Baby/Toddler Lap Time (White Theme), 7/27/12

I continued my color-themed series yesterday with a story time all about the color white.

Opening Song (with ukulele): Hello, how are you? 

Rhyme: Blue is the Lake

Book: The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats (1962)
This book is too long for toddlers. I didn't think so, but I was wrong.

Song (with stick puppets): Dance Like Snowflakes 
I didn't look up the words prior to story time so I changed the last "in the air" to "everywhere." It worked just as well. 

Song: Head and Shoulders, Baby

Rhyme: Hop Your Bunnies
This worked so well for settling the kids at the main library the other day, I gave it another try. It didn't have quite the same calming effect, but the kids did enjoy doing it. 

Book: Little White Rabbit by Kevin Henkes (2011)

Song: If You're Happy and You Know It

Book: It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw (1988)
I was shocked at how much everyone - adults and kids - paid attention to this book. It's so simple and yet, they were nearly silent and clapped loudly at the ending. 

Song: I'm a Little Teapot

Song (with ukulele and flannel board): Mary Had a Little Lamb
At the last minute, I decided I wanted to use the new set of sheep I made for Baa Baa Black Sheep, so I adapted the words of this song as follows:

Mary had a little lamb,

little lamb, little lamb
Mary had a little lamb
His fleece was... 

...white as snow

...red as a rose

...green as grass

...blue as the sea

...black as night

Book: Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes (2010) by Eric Litwin and James Dean
I have read this book several times to this group, and finally, they have started saying "Goodness no!" along with me. 


Song: One Little Finger 

Songs (with ukulele): ABCs / Twinkle Twinkle
Next time, I'll include Baa Baa Black Sheep in this medley too.

Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This

Moon-Themed "On the Road" Story Time #3, 7/26/12

This "on the road" story time differed greatly from the others for a few reasons. The children's librarian at the branch was unexpectedly not there, so when I arrived, I was asked to start right away (20 minutes early), and to repeat my story time for an additional group afterward. I had also prepared for a preschool audience, but saw many little ones during the first session for whom many of my books were too complex and long. Here's what I came up for that first session, and then for the second one, which skewed slightly older and included one group that had already sat through session one.

Session One 

Opening Song (with ukulele): Hello, how are you?

Book: What's Up? by Mick Manning, illustrated by Brita Granstrom (1997)
This is actually a science book for beginning readers, but without all the captions and sidebars, the text is perfectly appropriate for a younger audience. I wished for some more feedback from the kids each time the text posed a question, but even without a  response, the kids seemed to be engaged.

Song: Moon Moon Moon

Book: Higher, Higher by Leslie Patricelli (2009)
I didn't bring this book with me, but managed to grab it from the shelf just before story time started. I could have gone without it, as it turns out, but I panicked when I saw babies! 

Song: Here We Go Up, Up, Up

Song (with flannel board and ukulele): Aikendrum
The kids thought the broccoli was a tree, which was something I hadn't really anticipated, but they seemed to like the song. 

Book: Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes (2004)
This was too long for a third book.  The kids were not interested. I actually think they didn't understand that the moon looked like milk to the kitten.

Song (with paper stars): Stars Shining Bright

Song (with ukulele): Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Song (with flannel board): Five Astronauts Went Up in Space 

Song: Tommy Thumb
I did this song because it takes a long time to sing all six verses, and I couldn't see the clock. I wanted to make sure I wasn't cutting myself too short! (I wasn't. I could have stopped way before this.)

Song: Chickadee 

Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This

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Session Two
 
Opening Song (with ukulele): Hello, how are you?

Book: What's Up? by Mick Manning, illustrated by Brita Granstrom (1997)

Song: Moon Moon Moon

Book: The Moon Might Be Milk by Lisa Shulman, illustrated by Lee Hillenbrand (2007)
I was hesitant about reading this book because it is so long, but overall, it went over well. This is one I want to keep in mind for the future, especially as we start trying to do more "story breaks" rather than full-fledged story times, after school this Fall.


Song (with flannel board and ukulele): Aikendrum

Song: Here We Go Up, Up, Up

Book: Regards to the Man in the Moon by Ezra Jack Keats (1981)
This book is different, and that's what I like about it. I think I could have introduced it better, but I don't know if that would have helped the kids click with it or not. I might try it again to see what improvements I can make because I think the concept of flying to the moon with your imagination is great!

