Miss Cathy's Corner

Winter 09 Storytime - Feb. 24 - DINOSAURS

2009-03-04T17:17:00.000-08:00

Books:
Bones, Bones, Dinosaur Bones by Byron Barton
Find-a-Saurus by Mark Sperring
Hi, Pizza Man! by Virginia Walter
How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? by Jane Yolen
Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs by Byron Barton
Dad's Dinosaur Day by Diane Hearn
Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct by Mo Willems

Craft:
magazine dino collage

Winter Storytime 09 - Feb. 17 - PENGUINS & MORE WINTER

2009-02-20T12:19:00.000-08:00

Books:
Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester
When It Starts to Snow by Phillis Gershator
Raindrop, Plop! by Wendy Lewison
The Mitten by Jan Brett
Snowballs by Lois Ehlert
The Missing Mitten Mystery by Steven Kellogg

Action Song:
"I Hear Thunder" from I'm a Little Teapot! by Jane Cobb

I hear thunder, I hear thunder, (drum with hands or feet)
Hark, don't you? Hark, don't you? (hand behind ear to listen)
Pitter, patter raindrops, Pitter, patter raindrops, (flutter fingers down)
I'm wet through, I'm wet through. (shake hands)

Craft:
penguin iceberg picture

Winter 09 Storytime - February 10 - VALENTINE'S DAY

2009-02-14T11:01:00.000-08:00

Books:
The Ballad of Valentine by Alison Jackson
Biscuit's Valentine's Day by Alyssa Capucilli
Valentine Mice! by Bethany Roberts
The Little Red Hen by Byron Barton
Secret Valentine by Catherine Stock
Porcupining: A Prickly Love Story by Lisa Wheeler

Flannel Story:
"The Cucaracha Martina" from The Flannel Board Storytelling Book by Judy Sierra

Craft:
Love Bug paper bag puppets

Winter 09 Storytime - February 3 - BEARS

2009-02-09T16:16:00.000-08:00

Books:
Big Smelly Bear by Britta Teckentrup
Who Is It? by Sally Grindley
The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood
Good Night, Baby Bear by Frank Asch
The Three Bears by Byron Barton
Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson

Action Song:
"Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, Turn Around" from Ready, Set, Move! by Greg & Steve

Flannelboard Songs:
Teddy Wore His Red Shirt
A-Hunting We Will Go

Flannelboard Story:
"The Goat in the Turnip Field" from The Flannel Board Storytelling Book by Judy Sierra

Craft:
bear headbands

Winter Storytime 09 - January 27 - SNOW

2009-02-04T11:17:00.000-08:00

Books:
Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London
Snow by Manya Stojic
Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehnew
Snowball by Nina Crews
The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett

Paper & Scissors Story:
"Will it Ever Snow?" from Fold and Cut Stories by Jerry Mallett and Timothy Ervin

Craft:
glitter snowflake paper plate mobile

Some of my favorite fingerplays and songs

2009-02-04T10:32:00.000-08:00

A grandmother asked me the other day for the words to some of the songs and fingerplays I use a lot in my storytimes and I thought it would be a good idea to post them somewhere in case you wanted to try them at home. I always use the same opening and closing stuff, and I try to adjust the fingerplays and songs I use based on the season of storytime I'm in, winter, spring, etc., or whatever storytime theme I'm using.

Fingerplays are a great way to teach rhyming and body awareness and are a way for kids to practice both their gross and fine motor skills. And they get the wiggles out between stories! One of my favorite sources for fingerplays and songs is I'm a Little Teapot! by Jane Cobb.

