Excitement for #pla2014!

I just arrived in Indianapolis for the 2014 PLA Conference! Indiana is my home state and I interned at the Central library so I feel like I'm truly coming home. There are so many sessions I am excited to attend and I'm looking forward to meeting some old and new friends.

If you've made it to Indianapolis, make sure to go visit the Central library. It is about a mile from the conference center, but so worth the trip. The youth area is amazing and the staff is lovely. They have a green room for little ones where your can put yourself on TV! It is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. 

I'll be live blogging with some other fabulous librarians at the ALSC blog, so make sure to keep an eye over there. It's a great place to get information if you weren't able to make the trip. Plus, you get to see multiple perspectives on different sessions. 

I'm also facilitating Guerrilla Storytime with the fabulous Amy Koester on Sunday at 9:15! It will be a great session full of interaction and amazing librarians. I hope to see you all there! 

Early Literacy – Ocean Animals!

During a trip to the library, where is the one place where almost every child and parent visits? The bathroom! We decided to use the space to promote some fun early literacy. Also, to help distract the little ones while the mom or dad is desperately trying to take care of other siblings.

Sorry about the bad lighting!

I decided to make an "ocean" theme for our bathroom. Since we live in Wisconsin, most of our child patrons have not seen an ocean. We still want parents to talk about it though!

I made it a simple seek and find game. Yes, I realize now that I didn't include the sea turtle on my list. I didn't realize it till I went back to take this picture though.

I also included a literacy tip for parents. It can be easy to talk about things surrounding you, but things you don't see every day are just as important!

Are you all decorating your bathrooms? I'd love to see your pictures!

Flannel Friday – Make A Potato Head!

In our Play and Learn area, we have a flannel board that we change each month. This month, I was on Pinterest and saw this amazing pin! The link no longer works, but the idea originated at the Suring, WI library. As soon as I saw it, I knew I needed to borrow the idea immediately.

Using some of my master googling skills, I found a printable template for the Potato Head pieces. This blog has some great ideas for "quiet books". They're so creative!

I didn't want to be picking up flannel pieces all day, so I kept the number of pieces to a minimum. Our friend has 3 sets of eyes, 4 hats, 2 mouths, arms, shoes, and a fun mustache.

I included a parent tip to encourage talking while their child created. I also included some starter questions in case parents were struggling with what to ask their little one. I've heard some great stories so far. 

This would be a great storytime activity if you were talking about body parts or silly things. I can see kids laughing hysterically when you put Potato Head's eyes and nose in the wrongs spots!

The Flannel Friday Round Up this week is over at Catch the Possibilities. Everyone go and read all of the other amazing submissions!

Baby Storytime – Monkeys

Check out what my typical storytime looks like here. All the words to my songs and rhymes can be found here.

Opening Song
Welcome Song

Opening Rhyme/Movement
Hands are Clapping

Early Literacy Tip
Repetition is so important for little ones. One of the reasons we sing the same songs and follow the same schedule each week is because it gives children a sense of security in knowing what will happen next. You'll notice that when I stand up and turn to the table a lot of them run up to me. It's because they know Brown Bear, Brown Bear is about to happen! Or if we skip Itsy-Bitsy spider, a baby will always let me know before storytime ends. Keep in mind that when you're drastically changing their normal schedule (for vacation, a party, travelling, etc) it can affect their behavior and mood.

**The last sentence was actually said by a parent who is also a teacher. She felt like it was important to note with the upcoming holidays (this was right before Thanksgiving).**

Shape Game
Today, I hid a monkey! You can find out about this game here.

Rhyme/Movement
Roly-Poly

Book

Monkey & Me by Emily Gravett
This is such a wonderful book and it's full of repetition. I tell parents the chant before I start the book so they'll do it with me. 

Rhyme/Movement
Giddy-up, Giddy-up

Rhyme/Movement
Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Book

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell
Pop-up books are always a winner in storytime. I wish the pictures were bigger though! I really need to make this into a flannel story like this amazing one. I also have everyone say, "No thank you!" when we send back our animals.

Rhyme/Movement
This is Big

Rhyme/Movement
Where is Thumbkin

Choral Reading
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr.

Egg Shakers
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Baa, Baa, Black Sheep 

Rhyme/Movement
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom

Playtime!

Baby Storytime – Colors

Check out what my typical storytime looks like here. All the words to my songs and rhymes can be found here

Opening Song
Welcome Song

Opening Rhyme/Movement
Hands are Clapping

Early Literacy Tip
"Talking to your baby is one of the most important things you can do. You're building their vocabulary, and you're also increasing their knowledge of the world around them. When you leave storytime today, try to talk to your baby during your car ride about what you see outside."

Shape Game
Today, I hid a rainbow! You can find out about this game here.

Rhyme/Movement
Roly-Poly

Book

Duckie's Rainbow by Frances Berry
It was really cold this week and clearly the first time a lot of the families had left their house in a few days. I just talked about the colors on each page and then we tried to find something or someone in the room that was the same color. 

Rhyme/Movement
The Noble Duke of York

Rhyme/Movement
Giddy-up, Giddy-up

Rhyme/Movement
Where is Thumbkin

Game
Where is Brown Bear?
Exactly like Little Mouse, Little Mouse- except I used Brown Bear. You would have though I was handing out free candy and puppies the way the kids reacted. We played this 3 times and they still wanted more. I think I might replace the shape game with this during my next spring session.

Rhyme/Movement
This is Big

Choral Reading
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr.
Seriously, buy a copy of this for everyone in your storytime. It is amazing to see how kids run up to grab the book and then immediately run to their caregivers lap. Bill Martin Jr. was a genius.

Egg Shakers
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Baa, Baa, Black Sheep 

Rhyme/Movement
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom

Playtime!