Song (with flannel board): Five Astronauts Went Up in Space

Song (with paper stars): Stars Shining Bright
By the end of the second story time, finally, the kids came out of their shells and practically shouted the name of each color. I actually had to start turning the star around and only revealing the color when I was ready to be assailed by shouts. 
 
Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This

Because of the chaos with the librarian not being there, I skipped the craft. I don't think either group was expecting a craft because they didn't say a thing about it.

Moon-Themed "On the Road" Story Time #2, 7/25/12

This week, my travels brought me to the main branch of my library system for story time. I had a wonderful time, and so did the kids!

Opening Song (with ukulele): Hello, how are you?

Book: The Moon by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Tracey Pearson Campbell (2006)
This group was pretty big, and the kids were interested in this book, but so talkative they wanted to tell me something about every page. I was thankful that the book was so short, or we might never have made it to the end!

Song: Moon Moon Moon 

Song (with flannel board and ukulele): Aikendrum
This was my best performance of Aikendrum so far. The more times I tell and sing his story, the more comfortable I become, and the more willing to take chances and be a bit more interactive. I asked the kids to clap as I played and - bingo! at least one daycare group did it! It's way more fun to play when people are enjoying it with me.

Song: Here We Go Up, Up, Up

Book: Higher, Higher by Leslie Patricelli (2009)
I couldn't get the group to join in on the refrain so this book was the weakest link this time around.

Song: Five Little Martians
I forgot to start with five martians, and started with just one. So we ended up singing the song counting up  to five, which basically ruins the whole concept. But I'm the only one who noticed, so I guess it's okay.

Five little martians
Five little martians

Five little martians

Beep! Beep! Beep!

One little martian
went home to bed
Now that martian's

fast asleep!

Rhyme: Hop Your Bunnies
I haven't had great luck with this next book as a  read-aloud, and I was losing the kids' attention by this point, so I threw this rhyme in here to get them excited about the  rabbit character. It mostly worked.

Book: Moonlight by Helen V. Griffith (2012)
I tried not to linger over the pages too much, as we were getting restless. I'm not going to use this  book for story time anymore, except maybe for the smaller pajama story time.

Song (with paper stars): Stars Shining Bright
This song is always a success, but this group really made me love it even more. I didn't have velcro on the stars, so I just held them up with my hand, reaching way up with each one as I sang about the star shining above the tree. There was one preschool class who called out the colors in a lovely little chorus which made the song so much fun for all of us.

Song: Head and Shoulders, Baby
I threw in the additional "do the twist" verse, and I saw at least one teacher get really excited about it and start rocking out right in her seat. (Why she was sitting, I don't know, but the kids did stand up.)

Book: I Want to be an Astronaut by Byron Barton (1988)
This one surprised me by going over really well for the first time this summer. I don't think I read it differently; it might just be the dynamic of this particular crowd that made it work.

Song (with flannel board): Five Astronauts Went Up in Space 
Since the kids loved calling out their colors for the star song, I incorporated the colors of  the astronauts into this one as well. Every time I put up a new one, we called out the color, and when we put them away, we reviewed the colors and said goodbye to each astronaut.

Song (with ukulele): Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
This is the first story time group ever where the kids actually sang the words along with me. I loved it!

Song: Chickadee

Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This

I had a coloring sheet and stickers available at the end of story time. More on that after all the "on the road" story times are finished (early next week.)

Flannel Friday: An International Story Time for Ages 3-6

The story time plan that follows was an attempt at using my flannel board to provide structure and context for preschoolers and early elementary school kids to learn a little bit about different cultures. I shared this story time on Tuesday of this week, at Circle Time, a special program my library is running this summer for ages 3 to 6.

Below, I provide songs and lyrics, the basic gist of what I said to transition from activity to activity, book titles, and images of my flannel board pieces. The continent clip art came from Philip Martin Clip Art, which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. The images of the children from different countries come from Can You Say Peace? by Karen Katz. The languages the children "speak" also come from that same book.

---

SING

(Tune: Skip to My Lou)

Hello, how are you?

Hello, how are you?

Hello, how are you?

How are you today?

I'm fine; I hope you are, too.

I'm fine; I hope you are, too.

I'm fine; I hope you are, too.

I hope you're fine today.

I'm clapping my hands; you do it too!

I'm clapping my hands; you do it too!

I'm clapping my hands; you do it too!

Clap your hands with me!

[Repeat verse twice more, using different actions. Repeat chorus.]

