Anybody There?

It has been two years since I last published on this blog. Two. Years! Yikes! I have been working in my current position for just over 3 years now and I have learned so much that has helped me become a better programmer, reader's adviser and classroom manager, but I have not had the time to blog about any of it. Which is a shame, because I started this blog to share what I've learned with other professionals and caregivers, so I've not been fulfilling my end of the bargain. I apologize.

However, now that I am three years into my job as a children's librarian, I have learned some efficiencies which give me more time to do things like really read the professional journals that cross my desk, instead of just skimming them, to spend less time planning story times, to make more time for outreach, and yes, make more time for blogging (not on the clock of course).

I have two years worth of science programs to share with you. Three years worth of themed booklists and story time ideas. Three summers worth of summer reading programs. Makerspaces. Early literacy interactives. And book reviews. Oh the books I've read and the many more I plan to read.

So let's promise each other that I will make time to write all this down to share it with you, you promise to stop by and read it, and share it with your friends.

See you soon! (No really, I mean it!)

Early Literacy Fun - Singing

“You want me to sing in front of my child? You must be joking!” Not to worry, it really is not as intimidating as it sounds to sing in front of your kids. Be silly. Have fun. They don’t care if you’re tone deaf so long as you are having a good time together! Singing helps children to develop phonological awareness by stretching out the sounds of spoken language. Story songs can help them to develop narrative skills as well. Songs also are a great way to pass along your cultural heritage through folk songs and other traditional music. Here are some simple ways to sing with your child.

• Listen to music during road trips and sing along together. It doesn’t even have to be “kids” music, anything you can sing along with is great.
• Make up songs about daily activities such as brushing teeth, making lunch and going to bed. You can base them on traditional tunes or make up some all your own!
• Make a drum set out of old plastic storage containers. See how the sizes and shapes make differences in the tone when you bang on them.
• Check out a kids’ music CDs from the library
• Share your favorite folk songs. Lullabies are especially nice before bed and when waking up from a bad dream.
• Make a tambourine with rice by sealing two plates together with the loose rice in between, or make rain sticks with beans in used paper tubes and sealing the ends closed.
• Check out books based on songs or that have CDs with music included. Our libraries have books based on the work of John Denver and Peter, Paul and Mary to name a few.
• Sing songs with fun and active motions, like “If You’re Happy and You Know It” and “The Hokey Pokey”. The motions are good for gross motor development and also help them remember the words to the song.
• Listen to instrumental music together. Even without words music is a powerful instrument for sharing cultures and the sounds of language.
• Have a dance party with music of different tempos, some really fast, others slow. See who can come up with the best dance move!

Early Literacy Fun - Writing

Who says two year olds can’t write? Sure, most two year olds are not writing what we would recognize as letters, but their toddler doodling is developing the fine motor skills and symbolic thinking necessary to turn those scribbles into letters, words and eventually whole stories all their own! Writing also helps develop letter knowledge and print awareness - the understanding that the printed word carries special meaning and enables one to be understood. Here are some fun and easy ways to bring more writing into your child’s life.

• Have crayons and scrap paper available to write with during play time.
• Bring sidewalk chalk outside to write on the driveway or sidewalks around your home.
• Use a stick to write letters and shapes in the sand or dirt while at the beach or on a hike.
• Use shaving cream or pudding as finger paints and write letters and words into them.
• Add some magnetic alphabet letters to the front of the fridge to play with while you are cooking.
• When you finish a craft project take time to ask your child what they made and write their description on the piece along with their name.
• Have your child write their own name when sending out cards or letters to friends and family. Even if it’s illegible, they will feel proud to have done it.
• Bring crayons and notepads with you when making trips to places where the kids might have to sit and wait for a while.
• Give blank notepads as stocking stuffers or in birthday goodie bags to encourage your children’s scribbling.
• Use blank paper folded in half and stapled to make little books for your child to write their own story in.

