Story Time Detour - Everett Public Library

Instead of visiting a local story time, I filled in as a substitute librarian today to do a Toddler Time. I had the honor of filling in for the fabulous Ms. Andrea at the Everett Public Library for her Wednesday Toddler Storytime. Since I know that story time crowds like to have some consistency week to week, I did my best to recreate the storytime from Ms. Andrea's outline while adding my own flair. Here is what we did today.

Opposites!

Warm up

The Tempo Marches On – Jim Gill

I normally don't do a warm up; I just dive on in with a hello song and announcements. However, I loved it! This is a great way to get people ready while stragglers come in. I picked The Tempo Marches On because I adore Jim Gill.

3 deep breaths

As we breathe in, we raise our arms above our head; as we breathe out, we bring our arms back to the ground.

What an easy and simple way to calm down the crowd and transition into listening. 

Welcome!

I'm Ms. Amanda filling in for Ms. Andrea. Welcome to Toddler Time, a storytime intended for Children 18mo-2yr. End side conversations and sit you’re your child. Participate!

Pretty standard greeting and setting the expectations.

Hello Song

Hello, Hello

Hello and how are you?

I'm fine, I'm fine

And I hope that you are too.

I added this in here because I just feel weird without doing it. This was my Hello Song for many years during Toddler Time.

Let’s say Hello to our Toes

Can you wiggle your fingers? Let’s say good morning to your fingers.

Good morning fingers (wiggle your fingers), goodbye fingers (hide fingers behind your back)

Good morning fingers (wiggle your fingers), goodbye fingers (hide fingers behind your back)

My fingers are feeling shy today (clasp hands together, and put near your face, like you are shy)

They see their friends, and they are happy! (Wiggle fingers)

Good morning toes…

I haven't done this rhyme before, but it was a perfect transition from the Hello Song to say: "Now we've said hello to each other, let's say hello to our fingers!" 

Criss-Cross Applesauce

Criss-cross, applesauce
Spiders crawling up your back
Cool breeze
Tight squeeze
and now I’m going to tickle you!

This is soooo cute and perfect for toddlers or babies. I did my best to demonstrate what the parents should do. A stuffed animal might have been a good idea here. Luckily, they were mostly regulars and know the drill.

Spot's Opposites by Eric Hill (Copy for every family, read together)

I have only done the individual books for Baby Storytime, but this works great with the toddlers. The parents all read along with me, which was fantastic. What an awesome, involved group we had!

Roll your hands (Tune: Row, Row, Row Your Boat)

Roll, roll, roll your hands
As fast as fast can be.
Do it now, let me see,
Do it now with me.
Variations:
Clap, clap, clap your hands…
Tap, tap, tap your feet…

5 Little Ducks - Flannel

I found the flannel in their storytime closet and could not resist. I love singing this song. I connected it to opposites by saying: "If the ducks go out, what would be the opposite? If the ducks come back in! That's right. Let's see if they come back in after they go out."

Yummy Yucky by Leslie Patricelli (Copy for every family, read together)

I love this book. I liked that it was a little different from Spot's Opposites. A lot of those opposite books can get repetitive.

Hap Palmer’s Rock and Roll Freeze Dance - with scarves!

This was on her outline and I had a lot of fun. I love using scarves. :) I was actually surprised that, as young as they were, they got the 'freeze' parts right. It goes to show what repeating songs and concepts can accomplish.  

Animal Opposites, a Pop Up Book

I choose this out of their storytime closet and it worked really well. This book is good for didactic reading and movement. I asked them about the different animals and told them to stretch and bounce with me.

Raffi’s Shake My Sillies Out (2 times, with rattles)

This was in her outline and it made me really happy. I've done this song for years in my storytimes. I used the CD this time for the beat, but I normally just belt it out acapella style.  

We Wave Goodbye Like This (Tune: Farmer in the Dell)

We wave goodbye like this.
We wave goodbye like this.
We clap our hands for all our friends.
We wave goodbye like this

I used her goodbye song to finish off the storytime portion and they all sang along. Yay! 

