Bilingual Story Time - Cinco de Mayo

The other day I did my first Preschool Story Time at my new library. I decided to do a Cinco de Mayo theme. Mostly, I wanted to make the story time bilingual. I am not fluent in Spanish, but know a few phrases. I made sure to double check pronunciations and spellings with a coworker who is fluent before I went into the story time. Here is what I did and how it went.

Welcome to story time! We sing my current hello song.

We Clap and Sing Hello
(tune: Farmer in the Dell)
We clap and sing hello
(clap, clap)
We clap and sing hello
(clap, clap)
With our friends in story time
We clap and sing hello
(clap, clap)

It's letter time!

I like to start with letter time to introduce the capital and lowercase letters to the preschoolers. This story time, it was letter M. I set up the letter time by bringing out puppets: a monkey, a mouse, and a moose. What letter do they all have in common?!

M is, of course, for the month of May. This is how I introduce the theme.

To celebrate Cinco de Mayo, we read bilingual books in story time.

Book:

This book was great. I didn't read all of it because it is a little long. Instead I read selected words in Spanish. At the end, I repeated the colors in Spanish and pointed out the children who were wearing those colors.

Next we sang a song in Spanish. I took care to teach them each phrase twice before we started the song.

Buenos Días 
(tune: Are You Sleeping?)
Buenos días, buenos días
Cómo estás? Cómo estás?
Muy bien gracias
Muy bien gracias
Y tu? Y tu?

At this point, I noticed a little bit of restlessness from the kids. Learning all those words in a new language was doable, but took a lot of their concentration. It was time to shake out some sillies. I put on a Raffi CD and played Shake My Sillies Out.

I like to use this transition rhyme to get them calm for a book again:

Stretch up high toward the sky
Stretch on down to the ground
Stretch arms out and spin around
Sit quietly back down

Book:

I absolutely adore Pat Mora. This book has a lot of great illustrations as well. Once again, I read selected parts in Spanish so as to not overwhelm the mostly native English speaking crowd. 

I took a break from Spanish and did a felt story of the Itsy Bitsy Spider. Originally, I had planned on introducing more Spanish words into the song, but I could tell they needed a break. 

Next, we put on Jim Gill's The Tempo Marches On. This song is great for learning self-regulation and fast vs slow. 

Book:

This book was really perfect. Had it been only in English, I would say it was more of a Toddler level book, but since it was introducing words in another language it worked great. I had everyone repeat the phrase 'Qué más?' that came up on every page. 

Next I sang my goodbye song on my guitar: May There Always Be Sunshine. Inspired by Jim Gill, I ask the kids what they think there should always be and try to work it into the song. Always good fun.

At the end, I brought out a Piñata filled with candy. Instead of whacking it open, I pre-cut a hole and let them pull out a piece of candy.

This week's craft was making paper flowers. 

Photo from Flickr. 

This craft was a lot of fun, but I noticed that parents seemed to be doing most of the work. The tissue paper was too delicate for the kids to handle. Noted for future preschool crafts! The kids sure had fun running around and smelling each other's flowers though. It was adorable. 

It feels good to be back in the story time seat! 

Best,

Amanda

Story Time Detour - KCLS Burien Library

I've been touring all the library branches in Seattle and observing story times, but this week I took a little detour. I volunteer for the King County Library System at the Burien Library and I asked the children's librarians at this library if I could sit in on one of their story times. Here is what we did today.

Library: KCLS Burien Library
Age/Type: Preschool
Storyteller: Ms. Gaye

This story time takes place in the building's multipurpose room that the library shares with city hall. It is a nice, big space. Ms. Gaye has name tags for story time goers and makes chit chat as people come in. She starts the story time with a great rhyme. KCLS has an excellent website that shares a lot of songs and rhymes called Tell Me a Story.

Here is the one we open with:

"My Hands"

Next we play a fun guessing game with four flannel houses. Ms. Gaye asks us to guess under which house the little duck is hiding. "Little duck, little duck, are you in the red house?" We repeat until we find the little duck under the last house.

We talk about how ducks go 'quack' and Ms. Gaye explains that today is all about the letter 'Q'. She takes out a 'Q' on a stick and asks us what words start with 'Q'.

Book: "Little Quack's Hide and Seek"

Since Valentine's Day is coming up, Ms. Gaye gets out a flannel called "Five Sweet Valentines." I've used this rhyme before. It's a great subtraction exercise.

Book: "Questions, Questions"

Next we sing "Roll Your Hands." I love this!

What else starts with 'Q'? Why, 'Queen' of course! Ms. Gaye does a flannel rhyme called "Queen of Hearts." A Queen gets new dresses with various shapes. We point out the shapes on our own clothing.

This next part is truly magical. Ms. Gaye has a bag of stuffed animals and she pulls them out as she sings the "When Animals Get Up in the Morning" song.

After this, we sing the "Alphabet Song" and clap to the beat.

