oriental Trading Company.

Enjoy the rest of your summer. We will see you in September......

Prince & Princess Story Time

2011-07-22T09:58:00.000-07:00

The royal children of the neighborhood gathered together for the
Prince & Princess Story Time.
Some of the Kings & Queens were also in the royal story room.

The following stories were read by Queen Carol:
Twenty-Six Princesses by Dave Horowitz
Walking Beauty by Leah Wilcox
Princess Smartypants by Babette Cole
Ten Big Toes and a Prince's Nose by Nancy Gow
The Princess and The Three Knights by Karen Kingsbury
The Prince & the Pauper by Disney

The king and queen of puppets were busy searching for a prince to marry their beautiful daughter. The daughter was being rather picky. Suddenly a frog popped up and demanded a kiss! Of all things to kiss a smelly, swampy frog. The royal children talked the princess into it and magically he turned into the prince of her dream.

The prince and princesses made a crown, showing which kingdom they were from.

Story Time Wednesday July 20th & Thursday July 21st

2011-07-21T10:55:00.000-07:00

Summer is in full swing ! It couldn't get much hotter, right?!!!
On such a hot summer day, we read the following books:

Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone?
Fun Dog, Sun Dog by Deborah Heiligman
The Great Nursery Rhyme Disaster by David Conway
All The Way To America by Dan Yaccarino

Our puppet show had a guest puppeteer and he brought his gator named Rory. They discussed the weather and a few other important topics. Mimi joined the discussion. They all agreed that it sure was summer.

We danced to Great Big Muscles, The Wiggly Party, The Tiki Room and Zippety Do Dah.
The craft was perfect for the hot weather. We made a fan, purchased from Oriental Trading Co.

Stay cool -

Mermaid Story Time

2011-07-09T13:43:00.000-07:00

Who lives under the sea? The mermaids, that's who!.
We read the following stories:
Mermaid Sisters by Mary Ann Fraser
Dear Mermaid by Alan Durant
Mermaid Dreams by Mark Sperring
Our under the sea puppet show started with a song, "If I Lived Under the Sea. Suddenly the fish were in an uproar searching for Ariel. The mermaid festival was about to start and Ariel was missing. Ariel made an appearance and sang a sweet song. She finally agreed to go with the fish and take part in the Mermaid Festival.
Every child received a mermaid cut out and they all made their very own little mermaid!

Story Time for Wednesday July 6th & Thursday July 7th

2011-07-07T10:39:00.000-07:00

We read the following stories this week:

I am Going! by Mo Willems
Melrose and Croc ~ An Adventure to Remember by Emma Chichester Clark
Duck and Cover by Jackie Urbanovic

Our puppet show was an alligator adventure.
We danced to Zippety Do Dah, Great Big Muscles, The Tiki Room and The Wiggely Party.
The craft this week was a little gator, Miss Carol cut out of card stock. Every child decorated their own little gator.

Story Time Wednesday June 29th & Thursday June 30th

2011-06-30T10:29:00.000-07:00

Three cheers for the red, white & blue! We celebrated the 4th of July at story time this week!
We read the following stories:

Americana Adventure by Michael Garland
The Story of America's Birthday by Patricia A. Pingry
How to Bake an American Pie by Karma Wilson

The puppets are so excited about the holiday. All they could talk about was barbecues, picnic's & the fireworks! They sang American songs and talked about their plans for the holiday.
Our craft, purchased from Oriental Trading Co, was so Americana! It was strips of paper with stars, stripes, flags (all red white & blue, of course) and the kids made a chain ! Some where longer then others but they all looked great!

Happy Birthday America! Happy 4th of July

Story Time Wednesday June 22nd & Thursday June 23

2011-06-23T09:20:00.000-07:00

The 4th of July is approaching FAST! There were 4th of July stories, puppet show & craft.
We read the following books:
Of Thee I Sing ~ A Letter to My Daughters by Barack Obama
Apple Pie 4th of July by Janet W. Wong
The Story of George Washington
Kisses by Barney Saltzberg
Our puppets are so excited about the 4th, they had so many songs to share. Hippo sang the theme from the Greatest American Hero. Giraffe loves This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land. They all sang the great American Classic, Take Me Out To The Ball Game. Wait until you see what they have planned for next week!
Our craft was an American Flag Fan from Oriental Trading Company

Rat Story Time

2011-06-17T12:23:00.000-07:00

Did you say Rat Story Time??!!!! Who wants to hear about rats???? Apparently lots of people do!
We read the following rat stories"
Mrs. Marlowe's by Frank Asch & Devin Asch
Too Many Cooks by Margaret McNamara
The Pied Piper by Eric Blair
The main attraction at the puppet show was Deek Frankenstein, our resident rat. He was very concerned about a rat name Ratatouille. Deek wants to be top rat and was worried that Ratatouille was going to take the title. When Ratatouille came on the scene he told Deek he just wants to cook and there is no fear of him being top rat. Deek was please and couldn't wait to taste Ratatouille's cooking. Everything was looking good until the cat appeared. He was looking for rats! As all my puppets shows , it had a happy ending. The closing song was "Why Can't We Be Friends and they all were.
Our crafts was a cute little rat face, Miss Carol prepared for the kids.

Story Time for Wednesday June 15th & Thursday June 16th

2011-06-16T11:27:00.000-07:00

We are into the 2nd week of our summer session. The theme this week was SNAKES!!!! Yikes!!!!'
We read the following stories:

The Night Before Summer Vacation by Natasha Wing

Sylvie & True by David McPhail
June and August by Vivian Walsh
Don't Take You Snake for a Stroll by Karin Ireland

We had a wonderful puppet show. Thanks to Taylor French for her assistance.

Our craft, purchased from Oriental Trading, was a large foam snake that the kids decorated.

Happy Summer!!!!!

Story Time Wednesday June 8th & Thursday June 9th

2011-06-11T10:17:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to our summer session of story time! Hope everyone has signed up for our awesome summer reading program, " A Midsummer Knight's Read. If you haven't, there is still time to sign up!
To kick off our summer session, the following books were read by Miss Carol:

Do Princesses Really Kiss Frogs? by Carmela LaVigna Coyle
Can You Make A Scary Face? by Jan Thomas
Be Nice to Spiders by Margaret Bloy Graham
I Love Bugs! by Emma Dodd

As you all know, we can't have a story time without a puppet show! Thanks to Taylor French for her help. It was a wonderful 1st puppet show of the summer season. The puppets were so happy to see everyone again!

We danced to Zippety Doo Dah, The Tiki Room, Wiggly Party, & the Silly Dance Contest.
The craft was so exciting!!! We made our own little lantern that looked like it was glowing! It also came with dragonflies to attach to the lantern. Another great craft from Oriental Trading Company. We hope to see you next week! Enjoy your summer, come to the library!

This Little Piggy Went To Story Time

2011-05-24T18:31:00.000-07:00

Oink Oink said the little piggy. We read the following stories:

Piggy Pie Po by Audrey & Don Wood
If You Give A Pig A Pancake by Laura Numeroff
Piggy Wiglet by David L. Harrison
Dumpy La Rue by Elizabeth Winthrop
20 Hungry Piggies by Trudy Harris

The big bad wolf popped up to tell the story of how he met the 3 little pigs. The pigs told their side of the story too. As all our puppet shows, it had a happy ending and they all became friends.
Even lamb chop, who was singing, "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf, finally met the old wolf. Lamb chop was so scared of the wolf but he assured her that he wanted to be friends. They all lived happily ever after......
Our craft was a piggy plate purchased from Oriental Trading Company.

Story Time Wednesday 5/4 & 5/5

2011-05-07T07:57:00.000-07:00

Who let the dogs out? Our story time was full of dogs ~ stories, puppet show & craft!
We had a barking good time!

The following books were read:
Woof ~ A Love Story by Sarah Weeks
I Got Two Dogs by John Lithgow
Broadway Barks by Bernadette Peters
In honor of all the mothers' out there we read,
My Mom Is Excellent by Nick Butterworth

There was a real barking treat in store with our weekly puppet show. Miss Carol performed one of her own songs, My Doggie Has Dreadlocks. Adding to the list was our own Mimi, singing "How Much Is that Doggie in the Window. She was missing Fifi, her French poodle. Every dog puppet joined in for "Who Let The Dogs Out". That was the grand finale.
Our craft this week was a homemade craft of a doggie on a stick! We also provided a doggie coloring page.

