Just Play...Pretty Soon They Will Be All Grown Up

If you have visited the library or attended any of the preschool programs, you will know that I believe in the benefits of play.

There is a great shift in our educational system stressing academics at an earlier and earlier age in an attempt to get higher test scores. There are three-year-old kindergarten classes, all-day four-year-old kindergarten and preschool and daycares that run like a regular school. Recess time is being shortened or even eliminated to make time for more and more academics.

The funny thing is that children now may be at more of a disadvantage than past generations. They may actually be learning less. Play is the natural context in which children learn and develop all sorts of skills - physical, cognitive and social skills.

It's like the idea that "baby talk" or what they call "parentese", that sing-songy way most people naturally talk to babies, was "dumbing down" babies. People started to talk to their babies with the vocabulary that most college students wouldn't recognize! But now they know that this natural way of speaking to babies has a purpose! It helps the baby learn language! Babies prefer it to a normal adult conversation. A baby will turn his head toward a voice using a high-pitched voice like this.

So, my point is let's allow the children to play! Have a tea party! Play hide-and-seek in the house! Let them dress-up in your clothes! Get messy, get dirty, jump in puddles, roll around leaves, make snow angels! My biggest regret in life is that I didn't take more time to enjoy these things with my daughter because the time is now gone and there is no going back...

Let the Whole Earth Sing Praise by Tomie DePaola

Beautifully simple book.

Pig Kahuna by Jennifer Sattler

Another new hilarious book for you!
I get teased about not going into lakes, ponds, etc. because of the threat of "lurking, murky ickiness". I am more of a chlorinated-pool-kind-of-gal. So, when I read this, I laughed.

This is a very cute, fun book! Check it out! Kowabunga!

I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen

I am doing some cataloging of new books and I love this one! Funny, funny, funny. If you want a glimpse into Miss Debbie's sense of humor- here it is! I was laughing out loud!

We Are a Team!

You and Me, Me and You! We are a team and I am happy to be part of that team! As much as I love getting to know my LLFs, you are the center of their world! So, I need you to be just as much a participant in all that happens in our preschool programming as your child. You can sit together, enjoy the stories together, sing and dance together, and be a great model for your child.

I could not do what I do without your help and participation. More importantly, YOU are the mirror for your child. They look to you to see how to react or how to respond. They learn the appropriate responses or feelings in different situations from you. Furthermore, they value your participation. It tells them that what they are doing is important and that they are important to you. It makes it meaningful to them and making it meaningful allows them to learn more.

The best part of each day for me is spending time with your children. I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this winning team.

Preschool Pretend and Play

Socks and Shoes! Woohoo! The letter of the week, of course, was S for Socks and Shoes! Mr. Letter Muncher ate a lot of the letter S! Yum, yum!

We went walkin' in our walkin' shoes, stompin' in our stompin' shoes, running in our running shoes, tiptoeing in our tiptoe shoes and backwards in our backwards shoes! Oops, we bumped into each other!

Miss Debbie was sooo sad and cried because she lost her socks! But my LLFs helped me find my socks! We went BANANAS with our theme song!

We read Whose Shoes? A Shoe for Every Job by Stephen Swinburne, Shoes for Me by Sue Fleiss, Socksquatch by Frank Dormer, New Socks by Bob Shea and A Flock of Shoes by Sarah Tsiang.

Flannel Boards:

Five Pairs of Dirty Socks

5 pairs of dirty socks on my bedroom floor
Mom washed the blue pair and then there were 4

4 pairs of dirty socks that belong to me
Mom washed the red pair and then there were 3

3 pairs of dirty socks, What’s a kid to do?
Mom washed the green pair and then there were2

2 pairs of dirty socks, I wear them when I run.
Mom washed the purple pair and then there was 1.

1 pair of dirty socks, one and only one,
Mom washed the last pair, my favorite pair of all!.

No more dirty socks, Mom washed them all today,
But wait until tomorrow, cause there’s more on the way!

Music & Motion

Miss Debbie went a little BANANAS at our Music & Motion! We danced to The Wiggles-Do the Monkey! What a fun song! We danced to Jum Gill's Jump Up, Turn Around! Bob McGrath's One Finger, One Thumb- that one was a tough one to do!

If you have an older one, try The Wiggles' version of One Finger, One Thumb- it's so much fun!

Then we rested and sang I'm Bring Home a Baby Bumblebee and Aiken Drum- love the rhythm of that song!

We got back up and boogied out to Go Bananas! and Shimmie Shake by The Wiggles.

It's so much fun to dance and sing and be silly! Remember BLFs, what happens in the library, stays in the library!  :)

Rhyming to Read

We practiced our Rub A Dub Dub and Little Miss Muffet rhymes!

We had a great turnout! Hope you are practicing your rhymes at home!

Tales for Twos (TT) Age 2 with an adult

Last week, we read books about Kitties and Cupcakes!