Book: "If You're Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands" - a Pop-up!!

The last activity before the craft is the "Beanbag Song." Ms. Gaye puts on a song from a CD and hands out beanbags. The song is really fun and interactive. All the parents and kids get really into throwing the beanbags and holding them to different body parts.

The craft is creating a Queen with Q cut outs.

What a cool story time! Thanks for letting me observe today, Ms. Gaye.

Best,
Amanda

Seattle Story Time Tour - Northeast Branch

Branch: Northeast

Storyteller: Ms. Erica

Age/Type: Preschool

Another packed story time for the Seattle Public Library. This branch, however, has a bigger meeting room and can support all the kids that show up today. Ms. Erica does a Groundhog Day theme today, focusing on the changing of the seasons. 

Letter time! We go over the letter 'G' and the sounds it can make. Ms. Erica asks if anyone has a name that starts with 'g.' A few do. So does Groundhog! 

Hello Song: "Open Shut Them" with whispered verses and loud verses. 

She asks everybody to shake their hands while she goes over story time expectations with parents.

Book: "A Friend for All Seasons"

Ms. Erica tells us the story of the Groundhog. If he sees his shadow on Groundhog Day, that means 6 more weeks of winter. 

Next we sing a song called "I'm a Little Groundhog" to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot." It goes like this:

"I'm a little groundhog short and stout. February 2nd I pop out. If I see my shadow, they all shout: '6 more weeks of winter without a doubt!'"

Stretch! She asks us all to stand up and stretch to this rhyme:

"Tall as a tree, wide as a house, thin as a pin, small as a mouse."

Book: "Tap the Magic Tree"

She asks us to tap the air in front of us to make the magic happen in the book. Very cute read aloud.

Yay! I finally get to see a flannel. She uses a flannel set to tell the story of a confused Groundhog that can't tell if he can see his own shadow. Ms. Erica asks us to chant 'Groundhog, groundhog, when will Spring be?" He decides to go back into his burrow and wait for Spring to decide on its own.

Fact: Did you know that a groundhog is also know as a a woodchuck?

As soon as I heard 'woodchuck' I knew what was coming! Ms. Erica has us chant the classic tongue twister:

"How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood!?"

After several repetitions of this, Ms. Erica leads us in singing "The More We Get Together" and shows us the American Sign Language to go with it.

She fills the parents in on an Early Literacy Tip before the closing song. Writing takes a lot of core strength. Encourage your child to play and get strong so they can learn to write.

Goodbye Song: "If You're Happy and You Know It"

After the story time, Ms. Erica passes out puppets for kids to play with. She also has a craft prepared. Today's craft is a sheet of paper with four empty trees representing each season. The kids are provided with paper, glue, cotton balls, etc. to decorate them. 

Ms. Erica also provides each kid who wants one with a hand stamp to conclude the story time.

This was a great, high energy group! Thanks for letting me observe. 

Best,
Amanda

Seattle Story Time Tour - Central Library

Continuing the series, I visited Ms. Lauren at the Central library today to enjoy a penguin themed story time.

Branch: Central

Storyteller: Ms. Lauren

Age/Type: Preschool

Three or four different preschool groups and several caregivers with children crowd into the story time room at the Central library this morning. They do a head count to make sure they don't go over the 170 something capacity for the fire code. This is a popular program! 

Ms. Lauren starts out with a new welcome song for the season. Sung to the tune of "Farmer in the Dell", the song goes like this:

"We clap and sing hello, we clap and sing hello. With our friends at storytime, we clap and sing hello." This is repeated with "stomp and sing" and "nod and sign" (she teaches them the ASL sign for 'hello'). 

Today we learn about... Penguins! Ms. Lauren points out the letter P on her dry erase board and has the audience try out the 'puh' sound. 

To get the kids ready for a book, she has them do the "Open, shut them" song and tells them the first fact about penguins (did you know that, although penguins are birds, they don't fly?).

The first book she reads is "Sergio Makes a Splash" by Edel Rodriguez. 

After this book, she asks everyone to get out their flippers and they sing this song:

"Did you ever see a penguin, a penguin, a penguin? Did you ever see a penguin, waddle this way and that? Waddle this way and that way, waddle this way and that way. Did you ever see a penguin, waddle this way and that?"

Fact #2: Did you know that there are 17 different types of penguins? She points to a stuffed animal penguin behind her and points out that that penguin in an Emperor Penguin. She points to a globe and shows the crowd where they come from- the south pole.

The next book is a big book called "Tacky the Penguin" by Helen Lester.

When Ms. Lauren finishes this book, it is time for a dance party. She puts on a song form Seaseme Street called "Doing the Penguin." 

The last book is by one of my favorite picture book authors Oliver Jeffers. She reads "Lost and Found."

Ms. Lauren then uses the ASL sign for 'goodbye' in her goodbye song to the tune of "Goodnight, Ladies."