Early Literacy Fun - Playing

Fred Rogers said that “Play is the work of childhood”. Through play children learn cause and effect, social skills, and of course hone their creativity and language skills. Dramatic play gives children the opportunity to practice their narrative skills as they play act different situations and characters - be it a princess, doctor or cowboy. Play can also help develop both fine motor and gross motor skills - and playing together helps to build those essential relationships between child and caregiver. Here are some easy ways to play with your child today!

• Create a dress-up trunk for dramatic play out of hand me down clothes and fun finds from the thrift store.
• Used canned goods to play store together. you can make a shopping list maybe even use an old checkbook to write a check for what you “buy”
• Building blocks are a fun way to discuss shapes, colors and learn about cause and effect. How high can you build a tower?
• Create a sensory bin out of a storage bin with water, sand or even cooked pasta noodles, plastic toys and items from nature to play with.
• Try this easy recipe for homemade play dough then use it to shape into letters or animals to spell words and tell stories.
• 3 cups flour
• 1.5 cups salt
• 6 tsp. cream of tartar
• 3 tbsp. oil
• 3 cups water
• Pour all ingredients into a large pot. Stir constantly over medium heat until a dough ball forms by pulling away from the sides. Knead dough until the texture matches play dough (1-2 minutes). Store in plastic container. Should last for at least 3 months.
• String Fruit Loops, Cheerios and Lifesavers on a string for a fun snack that also builds fine motor skills.
• Act out the story from one of your favorite picture books.
• Set up a scavenger hunt around the house and set out clues for the kids to find using shapes and simple words leading to a treasure or treat at the end.
• Play classic card and board games together like Old Maid, Uno and Candy Land.
• Make a game out of sorting recyclables or dirty laundry! The kids learn useful classification skills about colors and textures, and you get a little extra help with the housework.

Early Literacy Fun - Talking

Talking with your child is one of the easiest ways to help develop their language skills. It doesn’t require anything more than your attention and your voice. You can start talking with your child well before they can even talk back! Talking together helps to develop phonological awareness (understanding the sounds of language), vocabulary, and builds relationships with caregivers. Here are some simple ways to incorporate more talking into your time with your child.

• Narrate your activities as you go through your day. Talk about what you’re eating at meals, the colors and textures of clothes as you get dressed, the steps in diaper changing and other hygiene activities.
• Incorporate nursery rhymes into your play time, such as “Pat-A-Cake” and “This Little Piggy”.
• When talking to children who aren’t using words yet, pause to give them a chance to respond. Eye contact, smiles, gurgles and babbling are all responses too, even though they aren’t words. Giving them a chance to respond helps them learn the rhythms of spoken language.
• Talk about the scenery while on a road trip. Point out the mountains and mesas, the different types of trees and wildlife and even the colors and styles of the other cars on the road.
• While out running errands talk about what you are experiencing/seeing. What color is a banana or an apple? What shape is a box of cereal? What is the texture of the new sweater you are buying?
• Share riddles and jokes together. “Why did the chicken cross the road?”. Warning: Knock knock jokes and puns are addictive at this age.
• Play guessing games like “I Spy” while in the car or on a rainy day at home. I spy something that is green, or I spy something that is soft. What do you spy?
• Talk about feelings when a child is upset. Giving names to their emotions helps them to better deal with what they are feeling. Go beyond happy, sad and angry to give them better words to describe just what they are feeling. Are you scared? Anxious? Pensive?
• Talk about the parts of their bodies during bath time and diaper time. This will help give them the words to understand for potty training and other self-care tasks, as well as help you understand their pain when they are feeling sick.
• When watching television or a movie with an older preschooler, sit and watch it with them and discuss what you see to help add meaning and understanding to what might otherwise just be a jumble of fun pictures.