We would like to wish all the moms a very Happy Mothers Day!

Story Time for Wednesday April 20th & Thursday April 21st

2011-04-21T10:32:00.000-07:00

The sun came out for our story time. With all the rain, we are going to have the most beautiful flowers!
We read the following stories:
Peep ~ A little Story about taking a leap by Maria Van Lieshout
The Chocolate Rabbit by Maria Claret
Let's Say Hi to Friends Why Fly by Mo Willems
The Bunnies' Trip by Lezlie Evans

The rest of our story time was bunny puppet show, bunny dancing and a bunny craft from Oriental Trading Co.
Hop Hop Hop!

Story Time Wednesday 4/13 & Thursday 4/14

2011-04-15T11:54:00.000-07:00

Spring is in full bloom and so are our story times.
We read the following books:

Max's Chocolate Chicken by Rosemary Wells
We are in a Book by Mo Williams
Such a Silly Baby! by Steffanie & Richard Lorig

We danced to the Silly Dance Contest, Great Big Muscles, Chug a Long Choo Choo & Back to School Rock.

We had a bunny puppet show and a bunny craft from Oriental Trading Company.

Some Bunny Loves You

2011-04-15T11:31:00.000-07:00

Some bunny loves me I wonder who, I wonder who it could be?????? That is what the puppets were singing and suddenly the bunny popped up and said he loved everyone!
Loves makes the world go round. The remainder of the puppet show consisted of dancing bunnies and a little tango! Do you want to dance!????
We read the following books:

More Bunny Trouble by Hans Wilhelm
The Story of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
Rabbits Gift by George Shannon & Laura Dronzek

Following the puppet show we made a bunny bag craft from Oriental Trading.

Hop Hop Hop!!!

What's New Pussy Cat Story Time

2011-04-05T15:42:00.000-07:00

You say whats new pussy cat? How about a story time all about CATS!!! MEOWWWW
There were cats and rats and dogs!!
We read the following stories:
Fergus and Marigold by Tony Maddox
Grace ~ The Lighthouse Cat by Ruth Brown
Cat Power by Daniel Kirk
Scooter the Cat by Lisa Leleu

Songs like, What's New Pussy Cat, Black Cat & Honkey Cat were sung by our cast of cat puppets.
Suddenly Deek Frankenstein, our story room rat, popped up to say he was scared of all the cats!
Was he dinner or a friend? We are still not sure. Deek disappeared!

Using an accucut die of a cat, everyone made and decorated their own pussy cat!

Story Time Wednesday 3/30 & Thursday 3/31

2011-04-03T12:44:00.000-07:00

BAAAAAAAA - Little lamb, little lamb, running around the story room BAAAAAAAAAA.
We read the following sweet lamb stories:

The Lamb Who Came For Dinner ~ Steve Smallman
Mary Had A Little Lamb ~ Mary Ann Hoberman & Nadine Bernard Westcott
Who Loves the Little Lamb ~ Lezlie Evans
The Boy Who Cried Wolf ~ Katherine Evans

Our fairy puppet, a dead ringer for Tinkerbell sang, "Don't Cross The Street In The Middle".
A great song reminding the kids to look both ways when crossing the street.

The puppet show hosted a variety of our favorite puppets. As usual, Mimi was the favorite.
It was a lucky day when Mimi came to live in the story room.

We danced to, Back to School Rock, Great Big Muscles, Chug a long Choo CHoo & the Silly Dance Contest. Dancing is sooooo much fun!

Our craft, a little lamb (what else ?) was purchased from Oriental Trading.
Hope our little lamb follows us into the story room again.. BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

St.Patty's Day Story Time

2011-03-19T10:21:00.000-07:00

We were celebrating the luck of the Irish on St. Patrick's Day!

The following stories were read:

Fin M'Coul by Tomie De Paola
Tim O'Toole and the Wee Fold by Gerald McDermott

Our puppets were looking for the pot of gold and Liam, the littlest leprechaun, was running away to save the gold. The kids in the audience decided it was better to share the gold with everyone!
Such generous and giving children.

Our craft was from Oriental Trading. It was a door hanger with shamrocks and their own pot of gold! Everyone got their own pot of gold!

HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY!

Story Time Wednesday 3/16 & 3/17

2011-03-19T10:08:00.000-07:00

Top of the mornin to you! Our week was filled with St. Patrick's Day surprises.!
We read the following stories:

JAMIE O'ROURKE & THE BIG POTATO by Tomie DE PAOLA
TIM O'TOOLE & THE WEE FOLK by Gerald McDermott
GOODNIGHT LITTLE LEPRECHAUN by Lucy Ross

Liam, the little leprechaun, was running away from 2 men who wanted his pot of gold! Run Liam Run !!! Liam joined the puppets to put on a St. Patricks Day puppet show.

Our craft was a shamrock from Oriental Trading. The luck of the Irish was with us!

Story Time Thursday 3/9 ~ 3/10

2011-03-10T11:22:00.000-08:00

Yahoo, cowboy & cowgirls! The wild west was in our story room. YIPPEE!!!!
We read the following stories:

Sally Goes To The Farm- by Stephen Huneck
Cowboy Ned & Andy -by David Ezra Stein
Cowgirl Kate & Cocoa -by Betsy Lewin

Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa helped put on a "Cowboy" puppet show. Hawaii Five-O music helped to make the puppet show complete. YAHOO!!!

We made a horse door hanger from Oriental Trading.

Thank you partner for coming to our Wild West Show! YIPPEE!!!!

Story Time Wednesday 3/2 & Thursday 3/3

2011-03-03T15:50:00.000-08:00

Hurray for March! We are getting closer to spring! Our story times this week were all about frogs.
We read the following books:

The Wide Mouthed Frog ~by Keith Faulkner
Big Frog Can't Fit In ~ by Mo Willems
Froggie Went a Courtin' ~by Iza Trapani
The Frog with the Big Mouth ~by Teresa Bateman

Froggie puppet led the puppet show. He sang, "Frog went walking on a summers day etc. He found true love at the end. Another happy ending for our puppet show.
For our craft, we made frogs out of green paper plates.

Story Time Thursday 2/24

2011-02-26T14:09:00.000-08:00

This was a very special story time. We had a special guest, Mary Kay Macchione. She got to see a puppet show, in the puppet stage, dedicated to her, for her service to the library. Thank you Mary Kay!
We read the following books:

Charlie Chick - A Pop-Up Book ~ by Nich Denchfield and Ant Parker
Let's Save the Animals ~ by Frances Barry
My Elephant~ by Petr Horacek
Dancing Feet! ~ by Lindsey Craig & Marc Brown

The puppets were so excited to perform for Mary Kay. Mimi started it out and thanked Mary Kay for the puppet stage . Mimi has a friend for life with Mary Kay.
We danced to Great Big Muscles, Back To School Rock, Silly Dance Contest & Marching to the Rhythm.
Our craft was a spring like sticker set purchased from Oriental Trading Co.
Before you know it, spring will have sprung.

Hey There Mr. President!

2011-02-21T15:14:00.000-08:00

What a presidents day celebrate we had! Our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, stopped by for a visit. He told us all about his childhood and how he became president. There are so many facts about President Lincoln that we never heard before! Thank you, Mr. President for visiting our humble library.
We read the follow books to celebrate presidents day:

The Boy Who Looked Like Lincoln by Mike Reiss

What Presidents Are Made Of by Hanoch Piven

Honest Abe Lincoln by David A. Adler

Our craft was a cut out of the President Lincoln himself.

Happy Presidents Days!

Story Time Wednesday 2/16 & Thursday 2/17

2011-02-18T12:28:00.000-08:00

We are still feeling the love of Valentines Day. Can you feel the love???? We also feel spring is in the air! Could winter almost be over?
We read the following books:

And Here's to you! by David Elliott
Forever Friends by Carin Berger
A Friend Like You by Tanja Askani

The groundhog proudly told everyone how he predicted this warmer, spring like weather. He was in a GREAT mood! Groundhog claims that Mr. Skilling, the weatherman on channel 9, depends on him for the weather forecast. Okay Mr. Groundhog, you are pretty special.
We danced to Great Big Muscles, Chug a Long Choo Choo, Back to School Rock, & The Silly Dance Contest.
With the feeling of spring in the air, our craft was a little bird, from Oriental Trading. Tweet Tweet!

