July 11 - L is for Lion

Stories:

Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen; illus. by Kevin Hawkes.

App activity:

Magnetic Alphabet - Listen for today's letter and word of the day. 

Music: 

"Dancing Bear" by Bari Koral

Closing song: "I Am a Mountain" (artist unknown)

Adapt from story time: Put a large-sized letter "L"on your refrigerator. Have your child raise their left hand (hey, left is an "l" word!) and make the letter "L" with pointer and thumb. Be sure the tail of the "L" (thumb) follows the picture. Have them trace their "L" with their right pointer finger, just like we did in story time. 

Additional Reads:

The Loud Book by Deborah Underwood

App of the day:

We used Axel Scheffler's Flip Flap Safari (story app) to begin having children share aloud in front of others about their crazy mixed creature creation. There is also a print book version which is a rhyming book. The app includes the rhymes and in addition includes added animal sound effects. 

This is a great book to have a child begin listening to pronunciation word breakdown. If we cross a lion with an elephant we get a "li•ant". But, perhaps since it is British English you get "li-ra" for a cross between a lion and a zebra (zeb•ra).  iTunes $0.99

Axel Scheffler's Flip Flap Safari

Did you enjoy this story time? Vote using "Today's Storyapptations Poll". 

Don't forget to sign up for the Summer Reading Program online! Sign up now for the free online program here! Happy reading!

June 27 - B is for Bird

Stories:

Home for Bird by Philip C. Stead
Something Extraordinary by Ben Clanton

App activity:

Magnetic Alphabet - Listen for today's letter and word of the day. Spell your name. Switch with your neighbor and learn what letters are in their name!
SmartBoard by Greengar Studios - Practice writing the letter B. Draw a Bird! 

Music: 

"Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes"  My variation for this week... "Beak, Wings, Tail and Feet"

"Dancing Bear" by Bari Koral

Closing song: "I Am a Mountain" (artist unknown)

Additional activities:

Look at an image of a real bird and review parts of the bird. Additionally, remark on the names of the different parts of your family pet. Do the "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" body parts naming song and my variation of the song, "Beak, Wings, Tail and Feet". 

Additional Read:

Petites Choses by C'est Magnifique (iOS only, $1.99)
This is a wordless story app--at least that is how I would describe. Part puzzle and part story, your child goes on an adventure foraging for 6 matching colored keys to unlock the trapped bird in the cage when you first open the app.  There are no instructions so, experimentation is the key, (no pun intended) to collect each key. There is no specific order either. This app is great for an adult and a child to sit together and discuss colors and plan what to do together. It also gives a child plenty of opportunity to discover and explain (narrate) what he or she thinks is going on. If unsure of what to do next, a hand periodically helps by pointing at something. And, if you can't figure it out the first time, there is always tomorrow to try again at how to approach the problem in a different way. And, isn't that a great lesson!
Petites Choses by C'est Magnifique (iOS only, $1.99) Link to app in iTunes

Did you enjoy today's story time? Tell us using "Today's Storyapptations Poll". 

Have you signed up for the Summer Reading Program (June 11th - July 30th)? Provide incentives to make your child a life long reader! For more information click here.

June 13 - M is for Make (and Magnificent)

Stories:

The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires

App activity:

Magnetic Alphabet - Learn your letters. (Consonants and vowels).  Listen for today's letter and word. Spell your name, count the letters in your name. Count the letters in words. How many letters are in your name?
MarcoPolo's Ocean  app- we build our submersible and we explore the ocean! 

Music: 

"The Construction Worker Song" 
"Dancing Bear" by Bari Koral
Closing song: "I Am a Mountain" (artist unknown)

Additional Activities for home:

1. Word awareness activities. 

Download the Ocean app by MarcoPolo (click on Ocean to learn more) and continue the journey of exploring the sea. Observe and talk about the differences of what you find at deeper levels in the ocean. (Don't forget to rebuild your submersible and name the parts, like "porthole" and "periscope" and materials like "metal".  Don't forget to mention how "magnificent" an invention such as a submersible is.

2. Build something at home. Use some of the tools we learned about: wrench, hammer, sand paper...

Here are some ideas from: Intstructables.com

http://www.instructables.com/id/Wind-Up-Plastic-Bottle-Submarine/

and for the more ambitious: http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Baking-Powder-Submarine/

3. Use your library card to download ebooks and read on the go (for free) with the OverDrive App and your library card. For more information click here.

Summer Reading Program now online! Collect virtual badges, and earn tangible prizes by visiting the library during our Summer Reading Program! If you attend a story time, count it towards a book read! For Children 5 and under, set the books to count by "how many read". For children older than 5, set to "how many minutes" read. Sign up now for the free online program here! Happy reading!

May 23, 2016 - P is for Pets

Stories:

My Life With The Wave by Catherine Cowan 

Children Make Terrible Pets by Peter Brown

This Book Just Ate My Dog! by Richard Byrne

App activity:

Magnetic Alphabet - Learn your letters. Listen for today's letter and word.
iBook app - This Book Just Ate My Dog! by Richard Byrne 

Music: 

"Hand Clapping Rap" by Liz Buchanan ($1.99)
"Dancing Bear" by Bari Koral
Closing song: "I Am a Mountain" (artist unknown)

Additional Activities for home:

Identify words around the house that start with the letter "P".  (Petunias, patio, panda (stuff animal), purple, potato...).
Describe attributes of an object, (starting with the letter P). Have your child guess the object. Switch roles. "This object is: something green, it tastes sour, we put them in our hamburgers (or not put them on our hamburgers),--it's a pickle!