---

Place on flannel board: Seven Continents

SING

(Tune: He's Got the Whole World in His Hands)

There are seven continents on our globe

There are seven continents on our globe

There are seven continents on our globe

Seven continents on our globe.

---

Place on flannel board: North America 

SING

North America is a continent on our globe

North America is a continent on our globe

North America is a continent on our globe

A continent on our globe 

Place on flannel board: "Emily" 

Emily is from the same country we live in. The United States of... [have kids fill in "America"]. In America, we speak English, so when Emily says hello, she says, "Hello!" 

Place on flannel board: "Carlos" 

Carlos is from Mexico. He speaks Spanish, so when he wants to say hello, he says "Hola!" Say "Hola, Carlos!" [Wait for kids to repeat.] 

Another country in North America, right on the edge between North and South America is Panama. Let's sing a song for Panama before we leave!





SING

I have an old auntie

My Tia Monica

And when we go out dancing

They all say ooh la la!

Here my [hands] are dancing.

My [hands] are dancing here.

Here my [hands] are dancing.

My [hands] are dancing here. 

What else can we dance with? [My group suggested feet, knees, head, and arms. We also clapped when we sang the chorus and put our hands up in the air for "ooh la la."]

---

Place on flannel board: South America

SING

South America is a continent on our globe

South America is a continent on our globe

South America is a continent on our globe

A continent on our globe 

Place on flannel board: "Alona"

Alona is from Bolivia. She speaks a language called Aymara. When she wants to say hello, she says, kamisaraki. [Ask kids to try saying kamisaraki.]

Alona is from Bolivia, but our story is from Colombia.

 

READ
Biblioburro by Jeanette Winter (2010)

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Place on flannel board: Antarctica

SING
Antarctica is a continent on our globe

Antarctica is a continent on our globe
Antarctica is a continent on our globe

A continent on our globe  

I don't have any friends for you to meet in Antarctica because hardly anyone lives there all year round. Some scientists live there to work on research, but no one has a permanent address there. But... penguins do live in Antarctica! 

Place on flannel board: Penguins

CHANT

(from CanTeach)
Five little penguins swam the ocean floor,
One saw a whale, then there were four.
Four little penguins spun around, whee-ee!
One spun off, then there were three!
Three little penguins, with nothing to do,
One went fishing, then there were two.
Two little penguins, having lots of fun,
One fell of, then there was one.
One little penguin, when the day was done,
Went home to sleep, then there were none.

---

Place on flannel board: Africa

SING 
Africa is a continent on our globe
Africa is a continent on our globe
Africa is a continent on our globe
A continent on our globe 

Place on flannel board: "Sadiki"

Sadiki is from Ghana. When he says hello, he uses the word "ete-sen." [Ask kids to repeat.]

Now let's read a story that takes place in another country in Africa: Kenya.

READ
Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema, illustrated by Beatriz Vidal (1981)

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Place on flannel board: Europe

SING
Europe is a continent on our globe

Europe is a continent on our globe
Europe is a continent on our globe
A continent on our globe 

Place on flannel board: "Claire"

Claire is from France, so when she says hello, she says bonjour.

Place on flannel board: "Stefan"

Stefan is from Russia. He says privyet.

Our story comes from Claire's country, France. 

READ
Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans (1939)

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Place on flannel board: Asia

SING

Asia is a continent on our globe

Asia is a continent on our globe

Asia is a continent on our globe

A continent on our globe

Place on flannel board: "May" and "Kenji"

May is from China. She says ni hao. Kenji is from Japan, and he says Konichiwa.

Now we're going to sing a song from Kenji's country of Japan.

SING
Ooki Na Kuri No Ki No Shita De (Under the Big Chestnut Tree) by Elizabeth Mitchell

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Place on flannel board: Australia

I bet you know this one - the country where the kangaroos live!

SING

Australia is a continent on our globe

Australia is a continent on our globe

Australia is a continent on our globe

A continent on our globe

Place on flannel board: "Lynette"

Lynette is from Australia. She speaks English, but like a lot of people in Australia, sometimes she says "g'day." 

Let's read a story about Australia. Do you know kind of animal this is? Let's see if we can find out.

READ
Hunwick's Egg by Mem Fox, illustrated by Pamela Lofts (2005)

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READ
We All Sing With the Same Voice by J. Philip Miller and Sheppard M. Greene, illustrated by Paul Meisel (2000)

SING
(Tune: The Farmer in the Dell)
We wave goodbye like this
We wave goodbye like this
We clap our hands for all our friends
We wave goodbye like this

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ACTIVITY
As a take-home activity, I provided each child with a "write and draw" sheet.