Story Time Wednesday 2/9 & Thursday 2/10

2011-02-10T10:11:00.000-08:00

Love is in the air. Valentines Day is right around the corner. We read stories about love!.
These are the stories we shared:

Love Bugs -A Pop-up Book ~ by David A. Carter

My Fuzzy Valentine ~by Naomi Kleinberg

Barack Obama of Thee I Sing, A Letter to My Daughters ~by President Obama

Hugless Douglas ~by David Melling

The ground hog was happy to greet everyone and tell them how happy he was that he didn't see his shadow. Spring is coming up fast. He thought it should already be warming up outside. The kids straightened out our ground hog and told him that it was still winter outside. He was very disappointed.
We made a heart wreath out of a paper plate, heart cut outs and glitter hearts stickers. Everyone did a beautiful job.

Rockin' in the Jungle

2011-01-31T18:37:00.000-08:00

There was an old fashioned lion hunt at the library. We saw a snake, a wild zebra & a lion!!! RUN!!! Thankfully we made it back to the story room safe and sound.
We read the following stories:

Giraffes Can't Dance ~ by Giles Andreae & Guy Parker-Rees
Hippo Goes Bananas! ~ by Marjorie Dennis Murray
Rumble in the Jungle~ by Giles Andreae & David Wojtowycz
Actual Size~ by Steve Jenkins

Our jungle puppet show took our puppets and audience on a ,"Jungle Adventure" and the lion and tiger sang "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". There was all kinds of money business going on behind that puppet stage.

Our craft was a 3D giraffe. Each child decorated their own 3D giraffe.
As they worked on the craft, Mr. Bob Dylan's song was playing, "Man Gave Names To All The Animals".

Story Time Wednesday 1/26 & Thursday 1/27

2011-01-27T10:13:00.000-08:00

Butterfly stories, butterfly puppet show, butterfly butterflies everywhere.
We read the following stories:

Caterpillar to Butterfly~ by Sally Symes
Butterfly Birthday ~by Harriet Ziefert
Dinosaurs Roar, Butterflies Soar ~by Bob Barner
Butterfly Butterfly~ by Petr Horack

Our star puppet was Kelly our caterpillar and Kelly the butterfly. They did their dance to one of our favorites, "Kelly The Caterpillar". Wendy, our story room cheerleader, led the butterfly cheer. Wendy made a little too much noise and awoke the ground hog. Just like last week, he wasn't too happy and let everyone know. Mimi tried to calm him down and it worked, he fell back to sleep but it is almost his day! Let's hope that next week he doesn't see his shadow. I think we are all ready for spring.
Our craft of the week was a mobile of butterflies, designed by Miss Carol. Each children was given a "bingo dauber" to decorate their beautiful butterflies. What creative artists, each butterfly was a work of art!

Story Time Wednesday 1/19 & Thursday 1/20

2011-01-20T10:10:00.000-08:00

Did you see a lion at the library this week??? Our stories were all about lions!
We read the following books:

We're Going On A Lion Hunt by Margery Cuyler
The Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney
What Pet to Get by Emma Dodd

Our jungle themed puppet show took us on a Jungle Adventure and thru the Jungle Boogie. Mr. Hippo and Mr. Lion sang the Lion Sleeps Tonight. Strange but that lion was singing not sleeping!
A 3D lion was the craft. What wonderful artists showed their artistic abilities. There were many beautiful lions!

CLIFFORD STORY TIME

2011-01-14T13:38:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't love that big red dog CLIFFORD? What a delightful story time and such happy stories. We read the following:

The Story of Clifford
Clifford's Pals
Clifford's Kitten
Clifford's First School Day
Clifford's Tricks
These books were all written by Norman Bridwell

We also had a Clifford puppet show. Our giraffe and pelican seemed to be afraid to meet this big red dog. Finally Clifford showed them what a great dog he really is.

We made a few Clifford items as our craft. We made a collage of Clifford pictures, they colored a Clifford coloring page and made a foam Clifford necklace that every child decorated.

Story Time Wednesday 1/12 & Thursday 1/13

2011-01-13T10:14:00.000-08:00

Welcome back and Happy New Year to everyone. To start Miss Carol's Story Time, she started with a cow theme. It was mooooooooovelous!
We read the following "Cow" stories

Adventures of Cow by Cow ~ Lori Korchek & Marshall Taylor
Everywhere the Cow says " MOO!" by Ellen Slusky Weinstein
Millie Waits for the Mail by Alexander Steffensmeier

Our puppets started the show by singing, Good Morning , Good Morning the sun is shining thru and we say good morning to you! It was a welcoming song for our audience to hear on the first puppet show of the new year. We played the theme from that hit show "Hawaii Five-O and the Cat in the Hat was happy to assist with that little number. A host of puppets popped up to say hello but one crabby ground hog was a little upset that he was awakened before February 2nd. Oh well, we can't please everyone.
We danced to "Back to School Rock, Chug Along Choo Choo, Great Big Muscles and The Silly Dance Contest! It was a great way to start a new year.
Our craft was a couple of cows (3D) that the kids colored and assembled into a beautiful stand up cow. It was amazing to see all the different kind of cows that were created by the children.

Happy New Year to one and all :-)

PENGUIN STORY TIME

2010-12-17T11:37:00.000-08:00

These cold and freezing temperatures are not too good for people but the penguins sure love it!
We read the following stories:

If you were a Penguin by Wendell and Florence Minor
Tacky and the Winter Games by HelenLester
Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers
Playful Little Penguins by Tony Mitton
Penguin by Polly Dunbar

A winter puppet show added to the fun. The puppets told the audience different facts about penguins. A little song and dance was provided by "Tony", the chef and Wendy, the cheerleader.

Our craft was a cardboard 3D cutout of a penguin that the kids decorated with different Christmas and Holiday stickers

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ONE AND ALL

Story Time Wednesday 12/1 & Thursday 12/2

2010-12-04T11:00:00.000-08:00

~HO HO HO! ~

This was the first story time of the Holiday Season! These are the books we read:

McDuff's Christmas by Rosemary Wells
Duck & Goose by Tad Hills
Dream Snow by Eric Carle
Are You Grumpy Santa? by Gregg & Evan Spiridellis

It's the best and most exciting time of the year! Santa & Frosty put on a holiday puppet show. The Grinch was trying to find something to be happy about, a reason to love this holiday. It was a hard sell but he finally found something to be happy about. He even smiled. That doesn't happen too much in the Grinch's life.
We danced to Jingle Bells, Wiggly Christmas, Let's Clap Hands for Santa Claus & Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. For Jingle Bells, every child was given an instrument and we had a band!
Our holiday craft was a Snowman Door Hanger from Oriental Trading Company.

Sponge Bob Story Time November 29th

2010-12-01T18:05:00.000-08:00

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
SPONGE BOB SQUARE PANTS?
Books Miss Irene read:
Sponge Bob Squarepants UFO By: Adam Beechen
Sponge Bob Squarepants Special Delivery By: Steven Banks
Happy Birthday Sponge Bob By: J.P.Chanda

We enjoyed making our own Sponge Bob using a sponge and decorating him. We also enjoyed coloring a picture of Sponge Bob and doing a word search. GO SPONGE BOB!

