What just happened?

I blinked and it was suddenly July!! StoryTime finished in May with a fantastic carnival.  June brought our summer reading program "Fizz, Boom, Read!" and about 300 kids of all ages learning about science in our world and participating in amazing hands on activities!  Now we are wrapping up our summer and gearing up for the Fall! StoryTime will begin in September and we will have a whole new format. The next few weeks will be spent in planning and preparation - please forgive the lack of posts - hopefully I can start again fresh in September with a blog that will be entertaining and useful!

Bugs bugs bugs!

Today's Story Time was all about BUGS!! We had a great turnout and several first time visitors!

After a few songs and activities we met a very special bug - the Monarch Butterfly.

We learned about the Monarch's beautiful colors and special defense of being poisonous (tasting yucky) to birds that might try to eat him.  Then we read a poem from "Insectlopedia" - a collection of poems about all kinds of bugs.

I wasn't sure how the kids would do with a poem, but the last two lines of this poem are

"Swallows who swallow them 

frequently puke."

Now how could I pass that up?

I was so impressed that one of my little guys studied the illustration and announced

"Mrs. D that looks like a crown!!"

Indeed you are right B.A., that does look very much like a crown!

We followed up the poem with "I Love Bugs" by Emma Dodd

and "The Very Lonely Firefly" by Eric Carle

After a quick review of our story elements from last week, the kids correctly identified the title, main characters, and setting.  I am amazed each week with how sharp these kiddos are! Our definition of setting is where and when the story takes place. When I asked what the setting was, I was prepared for the where.... outside, in the air, in the sky, etc.  R.B. not only identified the time, she used the same wording (after the sun set) as the book. Wow!

A rousing chorus of "The Ants Go Marching one by one" led us to the highlight of our day - WORMS!

We watched the worms crawl around for a bit, then we painted with them!!  The worms were very happy to paint beautiful masterpieces for everyone.  

If the worm masterpieces were not exciting enough, we also made fireflies or lightening bugs!

It was a great day!  Next week is Music!

Crazy Teens

We had a Teen Game Night planned, but after a few rounds of " Would You Rather", these teens broke out the puppets and the real fun began!  Love love love these kids!

After the puppets, it was time for selfies!

Dr Seuss Reading Challenge

Last week we had 24 kids in Story Time and they reported reading 97 books!  That is an amazing start to our goal of 320!  Every child that reads 5 books will get their name on a fish on our bulletin board. Fifteen books will get their name on a Thing 1 or Thing 2, and anyone who reads 25 books will get their name on the cat's hat!

Our group goal is 320 books read, and we are already past the 25% mark!  Each week our thermometer will move up, and if we continue at this pace we will make our goal well before May!

Turtleriffic Story Time

Story Time this week was about turtles!

We read "Emma's Turtle" by Eve Bunting.  The turtle in this story belongs to Emma, a little girl who reads stories to her turtle about fabulous places around the world.  One day the turtle decides to travel the world himself.  He digs his way out of his pen and begins his adventure.  Along the way he encounters what he believes to be creatures from foreign lands, and discovers the cat next door likes to visit "India".  Emma eventually finds him, picks him up, and takes him back to his pen.  She reveals that his full day's journey only took him across the yard, but he resolves to dig out tomorrow and attempt to find China.

Last week I introduced some basic story elements - title, main characters, and setting.  The kids understood  the title with no problem.  They listed almost every character in the book when I asked for main characters, but since the vast majority are not yet old enough for kindergarten, I will take comprehension of "characters"- we can work on comprehension of "main" later! I thought they might be confused on the setting, but to my surprise, they nailed it!  I figured a few would think the setting was Australia or India, or where the turtle thought he was traveling.  Amazingly, they all named the setting correctly as "the backyard". I was so proud!!  These kids are soooo smart!

