March Madness: Basketball

March Madness is upon us, which means it's time to talk about Basketball. Personally, I'm a big fan of the Celtics and I'm not that into college hoops. But, I appreicate the excitement, the adrenaline, and rooting for your favorite teams.

Here's my dog in his puppy years - he bleeds green too!

To celebrate the start of the tournament, here's a few of my favorite teen/tween basketball books:

Travel Team by Mike Lupica
Danny gets cut from the travel basketball team because he's too short. With the help of his father, an ex-NBA star, he creates a second team. Does this underdog team stand a chance?

Front and Center by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Now that football season is over, D.J. can concentrate on her basketball season and finding the right college. The final book in a trilogy starting with Dairy Queen.

Miracle on 49th Street by Mike Lupica
Before Molly's mom died form cancer, she told Molly the identity of her father. Now Molly tracks down Celtics superstar Josh Cameron. the more she finds out about him, the more she wonders if he's dad material.

Other popular basketball books at the Otis Library:
Ball Don't Lie by Matt de la Pena
Last Show by John Feinstein
Night Hoops by Carl Deuker
Slam by Walter Dean Myers
Slam Dunk by Donna King
Rucker Pack Set Up by Paul Volponi

Or check out this month's Pinterest board of Basketball Books from the entire library.

Calling all Superheroes!

A few months back, a colleague mentioned a superhero storytime that she had recently tried and I had a feeling it would be a good program for the families at my library. Once I learned March was superhero month, I was sold! I knew I wanted to make capes and read some great adventure stories, but other than that I wasn't sure...

Here is what our superhero storytime ended up looking like. It turned out to be a great success. We had lots of interest, but we capped the program at 15 participants (ages 3-7).


Our "superheroes in training" entered super excited! We started off the fun by reading 2 really great superhero stories:
  
Timothy and the Strong Pajamas: A Superhero Adventure by Viviane Schwarz
(This was the first time I tried this book in a program and the kids loved it! Oh if only all pajamas gave you super strength at the end of a long day...)
  

Eliot Jones, Midnight Superhero by Anne Cottringer; illustrated by Alex T. Smith  
(I didn't love this one as much, but when I polled the kids we had 14 thumbs ups and 1 sideways thumb.) Eliot is a quiet kid during the day because he is using all his energy being a midnight superhero!

Once we had read 2 stories talking all about super strength, bravery, and courage; we created our own superhero masks and capes.

Masks: we found a free template online and printed them onto primary color cardstock ($4 for a pack of 50). We precut and hole punched the masks, so that our superheroes would just decorate them. Here is the full supply list: 


brightly colored cardstock
elastic cord
superhero mask template 
hole punch
scissors
glitter glue
markers
foam stickers

Capes: we cut $1 brightly colored tablecloths into 4 capes and supplied each child with various strips of duct tape that we used to decorate the capes.  Supplies:

various brightly colored duct tape
brightly colored plastic tablecloths (from our local dollar store)
scissors

Now that we had our masks and capes, we read one more superhero story! (We used lots of things we already had in-house, so I ended up spending about $20 on duct tape, cardstock, and tablecloths.)
 

The Adventures of Max and Pinky: Superheroes by Maxwell Easton III

While our superheroes in training were decorating their masks and capes, we set up our obstacle training course.  We used a tunnel, small brightly colored cones to run around, a balance beam, hula hoops to jump into, and balloon bad guys to crush. (Our superheroes opted to just keep their balloon bad guys with them.) If I had thought ahead and booked another program room, I could have made the obstacle course more detailed (jumping over lego brick houses and yarn laser mazes were in my original plan!) However, it was fun to go through the training course in masks and capes!

We had 5 minutes left and I laid out all the superhero books that I had pulled. 

All in all, a successful and easy to prepare program!   

Green

In honor of all things green, here is my green storytime!

Green: Together Time (2-3 year old)
*****Together Time is a weekly 45 minute program that runs in 6 week sessions.

Opening Song: Welcome, Welcome Everyone

Opening Song: Up, Down, Turn Around
Up, down, turn around, touch the sky and touch the ground,
Wiggle fingers, wiggle toes, wiggle shoulders, say hello.

Stamps: Hand stamps are a big deal for this age group, and I have been experimenting with when best to do them. We stamped green apples this week as a way to start talking "green"! I also showed everyone the American Sign Language sign for green.