Tuesday Drop-In Story Time November 30th

2010-12-01T17:50:00.000-08:00

Books Miss Irene read:
If You Take a Mouse To The Movies: by: Laura Numeroff
Baby Bear,Baby Bear What Do You See? By: Bill Martin Jr.
Silly Sally By: Audrey Wood
Miss Spider's ABC By: David Kirk

Songs we sang and danced to :
ABC Song
Bean Bag Boogie I
Bean Bag Bop
Ready For a Good Time
Popcorn Song

Monday Drop In Story Time November 29th

2010-12-01T17:08:00.000-08:00

Books Miss Irene read:
How Much Is That Doggie in the Window? By: Iza Trapani
Tiny on the Farm By: Cari Meister
Knick Knack Paddy Whack By: Steve Songs
Alphabet House By: Nancy Wallace

Songs we sang and danced to :
ABC Song
Bean Bag Boogie I
Bean Bag Bop
Ready For a Good Time
Popcorn Song

Story Time Wednesday 11/24

2010-11-24T11:44:00.000-08:00

Our final story time before the big holiday!
We read the following books:

The Thanksgiving Monster by Allison Inches
Thanksgiving Rules by Laurie Friedman
Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey
Over the River A Turkey's Tale by Derek Anderson

Our singing Mayflower told the crowd that his ship has almost reached its destination. He needed to get the pilgrims to the new land in time for Thanksgiving! The song sounded something like this "Sailing Sailing over the ocean blue my ship is full of pilgrims looking for a new......
It was the final day to do the Turkey Waddle. Oh we will miss that turkey dance. No more waddling like a turkey until next year.
Our craft was a "cut out" that said THANKS. The children decorated it with festive stickers.
Happy Thanksgiving to EVERYONE - From Youth Services
@
The Elmwood Park Public Library
Gobble Gobble Gobble

Story Time Wednesday 11/16th & Thursday 11/17th

2010-11-19T12:01:00.000-08:00

One more week and then it's Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving inspired our story times.
We read the following stories:

Snappy little Thanksgiving
A Plump and Perky Turkey by Teresa Bateman The Littlest Pilgrim by Brandi Dougherty

The Pilgrim and Indian puppets did a little song and dance. The singing Mayflower also had a little number.
We all became turkeys again and did the Turkey Waddle. There is nothing like a room full of turkeys hiding from that farmer.
We made a turkey craft purchased from Oriental Trading.

Gobble, Gobble Gobble HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Tuesday Drop-In Story Time November 16th

2010-11-17T15:38:00.000-08:00

Books Miss Irene read:
Big Red Barn By: Margaret Brown
The Itsy Bitsy Spider By: Iza Trapani
The Very Hungry Catepillar By: Eric Carle
If You Give a Cat a Cupcake By: Laura Numeroff
A Rain Forest ABC By: Amnda Doering

ABC Song
Bean Bag Boogie I
Bean Bag Bop
Wiggle and Freeze
Ready For a Good Time
Jim Along Josie
Popcorn Song

Monday Drop- In Story Time November 15th

2010-11-17T14:34:00.000-08:00

Books Miss Irene read:
Hello Day! By: Anita Lobel
A Good Day By: Kevin Henkes
Bark George By: Jules Feiffer
Cats ABC By: Amanda Doering

Songs we danced and sang do:
ABC Song
Ready For a Good Time
Jim Along Josie
Five Little Monkeys
Old MacDonald Had a Farm
Wiggle and Freeze
Popcorn Song

Tuesday Drop-In Story Time November 8th

2010-11-11T18:45:00.001-08:00

Books Miss Irene read:
Polar Bear Polar What Do You Hear? By: Bill Martin Jr.
The Wide Mouthed Frog By: Keith Faulkner
Setting the Turkey's Free By: Lisa Nikola

Songs we sang and danced to :
Old MacDonald song using our favorite puppets
ABC Song using our parachute
Bean Bag I
Bean Bag Bop
If Your Happy and You Know It
Hip Hip Hurray!
Big Red Car
Popcorn Song

Monday Drop-In Story Time November 8th

2010-11-11T18:23:00.000-08:00

Miss Irene read:
Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? By: Bill Martin Jr.
If You Take a Mouse To The Movies By: Laura Numeroff
T is For Turkey: A True Thanksgiving Story By: Tanya Lee Stone

Songs we sang and danced to : ABC song with our Parachute
Bean Bag I
Bean Bag II
Who Let The Dogs Out
Popcorn Song

Family Craft & Story Time Monday 11/8/10

2010-11-10T11:24:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again for the families to get together. It's a great time of the year for the Family Craft & Story Time.

The stories we read:
The Ugly Pumpkin by Dave Horowitz
Over The River ~ A Turkey's Tale By Derek Anderson

Our craft was purchased from Oriental Trading. It provided everyone with foam and a circle.
The parents traced their children's' hands on the foam, cut them out and made a festive wreath with the foam hands that were in Thanksgiving/Fall colors. Everyone did a marvelous job!
This is a craft that from, year to year, will be a reminder of when their children were small.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Story Time Wednesday 11/10

2010-11-10T09:31:00.000-08:00

Turkey stories, Turkey puppet show, Turkey dance, must be Thanksgiving!

We read the follow stories:
Arthur's Thanksgiving by Marc Brown
The First Thanksgiving by Nancy Davis
Snappy Sounds Woff! by Derek Matthews

Singing Mayflower, Indians' & Pilgrims' told the story of their voyage. Oh those puppets sure know how to put on a show!

We did the Turkey Wobble, the kids love it! Who doesn't want to be a turkey!

Our craft was a complete Thanksgiving scene with stickers from Oriental Trading.

Story Time Wednesday 11/3 & Thursday 11/4

2010-11-04T14:23:00.000-07:00

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble, here we are in November, the month of Thanksgiving. Now that we are finished with October and Halloween, we will prepare for our next holiday, Thanksgiving.
We read the following books:
Five Silly Turkeys by Salina Yoon
Happy Thanksgiving, Curious George by Cynthia Platt and Julie M. Bartynski
Thanksgiving Mice! by Bethany Roberts
One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims by B.G. Hennessy
T is for Turkey by Tanya Lee Stone
Our puppet show had pilgrims, indians & a singing Mayflower.
We also do a special "Turkey Dance" for the month of November.
Every child gets a cut out of a turkey and we all dance to the "Turkey Waddle".
We have to hide from that farmer!
Our craft was a turkey hanger for a door knob purchased from Oriental Trading.

Tuesday Drop-In Story Time November 2nd

2010-11-03T13:26:00.000-07:00

Books Miss Irene read:
Cock a Doodle Quack Quack! By: Ivor Baddiel & Sophie Jubb
Me and My Mom By: Alison Ritchie
Knick Knack Paddy Whack By Steve Songs
Farms ABC An Alphabet Book By: B.A. Hoena

Songs we sang and danced to :
ABC Song
Bean Bag Boogie II
Hip Hip Hurray
Who Let the Dogs Out
Popcorn song

Monday Drop-In StoryTime November 1st

2010-11-03T12:59:00.000-07:00

Books Miss Irene read:
Kitten's First Full Moon By: Kevin Henkes
Count Along with Calliou By: Pierre Brignaud
Knick Knack Paddy Whack By: Steve Songs
A isn't For Fox Alphabet Book By: Wendy Ulmer

Songs we sang and danced to :
ABC song
Bean Bag Boogie I
Bean Bag Bop
Who Let the Dogs Out
Popcorn Song

Story Time Wednesday 10/27

2010-10-28T10:45:00.000-07:00

What did you say? Halloween is just a few days away?? Yes it is, get that costume ready. It's time for trick or treating!
We had a spooky little story time on Wednesday: The following stories were read:
The Spooky Wheels on the Bus by J. Elizabeth Mills
Skelly, the Skeleton Girl by Jimmy Pickering
Hoodwinked by Arthur Howard

Each child was given a spider on a string and we did the song "Spider on the Floor". That creepy spider climbs all the way up to your head!!! Oh NO!!!!! Don't worry when it gets up to your head just give your head a shake and the spider falls to the ground. Thank goodness!!!!!
Our one eyed monster danced to "Witch Doctor. The witches sang one of Miss Carol's original songs, " It's All About Me!" Those witches are getting pretty full of themselves!
What a puppet performance!