Wiggle Fingers
Wiggle fingers, wiggle so, (wiggle fingers in front)
Wiggle high, wiggle low, (stretch arms up high, then low to ground)
Wiggle left, wiggle right, (wiggle fingers toward left of body, then to right)
Wiggle fingers out of sight. (hide fingers behind back)

Rain on the Green Grass
Rain on the green grass, (flutter fingers down)
Rain on the trees, (stretch arms up high and spread fingers out like a tree)
Rain on the rooftop, (touch fingertips together above head like the top of a triangle or house)
But not on me. (point thumbs toward self and shake head, 'no')

Tommy Thumbs
Tommy Thumbs up, Tommy Thumbs down,
Tommy Thumbs dancing all around the town.
Dance them on your shoulders,
Dance them on your head,
Dance them on your knees,
And tuck them into bed. (tuck thumbs into fists)
Repeat with Polly Pinkies

Now It's Time to Say Goodbye to All Our Friends
(tune: "She'll Be Comin' Around the Mountain")
Now it's time to say goodbye to all our friends, "Goodbye!" (clap hands to beat and wave during 'goodbye')
Now it's time to say goodbye to all our friends, "Goodbye!"
Now it's time to say goodbye,
Wave your hands,
Wink your eye,
Now it's time to say goodbye to all our friends, "Goodbye!"

Winter 09 Storytime - January 20 - COOKIES & CUPCAKES

2009-01-23T16:16:00.000-08:00

Books:

Maisy Makes Gingerbread by Lucy Cousins

If You Give a Cat a Cupcake by Laura Numeroff

Who Ate All the Cookie Dough? by Karen Beaumont

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Fingerplay:

Rain on the Green Grass

Flannelboard Rhymes:

Five Little Cookies

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

Flannelboard Story:

The Gingerbread Man

Craft:

paper chain caterpillar

My recent reads

2008-12-15T14:53:00.000-08:00

Here are a few books from our fabulous children’s collection that I read recently and really enjoyed:

The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett (Fairytale, Grades Preschool-2)
Set in the Arctic, this retelling of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” replaces Goldilocks with a parka-wrapped Inuit girl named Aloo-ki and brown bears with polar bears that live in an igloo rather than a house in the woods. Aloo-ki samples the bears’ bowls of soup, tries on their boots, and naps in their fur cover blankets, all to the polar bear family’s surprise. Vividly illustrated in Jan Brett’s characteristic style, this beautifully re-imagined fairytale is sure to delight those familiar with the traditional story and new readers alike.

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart (Fiction, Grades 4-6)
Are you brave? Reynie Muldoon hopes he is. Gifted (he’s currently learning to speak Tamil) and kindhearted, Reynie is not your typical abandoned orphan. He knows he’s meant for something bigger and is drawn one day to a strange newspaper ad calling for gifted children “looking for special opportunities.” The ad leads to a mind-bending series of logic and character tests, all in the effort to assemble a team of intelligent and daring children to assist Mr. Benedict in a project of vital importance. Filled with tongue-in-cheek and dark humor, the Society finds itself in real peril and must overcome physically and intellectually demanding obstacles in order to prevail.

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli (Fiction, Grades 7-9)
16-year-old Leo Borlock thinks he’s in for another run-of-the-mill school year at Mica Area High School—that is, until Stargirl Caraway comes along. Stargirl is as unique as unique can get, wearing prairie dresses and kimonos and serenading her classmates in the cafeteria while strumming a ukulele. At first, Stargirl stuns her fellow students into silence as they are caught off guard with her novelty and pure-spirited friendliness. But then, as always in the sometimes vicious high school world, individuality and conformity collide and Leo is forced to decide whose friendship he values more—that of Stargirl, or that of the rest of the school.

