Colors- Week #2

Spring Story Time (Week #2)

Weekly Theme: The Color Orange

Books: New Socks by Bob Shea, Piggies in the Pumpkin Patch by Mary Peterson and Jennifer Rofe, and Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett

Activity: bowling... with real oranges!

Craft: coffee filter Monarch butterflies

Pictures of the second week of story time are up in the next post, so... 

Keep reading!

Shaen

Colors- Week #1 Photos

We've had so much fun during the first week of Spring Story Time, where we learned all about the color red!  Here are some highlights from the past few days:

Something new we've started for Spring
Story Time is our "activity table."  If you
show up early for story time, feel free to
fill out nametags for your child and you,
and try out some of the available puzzles
and other color-based activities.

Our book selections for the week:
Llama Llama Red Pajama, The Apple Pie Tree,
and The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry,
and the Big Hungry Bear.

We turned ordinary clothespins into
"berry pickers" and gathered buckets
of pom pom strawberries.

Working on our fingerprint berry
baskets.

A finished project from our craft table.

Keep reading!

Shaen

Colors- Week #1

Spring Story Time (Week #1)
Weekly Theme: The Color Red

Books: The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood, Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney, and The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall

Activity: "berry" picking using clothespins and red pom poms

Craft: strawberry basket fingerprint art pictures

Pictures of the first week of story time are up in the next post, so... 

Keep reading!

Shaen

Spring Story Time 2012- Colors!

Spring Story Time 2012- Colors!

From freephotosandart.com

Don't forget!  Another season of Spring Story Time for Toddlers and Preschoolers begins February 20th.  Any child who attends at least seven out of ten story times will receive a free prize from our treasure chest!  Some fun activities to look forward to?: reading about pizza, singing about dinosaurs, and painting with grape jam!  Just click on the image below (or visit the library website) to view the schedule.  You can also stop by your local library in person and pick up a more detailed paper copy of the schedule at the front desk.

Spring 2012 Story Time Schedule-
click for larger image.

Keep reading!

Shaen

Story Time at Home: Let's Visit Russia!

Today’s Story Time at Home theme is Russia!  If you would like to share a picture of your story-time-at-home experience (i.e. You might send a picture of a finished craft project), just shoot us an email at ozarkregionallibraryyouth@gmail.com, and it might get included on our blog!  No names will be included with submissions for privacy reasons.

Let's Visit Russia Story Time

Books: 

Peter and the Wolf

by Sergei Prokofiev

and Chris Raschka

Cover image from Goodreads.

Rechenka's Eggs

by Patricia Polacco

Cover image from Goodreads.

Game/Activity: A traditional Russian folk dance is called the pereplyas.  Look up a few videos of this dance online, and then pull on a pair of fuzzy snow boots, and practice the new steps you've learned!

Snack: Satisfy your sweet tooth today, and bake some yummy Russian tea cakes (you might also have heard these treats called Mexican wedding cakes or snowballs).

Craft: Likely due to the harsh, cold winters Russia is accustomed to, Grandfather Frost is a popular fairy tale character.  Using a piece of black or dark blue construction paper for your background, use chalk to draw a picture of what you think Grandfather Frost must look like.

This is our last story time at home post for the season; I hope you've enjoyed trying out some new ideas!  And check your calendars... Spring Story Time is right around the corner!

Keep reading!

Shaen

Story Time at Home: Let's Visit the Netherlands!

Today’s Story Time at Home theme is The Netherlands!  If you would like to share a picture of your story-time-at-home experience (i.e. You might send a picture of a finished craft project), just shoot us an email at ozarkregionallibraryyouth@gmail.com, and it might get included on our blog!  No names will be included with submissions for privacy reasons.

Let's Visit The Netherlands Story Time

Books: 

The First Tulips in Holland

by Phyllis Krasilovsky and 

Steven D. Schindler

Cover image from Goodreads.

The Boy Who Held Back 

the Sea 

by Lenny Hort, Thomas Locker

and Mary Maples Dodge

Cover image from Goodreads.

Game/Activity: Study the movement of windmills in an online video (try typing "windmills" into YouTube for some choices).  Then, placing your arms out at your sides, pretend to be a windmill.  If it's not too cold out, bundle up, and try this activity outside where you can feel the real wind blowing.

Snack: Enjoy a snack that reminds you of Holland!  Try a Dutch cheese, like Gouda, on crackers, or buy some cute windmill cookies.

Craft: The Netherlands is internationally known for its beautiful flowers, particularly its tulips.  Here's how to make some tulips that won't wilt!

