Windy Day/Kite Storytime

Windy Day Story Time

Opening Song: If you’re Happy and You know it! (Clap, Stomp, Shout Hurray)

If you’re Ready for a Story, Clap your hands!

If you’re Ready for a Story, Clap your hands!

If you’re Ready for a Story, If you’re Ready for a Story,

If you’re Ready for a Story, Clap your hands!

Sit Down Song:

The more we read together, together, together

The More we read together, the happier we’ll be,

‘Cause my books are your books and your books are my books,

The More we read together, the happier we’ll be.

Book: Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

Five Little Kites

 Original Author Unknown; From PreschoolEducation.com

One little kite in the sky so blue,
Along came another, then there were two.
Two little kites flying high above me;
Along came another, then there were three.
Three little kites, just watch them soar,
Along came another, then there were four.
Four little kites, so high and alive
Along came another, then there were five.
Five little kites dancing across the sky,
What a sight to see, way up so high!

Five bright kites Watch them soar!.
Along came a strong wind, and now I have four.
Four bright kites flying over the sea.
Along came a big wave, and now I have three
Three bright kites, I'll give one to you.
Three bright kites, now I have two.
Two bright kites flew too near to the sun.
Poor little kites! Now I have one.
One bright kite - that's enough for me,
I'll keep it away from the kite - eating tree!

Book: Princess Hyacinth: The Surprising Tale of a Girl who Floated by Florence Parry Heide; Illustrated by Lane Smith

 

The Playful Wind 

Original Author Unknown; From PreschoolEducation.com

The wind came out to play one day.
He swept the clouds out of his way.
(Make sweeping motion with hands.)
He blew the leaves and away they flew.
(Mke fluttering motions with fingers.)
The trees bent low and their branches did too!
(Lift arms high and lower them.)
The wind blew the great big ships at sea.
(Repeat sweeping motion.)
The wind blew the kite away from me

Noisy Wind 

 Original Author Unknown; From PreschoolEducation.com

Sung to: "The Farmer in the dell"

I like the noisy wind,
I like the noisy wind.
It roars and mutters
(voice loud, then softer)
And Shakes the shutters.
(shake hands Tambourine-Style.)
I like the noisy wind
I Like the Noisy wind,
I like the noisy wind.
It flaps the flag
(flap your arms back and forth)
And rustles my bag.
(rub hands together briskly)
I like the noisy wind.

Book: Kite Day A Bear and Mole Story by Will Hillenbrand

 

WINDY today 

Sung to: "Bingo"

Today the winds are blowing hard,
and windy is the weather.
W-I-N-D-Y, W-I-N-D-Y. W-I-N-D-Y
And WINDY is the weather.

I See The Wind Fingerplay

Original Author Unknown; From PreschoolEducation.com

I see the wind when the leaves dance by,
(Dance hands around)
I see the wind when the Clothes wave "Hi!"
(Wave hand)
I see the wind when the trees bend low,
(Bend arms over and down)
I see the wind when the flags all blow.
(wave arms high)
I see the wind when the kites Fly high,
(raise arms high)
I see the wind when the clouds float by.
(wave hand gently)
I see the wind when it blows my hair,
(lift hair with hands.)
I see the wind 'most everywhere!
(Hold hands out, palms up.)

Whistling Wind

Original Author Unknown; From PreschoolEducation.com

Sung to: "If you're happy and you know it"

If you hear the whistling wind,
Cup your ears.
If you hear the whistling wind,
Cup your ears.
If you hear it in the trees
Making music with the leaves,
If you hear the whistling wind,
Cup your ears.
If you feel the Blustery wind,
Whirl around
If you feel the blustery wind,
Whirl around.
If you feel it lift your hair
Like a kite up in the air,
If you feel the blustery wind,
Whirl around.

My Kite 

 Original Author Unknown; From PreschoolEducation.com

Sung to: "The Farmer in the Dell"

My kite is up so high,
My kite is up so high,
Oh my - - just watch it fly
My kite is up so high.

My kite is falling down,
My kite is falling down,
Oh no - - it's down so low
My kite is falling down.

The wind has caught my kite,
The wind has caught my kite,
What fun - - I'm on the run
The wind has caught my kite.

My kite is up so high,
My kite is up so high,
Oh my - - just watch it fly
My kite is up so high.

Closing Song: The More We Get Together.