Book: Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (A beautiful book and a Caldecott Honor Award winner, this one is fun to get the discussion going about all things green! )

Fingerplay: Tiny Tim

I got a little turtle, his name is Tiny Tim,

I put him in the bathtub to see if he could swim                   (swimming movement)
He drank up all the water (move hands toward mouth)
He ate up all the soap (make a munching noise)
Then my little turtle got a bubble in his throat                    (tap under chin)

Fingerplay: There Was a Little Turtle

There was a little turtle (make a circle with your hands)                                               He lived in a box (make a box with your hands)
He swam in a puddle (swim), he climbed on the rocks (climb)
He snapped at the mosquito (clap hands), he snapped at the flea (clap hands)
He snapped at me  (clap hands), he caught the mosquito  (mimic catching bug)
He caught the flea (mimic catching bug), he caught the  minnow (mimic catching bug)
But he didn't catch me! (point to yourself)

Book: Green Food Fun by Lisa Bullard (we used the photos in this book to talk about green veggies)

Fingerplay: Five Little Peas

Five little peas in a peapod pressed;
One grew, two grew, and so did all the rest.
They grew and grew and did not stop,
Until one day the peapod popped!

Action Song: And The Green Grass Grew All Around
(We used grass on a stick props to sing a ssimplified version of this traditional song)

 

Book: Way Up High in the Tall Green Tree by Jan Peck

Then we used our grass on a stick props to go way up high

Song: Five Green and Speckled Frogs
Five green and speckled frogs sat on a speckled log
Eating the most delicious bugs- YUM YUM
One jumped into the pool where it ws nice and coll
Now there's only four green speckled frogs GLUB, GLUB (repeat until none left)
(We used Raffi's version while I acted out with frog finger puppets)

Book: Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox and Judy Horacek

Instruments: using bells, we sang a few songs together

       Ring our bells together
      Baa Baa Green Sheep 
      Marching to our bells
     Shake our sillies out
     Shake it, shake it, shake it 
     Good bye bells


Art Project: We glued a large letter g onto a piece of green construction paper. Then we used green markers, crayons, stamps, and stickers to decorate. I also put out ripped green tissue paper and construction paper to glue as well.

Other related books:

In the Tall, Tall Grass by Denise Fleming
Go Away Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley
Brown Cow, Green Grass, Yellow Mellow Sun  by Ellen Jackson and illustrated by Victoria Raymond. 

Posted by Kim

Chocolate Program: Tweens and Teens

This week, we had a huge success with our chocolate truffle program. We had so much success that I didn't have time to take the pictures I meant to take. It was a busy program, but everyone left happy.

I make these chocolates every year for Christmas presents. Here's the recipe that came with the chocolate mold. I've tweaked it a little.


Hardware:
paintbrush
chocolate molds
spoons
knifes
mixing bowls

Ingredients: 
Chocolate Chips
4 tbsp butter - softened
2.5 cups confectioners sugar
light corn syrup

*flavoring
Vanilla (no flavor added)
Chocolate (add a little bit of the melted chocolate chips to the vanilla base)
Mint  Lemon, Coconut, Raspberry - oils found at stores like Michaels

Steps:
1. Melt chocolate chips in microwave
2. Use paintbrush to coat a thin layer of melted chocolate on the bottom and sides of the mold
3. Place mold in the freezer until hardened
4. Mix together sugar and butter. Add tablespoons of corn syrup until it's smooth and you can shape it into a ball.
5. Split up the filling into various flavors as needed (we used a small bowl for each teen/tween)
6. Add the filling into the chocolate mold
7. Seal the chocolate mold with a layer of melted chocolate
8. Place mold in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes when the chocolate is hard to the touch or until the chocolate comes out easily (warning: this is the tricky part - sometimes the chocolate will pop out and sometimes it needs a little help, if it doesn't come out, put it back into the freezer for another few minutes.)

While the chocolates are in the freezer - we had a couple puzzles ready for the downtime.

 A chocolate word search- some historical terms, chocolate terms, and cooking terms

A maze - help  Charlie find his chocolate

At the end of the night, everyone went home with chocolate!

Prom Dresses from Book Covers

Yesterday I saw this amazing post by EPIC READS on Story Crush. I LOVED it so much that I decided to make a few of my own. I'm a sucker for books with girls in long flowing dresses! They always catch my eye. If I was in high school and thinking about prom, I'd love to go in a dress inspired by a book cover!

Moons and Stars

I love storytime blogs! There are many times that the ideas and creativity of another librarian have saved me. So, although there is no shortage of these blogs available, I thought I would start adding some of my storytime plans to our blog.

Moons and Stars: Together Time (2-3 year old)
*****Together Time is a weekly 45 minute program that runs in 6 week sessions.  

Opening Song: Welcome, Welcome Everyone

Opening Song: Up, Down, Turn Around 
Up, down, turn around, touch the sky and touch the ground,
Wiggle fingers, wiggle toes, wiggle shoulders, say hello.

Fingerplay: Big Yellow Moon

Big yellow moon shines so bright, (Arms above head in circle shape.)

