It's ALIVE!

I am on a mission this year to incorporate more non-fiction books in storytime and introduce more math and science to my LLFs. I love kid's non-fiction books. They are so gorgeous with their vivid images, colorful layouts and sidebar factoids. The problem, of course, is that they just aren't that interesting to read out loud.
As librarians, I believe we do concentrate on language arts naturally, but are seeing more of a trend to include science and math into the mix as well. There are a lot of picture books that cover math and science topics. Themes in storytime such as colors, senses, counting, plants, etc. do touch on mathematical and scientific concepts, but I plan on taking it to the next level this year. So, BLFs watch out for my new math and science storytimes coming this fall!


What can you do at home? When reading picture books at home, look for opportunities to develop math and science concepts. For example, when reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar, focus on the life cycle of a butterfly, talk about the days of the week to introduce time concepts, count the things eaten to reinforce counting skills. Read the story and enjoy the story on its own, but when you go back to read it again and again like all children like to do, focus on a new topic each time. The majority of picture books can be used for extended activities like this.