Today’s Craft brought to you Teaching the Little People Blog:

 

http://teachingthelittlepeople.blogspot.com/2012/03/rainbow-streamers-in-preschool.html

Additional Recommended Reads:

The Sunhat by Jennifer Ward; Illustrations by Stephanie Roth Sisson

Love is in the Air by Jonathan Fenske

The Flyaway Blanket by Allan Peterkin; Illustrated by Emmeline Pidgen

Flora’s Very Windy Day by Jeanne Birdsall; Illustrated by Matt Phelan

Blowin’ in the Wind; Lyrics by Bob Dylan; Illustrations by Jon J Muth

First Day of Spring Storytime!

The first day of spring, March 20th, falls on Storytime day this year, and I'm shocked that while I've done many Spring-y themes over the years, I have never done a Spring Storytime!

Opening Song:
If you're happy and you know it (clap your hands, stomp your feet, shout hurray, do all three!)

If you're ready for a story clap your hands (clap clap)
If you're ready for a story clap your hands (clap clap)
If you're ready for a story, if you're ready for a story,
If you're ready for a story, clap your hands. (clap clap)

Sit down song:

The more we read together, together, together, 

the more we read together, the happier we'll be,
'Cause your books are my books are your books and
your books are my books, 
The more we read together, the happier we'll be.

First Story: 
Mama, is it Summer Yet? by Nikki McClure
(Despite 'summer' being in the title, this story is much more about the changes in the springtime.)


Song:

Plants  (Original Author Unknown)

Sung to: "The Farmer In The Dell"-Found at www.preschooleducation.com

The farmer plants the seeds
The farmer plants the seeds
Hi, Ho and Cherry O
The farmer plants the seeds

Other Verses:
The rain begins to fall...
The sun begins to shine...
The plants begin to grow...
The buds all open up...
The flowers smile at me...

Second Story:

Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit by Il Sung Na

(This one is a little more about fall than spring, but I want to use it to talk about the seasons changing, plus Il Sung Na's pictures are to die for)

Song:

Hello Spring Time! 

Submitted by: Judy Lambert to www.preschooleducation.com

Sung to: "Good Night Ladies"

Hello spring time
Hello spring time
Hello spring time
We're glad spring time is here.

Hello flowers
Hello flowers
Hello flowers
We're glad spring time is here!

Hello green grass... We're glad spring time is here.
Hello birds... We're glad spring time is here.
(To finish song, repeat first verse after you have said hello to all the spring things the children can think of.)

Third Story:

Spring is Here by Will Hillenbrand

Songs:

I'll Plant A Little Seed

Original Author Unknown

Sung to: "I'm A Little Teapot"-Found at www.preschooleducation.com

I'll plant a little seed in the dark, dark ground.
Out comes the yellow sun, big and round.
Down comes the cool rain, soft and slow.
Up comes the little seed, grow, grow, grow!
I'll plant a little seed in the dark, dark ground.
Out comes the yellow sun, big and round.
Down comes the cool rain, soft and slow.
Up comes the little seed, grow, grow, grow!

Little Ducks Song
Original Author Unknown
Sung to: "London Bridge"-Found at www.preschooleducation.com

Little ducks go quack, quack, quack
Quack, quack, quack,
Quack, quack, quack -
Little ducks go quack quack quack
In the springtime.
(ask the kids what sounds that springtime animals make and have them in the verses!)

Spring Morning 

Sung To: "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush"

This is the way the bunny hops, bunny hops, bunny hops,
This is the way the bunny hops,
On a spring time morning.

This is the way the blue bird flies...
This is the way the little chick walks......
This is the way the little duck swims......
This is the way the little lamb runs.....
This is the way the children play.....

Closing Song:

The More we Get Together

Today's Craft from 3dinosaurs.com

http://3dinosaurs.com/wordpress/index.php/torn-paper-flowers/

I love this craft because it's open-ended, which encourages creativity. It uses left over paper, only requires glue and paper, and still uses fine motor without using scissors (which I love, but we can use new skills)

Other Recommended Stories:

The Twelve Days of Springtime by Deborah Lee Rose; Illustrated by Carey Armstrong-Ellis

Hurray for Spring by Patricia Hubbell; Ill by Taia Morley

Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson

A Quick Notes Guide to Making a Story Time with Every Child Ready to Read Concepts

Every Child Read to Read is an early literacy program targeted at educating parents and caregivers. Rather than focusing early literacy skills towards the children alone, it seeks to teach parents how to nurture pre-reading skills once they leave the library. All storytime activities nurture one or several of the skills that prepare a child to read, but I find when I create a storytime especially mindful of the impact of these skills, I can better articulate to caregivers why the fun we're having is actually making their child a future reader as well as set my audience on a path towards becoming a great reader.