Fall 08 Storytime - Oct. 28 - HALLOWEEN

2008-11-03T16:19:00.000-08:00

Books:
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams
Bats at the Library by Brian Lies
Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell
This is the Pumpkin by Abby Levine
Boo, Bunny! by Kathryn Galbraith
What a Scare, Jesse Bear by Nancy Carlstrom
Space Case by Edward Marshall

Action Rhymes:
Scarecrow, Scarecrow Turn Around
The Great Big Spider
5 Little Pumpkins (Sitting on a Gate)
Way Up High in the Apple Tree

Puppet Story:
Go Away, Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley

Craft:
Halloween shape necklaces

Fall 08 Storytime - Oct. 21 - MICE

2008-10-22T15:51:00.000-07:00

Books:
Mouse Paint by Ellen Walsh
The Napping House by Audrey Wood
Frederick by Leo Lionni
Does a Mouse Have a House? by Anne Miranda

Nursery Rhyme:
Hickory Dickory Dock

Flannel Song:
A' Hunting We Will Go

Flannel Story:
The Turnip

Craft:
watercolor mice

Fall 08 Storytime - Oct. 15 - POPCORN

2008-10-21T20:48:00.000-07:00

Books:
Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson
Popcorn by Frank Asch
The Popcorn Shop by Alice Low
Popcorn by Alex Moran
Clara Ann Cookie, Go to Bed! by Harriet Ziefert

Action Songs:
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, Turn Around
Autumn Leaves are Falling Down

Flannelboard Songs & Story:
Teddy Wore His Red Shirt
The Three Little Pigs

Craft:
popcorn bowl

Fall 08 Storytime - Oct. 7 - PRINCES & PRINCESSES

2008-10-07T20:05:00.000-07:00

Books:
The Fairytale Cake by Mark Sperring
Princess Smartypants by Babette Cole
King Bidgood's in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood
Princess Aasta by Stina Ordal
The End by David LaRochelle
The Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by Paul Galdone

Action Songs & Rhymes:
The Grand Old Duke of York
Where's the Prince? (tune: Where is Thumbkin?)
Here's a Cup

Flannel Rhyme:
Humpty Dumpty

Craft:
paper glitter crowns

Fall 08 Storytime - Sept. 30 - SCHOOL

2008-09-30T20:37:00.000-07:00

Books:
Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook by Michael Garland
Crictor by Tomi Ungerer
The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
Lola at the Library by Anna McQuinn
Alphabet Under Construction by Denise Fleming
Maisy Goes to the Library by Lucy Cousins

Action Rhymes & Songs:
Five Apples Hanging in a Tree
Autumn Leaves are Falling Down
The Seals on the Bus

Drawing Story:
Bread and Honey by Frank Asch

Craft:
paper plate spiral snake

Fall 2008 Storytime - Sept. 23 - AUTUMN & APPLES

2008-09-27T09:31:00.000-07:00

Books:
All for Pie, Pie for All by David Martin
Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert
The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall
Every Autumn Comes the Bear by Jim Arnosky
Mouse's First Fall by Lauren Thompson
Who Stole the Apples? by Sigrid Heuck (a Rebus story)
Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert
Fall Leaves Fall! by Zoe Hall

Action Rhymes/Songs:
Autumn Leaves are Falling Down (tune: London Bridge)
Way Up High in the Apple Tree

Story:
The Apple Star Story

Craft:
paper plate leaf wreath

Spring 08 Storytime - May 6 - MOTHERS

2008-05-07T11:46:00.000-07:00

Books:
A Mother for Choco by Keiko Kasza
Llama Llama Mad at Mama by Anna Dewdney
What Moms Can't Do by Douglas Wood
Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too? by Eric Carle
Mother, Mother, I Want Another by Maria Robbins
Mama, Do You Love Me? by Barbara Joosse
My Mom by Anthony Browne
A Mouse Told His Mother by Bethany Roberts

Fingerplays & Action Rhymes:
Grandma's Spectacles
Give Mom a Kiss

Flannel Song:
Five Little Ducks Went Out One Day

Flannel Story:
Ask Mr. Bear by Marjorie Flack

Spring 08 Storytime - Apr. 29 - COLORS

2008-05-05T16:09:00.001-07:00

Books:
Kid Tea by Elizabeth Ficocelli
Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox
Frederick by Leo Lionni
Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young
It Looked Like Spilt Milk by George Shaw
White is for Blueberry by George Shannon
Cat's Colors by Jane Cabrera