Additional Reads:

Sparky! by Jennie Offill 
What Pet Should I Get? by Dr. Seuss
Even Monsters Get Sick (story app for tablet/iPad $1.99) by Busy Bee Studios, written by by Michael Bruza.


Announcements:  We are having a Parent Workshop on June 2 @ 7 p.m. If you missed our last workshop in January, here's your chance to learn about how to use apps to encourage early literacy and learning. The workshop will be in the Talbert Room.

To download free ebooks with your library card, download the OverDrive App. For more information click here.

May 9, 2016 - W is for What and Wait

Stories:

"The Hunt for Spring" from Waiting-for-Spring Stories by Bethany Roberts

And Then It's Spring by Julie Fogliano
Waiting by Kevin Henke

App activity:

Magnetic Alphabet - used to emphasize each letter as we sing along with the "Letter Name Song" (a.k.a. ABC song) and to discover today's letter word! 
iBook app - read Kevin Henke's story on iPad. Each child turned the page on their iPad.

Music: 

"Seasons Song" by Dream English ($0.99). Check out his video too.
Closing song: "I Am a Mountain" (artist unknown)

Additional Activities for home:

Watch the short (1 minute) "Spring is Here" video song from Lost in the Woods movie by Laura and Robert Sams of Sisbro Studios. Help your child name all the woodland animals--that is if you both can keep from giggling. I saw a  squirrel, hatchlings, field mouse, wild turkey, ducklings, chipmunk, painted turtle, warbler?, grasshopper, deer, fawn, and a toad. 
(Rainy day activity): Pull out some different weather clothes and mix them up in a pile and either you or your child pick a season and have him/her dress up in the appropriate clothing for that season--don't forget the shoes!

Additional Reads:
The Wind's Garden by Bethany Roberts
When Spring Comes by Kevin Henke - not in collection yet

Bear Wants More by by Karma Wilson

Abracadabra, It's Spring! by Ann Sibley O'Brien  - not in collection

April 25 - H is for Help, House and Home

Stories:

On Meadowview Street by Henry Cole
Clouds by Eric Carle

App activity:

Magnetic Alphabet - used to emphasize each letter as we sing along with the "Letter Name Song" (a.k.a. ABC song) and to discover today's word! 
Felt Board ($2.99)- build a garden. Have child use specific words when describing his/her making of a garden using this felt board app. Ask child to describe what kind of day it is. (Cloudy, rainy, sunny?). What kind of flowers are in the garden? How many trees? What kind? Who has made a home in your garden?

Music: 

"The Dancing Bear" by Bari Koral
Closing song: "I Am a Mountain" (artist unknown)

Additional Activities:

Use the Feltboard app to have your child retell today's first story: On Meadowview Street by Henry Cold

Reinforce the use of the word "preserve".
Garden this weekend name the names of the flowers and trees growing in your yard. 
Visit your local nursery, or garden center. Look at and learn the names of some of the flowers you like, or have seen.
Look for clouds! Spend some time admiring them and discussing what you see. 
Visit the Cloud Appreciation Society website (www.cloudappreciationsociety.org) for more real images of clouds in formations of amazing things.  

Hurry the Spring Reading Program (ages 0 -12) ends on April 30! Collect virtual badges, raffle tickets, and a seed book mark! If you attended today's Story Time, count it towards a book read! For Children 5 and under, set the books to count by "how many read". For children older than 5, set to "how many minutes" read. Sign up for the free online program here! Happy reading!

To download free ebooks with your library card, download the OverDrive App. For more information click here.

April 11, 2016 - R is for Rain

Stories:

James and the Rain by Karla Kuskin
Rain by Manya Stojic

App activity:

Magnetic Alphabet - used to emphasize each letter as we sing along with the "Letter Name Song" (a.k.a. ABC song) and to discover today's word! 

Smartboard by Greengar Studios**- practice writing numerals 1-5. To download free app, click on the link to above. Select Google Play or iTunes version. From there you will need to look for "more by this developer" in iTunes. You will want the following icon version to your left. It is ad free.

Music: 

"The Rain Song" by Cathy Gehr. audio only with lyrics (free);  video (prefer audio to focus on sound and rhythm, but video can be used to talk about and help in comprehension, since the song is quite fast).

Closing song: "I Am a Mountain" (artist unknown)

Additional Activities:

Use the Smartboard app (free) and draw a picture of "What do you do in the rain? Do you have any excellent rainy day games?"

Reread one of today's stories and ask your child which was their favorite part of the story and why?
Have your child narrate a story to the wordless picture book, for example, "Float" by Daniel Miyares.  Ask your child how does the boy in the story feel? How did the artist show this? 

Additional reading on the subject of rain, or, things to do when it rains:

Puddle by Hyewon Yum - creative activity for when it's raining outside.
Float by Daniel Miyares
My Side of the Car by Kate Feiffer - funny book about imaginative perspective.
Puddle by Johnathan London w/ pictures by G. Brian Karas
The Deep, Deep Puddle by Mary Jessie Parker and illustrated by Deborah Zemke- a counting book
Rain Song by Leslie Evans - rain as rhythm.
The Rain Came Down by David Shannon - great sequence book

Sign up for our Spring Reading Program (ages 0 -12). Sign up today and get a raffle ticket for a chance to win a Kindle! If you attended today's Story Time, it counts! For Children 5 and under, set the books to count by "how many read". For children older than 5, set to "how many minutes" read. Sign up for the free online program here! Happy reading!

To download free ebooks with your library card, download the OverDrive App. For more information click here.

**Download procedure for the Smartboard. The link gets you to the page where you can choose Google Play or iTunes version. From there you will need to look for "more by this developer" in iTunes. You will want the following icon version below. It is ad free.