Bring out the Toys and Bubble machine

Oh, boy. Did they love this part. My helper today, a library page named Jennifer (without whom I was doomed to fail) brought out the bubble machine and waltzed around the room, showering the toddlers in bubbles. I, meanwhile, dumped 4 large tubs of toys on the carpet. I've had toys and playtime at the end of Toddler Time before and I am very much for it. While some parents leave right away and don't engage, many others stay to play and the parents get to connect with one another.

I had a blast today and was grateful for the chance to flex my storytime muscles. I learned some new tricks and met some pretty rad kids.

Best,

Amanda

Seattle Story Time Tour - Capitol Hill

Branch: Capitol Hill
Age/Type: Toddler Story Time
Storyteller: Ms. Rachel

I visited with Ms. Rachel once already for the Family Story Time at the Madrona-Sally Goldmark Branch, however it was nice to see a different approach for a different age group.

The meeting room upstairs is all decorated for story time when I enter. Ms. Rachel has put together a book display and laid out name tags on a table. The front of the room has a map of the world and a felt board with Chinese lanterns. I am very excited to see it is going to be about Chinese New Year! My husband is Chinese-American and his family celebrates the holiday.

We begin with an opening song and a round of "Open and Shut Them."

Ms. Rachel tells us, that continuing with our tour of the world, we will talk about China. She points out China on the map and tells us how to say "Happy New Year!" in Chinese.

It turns out that there are a lot of ways to say this and I'm sorry to say I cannot remember which one she used. My personal favorite, and one I can't use because I'm married now, is "Kung Hei Fat Choy." This is basically a way of saying "Happy New Year, now give me my red envelope full of cash!" I was lucky enough to get the gift of Lai See from my in-laws last New Year when I was engaged. Now it is our job to give others money. Share the love!

There are more common ways to say Happy New Year, however. Chinese is a very tonal language, so it is best to listen to a phrase and attempt to get the intonation just right. Here is a link I found from Good Characters, a company that helps North American businesses translate copy into Chinese. My husband claims I am incapable of getting the tones correct, so good luck!

Book: Two Shy Pandas

Next we sing the color song, picking out colors on our clothing.

"If you're wearing red today, red today, red today. If you're wearing red today, stand up and say hooray! (repeat with other colors)."

Book: Red is a Dragon

This is a perfect book for toddlers. Bright pictures and simple words to teach colors.

Now it is time for scarf dancing. Ms. Rachel even lets me have one! She passes out brightly colored scarves and puts on a CD. The song we dance to is "The Rhythm in the Scarves" by Johnette Downing.

Once everyone has returned their scarves and settled down, Ms. Rachel does a flannel story with the Chinese lanterns on the felt board. She sings a song to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot."

"One Chinese lantern, shining bright. Use them to light your way in the night. If it's really dark, just light one more. That's what Chinese lanterns are for." Each time she adds one until she gets to five. At this point she alters the rhyme a little to wish us all Happy New Year again in Chinese.

Ms. Rachel gets out a nonfiction book that they have been using about world cultures and reads the section on China.

Book: Children Around the World

Now it is time to go and we sing a closing song, "Skinny Marinky Dinky Dink."

She has hand stamps for the children and a craft. Today's craft is a Chinese Dragon.

Happy Chinese New Year! I hope you have a truly calm and peaceful year of the sheep. 

Best,
Amanda

Seattle Story Time Tour - Green Lake

Branch: Green Lake
Storyteller: Ms. Joanna
Age/Type: Toddler Story Time

Today's Story time takes place in the "Mary Alice Cooley" meeting room on the lower level of the library. It's a nice, big space. Children gather on a colorful carpet and Ms. Joanna welcomes them. She points out the shapes and colors on the carpet.

The theme for this story time is Animals!

Book: "Hello, Day!"