Flannel Songs/Rhymes:
Teddy Wore His Red Shirt
Color Train

Song:
If You're Wearing Red Today

Nursery Rhyme:
Little Boy Blue

Craft:
watercolor sheep

Spring 08 Storytime - Apr. 22 - GARDENS

2008-05-05T15:41:00.000-07:00

Books:
The Surprise Garden by Zoe Hall
Sunflower House by Eve Bunting
Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
Farm-Fresh Cats by Scott Santoro
In My Garden by Ward Schumaker
Butterfly, Butterfly by Petr Horacek (pop-up)

Fingerplays:
Five Fat Peas
Way Up High in the Apple Tree
My Garden
Here is a Beehive

Flannel Rhyme:
Here is a Nest

Flannel Stories:
The Turnip
The Gunniwolf

Craft:
magazine leaf paper plate tree

Storytime Spring 08 - Apr. 15 - SPACE

2008-04-22T15:27:00.000-07:00

Books:
I Want to Be an Astronaut by Byron Barton
The Sun Is My Favorite Star by Frank Asch
How to Make a Night by Linda Ashman
What Next, Baby Bear! by Jill Murphy
Astro Bunnies by Christine Loomis
What the Moon Sees/ What the Sun Sees by Nancy Tafuri
The Moon Ring by Randy DuBurke
Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me by Eric Carle

Action Rhyme:
Bend and Stretch, Reach for the Stars

Flannel Rhyme:
Four Little Stars

Flannel Story:
The Rat's Daughter

Craft:
aluminum foil and ribbon comets

Storytime Spring 08 - Apr. 8 - PIGS

2008-04-09T12:13:00.000-07:00

Books:
The Long-Nosed Pig by Keith Faulkner (pop-up)
The Pigs' Picnic by Keiko Kasza
Piggies by Audrey Wood
Annabel by Janice Boland
Cows in the Kitchen by June Crebbin
Punk Farm by Jarrett Krosoczka
Pigs Aplenty, Pigs Galore! by David McPhail

Nursery Rhyme:
This Little Piggie

Fingerplay:
Two Mother Pigs

Flannel Story:
The Three Little Pigs

Craft:
pig cookies

Storytime Winter 08 - Mar. 3 - DINOSAURS

2008-03-07T14:31:00.001-08:00

Books:
Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct by Mo Willems
Find-a-Saurus by Mark Sperring
Hi, Pizza Man by Virginia Walter
Tyson, the Terrible by Diane Fox
Bones, Bones, Dinosaur Bones by Byron Barton
Dad's Dinosaur Day by Diane Hearn

Action Rhymes:
Pat-a-Cake, Pat-a-Cake, Pizza Man

Songs:
I'm Bringing Home a Baby Dinosaur

Craft:
coffee ground fossils

Storytime Winter 08 - Feb. 26 - BEARS

2008-03-01T10:52:00.000-08:00

Books:
Big Smelly Bear by Britta Teckentrup
The Three Bears by Byron Barton
Who Is it?: Lots of Fairytale Fun by Sally Grindley
Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson
The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood
Oh My Baby Bear! by Audrew Wood
Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook by Michael Garland

Action Songs:
The Bear Went Over the Mountain
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear Turn Around

Flannel Song:
A-Hunting We Will Go

Flannelboard Story:
The Goat in the Turnip Field

Craft:
bear sponge painting

Storytime Winter 08 - Feb. 19 - PENGUINS, MITTENS & WINTER

2008-02-19T20:05:00.001-08:00

Books:
The Mitten by Jan Brett
Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester
Raindrop, Plop! by Wendy Lewison
Maisy Makes Gingerbread by Lucy Cousins
Snow Inside the House by Sean Diviny

Action Rhymes & Songs:
Five Red Apples
I Hear Thunder
Rain on the Green Grass

Nursery Rhyme:
Little Boy Blue

Flannelboard Story:
"Peace and Quiet" from The Flannel Board Storytelling Book by Judy Sierra