"Goodbye, friends. Goodbye, friends. Goodbye, friends. It's time to say goodbye."

She ends her story time by stamping the hands of the children with a penguin stamp. 

This was great fun. Thanks for letting me watch! And kudos to whoever made this sweet tree for the fantasy books display.

Best,

Amanda

Incorporating Technology in Early Leanring

CC Credit: Jody Roberts

The public library has become a destination for many families to engage their children in early learning. Whether they come for story time, library material, or access to early literacy computers/tablets, these families are trusting the expertise of youth librarians at public libraries with their children's development. One of the things library professionals need to do is educate parents on technology use for children.

The biggest concern about incorporating technology into the life of a preschooler is that the child is not developmentally prepared to digest digital media and/or that too much screen time can be harmful to their early learning. In her article "Too Soon for Technology?" from the July 2014 School Library Journal, Annie Murphy Paul suggests that librarians and caregivers be more discerning when selecting technology for young children. She cites the American Society of Pediatrics as suggesting that children under age 2 should have no screen time and older children should be limited to 2 hours. The page that recommends this is talking specifically about television, but I think we can extrapolate most kinds of computing and gaming from the term 'screen time.' Children under 2 should have little to no screen time because it distracts from developing basic motor skills and impairs their understanding of physical objects/space. Children older than 2 can develop poor fitness/health habits in addition to impairing their ability to process physical surroundings if they are exposed to too much screen time.

Thinking about this, I have a few suggestions for libraries and parents. Firstly, I would recommend putting time limits on early learning stations for both computers and tablets. You may already have time limits due to popularity, but it would also help to put up signage to educate parents about reducing screen time to improve mental and physical health. Make sure there are play areas with physical toys nearby to encourage active play. Things like puppet theaters and felt boards are good examples. When you do pick apps or games for the child to play, make sure they are engaging and require decision making like matching, reading, drawing, and writing.

While screen time needs to be limited, there are many ways to incorporate technology into early learning that is not related to the sedentary activity that most parents fear. Librarians and parents should embrace technology to help do other activities. Story time programs, for instance, often have music. Why not get high tech and embed the digital music file in a PowerPoint that displays the lyrics for the parents? This way parents will see the lyrics and get more involved, making the child enjoy the activity at a higher level. Why not give your kid a pedometer and challenge them to take so many steps? They can practice counting and get exercise. Or, you could use an app to help identify different kinds of plants on a nature walk. There are tons of ways you could use technology to aide early learning.

Need ideas? Here are some examples for using technology for each of the 5 reading readiness practices. Librarians, feel free to steal and tell this to your parents.

1. Talking

Talking to your child does not normally require much in the way of technology. It's just something you do every day. You ask your child questions and listen to their answers. You talk about the objects in the world around you and about how you feel. A fun way to incorporate technology in talking would be to record your conversation with your child and play it back. Show them how to use your phone or the recorder and let them set up the recording (if possible). Once you play it back, talk about the talking. Do they sound weird on the recording? We always think our own voices sound weird on recordings. Why do think that is? This would encourage critical thinking.

2. Singing

I think a fun thing to do here is to set up a karaoke station. YouTube has many karaoke versions of Disney songs and so forth. You can practice reading the lyrics together on the screen or if you aren't there yet, you will at least have some nice background music as you belt out "Let it Go!" Repeat as necessary.

3. Reading

I know we discussed avoiding screen time, but the occasional eBook or TumbleBook (interactive eBook, often with sound and a read-along feature) is a perfect example of the good, engaging kind of screen time. Make sure to use the same principles of dialogic reading for eBooks as you do for print. Discuss the illustrations and ask questions as you go.

4. Writing 

Writing is super important in early learning. Children get the idea of how letters and numbers are formed by physically writing them out on paper. It's also important that children learn how to type, because, moving forward, the QWERTY keyboard still seems to be the dominate method for communication. Have your child right out their name and then have them find the letters on a keyboard (or a drawing of a keyboard). It might even been a fun activity to have them write in all the letters on an empty keyboard worksheet.

5. Playing

Playing is when a child puts into action what they've learned. It's their job, as kids, to take what they discover about the world and test out theories through play. It means movement; it means creativity. A fun idea could be to ask your child to come up with a puppet show while you record it on video. You can watch the show afterward and talk about the characters and the plot. Ask them where they got the idea and correct any misconceptions.

Incorporating technology in early learning is important because our children are growing up in a technology rich world that is constantly updating and expanding. It's good to know the limits of screen time and to make sure children are engaged in other activities, but that doesn't mean that we should throw out our modern devices. I feel some librarians and parents go a little too far here, taking pride in their willful ignorance today's technology. Not me. I'm always trying to better my understanding of these tools, because that's what they are- tools. They help us on our journey to understand the world and better ourselves. Let's just make sure we are using them wisely, especially as we foster the early learning of the next generation.

Best,
Amanda