We started off with our 5 Little Ducks/Ducks Like Rain, as usual followed by our rhyme- This is Big, Big, Big!
We read Little Mouse and the Big Cupcake by Thomas Taylor and If You Give a Cat a Cupcake by Laura Numeroff.  We swam under the water with the Octopus Song!



Rhymes:

FIVE LITTLE CUPCAKES

Down around the corner

At the bakery shop, (Hold up 5 fingers and wiggle.)

Five little cupcakes

With sprinkles on top.

Along came (child’s name)

With a penny one day.

She bought a cupcake and

She took it away. (Put down 1 finger.)

Four…three…two…one

We practiced our colors with:
When the cat that is red
Is finally fed,
He raises his head
And says- "Mee-ow"
When the cat that is blue
Has nothing to do,
He comes up, too,
And whispers- "Mee-ow"
When the cat that is yellow
Is feeling mellow,
He tends to stretch
And bellow-"Mee-ow!"
When the cat that is brown
Starts stalking the town,
You'll hear his sound
When he cries-"Mee-ow"
When the cat that is green
Is finally seen,
You'll know what I mean
When I say he can really "Mee-ow!"
When the cat that is black
Arches his back,
He has an uncanny knack
Of screeching-"Mee-ow!"
When the cat that is white
Comes into sight,
You very well might
Hear his famous-"Mee-ow!"
Okay, little cats,
Let's hear some "Mee-ows!"
And now it's time
For curtsies and bows.

Found a New Great Site

I found this fun new site when I was looking for materials for Rhyming to Read. It is the BBC Learning School Radio.

They have a lot of neat early learning videos, resources and podcasts. Check it out!

Early Literacy Extras!

• When your child starts school, he will be more successful if he is already proficient at holding a pencil, writing his name, and manipulating small objects. You can practice at home by writing the letters of the alphabet in chalk, in the sand, with crayons, etc. You can practice sorting small objects like buttons or beads.  
• Get some exercise and learn at the same time! Take a walk together outside and point out all the words, letters and numbers you can find- on mailboxes, street signs, cars, billboards, etc. 
• Practice fine motor skills by putting together puzzles!  
• Play hopscotch and practice counting! 
• Bounce a ball to each other and each time say a new word and have your child say a word that rhymes! 
• Touch body parts and have your child say a word that rhymes- like NOSE, rose, hose, toes.

Possible Contenders for the Caldecott Medal

The librarians in the area gather together and pick a book that think deserves the Caldecott Medal- the top award for the best illustrator from the US of that year. These are the books that we are considering. I wanted to share them with you. You might want to take a look at these beautiful books!

Say Hello to Zorro!

Illustrated Carter Goodrich

For the Love of Music: The Remarkable Story of Maria Anna Mozart

illustrated by Steve Johnson & L. Fanchar

The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred

illustrated by Rafael Lopez

The Secret River

illustrated by Leo & Diane DillonLadder to the Moon illustrated by Yuyi Morales
The Red Wagon illustrated by Renata Liwska
The Great Migration: Journey to the North illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist
Blackout illustrated by John Rocco
If I Never Forever Endeavor illustrated by Holly Meade
Perfect Square illustrated by Michael Hall
Where’s Walrus illustrated by Stephen Savage
Me...Jane illustrated by Patrick McDonnell
Peaceful Pieces: Poems and Quilts about Peace illustrated by Anna Grossnickle Hines
Mine! illustrated by Patrice Barton
Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature illustrated by Beth Krommes
Blue Chicken illustrated by Deborah Freedman
A Ball for Daisy illustrated by Chris Raschka
The Secret Box illustrated by Barbara Lehman
All the Water in the World illustrated by Katherine Tillotson
Night Flight: Amelia Earhart Crosses the Atlantic illustrated by Wendell Minor
Queen of the Falls illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg
All the Way to America illustrated by Dan Yaccarino
This Plus That: Life’s Little Equations illustrated by Jen Corace
Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat, Are You Going to Sleep? illustrated by Laura J. Bryant
A Nation’s Hope: The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Little White Rabbit illustrated by Kevin Henkes
To Market, To Market illustrated by Nikki McClure
Cars Galore illustrated by Bob Staake
Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Pig Kahuna illustrated by Jennifer Sattler

Need to Get Fit?

Have fun with the WHOLE family and get your heart working by gathering the family around the stereo and playing some fun dance music! Dance, dance, dance! Any kind of music with a beat will work. Everyone could choose their favorite songs!

20 minutes a day of dancing will work wonders for your heart and waistline! It will build your stamina and you won't feel so tired!

Jumping is great! If you feel like you don't have any rhythm and can't dance, then JUMP!!! Jump, jump, jump. It's great for your bones. On top of all these great benefits, you will feel wonderful because of the endorphins! It helps with stress, depression and more!