Piper Loves the Library: June 2012

Friday, June 29, 2012

Almost a Flannel Friday Dinosaur!

I went walking and what did I see?

DINOSAURS!! Yes! Dinosaurs! We love dinosaurs!

And we all know this dinosaur...many thanks to Melissa for placing dinosaurs on FF

so that one day I could make my own flannel dinos!

(http://melissa.depperfamily.net/docs/Dinos003.jpg)

Prompted by a friend and librarian who called to borrow my dinosaur bucket and my favorite Dinosaur book...I finally sat down to make my flannel dinosaurs. While taping, cutting and pasting - I thought maybe my book and bucket would make a nice post.

Are you ready for dinosaurs?

Sammy and the Dinosaurs

by Ian Whybrow

I adore that Sammy keeps his dinosaurs in a bucket. It makes me think of beaches, and collecting ancient rocks, sea glass and even a bucket of crabs. My dinosaurs like to play in the sand!

When Sammy first discovers his dinosaurs, in the attic with gran, (so perfect for the character to be the grandmother!), he takes them to the library to learn their names! (isn't this the best?!)

He reads a book to discover the name of each dinosaur!

Inspired by this beautiful book I found myself a yellow beach bucket and collected some old dinosaurs, just like Sammy. After we read the book in story time we do a story with all the old dinosaurs.

Here's my bucket:

I went walking, in West Hartford, and what did I see?

I saw a ...... (pick one out of the bucket and let kids guess), brontosaurus following me!

(The book is magical...doing this is almost as good!)

I went walking, right here in West Hartford, and what did I see?

I saw a triceratops following me!

I went walking, right here in West Hartford, and what did I see?

I saw a spinosaurus following me!

And a saltasaurus

and the baby T-rex

and ....ut-oh....

who wants to come out of the bucket?

The Daddy T-Rex, he's big...

I think he's hungry...

RUN! Dinosaurs! RUN!

Back to the bucket!

Quick!!!

Everybody climb in.

Oh no! Jump!

Hmmm, still hungry? Maybe we could go out for a burger? Good idea!

Whew! Good Night Dinosaurs!

Time for me to get back to my felt and make more dinosaurs for the flannel board.

p.s. (Piper Script) I like the felt dinosaurs best! They are soft and I can sleep with them.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Music for Story Time!

I've got the music in me!! Well actually.... I've got the music in my iPod!

For some time the moms in my programs have been asking me to post my story time music on the blog and finally - here I am. It's Sunday evening and I was looking to update my Playlist when I discovered that somehow...my story time playlist is missing from my iPod...thank goodness that everything is backed up here on my computer. YAY! (and Amen!)

I am still relatively new to using an iPod and I absolutely adore it! (even when I accidentally erase my playlist!) It has changed my story times tremendously, making everything easier and smoother! It is so much fun! If I suddenly want to play Maroon 5's "Moves like Jagger" I have it on the iPod...or if the group is looking for Beethoven's Symphony #9 - well, I have the London Symphony on my iPod and classical music fills the room. It is so cool!

I have had a wonderful and patient teacher in my colleague, Kari Ann. She walked me thru setting up both the iTunes account and the iPod. I think I am a younger librarian everyday with my fancy iPod. Who knew?!

I am a fan of instrumental music when families come into the program room and my longtime favorite CD is Mary H Martin's Yoga For Kids: an introduction to Yoga. The second half of the CD is all instrumental:
Come Saturday Morning
Blowin in the Wind
Early in the Morning
Love Song
Evergreen
Joshua
(Sadly, this CD is no longer available and I know that it is not on iTunes...if you are in CT, you may borrow it from the West Hartford Libraries!)

Although I must add that my new favorite music for getting settled in the story time room is
I'm Yours/Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Straight No Chaser from the album With a Twist

There are a number of songs we use to start story time...one of the most successful is ABC Rock with Greg and Steve on the album We all Live Together. I pass out rattles to everyone, we all agree that they are microphones for this song. I blast the music and we dance and rock-out to the ABC!

What a Miracle is another favorite - by Hap Palmer on the CD Peek a Boo and other Songs for Young Children. This is absolutely beautiful in a very traditional folk song way. It's a crowd pleaser!

There are a number of songs that we use in the middle of the program:
Put Your Finger On - by Parachute Express on the album Feel the Music
Shake my Sillies Out - by Raffi on More Singable Songs for the Very Young
This Little Light of Mine - by Raffi on the album Rise and Shine We turn the lights off in the room and each child has a mini flashlight - it's great.
Put Your Little Foot - by Carole Peterson on Dancing Feet

Sometimes we will have another song or story/song before we're done:
There's a Spider on the Floor - Raffi Singable Songs for the Very Young
or we will sit on laps and quietly sing together Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and sometimes we will sing Shoo Fly using the ribbon streamers to shoo away the imagined flies!!

Ending songs, again so many - and again, we have an overwhelming favorite:
Drivin' In My Car - Ralph Covert on the album Ralph's World

Oh, who could resist conducting William Tell's Overture? We pull out the chopsticks and suddenly everyone is a conductor of of the London Philharmonic! William Tell Overture - by the London Philharmonic on the album Three Centuries of the Greatest Hits.

As I said, it is all just too cool!

Okay, Piper wants to be sure that you remember her song..."There was a girl who had a dog and PIPER is her name-oh...

But we already know that you'd never forget her song!

Friday, June 15, 2012

Little Mouse, Little Mouse!

Classic Flannel Board, with a twist!

Little Mouse has ventured into houses all across the world! Numbered houses, silly houses, multi-colored houses, almost identical houses - children chant the words, sing the words, change the words - but before the story is done...the missing mouse is always found! I was inspired by Flannel Friday Friends to create my own version of this classic tale/tail!! I've used it in story times and discovered that my colleague Kari Ann was ever so right when she said..."you can hide anything in the brown house...they never pick that one!" I always let his tail stick out and they still don't pick the brown house!

I was thinking this week that Little Mouse could easily be "Daddy Mouse" and we have sent him looking for his father's day gift! We have hidden the gift in a house...but which house? Daddy Mouse is searching all the houses! But hold on...I am getting a little ahead of myself!

Once upon a time a pretty little girl, named Taylor A. Mouse, lived in a pink house with her mommy and her daddy. Mommy Mouse and Taylor A. Mouse made a special cupcake for Daddy Mouse because it was Father's Day. A day to celebrate all the dads!!! Yay for Dads!