Early Literacy Fun - Reading

Reading is a cornerstone of education and communication in our world today. Children that start school with the foundational skills to be ready to read are less likely to fall behind their peers and more likely to be successful in academics throughout life. Reading together helps to build all of the six pre-reading skills: letter knowledge, phonological awareness, print awareness, narrative skills, vocabulary and print motivation. It also helps to build those caring relationships with one another that are vital not only for learning but for life! Here are some fun ways to incorporate reading into your daily life together.

• Read environmental print like road signs, cereal boxes, shampoo bottles and leaflets.
• Have books available for your child to explore on their own. Board books and cloth books are great. Even though they aren’t really reading yet, just exploring the books, turning pages and even chewing on them are all steps towards reading on their own down the road.
• Read chapter books together with pre-schoolers. Even though they can’t read these on their own yet children need not wait until their school years to enjoy a chapter book. Try sharing one of your favorites from childhood!
• Try some wordless picture books. Though there are no printed words to read in these books, there are still stories to be shared. Wordless picture books allow children to create their own stories based on their experiences.
• Listen to a book on CD together when on road trips.
• Bring more environmental print into your home by labeling things like walls, doors, chairs and tables.
• Give books for Christmas and birthday presents to show your child that books are special and fun.
• Model reading for your children. Let them see you reading books, magazines and newspapers at home.
• Create a book nook in a playroom, bedroom or family space with soft cushions to sit on and easy access to books.
• Don’t be afraid to repeat what you’ve read. Kids love novelty, but they also love repetition. So if they have a favorite book they request often - read it again, and again, and again.
• Make your own books featuring your neighborhood, family, friends and favorite activities.

Pet Love

Harriet Ziefert celebrates creativity and the bond between pet and owner in her new book My Dog Thinks I'm a Genius. When a little boy paints a masterpiece he's certain that his dog thinks he is a genius. Little does he know that his work of art has inspired his pooch to do some creative painting of his own! When he comes home and his dog isn't waiting for him, what will he find? What has his dog been getting into alone in his art studio? Check out this enjoyable new picture book from Harriet Ziefert to find out!

This book is a great tie in to a free painting or coloring day during craft time! It's great to give kids the opportunity to just be creative now and then, and not have a project with specific instructions or a coloring sheet with line to color inside of. Free coloring and painting is also good for building fine motor skills and laying the foundation for writing later on.

The Quilt Walk

Sandra Dallas is a local Colorado author and her new book, The Quilt Walk, is her first book for juvenile audiences and does not disappoint. It tells the story of young Emmy Blue, her family, and their journey from western Illinois to the gold-rush boom town of Golden, CO in the mid-1860s. While saying their good-byes to loved ones in Illinois, Emmy's grandmother gives her a small package with a warning not to open it until they are across the Missouri River. When she opens it, her heart sinks. It is pre-cut pieces for a log cabin doll's quilt. Emmy Blue hates to quilt, she tries to think of any excuse she can not to finish her quilt.

Will she complete the quilt and maybe even learn to love quilting? Will her family make it safely to Golden? What adventures will she encounter while in the wagon train? Anyone who likes the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, playing Oregon Trail on the computer or with an interest in Colorado history is sure to enjoy this book. It's a great book for a family read aloud or for independent reading. Check it out!

Resolve to Read, Talk, Sing, Write and Play This New Year!

No doubt one of the biggest responsibilities of parenthood (or for that matter nannyhood, grandparenthood or being a teacher) is making sure the children in our care receive a good education. One of the cornerstones of that education is literacy. Teaching a child to read can be intimidating, but it needn’t be. There are some very simple and easy things you can do at home now with your young children even before they get to school that will help lay the foundation for reading and educational success. It’s a simple as talking, singing, playing, writing and reading together.