Miss Carol used papers plates to make a ghost and that was our craft. The kids finished their ghost with a little crepe paper and it made the ghosts look like they were flying!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Tuesday Drop-In Story Time October 26

2010-10-27T17:34:00.000-07:00

Books Miss Irene read:
Mrs. Murphy's Pumpkin By: Rick Walton
Trick or Treat Countdown By: Patricia Hubbard
ABC Kids By: Laura Williams

Songs we danced and sang to :
ABC song
Bean Bag Boogie I
Who Let The Dogs Out
Popcorn Song

Monday Drop-In Story Time October 25

2010-10-27T17:23:00.000-07:00

Books Miss Irene read:
Clifford's Halloween By: Norman Bridwell
Arthur's Halloween By: Marc Brown
Trick or Treat Countdown By: Patricia Hubbard
ABC Kid's By: Laura Williams

Songs we sang and danced to :
Bean Bag Boogie I
Bean Bag Bop
Wiggle and Freeze
Who Let The Dogs Out
Popcorn Song

Autumn Story Time October 21

2010-10-27T16:59:00.001-07:00

We enjoyed listening to many Autumn stories and had fun making a wreath surrounded with different color leaves.
Miss Irene read:
Fall is for Friends By: Suzy Spafford
Arthur Jumps into Fall By: Marc Brown
The Fall Festival By: Mercer Mayer
It's Fall By: Linda Glaser
Footballs and Falling Leaves By: Rebecca Davis
Fall Leaves Fall By: Zoe Hall

Pajama Story Time October 20

2010-10-27T16:41:00.000-07:00

What a great night it was!It was so nice to see the kids and parents in there Pj's.
We were all very cozy while we listened to a few stories and sang some songs.We had a great night!
Books Miss Irene read:
Good night D.W. By: Marc Brown
Bedtime For Button By: Amber Stewart
Little Quacks Bedtime By: Lauren Thompson
Bedtime By: Christine Anderson
How Do You Say Good Night?

WHICH WITCH IS WHICH????

2010-10-21T11:03:00.000-07:00

Which Witch is which was the big question of this story time! We are not sure if they ever figured it out!
Miss Carol read the following stories:

A VERY BRAVE WITCH by Allison McGhee
THE WITCHES SUPERMARKET by Susan Meddaugh
CITY WITCH, COUNTRY SWITCH by Wendy Wax

Broomhilda and Wanda sang their favor Halloween songs. Their black cat, Midnight joined in for her favorite song. Midnight confessed that she is afraid of heights, so Wanda is getting a seat belt for the broom. Midnight felt so much better about flying on the broom. Seat belts can keep you safe!

Miss Carol found the perfect crafts! She cut out a scary witch and the kids had to assemble her with little metal studs. There was also a witches shoe. Everyone had a great time decorating those witches shoes!

Story Time Wednesday 10/20& Thursday 10/21

2010-10-21T10:51:00.000-07:00

Another week closer to Halloween! The following stories were read:
Meaner then Meanest by Kevin Somers
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams
Go Away Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley

Mimi, started out the puppet show. She just loves all the children. Our witch puppets, Wanda & Broomhilda sang a little song and danced to, There was a Little Witch and The Witch Is On Her Broomstick. Our puppet show wouldn't be complete with out the "Witch Doctor, this time the T-Rex joined in on the fun!

Our craft was from Oriental Trading Company. It was a pumpkin craft, which included an orange paper plate and everyone decorated a pumpkin face!

Story Time at the Park October 19th

2010-10-20T13:57:00.000-07:00

Another beautiful day at the park!
The sun is still shining and we are still having a ball being outside.

Books Miss Irene read:
Hallo Wiener By: Dav Pilkey
Curious George Walks The Pets By: Margret and H.A. Rey
Bye-Bye Binky By: Brigitte Weinger
Eating the Alphabet By; Lois Ehlert

Songs we sang and danced to :
ABC song with our parachute
Bean Bag Boogie
Bean Bag Bop
Where is Thumbkin
The Wheels on the Bus
If Your Happy and You Know It
Popcorn Song

Monday Drop-In Story Time October 18th

2010-10-20T13:26:00.000-07:00

Books Miss Irene read:

Dora's Perfect Pumpkin By: Kirsten Larsen
Clifford's Halloween By: Norman Bridwell
A RainForest ABC By: Amanda Doerings

Songs we sang and danced to:
Bean Bag Boogie I
Bean Bag Bop
Wiggle,Wiggle Freeze
Who Let The Dog's Out
Popcorn Song

Story Time Wednesday 10/13 & Thursday 10/14

2010-10-14T10:38:00.000-07:00

Another week closer to Halloween. Hope everyone is getting their costumes ready!
We read the following Halloween Stories:
Ollie's Halloween by Olivier Dunrea
There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Bat by Lucille Colandro
BOO, BUNNY! by Kathryn O. Galbraith
Go Away Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley

We danced to "Spider on the Floor", Great Big Muscles, Silly Dance Contest and Chug Along Choo Choo!

The puppets were asking the kids "What will you be for Halloween"??
Wendy, our cheerleader and Tony, the chef introduced themselves to everyone. Wendy did some cheers and suggested that maybe someone could dress up like her for Halloween and Chef Tony sang an old Italian song and told the kids how much he LOVES to cook! Grover and the one eyed monster sang, "The Monster in The Mirror.
Our craft was from Oriental Trading. It was a scarecrow and pumpkin sticker kit. A perfect Halloween center piece!

Fireman Story Time October 13th

2010-10-13T15:21:00.000-07:00

We learned many tips on fire safety and had a very special visit from a real Firefighter:
Thank you Mr. Leiser!
Books we read: Dot the Fire Dog By: Lisa Desimini
Stop Drop and Roll By:Margery Cuyler
This is the Firefighter By:Laura Godwin
Curious George and the Firefighter By: Maragret Rey
Going to the Firehouse By: Mercer Mayer

Story Time at the Park October 12th

2010-10-13T14:04:00.000-07:00

Another beautiful day at the park. We enjoyed the sunshine and just being outdoors.
Books Miss Irene read:
If You Give a Pig a Party: Laura Numeroff
Ten Little Fish By: Audrey Wood
The Wide-Mouthed Frog By: Keith Faulkner
Farms ABC By: B.A. Hoena

Songs we sang and danced to :
Five Speckled Frogs
ABC Song
Bean Bag Boogie I
Bean Bag Bop
Wiggle Wiggle Freeze
If Your Happy and You Know It
Popcorn Song

Story Time Wednesday 10/6 & Thursday 10/7

2010-10-07T10:33:00.000-07:00

Boo!!! It's almost Halloween! That means its time for scary, creepy & ghoulish stories!
We used the following stories in our first spooky Halloween class of October!

Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
Scary Sounds of Halloween
Go Away Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley

The Scary Sounds of Halloween is an awesome book that the whole group has to help with the sounds. The sounds are recorded and played back so everyone can hear those scary sounds! BOO! BANG! NO!!!!!
Go Away Big Green Monster is a crowd favorite that I will use for every story time in October. We build the monster and then send him away! GO AWAY BIG GREEN MONSTER!!!

The first dance we do in October story times is the spider dance, There's a Spider on the Floor", from the Spooky Favorites Cd. Using our Accu Cut Machine, I cut black spiders for every child and we let the spider climb all the way up to their heads! Just like the song says! Yikes a black spider on your head?!!!! NO!!!!!

Our craft was a Halloween door hanger from Oriental Trading Company.

Get ready because Halloween is on its way! BOO!!!!!

Tuesday Stortime at the Park October 5th

2010-10-06T15:33:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day we spent at Central Park!
Books Miss Irene read:
Curious George Goes To a Costume Party By: Margret & H.A. Rey's
Clifford's Halloween By: Norman Bridwell
If You Give a Mouse a Muffin By: Laura Numeroff
Mouse Paint By: Ellen Walsh
Caterpillar Dance ABC's For Caillou and Me

Songs we sang danced to:
ABC Song
Bean Bag Boogie I
Bean Bag Bop
Wiggle Wiggle Freeze
If Your Happy and You Know It
Popcorn Song

Monday Storytime October 4th

2010-10-06T15:15:00.000-07:00

Books Miss Irene read:
Big Smelly Bear By: Britta Teckentrup
Mrs. McNoshHangs up Her Wash By:
Football and Falling Leaves By: Rebecca Davis
Farms ABC By: B.A. Hoena

Songs we sang and danced to:
ABC Song
Bean Bag Boogie I
Wiggle, Wiggle Freeze
Popcorn song

Story Time Wednesday 9/29& Thursday 9/30

2010-09-30T11:12:00.000-07:00

Fall has come to the Elmwood Park Library. How could summer be over? Oh well time to move on. In honor of fall, the craft for the week was decorating a leaf with sparkly jewels. Could this be the first decoration of the fall season?
These are the stories we read:
Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann ~ The Adventures of Taxi Dog by Debra & Sal Barracca ~Bark George by Jules Feiffer

Mimi was the one who started the puppet show. She is always so happy to see all the kids and their parents. Our jungle friends did quite a show for everyone.

