Movie Mondays

It all started because I really wanted to see How to Train Your Dragon and I finally learned how to set up the big screen and use the projector that's been languishing in back room for months. A quick bulletin board later Movie Mondays were born. Every Monday in the months of August and September we showed a movie based on a children's book and had an accompanying craft that somehow fit the theme of the movie.

It wasn't the most well attended series we've ever had, mostly it was a nice distraction for me and for the regular after school kids. We did get a few people to check out the books that the movies were based on though, and I count that as a win any day.

A few of my older regular kids are really into crafts, so if there are any extra I leave the craft box out all week.

 

For How to Train Your Dragon we made paper chain dragons.

For Beauty and the Beast we made Beastly masks. Although most of the kids that day went with beautiful masks instead.

 

Fox faces went with The Fantastic Mr. Fox

And flip books proved to be very unpopular for celebrating movies with Hugo. Seriously though, you try coming up with a craft that goes with this movie. Ugh.

And finally, yesterday, we made bright owls for the movie Hoot.

Flannel Friday: Applesauce, Applesauce

Apples are one of the best parts of the new season, and applesauce is by far the best thing about apples, so I taught my kids how to make applesauce during story time. There are hand motions that go with this chant, but since we repeated it 3 times (once at normal volume, once very very quietly and once VERY LOUDLY) I found that having the pieces up as a visual reminder worked really well.

Source: Applesauce Chant

First you take the apples and you pick 'em, you pick 'em

(picking motions)

The you take the apples and you chop 'em, you chop 'em

(chop one hand into another)

The you take the apples and you cook 'em, you cook 'em

 

(stirring motion)

Then you take the apples and you strain 'em, you strain 'em

(clap your hands together like you're pushing something through them)

Then you take the sugar and you sprinkle, you sprinkle

(sprinkling motion)

Last you take your spoon and you eat it, you eat it

(great big spoon into mouth and gulping motions)

I had to explain what a strainer was and I passed around the piece. The black dots, or holes, are embroidered French knots which added a really cool texture for the kids to explore. This was a particularly popular "play with after story time" set and some of the older kids took great pride in getting the sequence exactly right.

Flannel Friday is being hosted today by Kay Leigh at Storytime ABC's and as always you can find more information about Flannel Friday and browse past round-ups at the official Flannel Friday website.

Theme Thursday: Library Love

September is Library Card Registration month, so for our first themed story time in the month we celebrated all things library. It was kind of a self selecting crowd, but I think my babies and their caregivers liked it...

Song: Good Morning New Earth

Finger Play: Turtle

Book: Lola at the Library by Anna McQuinn

Song: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Finger Play: Touch Your Nose

Touch your nose, touch your chin,

That's the way this game begins,

Touch your eyes, touch your knees,

Now let's all pretend to sneeze.

AAAACHOO

Touch your hair, touch one ear

Touch two red lips, they're just right here,

Touch the place where your elbow bends,

That's the way this game ends

Book: Bats at the Library by Brian Lies

 

Song: Shake Your Sillies Out

Song: Grand Old Duke of York

Flannel: I Had a Rooster

Book: Maisy Goes to the Library by Lucy Cousins

 

Song: Turn Around from Hap Palmer's Getting to Know Myself

Make and Take Craft: Bookmarks

Supplies:

-paint chips

-hole punch

-yarn

-crayons

Process: Before story time I punch one hole in the top of each paint chip and cut short pieces of colorful yarn. After story time the kids decorated their paint chips with crayons and tied the yarn through the hole to create colorful bookmarks.

Time: Prep took 7 minutes, including the 4 minutes I spent looking for my misplaced paint chips and the craft took about 20.

Fall Displays

Fall is a busy time here at the library. Kids go back to school, leaves start to turn colors and displays need to change. There'll be more, many more, display changes before winter rolls in, but for now our library looks a little something like this...

Fall books go under the tree. I originally wanted the puffs below to serve as the leaves on the tree, but I couldn't figure out how to make them stick in a way that actually looked like foliage. Crumpled up butcher paper it is!

After the outer space mobiles of the summer I realized that this big, blank wall really does need something on it and my requests for a giant cork board or bulletin board keep going unanswered (much like my repeated requests for a changing table. C'mon people, we need a changing table in the bathroom. But I digress...) Anyway, I love the way the puffs hang and twist on their fishing line. I think I'll use a rotating cast of puffs with different, seasonally appropriate colors, on this wall until I can figure out something better.

Back to School books were out for about a week before they were cleaned out entirely, which was perfect because it let me use that space for a display on Books About the Library, Just in time for Library Card Registration Month!

The below picture entirely gives away where I work, but I don't think it's a huge deal. Plus I'm extremely proud of my giant fake library card, it looks just like our vintage cards!