• TALK - Talking to our children lays the foundation of language and we don’t need to wait until they can talk back to do it. Verbalizing observations as your ride around in the car running errands is a great way to involve a baby or toddler.
• SING - Singing helps us to hear our language in a different way, breaking up the sounds and elongating them to a tune, helps to develop phonological awareness. Songs can also make stories more memorable, like “Little Bunny Foo-Foo”, which cultivates narrative skills.
• PLAY - Fred Rogers (aka Mr. Rogers) once said that “play is the real work of childhood”. Through playing children learn cause and effect, problem solving skills, and yes, language boosting skills that will help them with reading down the road.
• WRITE - Getting our ideas down in written form is a huge part of human communication, be it hand-written or typed. Dots, lines and scribbles on paper become letters and images that represent stories. We learn through watching others, and from writing ourselves, that words are important and valuable in relating to others.
• READ - This is perhaps the most obvious of the five practices, but it always bears repeating. Reading together not only supports all of the skills necessary to become a successful reader down the road, but it can also be a great way to bond with your child.

Fall is in the Air

Fall is certainly in full swing now with harvest festivals, Halloween, Thanksgiving and pumpkin flavored, cinnamon scented everything everywhere! Here are some great fall book titles to share with the kiddos in your life.

• I Know It’s Autumn by Eileen Spinelli
• Count Down to Fall by Fran Hawk 
• One Fall Day by Molly Bang 
• Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert
• Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert 
• Hooray for Fall by Kazuo Iwamura
• Hello, Harvest Moon by Ralph Fletcher 
• George Flies South by Simon James 
• Autumnblings by Douglas Florian 
• Autumn: An Alphabet Acrostic by Steven Schnur 
• Autumn: Signs of the Season Around North America by Mary Pat Finnegan 
• Colors of Fall by Laura Purdie Salas 
• Fall Leaf Project by Margaret McNamara 
• Fall Mixed Up by Bob Raczka 
• It’s Fall by Linda Glaser 
• Let It Fall by Maryann Cocca-Leffler 
• Why Leaves Change Their Color by Ellen Rene 
• The Scarecrow’s Dance by Jane Yolen 
• Apple Cider Making Days by Ann Purmell 
• Autumn is for Apples by Michelle Knudsen 
• It’s Pumpkin Time! by Zoe Hall 
• Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington 
• Applesauce Season by Eden Ross Lipson 
• By the Light of the Harvest Moon by Harriet Ziefert 
• Harvest Home by Jane Yolen 
• Harvest Time by Ted Schaefer  
• The Log Cabin Wedding by Ellen Howard 
• We Gather Together: Celebrating the Harvest Season by Wendy Pfeffer 
• The Year Money Grew On Trees by Aaron R. Hawkins 
• The Garden That We Grew by Joan Holub 
• Shoo, Crow Shoo! by Dana Meachen Rau

Monster Mash

This week in my story times at work we are doing a Monsters theme for Halloween. Monsters are notoriously scary to younger kids (and even some older ones, for that matter), yet there are a lot of really great children's books featuring monsters! I made a real effort to choose monster books that encourage and empower kids, through teaching empathy and other tactics for de-scarifying (yes, that's a word now apparently) the things that go bump in the night.

My Favorite Monster Books

• Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems
• There's a Nightmare in My Closet by Mercer Mayer
• Monster Hug by David Ezra Stein
• Go Away Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley
• Bedtime for Monsters by Ed Vere
• The Monster's Monster by Patrick McDonnell
• The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone
• The Monster Who Lost His Mean by Tiffany Strelitz Haber

Make Your Own Monster

Sometimes just the act of creating the thing that can be scary is empowering in itself - but making a monster and then tearing it to bits can also be good for some kids - you can try either with this craft! In any case the coloring and peeling off the stickers encourage the development of manual fine motor skills necessary for writing down the road.

Materials: Multiple colors of construction paper, crayons, shape stickers, googly eyes

Banned Books Week

Today is the start of Banned Books Week - one of my favorite annual literary holidays. The week celebrates the first amendment and the freedom to read without the judgments of others nor (especially) limitations from our government. So many people in the world do not have that freedom or have it only because they had to fight for it. We are very blessed to enjoy that freedom in our country each day and Banned Books Week reminds to both celebrate it and not to take that freedom for granted.


