Naturally Optimistic

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...