Storytime Winter 08 - Feb. 5 - VALENTINE'S DAY

2008-02-06T16:20:00.000-08:00

Books:
Porcupining: A Prickly Love Story by Lisa Wheeler
If You'll Be My Valentine by Cynthia Rylant
Secret Valentine by Catherin Stock
Valentine Mice! by Bethany Roberts
The Ballad of Valentine by Alison Jackson
The Little Red Hen by Byron Barton

Flannelboard Rhyme:
I'll Make You a Valentine

Action Rhyme:
Way Up High in the Apple Tree

Song:
I'm Thinking of Something Red

Flannelboard Story:
"The Cucaracha Martina" from The Flannel Board Storytelling Book by Judy Sierra

Storytime Winter 08 - Jan. 29 - SNOW SNOW SNOW!

2008-02-02T10:21:00.000-08:00

Books:
Snow by Manya Stojic
Benjamin's Balloon by Alan Baker
Snowballs by Lois Ehlert
Snow Day! by Lester Laminack
Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner
Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonanthan London

Flannel Board Rhymes:
Here is a Nest
Five Green & Speckled Frogs

Fingerplay:
Rain on the Green Grass

Songs:
Come Sing a Song of Winter
I Hear Thunder

Fold & Cut Story:
Will It Ever Snow? (from Fold and Cut Stories by Jerry Mallett and Timothy Ervin)

Storytime Winter 08 - Jan. 22 - BIRTHDAYS

2008-01-25T08:45:00.000-08:00

Books:
The Secret Birthday Message/ Carle, Eric
Happy Birthday, Jesse Bear!/ Carlstrom, Nancy
It's MY Birthday!/ Hutchins, Pat
Surprise Party/ Carter, David (pop-up)
Spot's Birthday Party/ Hill, Eric
Happy Birthday, Sam/ Hutchins, Pat
The Very Hungry Caterpillar/ Carle, Eric
Lola at the Library/ McQuinn, Anna

Fingerplays:
Five Birthday Candles
Balloon

Flannelboard Rhymes:
Five Little Cupcakes
Color Train

Action Song:
If You're Wearing Red Today

Craft:
birthday banner

Storytime @ the Shops at Rossmoor! - Dec. 19, 2007

2007-12-17T16:34:00.000-08:00

Bundle up and join us this Wednesday afternoon at 4pm at the Shops at Rossmoor for a special "Winter Treats" storytime! We'll devour fun cookie books, cozy up with wintry tales, and even make a darling gingerbread man garland to take home. We'll be near the fountain in front of Peet's Coffee and Complexion Day Spa. If it rains, meet us at CPK!

Which Pooh character are you?

2007-12-11T18:28:00.000-08:00

Apparently, I am.....

Take the 100 Acre Personality Quiz!
I happened upon this little quiz today and thought you might want to find out if you might be a Kanga or Piglet or another of the Hundred Acre family. Frankly, I've always thought of myself as more of an Eeyore.....

FALL 07 Storytime - Nov. 20 - THANKSGIVING

2007-11-30T10:52:00.000-08:00

Books:
I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie/ Jackson, Allison
The Firefighters' Thanksgiving/ Boelts, Maribeth
Thanksgiving Mice!/ Roberts, Bethany
Over the River: A Turkey's Tale/ Anderson, Derek
Turkey on the Loose!/ Wickstrom, Sylvie

Fingerplays:
Way Up High in the Apple Tree
Five Little Apples

Songs:
The Turkey Ran Away (tune: Farmer in the Dell)
Turkey! Turkey! (tune: Skip to My Lou)
I'm Thankful For (tune: The Bear Went Over the Mountain)

Flannelboard Story:
The Enormous Turnip

Craft:
paper plate fall wreath

FALL 07 Storytime - Nov. 13 - GOING PLACES

2007-11-13T18:27:00.000-08:00

Books:

Clickety Clack/ Spence, Amy

Dinosailors/ Lund, Deb

Row, Row, Row Your Boat/ Oppenheim, Joanne

Mr. Gumpy's Outing/ Burningham, John

Wake Up Engines/ Mortensen, Denise

Silly Sally/ Wood, Audrey

Flannel Rhymes & Story:

Color Train

5 Little Boats

Three Billy Goats Gruff

Fingerplays:

Here Comes the Choo-Choo Train

My Bicycle (from I'm a Little Teapot by Jane Cobb)

Song:

Down By the Station

Craft:

car cut-out picture

FALL 07 Storytime - Oct. 30 - HALLOWEEN

2007-10-30T19:42:00.000-07:00

Books:
Popcorn/ Asch, Frank
Mommy?/ Sendak, Maurice
Where the Wild Things Are/ Sendak, Maurice
This is the Pumpkin/ Levine, Abby
Farm-Fresh Cats/ Santoro, Scott
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything/ Williams, Linda
Apples and Pumpkins/ Rockwell, Anne

Songs:
I'm a Little Pumpkin, Short and Stout
The Leaves on the Trees are Falling Down
The Great Big Spider

Flannel/Fingerplays:
Five Little Pumpkins
One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pumpkins

Activity:
Scarecrow, Scarecrow Turn Around

Puppet Story:
Go Away Big Green Monster (based on the book by Ed Emberley)

Craft:
spider web plates

FALL07 Storytime - Oct. 23 - PRINCES & PRINCESSES

2007-10-23T17:58:00.000-07:00

Books:

The King's Tea/ Noble, Trinka

King Bidgood's in the Bathtub/ Wood, Audrey

The End/ LaRochelle, David

If I Were Queen of the World/ Hiatt, Fred

One Monday Morning/ Shulevitz, Uri

Princess Aasta/ Ordal, Stina

The Princess and the Pea/ Anderson, Hans Christian

Flannel Rhymes:
Two Little Bluebirds
Humpty Dumpty

Songs:
The Grand Old Duke of York
Sing a Song of Six Pence

Craft:
paper crowns

Tumblebooks for kids!

2007-10-22T10:33:00.001-07:00

Did you know that the library has fabulous e-books for kids online? TumbleBooks are audiovisual versions of popular books that you can access from the OCPL website. From our website, www.ocpl.org, click on "Children's Services," and then click on "E-Books for E-Kids."

TumbleBook story books are animated versions of popular picture books such as Little Pea, Diary of a Worm, and Miss Malarkey Doesn't Live in Room 10, complete with text and sound. There are also full text e-book versions of lengthier chapter books, such as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, with the option to turn on an audio recording of the displayed text.

TumbleBooks are great for parents who are looking to present reading in a new way and also for kids who are learning to read independently. The chapter e-books are also great for kids who read better while listening to the text at the same time.

FALL07 Storytime - Oct. 16 - MISS CATHY'S FAVORITES

2007-10-16T14:28:00.000-07:00

Books:
Little Pea/ Rosenthal, Amy Krause
Butterfly, Butterfly/ Horacek, Petr
A Good Day/ Henkes, Kevin
The Little Red Hen/ Barton, Byron (big book version)
Old Mother Hubbard/ Hawkins, Colin
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat/ Taback, Simms
Let's Make Rabbits/ Lionni Leo

Flannelboard Rhymes & Songs:
Here's a Nest
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
BINGO

Songs:
Have You Ever Seen an Apple? (tune: "The More We Get Together")
Autumn Leaves are Falling Down (tune: "The Wheels on the Bus")

Fingerplay:
Tommy Thumbs Up

Game:
What Color Am I?

Film:
"Good Night, Gorilla" based on the book by Peggy Rathmann

Children's Book Week Bookmark Contest!