Our craft was a bit messy, but they loved it! I used a paper bowl to make the outline of a turtle shell, then three shapes to finish his body - a triangle for his tail, an oval for his head, and a rectangle for his legs. Once I had a basic turtle shape marked out in sharpie, I xeroxed it onto green construction paper. I cut two shades of green tissue paper into squares, and mixed a little bit of glue with water.  The kids (or parents) cut the turtle shape out, then glued the bowl onto the paper to make the turtle.  They painted the shell with the watered down glue, and covered it with the green tissue paper.  Once everything dried, a hole can be punched into the turtle's shell and a string run through so he can be pulled along as they walk.  You can draw on eyes and a smile, or glue on wiggly eyes.  Here were some of our semi finished products!

Even the littlest ones were able to stick the tissue on their turtle, and they were all so thrilled to take this home! This is something I will do again!

Images with children were posted with parent's permission - please do not copy any images containing children!  You may copy images without children's faces for instructional purposes. Please give me credit if these images are shared.  Thank you!

Shaken not stirred

A snow globe is designed for chaos.  It looks pretty sitting on the shelf, but for the full effect you need to see it with the "snow" swirling around.  The best way to meet that end is to pick the snow globe up and turn it upside down.  The longer you hold it upside down and let the snow fall to the glass top of the globe, the more snow collects.  Sometimes the last bits of snow are stubborn and cling to the object in the center of the globe.  That is when you have to shake your snow globe to ensure all the little bits of snow have settled in the bottom/top of the globe. After everything from that last shake has settled you flip the globe right side up and BEHOLD!  You see the true beauty of the snow globe and view it as it was meant to be seen.

In March of 2011 my snow globe was "flip-turned upside-down" (to all fellow 80's children - there is your daily ear worm - you're welcome).  It took a couple of years for the snow to gather in the top of the globe, but after that last shake I found myself right side up in the most beautiful place ever - the LIBRARY!

I never intended to become a librarian.  I knew I would be a teacher since I was probably 6 years old.  A few placement tests in high school and a recent facebook quiz suggested "Creative Writer", and I have often entertained the thought of my fantasy careers - costume maker for Broadway, or Sesame Street actor, but I really never imagined myself being anything other than a teacher.  Certainly not a librarian.

And yet here I am - Children's Librarian at the main branch of the County Library.  And I am unbelievably thrilled! Everything I have learned thus far in my life - formal schooling as well as experience - is being put to use in this position. Everything I loved about being a public school teacher is here - introducing children to new concepts, the light in their eyes whey they "get it", the excitement of learning through play.  The thrill of education is here in the library meeting room every bit as much as it was in my 4th grade or Pre-K classrooms.

You know what is not at the library? Everything I hated about teaching - the red tape, the politics, the standardized testing, the state mandates. Here in the library we can let the kids set the pace of learning.  There is no deadline on which my kids will be tested on what they have learned.  There is no minimum of information they must absorb by a certain date in order to proceed on to the next year of their life.  There is no test for comprehension or mastery.  That is good, because most of the things that kids learn in childhood - the things that really matter - are not quantifiable. Learning to be kind, to share, to respect authority, to stand up for yourself, to question, to experiment, to problem solve, to get along with others, to listen, to play, to express, and to enjoy life, these are things that must be learned and experienced, but can seldom be taught, and are never proven on a paper test.These are the things kids are learning at the library!

So although I never intended to be a librarian, here I am, right where I was meant to be.  I know there is a movement/train of thought/idea/lifestyle that places emphasis on making intentional decisions - the Intentional Life or something of the sort.  I have no issue with this - knowing where you want to go and making deliberate moves to get you there is certainly commendable. But sometimes the best place to be is where you never intended to go.  Sometimes your life gets shaken like a snow globe and you find yourself upside down and totally out of control.  My advice when this happens is to hang on, and let it be.  When the snow settles, you might find yourself in the middle of a beautiful scene you would never have imagined existed.

Until next time....
~ The Unintentional Librarian ~