Two Gems I Share with My BLFs

My oldest brother gave me two bits of advice when I was young which have remained with me my entire life.

First, he told me to never rely on just one source,  like the textbook for a class. So, in school, no matter what subject matter I was learning about, I always sought out other resources. I went to the library and got other books, videos, etc. He told me that we all learn in different ways and one book might just illustrate a concept in a way that clicks for you.

When I had my daughter, I took this to a another level. If we visited the zoo, I would stop at the library and check out books on zoos or animals. If we went to the art museum, I would bring home books about artists and art. If she asked me a question about a rainbow, I would check out books about rainbows. If an ant crawled over her foot when we were outside, I made sure I had books about ants in the house. As she grew, whatever she was learning in school, I would always make sure I had books in the house about that subject for her to enjoy. I never forced her to read them, but simply made them available. She generally picked them up on her own out of her own interest.

By having books around the house about a variety of subjects, I was encouraging and supporting her interests while indirectly telling her that this 'stuff' isn't something you just do in school. It isn't boring and it isn't work. It's exciting and interesting to learn new things and books can quench your thirst for more knowledge.

Second bit of advice my brother told me...always carry a book with you wherever you  go.

The Letter Monster

I like to begin storytime with an alphabet activity. One fun idea that I got from The Mailbox magazine, which I use all the time, is the Letter Monster. So, BLFs, you definitely can do this at home! Leave Letter Monster in the kitchen and work on letters during breakfast or lunch or dinner!

All I am Saying, Is Give Peas a Chance!

My LLFs and I had fun singing, "All I am saying, is give PEAS a chance" during our "Pass the Peas, If You Please" storytime. We read Smelly Peter, Night of the Veggie Monster, The Little Green Pea and My Little Sister Ate One Hare. We finally decided that we would all go home and eat peas for dinner! Yum, yum!

Creative Learning

I believe every moment is a teachable moment. Babies are born to learn and they learn best through living. Put away the flash cards, the worksheets, the electronic devices and have some fun while learning through songs, rhymes, creative play and more!

Rhythm, rhyme, repetition...these are the building blocks of early literacy.

This is a free, fun idea to use at home with your child. Make a nursery rhyme cube and a song cube. Print out this template. Then fold and tape together. Print out pictures that represent nursery rhymes and popular preschool songs and tape them to each side of the cube. Now you and your little one just roll the cube and start singing and rhyming away! They will learn all of the rhymes and songs and then you can make more cubes!

Super Underwear Woman!

I have a break from programming right now so I can focus on other responsibilities, but I wanted to take the time and post some of the programs I did this past year. In my last session of storytime (ages 3-5), my theme was 'Underwear Under There'. I read 'Bear in Underwear' by Todd Doodler, 'Dinosaurs Love Underpants' and 'Aliens Love Underpants' by Claire Freedman. We had a lot of fun being silly! My LLFs got to take home either a bear or a dinosaur with underpants to decorate! We even learned about what things go OVER a tree like a cloud and an airplane and what things go UNDER a tree like a bunny and a flower.

Summer Reading Program 2011

The theme for the SRP 2011 is 'One World, Many Stories'. We will be traveling around the world! Exploration, transportation, different cultures & customs and more! In the upcoming weeks, I will be updating the calendar with all of our SRP events! Make sure to check it out!

Welcome!

Hello Library Friends and colleagues!

The children that I see in the library are my LLFs or Little Library Friends and the grownups that they bring along are my BLFs or Big Library Friends.

I will be sharing my programming ideas, books that I enjoy, educational resources I use and much more!
I hope my BLFs keep me informed about my LLFs when I don't get a chance to see them in the library. I also hope my BLFs use these ideas at home, when helping out in school or even in their jobs!

Tooty-ta!
Miss Debbie