Back to School!

Most of the kids that come to Movers and Shakers are not going to back to school, but their brothers and sisters may be.

We did our normal routine today with a few changes - instead of getting our wiggles out by shaking, I decided to do a couple rounds of Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes - the kids love this song! We learned how to sign please and remembered "thank you" from last week. We did our Jumping and Counting song and then counted some apples! I then read Animal Opposites to the kids; they especially loved the HUGE ELEPHANT! After I read the book, we then danced to the Wheel's on the Bus and If You're Happy and You Know It. Then, we went back to our routine and did our Instruments and played with Toys. It was a blast with all the actions!!!

Bugs Story Time!

Here is our August 19 - Bugs Storytime Run through!
Song: The More We Get Together
Action: Wiggles Out!
New Sign: Thank You - we learned how to say thank you with our hands today
Song: Jumping and Counting
Book: Can You Make a Scary Face
Song: Bumblebee (Bzz) with shakers
Song: Silly Dance Contest
Instruments: Row, Row, Row; Alphabet Song; Twinkle, Twinkle
Ring Around the Rosie
Toys

I loved the book for this story time - it required the kids to be active and told them to sit up, sit down and pretend. I had one little girl growl when she made her scary face! It was so cute. Also, when two of my babies left - the said thank you with their hands! How awesome is that. One showed me how to say Dinosaur - the sign we learned last week! Love that these little ones are learning while they are here. I think preschool put a little damper in attendance this week because I was missing around 10 or so each class, but we were still full and we still had a lot of fun! Be looking this week for reviews on "Zebra Forest" and hopefully, P.S. Be Eleven. I'll also be reviewing "A Home for Bird."

"Doc" by Mary Doria Russell

This book was a slow start to me, but I was intrigued by the very first line. I read it slower I think because it had so much detail and so much information that I was afraid to miss it. I always thought of Doc Holliday as a fictional character - but this story made him a little more believable than that of all the legends. I never knew that Doc fought consumption his whole life and I was stumped as to how he allowed himself to simply thrive on not caring about his next day or next meal. That is how he survived, by living life without fear. He tried to teach that to his friends and his lover because they worried more about him than he did himself. I thought that last page to be the most intriguing because it said that Calypso did all that she could. I always thought Doc called Kate Athena. So why would she refer to herself as Calypso - or is it Sophie who added that last line? Just something to chew on. I loved the way that they made the Earps appear. It wasn't until I heard the playaway version of this book that it all came alive to me. Doc was attracted to Kate because she was learned and he had enough of stupid people surrounding him - it was better to him to be seen with a learned prostitute than a naive, stupid woman. He knew her story and that gave him more reason to trust her to a point. I think what Kate and Doc had was honesty. He knew the woman she was; just as she knew the man he was - it was no more than that. He didn't really trust her with his money - no more than she trusted him with hers. But they cared for each other, and knew each other's true colors - can't ask for much more than that. All in all the book was a winner for me, especially since I ususally steer clear of any and all westerns! A good read and a great change from the Juvenile Fiction and Teen Fiction I usually have on my plate!

"Navigating Early"

Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool
This was an extraordinary book. I thought it was a little slow and possibly hard to follow right at first, but the way it took me right into the boys' adventure and had me second guessing everything I knew to be true, made this book great! It isn't really a coming of age story although the boys are in their teens, and it isn't necessarily about bonding and growing closer although that happens. Both boys are dealing with a ton of grief and neglect. They go to an all boys school - where one has one parent who is on the military base and the other has no parents left alive, but has the hope of a brother. They set out, Early is in search of his brother who is presumed to have died in the war, and Jack is along for the ride when his dad doesn't visit him on Fall Break. What they find is pirates, an ancient woman, a set of bones, an Austrian hunter, and a lumber jack. The amount of things the boys go through in a weeks time is amazing - finding all along the way how to handle their grief and how to search for the answers themselves instead of taking someone else's opinions as fact. I'm hoping this one wins the Newbery because I did truly fall in love with it - I laughed and cried and told Early to be quiet a few times - this book will suck you in and you will be overjoyed with the ending! A must read for a children's librarian or middle-school teacher!

Dinosaur Time

All I have to say today is wow! What a story time today - things were crazy. We had so many sleepy ones at the 10:15 story time and even though they weren't super tired - the 11:15 were still kind of less hyper than I'm used to. We did so much today. We did our more we get together song and learned the sign for dinosaur. We did our Jumping and Counting song (the kids' favorite) and read Dinosaur Stomp. I read a Dinosaur action poem, but it didn't go over just how I would have liked for it to. Oh well, we then did "If You're Happy and You Know It" and "Crazy Dance." Needless to say after all of that, our instruments and Ring Around the Rosie - Miss Brit was TIRED! But the kids had a great time. I'm hoping I can post some pictures of my flannel boards and books here soon for you all to look at. In the mean time, keep reading and watching. I will be posting a Readers Advisory for "Navigating Early" here soon. As well as one on "Doc" - our adult book club book! See ya! Brit

Farm Time - the run through

So, today's Mover's and Shaker's program went like this - I based a few songs on our Farm Time Theme. Greeting
Get the Wiggles Out - we just do a hand clapping and finger wiggling fingerplay
Song: More We Get Together - the kids love this because they can use their signs
New Sign: Today we learned the sign for milk!
Song: Jumping and Counting - Jim Gill
Book: Farmyard Beat - Lindsay Craig & Marc Brown
Flannel Board: 5 Little Ducks Song: I Know A Chicken - Laurie Berkner (the kids love using their shakey eggs)
Song: 5 Little Monkeys - Party Like a Preschooler Songs with Instruments: Row Row Row Your Boat; Old MacDonald; ABC song
Song: Ring Around the Rosie
Toy Time
The reaction was great. With my second group, I stopped the songs after a certain point because some of them get a little long. I'm hoping to start a sticker book for the kids so that they can collect a sticker at each story time. I love these kids the absolutely adore the Jumping and Counting song and the book was just the right length.

Farm Time - Movers and Shakers

Hello all! I am so excited because this week I did my very first Mover's and Shakers story time. Our theme was farm time and it was a huge success. We read "Farmyard Beat" by Lindsay Craig and Marc Brown. We did the Jumping and Counting song as well as 5 little monkeys, and the five little ducks flannel board - LOVE! I will let you know my plans for next week and we are doing Dinosaurs!

It starts!

I wanted to start a blog on what I do at the library and thought this a good place to start. First story time is next week on farm time and looking for a good turn out! I hope that I can post some great things that go on and the books and songs that I used! Talk to you soon!