 Get Ready to Read with: READING
Seems self-explanatory, doesn't it? Yet it's important to remember that that the best way to create a future, happy reader is to build positive experiences around books. By watching you read, they will learn how print looks and how to use a book. 

 How to use this in Storytime: Pick fun books worth sharing, use your fingers to indicate that you read left to right, discuss what is happening in the pictures. 

 Get Ready to Read with: TALKING 
 Children build their spoken vocabulary long before they build their reading vocabulary. The more words a child has been introduced to, the better prepared they are for reading and writing those words later.

 How to use this in Storytime: Don't shy away from those big words in books. Ask them if they think they know what they mean. Choose big varieties in the stories you present, you never know when you're introducing a new concept, animal, feeling, or experience for a child! 

 Get Ready to Read with: SINGING 
 In a song, every syllable is a note. It slows down language and words so that children can make out every song (or phoneme, to use a fancy term). This will help with sounding out later in life!

 How to use this in Storytime: Songs are the perfect transition in-between books. Have you ever noticed that even in the noisiest restaurant, the room quiets as soon as someone starts the first notes of "Happy Birthday"? Sometimes Storytime can feel just as unruly as a crowded restaurant, but you'll get the kids eyes on you with a song AND help them with early literacy skills at the same time.

 Get Ready to Read with: WRITING
But how to do you write before you read? Our pre-readers need to learn that both writing and reading communicate something. Even early talkers can sing you the ABC song, but learning that those letters they are saying make words is important!

How to use this in Storytime: Kids express most of their "writing" with pictures, so anytime you can encourage this is great, but any time you can incorporate letter awareness is also a bonus! I love to use variations of the song BINGO (any 5 letter word works!) by writing those letters on the board and pointing to each one we are singing, and asking which letter I have to remove.

Get Ready to Read with: PLAYING
Reading is all about symbols: words and illustrations are symbols that help tell a story. One of the first ways a child becomes a story-teller themselves is through playing. If a child can grasp that a hunk of mud is a cake, then they can sooner grasp that a group of lines spells a word.

How to use this in Storytime: Fingerplays often ask a child to pretend that their fingers are 5 kittens or monkeys or leprechauns or wherever the imagination takes them!


With these skills in mind, you can build your storytime with bigger goals than just sharing a book, but sharing the gift of reading! You can also model behaviors that parents can easily replicate at home, and let them know why it's important.

For more information on Every Child Ready To Read, visit their website:
http://www.everychildreadytoread.org/

GUTGAA: Meet and Greet

I heard about GUTGAA: Gear up to Get an Agent on twitter the other day and thought, "Hmm, I AM gearing up to get an Agent!"  I'm excited to participate in what I can, though I don't think that my manuscript is ready for an Agent's eyes yet, so I will stop when we get to that point.


Some things about me:

• I'm a Youth Services Specialist at the Library, which means that I have one of the best jobs in the world.

• I am a well-rounded geek in the fields of Star Trek, Star Wars, Joss Whedon, MST3K,and a million other things in the world of geekdom. You have to let your Geek Flag Fly!

• Favorite books at the moment and of all time, in no particular order: 
• Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, 
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, 
• Zombies vs Unicorns by EVERY AMAZING YA WRITER, 
• The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas, 
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, 
• Breathers: A Zombie's Lament by SG Browne, 
• FABLES graphic novels by Bill Willingham.

• My current work in progress, The Mirror Tells No Lies, is an adult fantasy.  I'm reluctant to call it an updated fairy tale because it's actually about a new generation of heroes, magicians, and monsters dealing with the consequences those famous "happily ever afters."

Oh, and to the questions I was supposed to answer:

-Where do you write?

Anywhere I can whenever I can.  My Laptop goes with me everywhere.  Honestly I get most of my writing done with me in the break room at the library over lunch break.

-Quick. Go to your writing space, sit down and look to your left. What is the first thing you see?

Since everywhere is my writing space, to the left you'll probably see Diet Coke or tea.  Have to hydrate and write!

-Favorite time to write?

If I wasn't stealing spare moments and didn't have to get up in the morning for work, I would write in the dead of night all of the time.  Midnight to 3 in the morning.  Nothing to distract you then.  No one is on twitter and nothing is on tv, everyone is asleep and the words feel like they flow out like water.

-Drink of choice while writing?

Darn, answered this already.  I will say that I tried what I called "the Hemingway experiment" and drank alcohol while I wrote and it was an abysmal failure, so caffeine infused beverages it is!

-When writing , do you listen to music or do you need complete silence?

Music, and I'm not picky about lyrics.  Lyrics inspire me; I write scenes to songs that move me.  I feel like this current WIP is brought to you by Florence + The Machine.