We danced to Silly Dance Contest, Great Big Muscles, Chug a long Choo Choo and we marched to the Rhythm of the Beat!
WELCOME FALL!

Story Time at the Park September 28th

2010-09-29T16:49:00.000-07:00

Another beautiful day at the park! We enjoyed listening to some stories and dancing to our favorite songs.
Books Miss Irene:
Caillou Watches Rosie By: Marion Johnson
Fall Leaves Fall! By: Zoe Hall
Little Critter: The Fall Festival By: Mercer Mayer
Dogs ABC By: BA Hoena

Songs we sang and danced to :
ABC Song
Bean Bag Boogie I
Bean Bag Bop
Wiggle Wiggle Freeze
If Your Happy and You Know It
Popcorn Song

It's A Jungle Out There

2010-09-27T18:00:00.000-07:00

Did you say its a jungle out there? What a surprise, it was a jungle in the story room too!
You could almost see Tarzan swing from vines in the story room. While wild animals of all kinds were peaking from every corner.
For our jungle themed story time we read:

Tiger's Story by Harriet Blackford & Manya Stojic
Edward in the Jungle by David McPhail
The Lion and the Rat - A fable by La Fontaine

There was a jungle of a puppet show too! The lion, hippo, giraffe & tiger started the show with, "We are Going on a Jungle Adventure", the monkey and gorilla were getting down to Jungle Boogie & Hakuna Matata was one of our favorites. It means no worries for the rest of your days! We finished the show with the lion and hippo singing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" vocals provided by our own Miss Carol.

Our craft, from Oriental Trading, was a tiger on stick! It was very cute and the kids did a great job! HAKUNA MATATA EVERYONE!

Football StoryTime September 23th

2010-09-23T17:36:00.000-07:00

We had fun learning different facts about playing football and we are all ready to watch and play football. The kids are all ready to cheer for there favorite team.
Books read:
Scooby-Doo Football Fright BY; Gail Herman
My Football Book By; Gail Gibbons
The History of Football By; Diana Star Helmer
The Chicago Bears By: Mark Stewart
Eyewitness Books: Football By: James Buckley Jr.

We enjoyed decorating a wreath with many footballs and our football teams.
GO TEAM!

Story Time Wednesday 9/22& Thursday 9/23

2010-09-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

Story time took a little trip to the ocean to see what we could see! Nothing like a little trip full of adventure! There were great white sharks, whales & of all things a cow that swam with the whales!
We read the following books:
ALISTAIR AND KIPS GREAT ADVENTURE! - John Segal
GILBERT IN DEEP - John Clarke & Charles Fuge
SHAMOO A WHALE OF A COW - Ros Hill

We danced to Back to School Rock, Chug a Long Choo Choo, & the Silly Dance Contest.

Our puppet show was all about the sea. The little mermaid & Freddy, the fish, sang our favorite song from the "Little Mermaid", "Under The Sea". There was also a shark chasing our poor little Inky, the octopus. The ending was happy because all the shark wanted to do was be Inkys friend!
Our craft was fish stickers, 3D, & a blue piece of foam and the children created their own under sea kingdom!

Tuesday Drop-In Story Time September 21st

2010-09-23T13:27:00.000-07:00

Another beautiful day at the park!
The weather is still gorgeous and we are enjoying being outdoors!
Books Miss Irene read:
Curious George Builds a Home By: Margret Rey
Up, Down and Around By: Katherine Ayres
Footballs and Falling Leaves By: Rebecca Davis
Alphabet House By: Nancy Wallace

Songs we sang and danced to :
ABC song
Bean Bag Boogie!
Bean Bag Bop
Wiggle,Wiggle Freeze
Popcorn Song

Monday Drop-In Story Time September 20th

2010-09-22T17:07:00.000-07:00

Books Miss Irene Read:
Just Me In the Tub By:Gina & Mercer Mayer
Growing Vegetable Soup By:Lois Ehlert
P is For Pumpkin By: Kathy-Jo Wargin

Songs we sang and danced to :
ABC song
Bean Bag Boogie!
Bean Bag Bop
Hip Hip Hurray!
Big Red Car
Ten Little Indians
Popcorn Song

Story Time Wednesday 9/15 & Thursday 9/16

2010-09-17T13:20:00.000-07:00

To kick off the new session of Miss Carol's Story Time, Elmer was the elephant of the hour!
Several books featuring Elmer, the patchwork elephant, were read. Miss Carol cut out "Elmer shapes" and each child decorated their own personal Elmer! What a fun craft it was and each child showed so much creativity.
There was a puppet show and MeMe, our ballerina from Paris, introduced herself to the crowd. She is so happy to live in our lovely story room! Oui
We danced to - Back to School Rock, Great Big Muscles, Silly Dance Contest.
Here's a list of the Elmer book used for this story time:
Elmer - by David McKee
Elmer and Wilbur by David McKee
Elmer's Special Days by David McKee

Tuesday Drop-In at the Park- September 14

2010-09-15T12:44:00.000-07:00

Books Miss Irene read:
Count Along with Caillou
Fergus's Upside Down Day By; Tony Maddox
The Very Busy Spider By: Eric Carle
Eating The Alphabet By: Lois Ehlert

Songs we sang and danced to :
ABC song
Ten Little Indians
Wheels on the Bus
Bean Bag Boogie I
Popcorn Song

Monday Drop-In September 13

2010-09-15T12:25:00.000-07:00

Miss Irene Read:
If You Give a Cat a Cupcake By: Laura Numeroff
The Very Hungry Caterpillar : By Eric Carle
Eating the Alphabet By: Lois Ehlert

Songs we sang and danced to :
ABC song
Bean Bag Boogie
My Big Red Car
Who Let The Dogs Out
Popcorn Song

Dinosaur Story time

2010-09-13T18:43:00.000-07:00

A big roar was heard around the library as our new T-Rex puppet, Terry was putting on his show!
I'm sure the whole library was shaking, he is one big T-Rex. He danced to Billy Idol's song, Dancing With Myself. He explained that he is so big and scary, he can never find a dance partner. One little girl from the crowd yelled out "I'll be your partner Terry!" Terry was so happy!
The following books were read:
How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You by Jane Yolen & Mark Teague
The Littlest Dinosaur by Michael Foreman
Tyson the Terrible by Diane and Christyan Fox
Dinosaur Woods by George McClements
Our craft was a dinosaur cut from our Accu Cut Machine. The children decorated their dinosaurs with sequins and markers. Also cut from the Accu Cut machine was a dinosaur book mark.
Yes dinosaurs roam at the Elmwood Park Public Library!

Back to School Story Time

2010-09-09T12:35:00.000-07:00

Miss Irene Read:
Clifford's First School Day By: Norman Bridwell
Arthur's Off to School By: Marc Brown
If You Take a Mouse To School By:Laura Numeroff
Curious George Goes To School By: Margret Rey
Marley Goes to School By John Grogan

We enjoyed making a back to school wreath using a paper plate and decorating it with apples and pencils. We enjoyed talking about all the fun things we do at school and look forward to a good year.

Farm Story Time August 30

2010-09-01T14:29:00.000-07:00

Books Miss Irene read:
Fergus The Farmyard Dog By: Tony Maddox
Old MacDonald Had a Woodshop By: Lisa Shulman
Farm Flu By: Teresa Batenan
Buster on the Farm By: Marc Brown
Sally Goes to the Farm : By: Stephen Huneck
Old MacDonald Had a Farm By: Tracey Pearson

We enjoyed singing Old MacDonald using our favorite farm animals. We also decorated a red barn with all our farm friends. We had a great time.