And lastly, the display that I'll be taking down today to make room for High Holidays books, the DIY crafting section.

Flannel Friday: Fall is Not Easy

Happy September! I'm getting a jump on my very favorite season with this adaptation of Marty Kelly's book Fall is Not Easy. 

Fun story, this is one of the very first flannel sets I made when I started at my branch last year. If I had realized exactly how many pieces it entailed, it probably would not have been made.

And of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that there are several other awesome versions of this flannel floating around on Flannel Friday. I wish I had found you guys earlier, there would have been so much less wheel inventing in my first days.

And not, without further ado:

Spring and Summer are easy. All the leaves on all the trees are green and they stay that way. 

But then fall comes and the leaves all change color. Reds, oranges, yellows, that's how normal trees go. But for this particular tree? He can't seem to get it quite right.

There are a lot of pieces for this flannel, a lot of options that the tree cycles through as it tries to figure out this whole "fall" thing. But here are a few close ups of my favorite pieces.

Like the hamburger

Or the sprinkles look.

And finally, when the tree thinks he's got it just right... All of his leaves fall off and winter rolls in.

Winter is easy too.

Flannel Friday is being hosted at Loons and Quines this week and for more information on my favorite day of the week, check out the official website.

Theme Thursday: They Say It's Your Birthday

Well, it's my birthday too! Actually it isn't, but it was Little Mouse's birthday last Thursday and we threw him a romping, stomping party.

Song: Good Morning Dear Earth

Flannel: Little Mouse (Little Mouse was wearing a party hat today)

Song: Happy Birthday to You

Book: Birthday Box by Leslie Patricelli


Flannel: Gifts for Me

Song: Itsy Bitsy Spider

Song: Shake Your Sillies Out

Song: 1 Finger, 1 Thumb

Flannel: The Snake Behind the Cake

Song: Happy Birthday (again!)

Book: Whopper Cake by Karma Wilson


Song: Turn Around from Getting to Know Myself

Make and Take Craft: Party Hats

Supplies: 
-construction paper
-hole punch
-yarn
-scissors
-crayons
-glitter glue
-glue stick

Process: I adapted this pattern, and by adapted I mean blew up to 150% and only used the outline, to pre cut the party hats. I also punched two holes into every hat before story time. After story time I quickly showed the adults how to bend over the tab so that it would make a true cone with a flat bottom. Most ignored the instructions though and it turned out just fine. Then we let the kids go crazy with crayons and glitter glue. Adults help glue the hat shut and tie on the strings.

Time: Prep took 15 minutes and the craft took 50, with some kids making two hats.

Mazel Tov

This post is a day later than usual, but I have a good reason. Or a few.

On a personal level, I moved last week. I love my new house and my new roommates, but I've been spending a lot of non-library time organizing and making things like curtains or light fixtures for light fixtureless dining rooms. Planning ahead for the blog has fallen by the wayside for right now. I'm sure the time will come when the fall garden is planted and the couch has a new slip cover (and oh boy does it need one) and I can 

On a professional level, the library is in a state of flux, with staff members leaving and new ones scheduled to come but not quite here yet. I've been the only person working in the children's room since the beginning of August and it'll stay that way until the end of September. Public school starting up again has given me a chance to breathe, but also brings with it a whole new set of challenges. 

It's really easy for me to have a bad day, or even a bad 15 minutes, where I have to put on my mean voice or mediate some dispute or tell the 3rd child for the 15th time in a row not to run. And in those bad days, or those bad 15 minutes, it's hard to keep in mind why I love doing what I do.

But today? This today has been an outpouring of love for me and for my library and the community that it has created.

This morning I went to my very first Bris.

Story time is about to have its new, youngest ever participant. A beautiful baby brother for a joy of a 2 year old big sister and the new son for one of the families that has really helped sustain and support me throughout my first year at this library. Everyone there kept thanking me for coming, like it was a such a big deal for me to be there, like it reflected on the type of person I am that I would come to this to support and congratulate the family. But the whole time I was thinking the exact opposite, what an honor and a privilege to be invited to something so intimate, that a family I see twice a week at the most would ask me to share in this moment, what a reflection on the generosity and love that they share with each other and with their community.

I was obviously out of place; I had to ask what lox was and at one point the paternal grandmother came over to me and said "Honey, you are by far the least ethnic looking person here." But that's part of what makes my job so special; the library is a meeting point for people who would have otherwise never have crossed paths. I get to help facilitate that and sometimes, when I'm super lucky, I get to be one of those people.

Whenever someone asks me why I work in public libraries it's usually to be polite and I usually say it's because I like to read. But if they actually seem interested then I tell them stories like this, about how the library really is a third place, and how it's more than the books, it's the people.