-What was your inspiration for your latest manuscript and where did you find it?

Oh man, what a convoluted story this is.  When I watched 10th Kingdom when I was kid, and resolved to write a great fairy tale.  Then it didn't come to me until years later in college, when I started to look at my love of fairy tales through the eyes of a struggling young feminist.  We love princesses but they are so passive in their lives, when actually the evil queens are the active women.  Is that why they were seen as evil, because they dare to take control of their destinies?  Could beauty love a beast if the beast were a woman and the beauty were a man?  Wouldn't it be great to see a heroine making hard choices for her happily ever after instead of falling into it?  Those were my big questions, but ultimately it's all about characters right?  Once I created characters to tackle these questions with me, the story became a lot more to me than "an updated fairy tale with a feminist twist."  They fought and loved and struggled, and I love them more than the fairy tales their inspired by.

-What's your most valuable writing tip?

I hate these, because they give the impression that you, as a writer, know what you're doing, which I would never wish to say.  I'll just quote someone who did know what they were doing, Ray Bradbury, in a response to a fan letter one of my friends sent him.  "Write: Everyday, Everyday, Everyday."

For the Joy of Reading

I think reading for the joy of reading has taken a lot of hits this week.  There have been several articles (which I've decided not to link anymore so they don't get anymore page views because of me) that have stated that we should be reading to learn and we can only be learning from adult literary fiction and classics.  I disagree wholeheartedly, both that anyone should be telling anyone what they SHOULD be reading and that there isn't a great deal to be learned from Children's, YA, and Genre fiction.  So, I've decided to celebrate some books that have given me joy despite their genre or intended age group.

The Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket - Labeled as Children's fiction, I don't think anyone should miss these books because Daniel Handler "Snicket" is a master of the voicey, character narrator.  I think these are gems of literature.  Also not to be missed by Snicket are his holiday books, "The Latke Who couldn't Stop Screaming" and "The Lump of Coal" because they are some of the best satires on holidays out there.

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series by Jeff Kinney.  These were actually meant to be books for adults but were turned into children's books and became phenomenons.  As an adult, however, I really enjoy the satire of middle school, a hated grade for nearly every one of us.  Kinney's indictment of lock-ins is a particular favorite of mine, as I hate lock-ins and always have.

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier - This one is shelved in the YA section with good reason, it is a brilliant indictment of bullying.  I think every kid should read it just to see how mob mentality is born and how it is manipulated.  It shows just how cruel we can be to each other even when we're schoolmates.  This book is also a frequently banned book, so between some telling you not to read YA because you are an adult and some telling you not to read it as a teen because of it's violent and sexual content, it seems there is never a right age to read this book, and that's a damned shame.

Zombies vs. Unicorns edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier.  I picked up this book because I knew it would be fun, and it was indeed.  It's full of a Who's Who of the best YA writers out there right now.  There's social commentary, dark and adult themes in each story.  There's also a good helping of fun.

So there you have it.  Books that brought me joy and learning outside of the literary fiction world. I've been inspired by classics and awed by the language in literary fiction, but there are gems in all writing that you can find when you read for the joy of it.  Anyone else?

Marian Librarian reviews: The Great and Only Barnum by Candace Fleming

Circus Week continues!

I had heard some glowing recommendations of this book from some colleagues and so, when trying to think of a book to go with my Circus Week, I sought it out.

The book is The Great and Only Barnum: The Tremendous, Stupendous Life of Showman P.T. Barnum by Candace Fleming.

Unlike some, I actually have a great affection for the Circus.  I'm aware of the controversies surrounding it.  I know all of the sort of seediness that people attribute to it, but I still enjoy it.

Barnum didn't invent the circus but he made it sparkle.  He found his calling in being a showman and was unapologetic about it.  He knew what people wanted and he gave it to them.

The story follows the entirety of Barnum's life, so truthfully the Circus doesn't factor in until very late in the story as he didn't even get into the circus game until he was 60 and didn't meet his business partner Bailey until he was 77.

Before that, you hear of his childhood, where he learned the value of practical jokes and the fact that he was an idea man rather than a hard worker.  It talks about how he met a local celebrity in his hometown of Bethel: an elephant named Old Bet.  Her owner made a small fortune taking her from town to town, so it was then that Barnum famously learned: "When entertaining the public, it is best to have an elephant."

Much of the story is dedicated to Bailey's exploits with his "American Museum," a place of curiosities, oddities, and animals.  It was chock full of things and people we would associate with documentaries on the Discovery Channel or Ripley's Believe it or Not.  This is the place where Barnum got his infamous reputation as a liar or "humbug."  His philosophy was that he just used his "humbugs" to draw people in, then entertained them.  They always got their money's worth.