What "banned" book will you enjoy this week?

Here are some of my favorites . . .

• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
• The Bible
• Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
• The Giver by Lois Lowry
• Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
• A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle

Big Update!

Since my last post I finished my library school program and accepted a children's librarian position with a library district here in Colorado. I hope that this regular schedule and regular exposure to new children's titles will help give me plenty of foder for blog posts as well as the time to keep this blog updated at least once a week, and hopefully more.

Thanks, faithful readers, for bearing with me through these busy final months of grad school. I am so looking forward to applying all I've learned and experienced in these past few years to my new position!

Happy Reading!

Kids' Stacks on Pinterest

If you are on Pinterest, be sure to check out and follow the pin boards for Kids Stacks! The boards feature book selections for popular genres and age groups, parent resources and tons of fun crafts for kids!

CHECK IT OUT HERE

Jan Berenstain Has Died

Jan Berenstain obituary: Co-creator of the Berenstain Bears empire dies at 88 - latimes.com - "Jan Berenstain, who with her husband, Stan, made up one of the most successful husband-wife teams in children's literature, guiding an empire of books, videos and TV shows about the everyday problems of a family of bears, has died. She was 88.

Berenstain Bears books have offered parents and their young children guidance, comfort and old-fashioned humor about perennial issues such as fear of the dentist, dealing with bullies and resolving sibling rivalries since the first book was published 50 years ago."

As some of you may recall I highlighted the Berenstain Bears books, some of my own childhood favorites, in a blog post a while back. If you have never checked them out before, I heartily recommend them. Thank you, Jan for the memories and life lessons wrapped in the package of your charming books, may you rest in peace.

Page to Screen - Blockbuster Books

The Oscars will air this Sunday night, celebrating the best in film for the past year and two of the nominees for Best Picture are based on children's literature!

With the most nominations this year, with 11, is Hugo directed by Martin Scorsese, and based on the Caldecott Award winner The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brain Selznick. The film's many nominations include:

• Best Picture
• Cinematography
• Art Direction (Not surprising when you have Caldecott winning illustrations to pull your inspiration from!)
• Costume Design
• Directing
• Original Score
• Adapted Screenplay

The other Best Picture nominee based on a wonderful children's book is War Horse. The film is based on the stage play based on Michael Morpurgo's book War Horse. The film adaptation is also nominated for original score, cinematography and art direction.

Other literary nominees include Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Help, The Descendants, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and Jane Eyre.

Though not up for any nominations this year, a film with good potential for best animated film nomination in next year's awards is The Lorax, based on the beloved book by Dr. Seuss which comes out next weekend. Check out the trailer below, along with The Hunger Games, which also comes out in March.

Site Update

It has been entirely too long since my last post, hasn't it? I must admit I have not posted since I started a new part-time paralibrarian job at an elementary school library. I am loving the school I am at. The kiddos I work with go from 4 to 11 years old and include children who are deaf and hard of hearing as well as highly gifted. The downside has been that while the position has introduced me to some great new books it has limited the amount of time I've had to blog about all those books I've been discovering along with all the fun crafts and ways to expand on those printed word gems!

Though I do have a whole board on Pinterest now that you can follow chock full of great ideas for kids from birth through high school (with a lot in the pre-school and elementary range). Check it out here "Kid Stuff"

I do plan to get back into updating this blog at least once a week as well. Starting this weekend with the Oscars and highlights from this year's book to film adaptations from the children's and YA lit world, so keep an eye out for that! Thanks for taking the time to visit!

Books for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)

Here are some great book resources on STEM topics for early grades, from the littlest kids learning shapes, numbers and weather terms through advanced elementary!