Tuesday Story Time August 31

2010-09-01T13:21:00.000-07:00

Another beautiful day at the park! We enjoyed listening to a few stories and enjoying the hot summer day!
Books Miss Irene read:

Old MacDonald Had a Farm By: Tracey Pearson
Sally Goes To the Farm By: Stephen Huneck
Buster on the Farm By: Marc Brown
Amazing Animal Alphabet By: Brian Wildsmith

Songs we sang and danced to :
ABC song
Bean Bag Boogie
If Your Happy and You Know It
Wiggle Wiggle Freeze
Popcorn Song

Monday Drop-In Story Time August 30

2010-08-31T07:56:00.000-07:00

Books Miss Irene read:
The Best Pet Ever By: Victoria Roberts
Please Take me For a Walk By: Susan Gal
Arthur's Birthday Surprise By: Marc Brown
Amazing Animal Alphabet By: Brian Wildsmith's

Songs we danced and sang to :
ABC Song
Bean Bag Boogie I
Bean Bag Bop
Wiggle Wiggle Freeze
Popcorn Song

Cowboy Storytime Agust 26

2010-08-26T17:50:00.000-07:00

Yeehaw! We enjoyed listening to a few cowboy stories.
Miss Irene read:
The Gingerbread Cowboy By: Janet Squires
Clip- Clop By: Nicola Smee
Cowboy Ned and Andy By: David Stein
Bubba The Cowboy Prince By: Helen Ketteman

We also listened to some cowboy jokes which made us giggle.
We made a cowboy craft which the kids decorated with cowboys. cows and horses.
Yeehaw! We had a good time!

Tuesday Drop-In Story Time August 24

2010-08-26T17:36:00.000-07:00

Another beautiful day at the park! We enjoyed listening and singing songs at Central Park.

Books Miss Irene read:
Caillou New Shoes By: Marion Johnson
A Friend Like You : By Tanja Askan
Biscuit Visits The Doctor By: Alyssa Capucilli
School ABC By Amanda Doering

Songs we sang to :
Old MacDonald
Ten Little Indians
The Wheels On the Bus
ABC Song
Popcorn song
We enjoyed playing with our bubbles.

Monday Drop-In Story Time August 23

2010-08-26T17:19:00.000-07:00

Books Miss Irene read:
If You Take a Mouse To School By: Laura Numeroff
Over The Rainbow By: Judy Collins
Biscuits First Trip By: Alyssa Capucill
School ABC By: Amanda Doering

Songs we played and danced to :
ABC Song
Bean Bag Boogie
Bean Bag Bop
Wiggle, Wiggle Freeze
Who Let The Dogs Out

Tuesday Drop-In Story Time August 17

2010-08-17T13:36:00.000-07:00

Another beautiful day at the park!
Books Miss Irene read:
Baby Bear, Baby Bar What Do You See? By: Bill Martin Jr.
Ten in the Den By: John Butler
Knick Knack Paddy Whack By: Steve Songs
Farms ABC By: B.A. Hoena

Songs we danced and sang to :
Ten Little Indians
The Wheels on the Bus
Where is Thumbkin
Bean Bag Boogie
Bean Bag Bop
Hot Potato
Popcorn song

Monday Drop-In Story Time August 16th

2010-08-17T13:04:00.000-07:00

Books Miss Irene read:
If You Take a Mouse To School By: Laura Numeroff
Curious George and The Pizza By: Margret & H.A. Reys
Ten Little Fish By: Audrey Wood
Knick Knack Paddy Whack By: Steve Songs
Farm ABC By: B.A. Hoena

Songs we sang and danced to:
ABC song
Bean Bag Boogie
Bean Bag Bop

Wiggle Wiggle Freeze
Popcorn Song

Tuesday Drop-In Story Time August 11

2010-08-11T14:30:00.000-07:00

Another beautiful day at the park! It was hot but we enjoyed listening to stories and playing with our bubbles.
Books Miss Irene read:
Arthur's Off To School By: Marc Brown
McDuff and The Baby By: Rosemary Wells
Polar Bear,Polar Bear What Do You Hear By: Bill Martin Jr.
School ABC By: Amanda Doering

Songs played and danced to:
ABC song
Ten Little Indians
Where is Thumbkin
The Wheels on the Bus
If Your Happy and You Know It
Bean Bag Boogie
Bean Bag Bop
Wiggle, Wiggle Freeze
Popcorn Song

Monday Drop-In Story Time August 9th

2010-08-11T13:49:00.000-07:00

Books Miss Irene read:

We've All Got Bellybuttons By: David Martin
Just me and My Puppy By: Mercer Mayer
McDuff Moves In By: Rosemary Wells
School ABC By: Amanda Doering

Songs we sang and danced to
ABC song
Bean Bag Bop
Wiggle Wiggle Freeze
If Your Happy and You Know it
Who let the Dogs Out
Popcorn song

Tuesday Drop-In Story Time August 3

2010-08-04T18:00:00.000-07:00

It was a rainy day so we had to have our story time inside. But we still had a great time. We pretended we were at the park. We spread out our blankets and had a ball!
Books Miss Irene read:
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie By; Laura Numeroff
Bark George By: Jules Feiffer
The Very Hungry Caterpillar By: Eric Carle
Knick, Knack Paddy Whack By: Steve Songs

Songs we sang and danced to :
ABC song
Bean Bag Boogie
Bean Bag Bop
Wiggle Wiggle Freeze
Hip Hip Hurray
Who let the dogs out
Popcorn song

Monday Drop-In Story Time August 2

2010-08-03T07:58:00.000-07:00

Books Miss Irene read:

Smile A lot! By: Nancy Carlson
Giggle, Giggle,Quack By: Doreen Cronin
Biscuit Visits the Doctor By: Alyssa Capucilli
Caillou Watches Rosie By: Marion Johnson
Eating The Alphabet By: Lois Ehlert

Songs we sang and danced to :

ABC song
Bean Bag Boogie I
Bean Bag Bop
Wiggle Wiggle Freeze
Who let the Dogs Out
Popcorn song

Bug Story Time July 29th

2010-07-29T17:05:00.000-07:00

Books Read:

The Very Ugly Bug By: Liz Pichon

The Very Lonely Firefly By: Eric Carle

I love Bugs By: Philemon Sturges

The children decorated a bug jar so they can catch there own bugs.
We also enjoyed doing our bug word search and coloring page.

Story Time for Wednesday July 28th& Thursday July 29th

2010-07-29T10:01:00.000-07:00

The final classes of Miss Carol's Summer Session, July 28th & July 29th. It's sad to see it end. Check out our August calendar for a fabulous fun filled month! You can come on over and get a copy in Youth Services or check the on- line calendar.

For our final class of the summer, we read the following books:

UNLOVABLE by Dan Yaccarino

The Birthday Pet by Ellen Javernick

Go Away Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley

Cookie Monster, our newest addition to the puppet family, was introduced to the crowd. He thought he smelled cookies so we had to cut his show short! I saw him later at the new Sweet Shop in the Circle, getting a cookie fix. The rest of the puppet show was an assortment of dancing and singing puppets. Abby closed the show with a little tune of her own.

We danced the morning away to the sounds of "We Clap our Hands" by Jim Gill, Zippety Do Da, The Tiki Room, Great Big Muscles, The Wiggly Party by the Wiggles & we went fishing in Wiggle Bay and we danced like a fish!

Our craft was purchased from Oriental Trading Company. With all the hot weather, who couldn't use a fan? Every child was given a plain fan to decorate. Hopefully all of their beautiful creations will keep them cool for the remainder of our hot days!

Story Time at the Park July 27

2010-07-28T15:18:00.001-07:00

Another beautiful day at the park.
We were enjoying the day at Kathy Torpe Park

Miss Irene read:
Kitten's First Full Moon By: Kevin Henkes
Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do you See? By: Bill Martin Jr
The Very Busy Spider By: Eric Carle
Tiny on the Farm By: Cari Meisier
A Rain Forest ABC By: Amanda Doering

Songs we sang and danced to:
ABC song using our parachute.
Bean Bag Boogie I
bean Bag Bop
Hokey Pokey
If you Happy and You Know It
Popcorn Song
We ended our story time playing with our bubbles.

Monday Drop-In Story Time July 26

2010-07-28T14:24:00.000-07:00

Miss Irene Read:

Five Little Monkeys go Shopping By: Eileen Christelow
Think Big By: Nancy Carlson
Get up and Go! By: Nancy Carlson
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom By: Bill Martin Jr.
Farms ABC By:B.A. Hoena

Songs we sang and danced to :
ABC Song
Bean Bag Boogie I
Bean Bag Bop
Wiggle and Freeze
Who Let the dogs Out
Popcorn Song

Crocodile Story time July 22

2010-07-23T11:07:00.000-07:00

Books read:

Clarabella's Teeth By: An Vrombout
What Time is it Mr. Crocodile By: Judy Sierra
Daffodil Crocodile By: Emily Jenkins
There's a Crocodile Under My bed By: Erica David

We made a crocodile craft using a paper plate .
We also had a coloring page and a crocodile word search.
The kids enjoyed having a crocodile puppet show using the craft we made.
We all had fun watching and listening to our friends pretending being crocodiles.