It's interesting to melt the man with the seedy side-show image.  He was a deeply religious man, a friend to children, and the acts that some would say that he exploited, like the small man known as General Tom Thumb whom considered him a great friend.  He was not a perfect man by any means, but he was also not a mustache-twirling villain.  It's a fascinating look at the beginnings of an American institution and the man behind it.

There are anecdotes in here that are stories in themselves: how Barnum moved Circus's from 1 to 3 rings, the story of Jumbo the great elephant, the first circus train.  Also, stories of the people who crossed into his life: his partner James Bailey, the diva Jenny Lind (the inspiration for the Ugly Duckling who broke Hans Christian Anderson's heart), Mr. and Mrs. "Tom Thumb," and the oldest woman alive Joice Heth.  It's the kind of book where you'll find yourself reading passages to people out loud until you just press the book in their hands anyway.  Great for a kid who needs to do a biography project and the adult who's as curious as Barnum's audiences were.

Marian Librarian Reviews Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

I have declared it Circus Week!

Why?  Because it is National Novel Writing Month and two of the biggest NaNo success stories happen to be about Circuses: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.  (Take note, Nano'ers.  Circus books for all of us next year!)*

(*Don't actually do this.)

I'm going to be honest, every time I approach an "adult book" these days, especially a "bestseller," I feel trepidation.  I think it's because I've had some truly awful experiences with adult fiction and bestsellers (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and Devil Wears Prada stand out for me.)  So, when I went into the Youth Services field I engrossed myself in YA and Juvenile literature, feeling like I was behind and could never read enough of it anyway (I still feel this way.)  My whole outlook on reading changed then.  I was actually enjoying things I read.  I'd found a home in YA lit.

A few months ago, I started to hear about The Night Circus.  First, I heard of it because it was a NaNo success story even before it was released, and as a NaNo'er I appreciate every one of us who take 50,000 desperately typed-out words and turn them into something amazing.

Then I started to hear about it from the YA community because it was going to be placed in YA sections, then graduated to adult but branded "has crossover appeal."

Interesting that this book seemed to beckon out to me just like the Night Circus itself does, with word of mouth and an image of circus tents in striking black and white.  I got on the hold list for it and was already number 257 in line at the library, but I cut ahead of everyone by spying a non-requestable Best-Seller copy on the shelf.

The Night Circus gave me everything I want to fall in love with in a book.  A beautiful setting and atmosphere, lovers who make your heart ache with them, mystery and intrigue that keeps you turning page after page, and, of course, a little magic.

It was a book that I devoured and wished I hadn't so that I could have savored it longer.  It's a world that I did not wish to shut the back cover on.

The story follows the life of the mysterious and fantastic Night Circus and the lives that are entwined in it.  I say the life of the circus, because it's the true main character that seems to live and breathe on its own, rather than just a setting.  The magic and splendor in this Circus isn't just sleight of hand, it's real.  Dreams conjured by dreamers for dreamers; two magicians locked in a high-stakes game.  A lot of fantasy demands a limit or price to magic.  These magicians do pay a price for their magic but anything they wish to make happen- living carousels, cloud-filled playgrounds, exotic labyrinths -they bring to life.  I understand "price of magic" philosophy but here, it was refreshing to see that any dream could take shape.

I know this review has been more like a love letter to this book, so I'll get down to the nitty-gritty briefly.  The narrative moves forward and backward in time from scene to scene, picking up threads of different characters at different parts of their lives.  This causes a build in tension but does, at one very brief point, added frustration because there were times where it cut to characters I didn't find as compelling when I desperately wanted to follow another storyline.  Sometimes I find books that use this frame tiresome because they use it as a thinly veiled device to hold off the climax.  However, this book was certainly not the worse offender.  One other gripe is a main character, Bailey, is meant to be an ordinary kid in an extrordinary world, but I think that point was driven too far because I never connected to him.

These are minor problems in any book, but are especially forgettable in such a fast read.  I have heard some complain about the lengthy descriptions in this book, but I frankly don't know what they're talking about.  The descriptions are brush strokes, touches that help you fill in the rest with your imagination.  The movie rights have already been sold and I know people are already a twitter about it.  I almost not, because I love the world Morgenstern helped me to see in my own imagination.

A big part of growing up is seeing through magic, realizing that magicians are just fancy liars with pulleys and mirrors.  The ciricus loses its luster, becomes a lie and illusion.  This jaded adult reader was glad to step into a world where the magic is as real and shiny as ever.