Birth - Pre-school

• Mouse Shapes by Ellen Stoll Walsh
• Mouse Count by Ellen Stoll Walsh
• It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw
• Touch and Feel 1,2,3 by DK
• Touch and Feel Shapes by DK
• Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert

Elementary School

• This Plus That: Life's Little Equations by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
• Me . . . Jane by Patrick McDonnell
• Math Curse by John Scieszka
• Science Verse by John Scieszka
• The Grapes of Math by Greg Tang
• Bugs by Joan Richards Wright
• Weather Words and What They Mean by Gail Gibbons
• The New Way Things Work by David Macaulay

For advanced elementary and older kids I really like the Demystified Series that covers chemistry, calculus, stats, physics and more. Subscriptions to Kids Discover, National Geographic and Popular Science are also great ways to augment a book collection whether at home, in the classroom or at a library. With science and technology changing and advancing so quickly, these magazines are a great way to keep up to date without needing to buy a new book every few months!

Survey of Dystopian Fiction

As identified in Scholastic's Trends in Children's Literature, dystopian novels for young people are all the rage at the moment. I wanted to introduce some quality titles within the genre that are worth checking out!

• The City of Ember (The Books of Ember) by Jeanne DuPrau - Set in a post-apocalyptic underground city, this book, the first in the series, tells the story of two children, and how they find a way out. The cliff hanger ending will likely leave you chomping at the bit to read the next book.
• The Hunger Games (Hunger Games Series) by Suzanne Collins - The first book in this YA trilogy introduces us to Katniss Everdeen and the two young men who become her closest friends, helping each other to survive in the rough world of the Seam and in the brutal Hunger Games competition.
• The Giver (Giver Trilogy) by Lois Lowry - Can a world with happy families and no real pain really be such a bad thing? In The Giver a young boy discovers all of the depth of life the people of his community are missing out on, as well as their freedom to make choices for themselves. This is a contemporary classic.
• Matched (Matched Series) by Ally Condie - At 17 a young woman is matched to her best friend, literally, the boy next door, but when she discovers a mistake from the matching department a seed of doubt is sewn. Could she be happy with someone else? And what is she were free to choose?

If you like these, here are some other similar titles and series worth checking out: Ender's Game (The Ender Series) by Orson Scott Card, Life As We Knew It (Life As We Knew it Trilogy) by Susan Beth Pfeffer and Divergent (Divergent Trilogy) by Veronica Roth.

Here is a little sneak peak at the upcoming Hunger Games movie.

National Get Outdoors Day

It is National Get Outdoors Day! I hope you will celebrate by getting outside with the kids in your life today. Reading and playing outside don't seem to go hand in hand, but an outdoor story sharing with some of these great titles might be just the ticket!

• Three Days on a River in a Red Canoe by Vera B. Williams
• When We Go Camping by Margriet Ruurs
• S is for S'mores by Helen Foster James
• Amelia Bedelia Goes Camping by Peggy Parrish
• Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots? by Carmela LaVigna Coyle
• I'm as Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood
• We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Helen Oxenbury and Michael Rosen
• It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw
• In the Tall, Tall Grass by Denise Fleming
• Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Elhert
• Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert
• Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

Here are some great resources for grown-ups who would like some inspiration to get outside.

• 15 Minutes Outside by Rebecca P. Cohen
• The Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv
• More Kids in the Woods - US Forest Service

If it's a crummy weather day in your neck of the woods, and getting outdoors just isn't going to happen, why not bring the outdoors in? Here are some fun outdoor activities to bring inside.

• Plant herbs, flowers and/or beans in pots. If you have the time, it is also fun to paint and decorate the pots before planting.
• Have a scavenger hunt. Hide clues all around the house for the kiddos to find leading to a prize like fresh baked cookies or homemade popsicles.
• Go camping. Set up your family tent indoors or build one of your own out of sheets and furniture. You can put a "yule log" video on to have a fire, or just use an electric lantern. Make smores in the fireplace or microwave. Tell scary stories. Project constellations on the ceiling with a flashlight covered by construction paper with constellation patterns punched in it.