Click here to download.

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This week's Flannel Friday host is Amanda from Toddler Tales. I'm glad to be participating this week, and can't wait to see what everyone else posts!

I'm With the Band: 6 Books for Tweens & Teens

 

	Ten Miles Past Normal Frances O'Roark Dowell Embracing the fact she will never be normal, Janie joins a jam band, develops a crush on a boy named Monster and gets involved with a group of local activists.
	This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen Remy doesn't believe in dating - and she definitely doesn't date musicians - but when she meets Dexter, she finds that she might need to rethink these rules.
	My Misadventures as a Teenage Rock Star by Joyce Raskin Fourteen-year-old Alex learns to play bass from her older brother and quickly rises to unexpected fame.
	Notes from an Accidental Band Geek  by Erin Dionne In order to qualify for a competitive summer music program, Elsie, a french horn player, must join the marching band where she is forced to play the mellophone.
	How to Rock Braces and Glasses by Meg Haston When her new braces and glasses threaten her popularity, Kacey Simon starts hanging out with Skinny Jeans, a boy with his own band.
	Hopeless Savages by Jen Van Meter and Christine Norrie A graphic novel about the misadventures of the children of aging 1970s punk rockers.

Baby/Toddler Story Time (Red Theme), 7/24/12

I made the decision a few weeks ago to stop worrying about the summer theme when I got sick of my Dream Big, Read stuff. That time has come. For the next few weeks of story time, I'll be doing different color themes, as a way of showcasing some of my "greatest hits." Today's color was red.

Things started out strong, and then just... I don't even know. This cloudy, humid weather has got to go!

Opening Song (with ukulele): Hello, how are you? 

Rhyme: Blue is the Lake 

After this rhyme, I asked the kids to think about the red apple for a minute. Then I opened the cover of Lemons Are Not Red and showed them all the red things on the front endpaper.

Book: Lemons Are Not Red by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (2004)
Sharing this book has proven somewhat difficult in the past, so this time, I held up the book and said, "Look! A red lemon! Wait a second... Lemons are not red!" Then I turned the page to reveal that lemons are yellow, but apples are red. Talking through the first page like this made reading the story more of a conversation, and by the end, I had all of the adults helping me out with the text and pointing out the silly "mistakes."

Instead of clapping after the book, I guided us right to the last page, where the end papers have more red items. I named each one, saving the red wagon for last. Then I said, "Hey, I know a red wagon song!" And I picked up the ukulele.

Song (with ukulele): Bumpin' Up and Down in My Little Red Wagon 
We sang each verse twice, and everyone actually did the motions even though I was playing and not modeling for them.  I made sure I sang "The wheels turn around..." as the last verse so I could segue right into my next book, about something else with wheels that is also red. 

Book: Fire Truck by Peter Sis (1998)
I guess this is probably where I started to lose them, but the book itself seemed to get them back on track. Then I followed it up with a great action song.

Song: Hurry, Hurry Drive the Firetruck
This was more fun than I ever expected. I'm going to use it more often.

Song: Head and Shoulders, Baby
This is where story time took a turn for the worst. They did great with this song, but I could not get anyone's attention back for the next book.

Book: Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Felicia Bond (1985)
I skipped almost the entire book. It was just a disaster. So afterward, I announced we would just be singing for the rest of the time.

Song: If You're Happy and You Know It
Thankfully, singing this seemed to get us back on track. Though I didn't dare try another book, I did manage to keep their attention almost to the 20-minute mark.

Song: Here We Go Up, Up, Up 

Rhyme: Ladybug, Ladybug (from Yorba Linda Public Library)
This was great. Some of the three year olds thought it was hilarious when I put the ladybug on my own head.

Song: Four Red Cherries
During this song, a little girl in the front asked me to play my "guitar." I'm concerned that the ukulele is now becoming a distraction.

Song: ABCs
We clapped along as we sang. That seemed to work well. I could have played the ukulele, but I just wanted to be done.

Song: Chickadee 

Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This 

Baby/Toddler Lap Time (Music Theme), 7/20/12

I lost my notes from Friday, but this is close to what I think I did. 

Opening Song: Hello, how are you? 

