My Body Parts Storytime

Storytime for 1-1/2 to 3 year olds:

• Opening - Skinnamarink, Sticky Sticky Bubblegum

• Book #1 – Here Are My Hands by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault, illustrated by Ted Rand

• Stand-up Activity – Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes (action song)

• Bridge - Open, Shut Them (fingerplay)

Open, shut them
(open and close hands)
Open, shut them
Give a little clap (clap)
Open, shut them

Open, shut them
Put them in your lap
(put hands in lap)

Creep them, creep them
Under your chin
(creep fingers up chest)
Open your mouth, but don't put them in
(do as words say)

Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap
Open shut them
Open shut them
Put them in your lap 

• Flannelboard - How Many Feet?

Birds have two

Dogs have four

Beetles have six

Spiders have eight

That's quite a lot more than me because I only have two feet!

• Book #2 – Tickly Under There by Debi Gliori (board book)

• Activity – I Have Ten Little Fingers (traditional fingerplay)

I have 10 little fingers

They all belong to me!

I can make them do things

Would you like to see?

I can close them up tight

I can open them up wide

I can raise them up high

I can put them at my side

I can wave them to and fro

And I can fold them - just like so.

• Closing - Scarves to the song "Popcorn Calling Me" from Buzz Buzz by Laurie Berkner

• Art Experience – Glue sewing trim pieces onto a body cut-out

Lego My Library - A Little Summer in the Middle of Winter

A fun Lego building block storytime intended for children 4 to 8 years old.

Book: Peter Spit a Seed at Sue by Jackie Koller French, illustrated by John Manders

Lego challenge: Create something that you could use to spit watermelon seeds or to defend yourself from seeds

Pop! Bang! A Fun Sounds Storytime

Storytime for 1-1/2 to 3 year olds:

• Opening - Skinnamarink, Sticky Sticky Bubblegum

• Book #1 – Good-Night, Owl! by Pat Hutchins

• Stand-up Activity – "Little Squirrel" from Movin' & Grovin' Home 2 by Kindermusik

• Bridge - Open, Shut Them (fingerplay)

Open, shut them
(open and close hands)
Open, shut them
Give a little clap (clap)
Open, shut them

Open, shut them
Put them in your lap
(put hands in lap)

Creep them, creep them
Under your chin
(creep fingers up chest)
Open your mouth, but don't put them in
(do as words say)

Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap
Open shut them
Open shut them
Put them in your lap 

• Flannelboard - Five Little Kernals (popcorn counting chant found at Storytime Katie)

• Book #2 – Pots and Pans by Patricia Hubbell, illustrated by Diane deGroat

• Activity – "Finger Poppin' Song" from Action Songs for Preschoolers by Georgina Stewart

• Closing - Scarves to the song "Popcorn Calling Me" from Buzz Buzz by Laurie Berkner

• Art Experience – Coloring sheet with crayons

Resolve to Rock in 2015

Inspired by the challenge created by the folks at Storytime Underground, I put some thought into some professional and personal goals for myself in the coming year.
So here goes...

1. Balance - I need to work on better balance with everything I do at work.  Working at a stand alone library, there is so much only I can do that needs to be done.  I need to work on better balance between home and work.  I need to work on better balance between my free time and the time I spend with my two boys.  Lately, I feel that there is so much I want to do but no time to get it done.
2. Get out of my comfort zone - As a naturally shy and introverted person, I constantly need to push myself to get out there and try new things.  I have already lined up two speaking engagements.  Can I do more?  I can try new types of programs at work.  I can task myself to try to meet new people (always hard to do!).  I can share posts on Flannel Friday as well as Thrive Thursday.  I can get more involved with Storytime University.
3. Clean my desk - This is probably part of the whole balance thing... but my desks at home and at work are perpetually messy.  I need to carve out time to clean and organize both of them.
4. My blog - I want to clean it up a bit to make it more professional.

Miss Carol's Favorite Book Finds of 2014 - Middle Grade Books

Every year at my library, I spend the last couple days of the year compiling my favorite book finds of the year.  They are not always new books.  Just books I discovered for the first time and really, really liked.

MIDDLE GRADE CHAPTER BOOK DISCOVERIES FOR 2014:

Bot Wars by J.V. Kade 

In a futuristic world where humans and robots are at war, a boy goes on a search to find his missing military father.

How to Catch a Bogle by Catherine Jinks 

In 1870’s London, a young orphan girl becomes the apprentice to a man who traps monsters for a living.

Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger 

At age twelve, Sophie learns that the remarkable abilities that have always caused her to stand out identify her as an elf, and after being brought to Eternalia to hone her skills, discovers that she has secrets buried in her memory for which some would kill.

Phoebe and Her Unicorn: A Heavenly Nostrils Chronicle by Dana Simpson 

Phoebe, an awkward and precocious nine-year-old, releases an arrogant unicorn held captive underwater by a magic spell. In exchange for her freedom, the unicorn Marigold Heavenly Nostrils grants Phoebe one wish, namely that the two will become best friends.

Winterling by Sarah Prineas 

Spirited young Fer travels through the Way to a magical world in which beings part human and part animal serve an evil ruler known as the Lady, and where she hopes to learn about her long-lost parents and her own identitiy.

MIDDLE GRADE NON-FICTION BOOK DISCOVERIES FOR 2014:

Dare the Wind: The Record-Breaking Voyage EleanorPrentiss and The Flying Cloud by Tracey Fern 

Ellen Prentiss's papa said she was born with saltwater in her veins, so he gave her sailing lessons and taught her how to navigate. As soon as she met a man who loved sailing like she did, she married him. When her husband was given command of a clipper ship custom-made to travel quickly, she knew that they would need every bit of its speed for their maiden voyage: out of New York City, down around the tip of Cape Horn, and into San Francisco, where the Gold Rush was well under way. In a time when few women even accompanied their husbands onboard, Ellen Prentiss navigated their ship to set the world record for speed along that route.

Gravity by Jason Chin

What keeps objects from floating out of your hand? What if your feet drifted away from the ground? What stops everything from floating into space? Gravity, the invisible force that causes objects to attract each other. Here the author has taken a complex subject and made it brilliantly accessible to young readers in this unusual, innovative, and very beautiful book.

Mr. Ferris and his Wheel by Kathryn Gibbs Davis 

Examines how the engineer George Ferris invented and constructed the amusement park ride that bears his name for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.

The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree-LovingWoman Changed a City Forever by H. Joseph Hopkins 

Learn about Katherine Olivia Sessions who brought trees to San Diego and created what eventually became Balboa Park.