Song: "When Animals Get Up in the Morning"

"When cows get up in the morning, they always say hello. They say moo, moo, moo, that is what they say." We repeat with Pig, Duck, and Horse. 

Book: "Spots, Feathers, and Curly Tails"

Next, Ms. Joanna hands out shakers and we sing "The More We Get Together."

Big Book: "Where is the Green Sheep"

Now Ms. Joanna asks the children to get on all four like a dog. We sing "How Much is That Doggie in the Window." The children bark and shake their 'tails' during the song. What fun!

Next we do a classic finger play called "Two Little Birds." We hold out a pointer for each bird and fly them away behind our backs. At the end they come back out.

"Two little birds, sitting on a wall. One named Petter and one named Paul. Fly away Peter. Fly away Paul. Come back Peter. Come back Paul."

She repeats this with ponies, fishes, and pussy cats.

Book: "Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?"

Ms. Joanna then tells us a Flannel Story based on the popular book "Dog's Colorful Day."

Shakers are passed around again and the children shake and dance to the song "The Animal Fair" on a CD.

It's time for the Goodbye Song! We sing: "We Wave Goodbye Like This."

Ms. Joanna stamps hands and passes out toys for a play time that follows story time. I love the idea of letting caregivers and children socialize.   

Thank you for letting me observe, Ms. Joanna! Congratulations on your retirement. I'm so glad we got to meet.

Best,

Amanda

Seattle Story Time Tour - Douglas-Truth Branch

Welcome to a new recurring series of posts that I am calling 'Seattle Story Time Tour'. I was challenged by my WLA mentor to visit all 27 Seattle Public Library branches by April of this year. As I thought about this, I decided to make my mission to visit a story time from each branch. Here is my very first visit.

Branch: Douglas-Truth
Storyteller: Ms. Lynn
Age/Type: Toddler Story Time

Right away I know this story time is going to be fun. The kids outside the door are all repeating to one another: "Ms. Lynn, Ms. Lynn!" We go inside and Ms. Lynn asks all the caregivers and toddlers to take off their shoes because today we are trying out a new activity-- a parachute. I've always wanted to try out a parachute in a story time and today I get to see it in action. It sits in the middle of the room, big and colorful. Waiting. For those of you unfamiliar with the playtime parachute, here is a little girl using one:

Photo by: Lance McCord

Ms. Lynn starts the story time traditionally with a Hello Song. She points to a little girl and asks everyone the color of her shirt and then they sing a song that goes like this:

"Mary is wearing her green shirt, green shirt, green shirt. Mary is wearing her green shirt all day long."

She repeats the song with a number of different children and then moves on to the first book, which is "Bounce" by Doreen Cronin. All of the kids stand up and bounce along.

Next Ms. Lynn puts on a modified version of "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" that involves counting and a fast rhythm.

They read the classic Keith Baker "Big Fat Hen" big book next. Lots of great counting and movement.

The next activity is a song to the tune of Frere Jacques that goes like this:

"Walking, walking, walking, walking. Hop, hop hop. Hop, hop hop. Running, running, running. Running, running, running. Now we stop. Now we stop."

Finally we get to the part all the toddlers have anxiously been waiting for: the parachute! Everyone gathers around the outside of the parachute and holds the edge. They sing a few verses of "Ring Around the Roise" while walking and spinning the parachute.

The next parachute activity is waving it like ocean tides. It gets faster, then slower again. Then Ms. Lynn puts on the Elevator Song and they take the parachute up and down.

By far the best part (as far as the toddlers were concerned) comes next. Ms. Lynn puts clear plastic balls on top of the parachute and they make the balls bounce. The children help put the balls away afterward.

They said goodbye by letting the children underneath the parachute and singing the goodbye song. A few adorable little girls have mad scientist hair as the static takes over. Kind of like this kid:

Photo by: Marcus Nelson

After the goodbye song, some of the toddlers and caregivers choose to stay for a while longer playing with toys and mingling.

It all looked very fun. Thanks for letting me sit in and observe, Ms. Lynn!

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