Song with Puppet: Sing a Song of Sunshine 

Book: Sing a Song of People by Lois Lenski, illustrated by Giles Laroche (1965)

Song: Sunny Day 

Book: Little Pig Joins the Band by David Hyde Costello (2011)

Song with Flannel Board and ukulele: Aikendrum
This was a huge hit. They had a much easier time recognizing the pieces in my new flannel set, than in the old, and they even clapped and sang along!

Song: Head and Shoulders, Baby

Song: Here We Go Up, Up, Up

Book: Hand, Hand, Fingers Thumb by Al Perkins (1969)
I got the adults to repeat some of the silly sound words with me, but even with their help, this book wasn't much of a success. I probably should have read it closer to the beginning of the session.

Song: Five Little Monkeys 

Song: One Little Finger 

Book: Knick Knack Paddy Whack by Steve Songs, illustrated by Christiane Engel (2009)

Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This

Summer Baby Lap Time #2, 7/19/12 & 7/20/12

Opening Song: Please Tell Us Your Name

Rhyme: Cheek Chin

Song with Puppet: Sing a Song of Sunshine

Rhyme: This is Big, Big, Big

Book: Higher, Higher by Leslie Patricelli (2009)
This was surprisingly not well received. I couldn't get the adults to join in on the refrain at all!

Song: Tony Chestnut
I think it's hilarious that the moms have started calling my baby doll prop "Tony" because of this song.

Song: Head and Shoulders Baby

Rhyme: Jack Be Nimble
We recited this nursery rhyme three times, emphasizing the rhythm, and each time we said "over" we lifted the babies up into the air. This is my new favorite story time concept. We used the same idea with Hey Diddle Diddle the last time.

Book: Sleepy, Oh So Sleepy by Denise Fleming (2010)
Song with Puppets: Goodnight by the Laurie Berkner Band (sung a cappella)

Song with Stick Puppets: Baa Baa, Black Sheep
We sang about the black sheep, then several sheep in other colors.

Song: Where is Big Toe?

Song with Shaker Eggs: ABCs

Song with Shaker Eggs: Shake My Sillies Out 

Song with Shaker Eggs: Can You Shake Your Egg With Me? 

Goodbye Song: Shaker Egg Goodbye Song

Pajama Story Time, 7/18/12

Last Wednesday, Pajama Story Time started at 6:30, and there was just one family in the room. When I came in, the little boy asked me if I would read Bats at the Library.  I was happy to oblige, so we read that story first. By the time I was done, there were six kids in the room, and by the end, we had a total of 8. Here's the list of books we shared.

Book 1: Bats at the Library by Brian Lies (2008)

Book 2: The Bunnies Are Not in Their Beds by Marisabina Russo (2007)
This is a really good one to share with families because both parents and kids laugh, but for different reasons.

Book 3: Mother, Mother, I Want Another! by Maria Polushkin Robbins, illustrated by Jon Goodall
This was a huge hit. Three is just about the right age to enjoy the humor of this one, and the parents giggled along.

Book 4: Good Night Pillow Fight by Sally Cook, illustrated by Laura Cornell (2004)
This really looks like a good read-aloud, but it is not. I was glad the group was small - in a larger story time, it definitely would have been a flop.

After we were finished with our books, one of the moms asked if she could please hear the moon song. I couldn't say no!

Song: Moon Moon Moon

Genres in Children's Literature, La Trobe University, Lecture 7: Caricatures, Cartoons, and Comics

Genres in Children's Literature is a course taught by David Beagley at Australia's La Trobe University. Lectures from the Spring 2012 semester are available for download on iTunes U. As I listen to the lectures, I am recording my reflections and responses here on my blog. This post focuses on Lecture 7: Caricatures, Cartoons, and Comics.

In Lecture 7 of Genres in Children’s Literature, David Beagley introduces the graphic format through a presentation about caricatures, comics, and cartoons. Even though I always read the funnies in the Sunday paper as a kid, when I got to library school I remember being very puzzled by the graphic novel genre, and skeptical about the educational value of reading books written in the format of a comic book. It is only within the last few years that I have come around a little bit on this point, and sometimes I still find it difficult to decide where graphic novels stand in relation to traditional text-only novels.

This lecture has helped me strengthen my understanding a little bit by laying out for me the way comics actually work. Though I think I knew a lot of the things Beagley mentions, I still found myself fascinated by the way the human mind interacts with the graphic format. I have always said that I enjoy reading graphic novels because I can actually feel my brain working differently, but it was enormously helpful to actually be told that, for example, the reader fills in spaces between static images with the actions that we expect to come between those moments. This ties directly into the idea that graphic novels can help readers - especially reluctant ones - understand the concept of story structure, and that reading the symbols in the illustrations is actually quite similar to reading words. It’s a lot more helpful to be able to explain that to a skeptical parent, than for me to just stand there telling them, “No, really, these are books, too.”

