Naturally Optimistic

A pandemic game time & conversation (via Zoom)   Well, we're about 13 months into this pandemic and I should've been back blogging then. I mean, I was home an awful lot. I could've done it. But I didn't. I wrote in my actual journal but that's a crazy mish-mash of stuff. This would've been fun to keep just pandemic stuff. Ah well, live and learn. I'll be ready for the next one (no, no, I won't). It's been a year...a year of ups and downs; of being laid off and re-hired; of wondering what to do with my life and starting grad school. We got fish, we got two kittens. What a year.  Kids have mostly been troopers but there have been some tough days. August went back to hybrid last fall, then everything stopped for a while and went back to 5 days a week in February - hooray! Dahlia finally got to start hybrid in.....February? (I can't remember) and then started back in person 4 days a week...but after her first 4 days she was identified as a "...

For our 2020 Winter Reading program, there wasn't an overall theme. I decided to create my own theme. And the Penguins took over the library! I printed out real-to-life sized photographs of penguins...an Emperor, a Fairy, a Chinstrap and a Galapagos Penguin to be exact. I put them on the walls in one area. My hope was that kids would stand next to them and measure up - and they sure did! It put a smile on my face every time. Above each penguin I included some facts. Usually where they lived, what they ate and any quirky stuff about them. It's always great to be able to provide a little learning opportunity along the way. We also included penguin voting. I always think it's fun to add a pre-math activity when I can. I made 4 buckets with a photo of each of the aforementioned penguins. Kids (& adults) were able to ask for a "voting token" (ie: a saved bottle cap) at the desk and then put it in the bucket of their choice. It was fun hearing t...

My 'sample' yarn sticks and the calm before the storm. I work in a great place. A place of learning. A place of exploration. A place of inspiration & community. It makes me so happy when I get to plan something that brings a little bit of all of those together. One of my favorite most recent forays has been Crafternoons.  2 of 3 beautiful sticks a pre-schooler & her mother were working on. They planned on tying them together to make a mobile. This was so pretty.  Crafternoons is a aft/craft program aimed toward pre-school through elementary aged kiddos. I try to tie projects into a book, a specific artist but sometimes I just follow my gut & go with a project that looks fun & fits my budget (this project was essentially, free).  We made Yarn Sticks. I didn't know if they would like it. I didn't know if it would capture their imagination and I didn't know if it would hold their attention. But boy did it.  Kids & parents alike enjoy...

Wow - I guess I'm not keeping up with my storytime blogs. I will try to do better. I'm considering relocating these posts so I can share them with my Storytime crowd. We started by talking about SHAPES just a little bit as a precursor of the Storytime to come. I wanted to let the adults know that SHAPE recognition is very important as an early literacy skill and it is the beginnings of reading. We talked more about it throughout today's Storytime. The More We Get Together - song with signs Shapes that Roll by Karen Nagel/Illustrations by Steve Wilson This book was a lot of fun. We had a great time moving (a little) like the shapes or making them with our hands, talking about all the different shapes on the pages, and guessing some of the more unusual shapes. The bright colors & slight textures of this book make it a really eye-catching fun book to read. Next we read The Shape of Things by Dayle Ann Dodds/Illustrated by Julie Lacome. This took basic shapes ...

Well, another week has passed and I've only posted about Storytime. Ah well. So it goes. This week's storytime's theme was THANKSGIVING. Of course. There are not a lot of books (that we own) about Thanksgiving that aren't SUPER wordy. So picking & choosing things didn't go as easily as I had hoped. I also wanted to do more books about autumn, harvest, etc but with early snow & extremely cold temperatures here this year, that didn't feel right. In the end I found a few things that worked, and we had a great time! In November by Cynthia Rylant A great book which is perfect for this chilly, snowy November! Beautiful illustrations, talks about animals, people, the Earth... in November. :) Next we did a Turkey Felt Board (idea courtesy of Kathryn Roach ) I cut out a turkey shape (free hand) along with feathers. LOTS of feathers. Since we have a lot of kids at Storytime, I wanted to make sure everyone had a feather in their hands. I used all the...

I do Storytime every Tuesday at 10:15 at the Mount Royal branch library of the Duluth Public Library system. I enjoy it. I really do. I enjoy reading to the kids (my weekly "performance"), I love putting together themes, activities & songs to go along; I really enjoy creating flannel boards & fun activities to go along with it.  I've decided I'm going to start blogging about my Storytimes as it's a great resource for me down the road. I sometimes forget what worked & how well; what failed; what wasn't worth it and what TOTALLY was. I also lose track of what books/songs/fingerplays I do with what books/themes.  So here ya go. Today's Storytime: Today our theme was COLORS. A fun Storytime theme and one I've used in the past & will use again in the future. Opening song - The More We Get Together Early Literacy Aside #1 - We talked about VOCABULARY as today's enhanced storytime element. Vocabulary is my favorite. I love talki...

Look at that! I updated my 2013 reading list! Whohoooo! According to GoodReads I'm still 9 books behind for my 2013 reading challenge of reading 50 books this year (I've done 24 so far....) but whohooo! That's way more than in the past. I think working in a library works. It either works, or makes it WAY HARDER for me to stick with one book until I'm finished. Occupational hazard - I bring home waaaaaaay more books than I could possibly ever finish. I'm okay with that. :) (Maybe I'll update my movies/tv shows tomorrow. Who knows?! It IS a holiday weekend after all...and we all know how nerdy I am!)