2007-10-15T12:24:00.000-07:00

The Los Alamitos-Rossmoor Library's 2nd Annual Children's Book Week Bookmark Contest starts today! Children in preschool through 5th grade are invited to participate. This year's theme is "Rise Up Reading." Three winners will be chosen and each will receive a Barnes & Noble gift card. Winning entries will be reproduced for distribution at the branch and local schools.

Entry forms are available at the library. Completed entries must be turned in to the library by 5:00 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 17, 2007.

Be creative, have fun, and best of luck to all our budding artists!

FALL07 Storytime - Oct. 9 - MICE

2007-10-13T15:55:00.000-07:00

Books:
Who Sank the Boat?/ Allen
Frederick/ Lionni
Whose Mouse Are You?/ Krause
Elephant in a Well/ Ets

Flannelboard Story:
"The Rat's Daughter" from The Flannel Board Storytelling Book/ Sierra, Judy

Nursery Rhyme:
Hickory Dickory Dock

Craft:
mouse finger puppets

World Book Online

2007-10-01T17:22:00.000-07:00

Did you know that you can now access World Book Online through the OCPL website? This fabulous, fully searchable, electronic version of the World Book Encyclopedia is an awesome resource for kids' research assignments. It's got well written articles on every possible topic, as well as pictures and video for putting together multimedia presentations. Everything is true and fact-checked by World Book's editors, so you know everything is reliable and up to date.

To access this resource, go to the OCPL website and click on "Research and Resources." At the top of the center column, you'll see a link to "World Book Online." If you're trying to get to this from home, just enter your library card number without any spaces. If there's a "D" in your library card number, replace that with a "2." The default page is World Book Advanced, intended for high school students, but in the bottom right hand corner there's a link that says, "Switch to another World Book site." Click that and then select "World Book Kids," which is a more kid-friendly site intended for the youngest little researchers.

If you have any questions about it, don't forget to call the library! Enjoy and good luck with those school projects.

23 Things

2007-09-29T13:51:00.001-07:00

As librarians, we're constantly challenged with learning about, adapting to, and co-opting new technology. As we've already known for quite awhile, the library is about more than just books! At LAR, some of the librarians have been doing what's called, "The 23 Things Web Challenge," a sort of Internet scavenger hunt designed to bring us all up to speed about all the fancy, new, user-driven content on the Internet (a.k.a. some of the things that make up the whole Web 2.0 revolution).

I've just finished doing my 23 Things and I discovered that some of the 23 were already familiar and some weren't. I'd already used things like Flickr, Blogger, and LibraryThing, but I wasn't too familiar with pretty neat sites like Rollyo, where you can create a sort of customized search engine that only searches the sites that you know you want to look at, and del.icio.us, where you can basically take your web page bookmarks with you to any computer and bookmark stuff that you want other people to see.

Bottom line, many of these technologies can be used to create innovative library services and reach out to patrons in new ways, but only if your library system and administration are forward thinking enough to embrace Web 2.0 and allow people to be creative in their use of these tools. Thankfully, OCPL is one of those libraries! Let's hope all this new knowledge will help us to be innovative and adopt those techie things that will be most useful to keeping libraries alive and well!

FALL07 Storytime - Oct. 2 - AUTUMN & APPLES

2007-09-29T09:28:00.000-07:00

Books:
Leaf Man/ Ehlert
Apple Pie Tree/ Hall
Bears' Autumn/ Tejima
Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf/ Ehlert
Ten Red Apples/ Hutchins
Fall Leaves Fall/ Hall

Song:
Apples and Bananas

Flannelboard Story:
That Apple is Mine!/ Arnold

Craft:
leaf rubbings

FALL07 Storytime - Sept. 25 - SCHOOL

2007-09-29T09:20:00.000-07:00

Books:
John Patrick Norman McHennessy/ Burningham
Just Another Ordinary Day/ Clement
Crictor/ Ungerer
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom/ Martin
Maisy Goes to the Library/ Cousins

Drawing Story:
Monkey Face/ Asch

Craft:
apple stamp canvas bags