I also loved thinking about the different lines and strokes used to visually represent non-visual phenomena, such as smell. I was never expressly taught that squiggly lines rising from an object indicates that the object gives off an odor, but of course, I know how to read this in a comic strip or graphic novel. This lecture has made me want to pay closer attention to those little details and evaluate how well they contribute to a story as a whole.

This lecture also traced the history of serial comics from the 1740s to the present, which gives a great background for understanding how we have come to have the graphic novels we have today. I was especially interested in the development of the voice bubble, which is such an integral part of the way comics are written today. It never occurred to me to imagine a time without it! (I was somewhat puzzled during this portion of the lecture as to why David Beagley thinks Peanuts is still going, when the last new strip ran over 12 years ago, but perhaps he was just referring to the fact that old strips still appear in the newspaper.)

Beagley’s discussion of graphic novels will continue in Lecture 8, Graphic Novels, Anime, and Manga - I’m somewhat wary of those last two, so I’m curious to see what I might learn!

Want to listen along? Click here. Read about David Beagley here. Read my previous lecture responses here.

Summer Baby Lap Time #1, 7/13/12

It's that time of season again! Baby Lap Time started last week. I was off doing my "on the road" story time on Thursday, so I haven't seen that group yet, but I was here for the Friday Lap Time. Things felt a little bit strange to me because most of the Friday folks are new faces to me, and I could tell some of them really didn't know what to make of me. I strongly suspect that some of them felt it was a waste of time and won't be back. Still, though, I think the rhythm of everything was spot-on, and I think most of them will be back next time!


Opening Song: Please Tell Us Your Name
I co-wrote the words to this opening song with one of my colleagues. I'm not entirely sure how to describe the tune, but this is what we sing:

Hello, [child's name]
We're happy that you came!
Who is sitting next to you?

Please tell us your name. 

We neglected to think about what would happen when we reached the last child, so I concluded the song by singing,

Hello, [child's name]

We're happy that you came!
Hello, hello to everyone!
We're happy that you came!

This works nicely because I don't yet know all of the kids' names, and babies don't do well with name tags.

Rhyme: Cheek Chin
Initially, I thought I would try a different rhyme in this slot for this series of lap times, but ultimately, I decided against it, because this one is just so perfect.

Song: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Book: Peekaboo Bedtime by Rachel Isadora (2007)

Song: All the Little Babies

Song: Tony Chestnut

Song: Head and Shoulders Baby

Song: Dance Your Fingers

Book: In the Still of the Night by Jennifer Selby (1994)
If you don't know this one, despite its rather non-descript cover, it's actually a great animal sounds book, and the story is simple and straightforward - thus perfect for the little ones.

Rhyme: Hey, Diddle Diddle
I am making more of a conscious effort to include nursery rhymes in this round of lap times. For  this one, when we say "the cow jumped over the moon," we lift all the babies up into the air. 

Song: Mrs. Moon (based on Mr. Sun)

Song: If You’re Happy and You Know It

Song with Shaker Eggs: ABCs

Song with Shaker Eggs: Can You Shake Your Egg with Me?

Goodbye Song: Shaker Egg Goodbye Song
Moving the shakers to the end of the session was a really smart idea. Now I don't have to worry about getting their attention back after collecting the eggs. 

6 Tween & Teen Novels Set in Europe

	The Arm of the Starfish by Madeleine L'Engle Adam Eddington unwittingly steps into a web of intrigue when he takes a job working with scientist Dr. O'Keefe on the island of Gaea.
	The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd Ted, who has autism, uses his unique way of thinking to solve the mystery of his cousin's disappearance.
	Thames Doesn't Rhyme with James by Paula Danziger Kendra Kaye and Frank Lee continue their romance while on a European scavenger hunt with their families. (This was my favorite book in middle school!)
	Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins When Anna is sent to boarding school, the last thing she expects is to fall in love with a boy named Etienne St. Clair.
	Flirting In Italian by Lauren Henderson After discovering that she strongly resembles the subject of a portrait that was once located at the Castello di Vesperi in Tuscany, Violet Routledge signs up to spend her summer in Italy to find out more.
	Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld Two kids find themselves aboard an airship in this steampunk retelling of the events of World War I.