Glides across the starry night, (Arms move above head.)
Looks down at me (Hand shades eyes.)
Asleep in bed, (Hands together at side of face.)
Whispers, "Good night, sleepyhead."(Forefinger in front of mouth.)
Big yellow moon, your turn is done. (Arms above head move down in front of body.)
Here comes Mr. Morning Sun. (Arms move above head in circle shape.)
I wake up. (Arms stretch out.)
You go to bed. (Hands together at side of face.)
"Sleep well, Moon, you sleepyhead."(Forefinger in front of mouth.)

Poems and Fingerplays/Canton Public Library

Fingerplay: Zoom, Zoom, Zoom We're Going to the Moon (we like to rub our hands together for zooming)

Zoom, zoom, zoom, we're going to the moon

Zoom, zoom, zoom, we'll be there very soon 

So if you'd like to take a trip, just step inside my rocket ship

Zoom, zoom, zoom, we're going to the moon

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, lift off!

Big Book: Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown 

Action Song: Skidaramink (we like to howl at the moon!)

Action Song: 5 in the Bed (we started at 5 and used the pictures in Ten in the Bed by Jane Cabrera, because there is one on the moon!)

Props: Using foam circle props, we did a series of songs related to colors and circles (each child and caregiver received one)

Song: Color Song (to tune of Where is Thumpkin?): 

Where is yellow, where is yellow?

Here we are, here we are

Shake, shake your yellow; shake, shake, your yellow

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you (go through all colors)

Song: Moon, Moon, Moon by The Laurie Berkner Band We used our circles to act out this song)

Nursery Rhyme: Hey Diddle Diddle (we did this one with jumping over our foam moons, then gathered our circles by counting them up)   

 Book in Hand/Shared Story: Hey Diddle Diddle [illustrated by Jeanette Winter] (We borrowed multiple copies of the board book version to read together with parent and caregiver.)

Stamps: Hand stamps are a big deal for this age group, and I have been experimenting with when best to do them. This week as the child handed in his copy of the book, he or she received a star hand stamp. This also helped moved us into our stories and songs about stars. 

Props: Each child received a star on a stick prop that we had in our supply closet. Since the next story is about stretching for a star to put it in your pocket, this seemed like a good way to keep the kids engaged in our story. (It worked...for most of us!)

Book: Little Chick by Amy Hest (story about stretching for star, where we stretch with our stars)

Then we used our star on a stick props to sing a few star rhymes/songs.

Song: Catch a falling star by Perry Como

Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket 

Never let it fade away

Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket

Save it for a rainy day

Rhyme: Star Light Star Bright
Star light, Star bright 
First star I see tonight 
I wish I may, I wish I might 
Have the wish I wish tonight. 

Fingerplay: Four Little Stars
Four little stars winking at me, one shot off and then there were three. 
Three little stars with nothing to do, one shot off and then there were two. 
Two little stars afraid of the sun, one shot off and then there was one. 
One little star not having any fun, it shot off and then there were none! 

Credit: Child’s Play Family Daycare Website

Song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Scarves:Shake our Scarves Together 

Scarves: Experimenting with up high and down low; shaking fast and slow; and throwing our scarves in the air and to each other I played a moon song in the background (Suggestion: Catch the Moon by Elizabeth Mitchell and Lisa Loeb)

Art Project: Using a recipe my colleague had for puffy paint using flour, salt and water, we made our own full moons. We used sturdy craft paper, our foam circles, and chalk to trace our circles. Then kids colored in the moon with chalk and we painted the puffy paint over top. We used the book Moon Plane to talk about how the moon is bumpy.

Other related books (we looked at pictures of these and I left them out so kids could look at them after storytime)

Zoom Zoom Zoom! I'm Off the Moon! by Dan Yaccarino

Moon Plane by Peter McCarty

Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes

 
Posted by Kim

Weighty Books

This week is National Eating Disorder Awareness Week.

I talk a little bit about it on my other blog.

Here I thought it would be good to talk about some books on weighty matter, not necessarily books about WEIGHT, but books that make your heart ache for the characters for what they're going through. These are books I think everything high school student NEEDS to read.

Wintergirls:
This one is about weight. It's so heartbreaking, honest, and sad. It's a haunting read. 

Falling For You: A new book by Lisa Schroeder - not a novel in verse, but a novel about a girl suffering. She writes her pain in poems. She helps to start a poetry revolution, writing about her step father and the new boy in her life. Sometimes his actions scare her. Review

Keep Holding On: Life is horrible. Parents fail  you. Teens are Cruel. Can HOPE be killed? I really like the new paperback cover! Review

13 Reasons Why: One girl leaves behind the story of the biggest decision of her life - to the 13 people who drove her over the edge.

What tough but important books are on your list?