Tuesday Drop-In Story Time July 20

2010-07-23T09:15:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed having Story time at Central Park this week.Its was a cloudy day but we still had a great time.
Books we read:

Please Pick Me Up Mama By: Robin Loebs
Dot The Fire Dog By: Lisa Desimini

Songs we sang:
ABC Song
Ten Little Indians
Wheels on the Bus
Where is Thumbkin

We played with our parachute and also hot potato and jump rope and enjoyed playing with our bubbles.
Another fun day being outdoors.

July 19 Monday Drop-In Storytime

2010-07-23T07:33:00.000-07:00

Books Miss Irene read:

Me and you By: Janet A. Holmes
Hello Day! By: Anita Lobel
If you Give a Pig a Party By: Laura Numeroff

Songs we sang:
ABC song with our parachute
Bean Bag Boogie I
Bean Bag Bop
Wiggle Wiggle Freeze
Hip,Hip Hurray
Big Red Car
Who let the Dogs Out

Story Time for Wednesday July 21st & Thursday July 22nd

2010-07-22T13:16:00.000-07:00

What a welcome relief to come in from out of the hot weather to have another fabulous story time in our beautiful story room!

It was so enjoyable to read the following books to the wonderful children and parents:

BUBBA -A True Story About an Amazing Alligator by Andrea Lynn Nesci with Jim Nesci

Swim Little Wombat, Swim by Charles Ruge

Get Up and GO!! by Nancy Carlson

How to Train with A T-Rex And Win 8 Gold Medals by Michael Phelps & Alan Abrahamson

Elmo, the cute little puppet, sang "Take Me Out To The Ball Game and the whole crowd joined in and shouted out their favorite team. Sox or Cubs, I think it was a split decision!
Go Chicago! The puppets danced to Yaktey Sax (the theme song from Benny Hill). It's a great lively song, perfect for the puppets.

We danced to "Great Big Muscles, Zippity Do Da, The Tiki Room, The Wiggly Party and we went fishing in Wiggle Bay & swam like a FISH.

Our craft was purchased from Oriental Trading Company. It was a giant finger( to show you are #1). I gave the kids print outs of the Sox, Cubs, Bears, Bulls & Hawks. Some of the kids used every Chicago team and some went with all Sox or all Cubs. They also used the markers to make their craft very special!

Next week is our last class for the summer. Sign-up for the Fall Classes starts on September 1st.

Story Time for Wednesday July 7th & Thursday July 8th

2010-07-10T08:23:00.000-07:00

Summer Reading is in full swing and so are our story times! Between stories, singing, dancing & puppet show it's been a GREAT summer here at the library! Come on over and check it out!

These are the stories I read this past week

the Monster at the end of this Book ~ starring LOVABLE, FURRY OLD GROVER
by Jon Stone

Knick Knack Paddy Whack by SteveSongs

The Cow That Laid an Egg by Andy Cutbill

Our craft was purchased from Oriental Trading. It was a visor and they decorated it with stars that were Red, White & Blue, also purchased from Oriental Trading. Something useful to keep the sun off your face! Happy Summer Everyone!

Tuesday Drop-In Story Time at the Park

2010-07-09T12:57:00.000-07:00

Another fun day at the park!
We enjoyed listening to the stories and singing several songs.
The sun made us very happy.
We played with our parachute and enjoyed playing with our bubbles.

Books Miss Irene read:
Clarabella's Teeth By: An Vrombaut
Flower's and Shower's By: Rebecca Davis
A Dog Needs a Bone By: Audrey Wood
Who Ate all the Cookie Dough By: Karen Beaumont
Farm's ABC An Alphabet Book By: B.A. Hoena

Monster Story Time - July 6, 2010

2010-07-07T12:59:00.000-07:00

Going along with our "Scare Up a Good Book" theme, we arranged for a
"MONSTER STORY TIME".

The following books were read:

I Need my Monster by Amanda Noll

The Snaggle Grollop by Daniel Postgate

Skeleton hiccups by Margery Cuyler

Boogie Knights by Lisa Wheeler

The kids enjoyed a Monster Puppet Show,starring The Lock Ness Monster, Mr. Shark, Scary Fish with Big Sharp Teeth, Yellow Monster Puppet w/ the Wild Eyes & the One Eyed Monster.
They all took turns trying to scare the kids, especially that One Eyed Monster.
The Witch Doctor was played and the puppets danced and sang to the music.

We did a Monster Craft, that was purchased from Oriental Trading Company.

Shark Story Time

2010-06-25T10:26:00.000-07:00

We had a chomping good time in Shark Story Time yesterday.

We started off with some fun shark trivia. Then Jason read the following books:

Smiley Shark - by Ruth Galloway
Don't Eat the Babysitter - by Nick Ward
The Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark - by Ken Geist
Yummy! Yummy! Food for my Tummy! - by Sam Lloyd

We also sang the following song:

Teasing Mr. Shark (to the tune of Five Little Monkeys)

Five little fishes (hold up five fingers)
Swimming in the sea (make fish swimming motion with hands)
Teasing Mr. Shark (make taunting motion, eg fingers in ears)
You can't catch me (shake finger and then point thumb at yourself)
Along comes Mr. Shark (make shark fin on top of head with hands)
As quiet as can be....
Chomp! (make mouth chomping motion with both hands)
Four little fishes swimming in the sea
(continue until there are no fish left)
No more little fishes swimming in the sea!

Then we finished up story time with a hinged shark craft that Jason made from a picture of Smiley Shark. We colored that and added a string to it for hanging, and then there was another coloring page.

I hope everyone had a good time!

Story Times - Wednesday June 23rd & Thursday June 24th

2010-06-22T09:43:00.000-07:00

The next 2 weeks we will be celebrating American's birthday with stories, songs, puppet shows and crafts. Three cheers for the Red, White & Blue!

These are the stories I will be reading:
Fourth of July, Sparkly Sky by Joan Holub
Biscuit's Fourth of July by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Corduroy's 4th of July - Don Freeman
Snickerdoodle's Star-Spangled Fourth of July! by Clare Ham Grosgebauer
Hats Off for the Fourth of July! by Harriet Ziefert

A host of puppets will be singing - I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy, You're a Grand old Flag, I'm Proud to be an American, to name a few. Miss Carol will provide the vocals for these classic American songs.

The crafts were purchased from Oriental Trading Co. We will be making a 4th of July fan, to keep you cool during these hot summer days. It comes with a little sprinkle of glitter! Yes we love glitter!

HAPPY 4th of JULY!!!!

BUTTERFLIES - Wednesday June 16th & Thursday June 17th Story times

2010-06-22T08:50:00.000-07:00

Still in the butterfly mode, 2 weeks after releasing our own
Painted Lady Butterflies I read the following stories:

Don't Worry Bear - by Grey Foley
Molly in the Garden - by Kate & Liz Pope
Butterfly Butterfly - by Petr Horacek
The Case of the Missing Butterfly - by Sam Godwin

Our puppet show was "Kelly the Caterpillar" - by Gary Rosen from the
CD "Classic Animal Songs".

Butterflies were cut on our Accu Cut Machine out of card stock. The children decorated them with sparkling jewels and we had a glitter station set up. The whole library looked sparkly and beautiful!

Story Time for Wednesday May 12th & Thursday May 13th

2010-05-19T09:19:00.000-07:00

May 12th & 13th were the last classes for the session.
We will start again June 9th & 10th, the Summer Session.
It runs through the end of July.

Our theme for the last classes was
"FROGS"

I made a story board with 5 Frogs and we sang "Five Green and Speckled Frogs".
There was a froggy puppet show. The usual dancing.

The following stories were read:
SNOG THE FROG: Tony Bonning
The Wide Mouth Frog: Keith Faulkner
STICK: Steve Breen
THE FROG WITH THE BIG MOUTH: Teresa Bateman