• Gather an unused egg carton, scissors, sturdy tape, and several pipecleaners.
• Cut the egg carton cups apart, so they resemble tulip blossoms.
• Poke a pipecleaner through the bottom of each cup to represent the flower’s stem.
• Tape the pipecleaner in place with sturdy tape.  

I hope you enjoyed this idea for how you can recreate story time at home!  Check back in a few days for more fun, travel-themed ideas focusing on a new area of the world!

Keep reading!

Shaen

Story Time at Home: Let's Visit Mexico!

Today’s Story Time at Home theme is Mexico!  If you would like to share a picture of your story-time-at-home experience (i.e. You might send a picture of a finished craft project), just shoot us an email at ozarkregionallibraryyouth@gmail.com, and it might get included on our blog!  No names will be included with submissions for privacy reasons.

Let's Visit Mexico Story Time

Books: 

M is for Mexico by

Flor de María Cordero

Cover image from Goodreads.

What Can You Do With a Rebozo?

by Carmen Tafolla

Cover image from Goodreads.

Game/Activity: Fill plastic Easter eggs (or discarded toilet paper tubes with beads or pebbles, and seal tightly.  Put on some fast-paced music, and shake your hand-made maracas to the beat.

Snack: Cook an easy cheese quesadilla.  Sprinkle shredded cheese on one half of a flour tortilla.  Then fold the tortilla closed, and microwave for 45 seconds.

Craft: Make a piñata out of a balloon, newspaper strips, and flour paste.  Family Fun has a great tutorial!

I hope you enjoyed this idea for how you can recreate story time at home!  Check back in a few days for more fun, travel-themed ideas focusing on a new area of the world!

Keep reading!

Shaen

Story Time at Home: Let's Visit Japan!

Today’s Story Time at Home theme is Japan!  If you would like to share a picture of your story-time-at-home experience (i.e. You might send a picture of a finished craft project), just shoot us an email at ozarkregionallibraryyouth@gmail.com, and it might get included on our blog!  No names will be included with submissions for privacy reasons.

Let's Visit Japan Story Time

Books: 

Suki's Kimono 

by Chieri Uegaki and

Stephane Jorisch

Cover image from Goodreads.

Yoko by Rosemary Wells

Cover image from Goodreads.

Game/Activity: Make a rock and sand garden, first introduced to Japan by monks.  You can make your garden using simple items commonly found around the home: a cookie sheet for the base of the garden, cornmeal or flour used in place of the sandy ground, and small pebbles or stone for the rock formations.  Once your garden is set up, use a fork as a trowel, and drag it, tines down, through the cornmeal and around the pebbles to make beautiful patterns.

Snack: Make some candy sushi.  The Family Fun site (a favorite of mine) has a fun tutorial here.  Flashback: The library's first program for preteens was a candy-sushi-making competition held in summer of 2009!

Craft: Make a samurai hat through the ancient Asian art of origami, or paper-folding.  You can find instructions to make your helmet at this great origami site.

       

I hope you enjoyed this idea for how you can recreate story time at home!  Check back in a few days for more fun, travel-themed ideas focusing on a new area of the world!

Keep reading!

Shaen

Story Time at Home: Let's Visit Italy!

Today’s Story Time at Home theme is Italy!  If you would like to share a picture of your story-time-at-home experience (i.e. You might send a picture of a finished craft project), just shoot us an email at ozarkregionallibraryyouth@gmail.com, and it might get included on our blog!  No names will be included with submissions for privacy reasons.

Let's Visit Italy Story Time

Books: 

Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola

Cover image from Goodreads.

The Legend of Old Befana
by Tomie dePaola

(Can you tell I like dePaola books?!)

Cover image from Goodreads.

Game/Activity: Play a game of bocce ball.  If you haven’t played bocce before, just think of it as being similar to bowling- in your yard!  In the traditional game, you give each team four wooden balls.  A smaller ball called the pallino is set in place first.  Then each team tries to roll the wooden balls, one by one, so that the balls land as close to the pallino as possible.  Whoever gets closest to the pallino wins the game!  When we play bocce in story time sessions, I like to use four Nerf balls (no injuries with Nerf!) and a Ping-Pong ball for the pallino.

Snack: Grab a slice of pizza, of course!  In a more authentic imitation of the original Italian pizza, be sure to layer your crust with plenty of olive oil, tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese.

Craft: Paint with spaghetti!  Pasta is a staple in many Italian diets, and it's not just good to eat- it's fun to make art with, too.  Dip uncooked spaghetti noodles (or cooked noodles, if you want to experiment with a different texture) into washable paint, and brush across a sheet of paper.  Bellissimo (beautiful)!

I hope you enjoyed this idea for how you can recreate story time at home!  Check back in a few days for more fun, travel-themed ideas focusing on a new area of the world!

Keep reading!

Shaen