Circle Time, 7/10/12

Circle Time is a new program my branch library is offering this summer in an effort to attract more preschoolers. We have a preschool story time, but it is often overrun by babies, so the preschoolers either don't come, or get lost in the sea of infants. I decided the best way to guarantee us an audience of the right age was to ask folks to sign up ahead of time. So far, it looks like that was a good idea. 28 kids registered, and 16 showed up for the first session, which took place Tuesday afternoon. I took forever deciding what to actually do with this group, and as it turned out, what I thought I was planning to do was not what I wound up doing.  My original thought was to do themed story times each week, but when I started struggling to put together a books theme, I abandoned it all together and instead pulled together the most fun and interesting repertoire I could imagine. The result is below: 

Hello Song #1: Hello, [Name]

To the tune of Goodnight Ladies, I sang hello to each child by name, finishing each verse with "We're glad you're here today." All the kids were wearing name tags, so the hello song was super-quick, and they seemed to really like hearing their own names sung out loud in front of  everyone.

Hello Song #2: Hello, how are you?

Once we said hello to everyone individually, we then sang the usual story time hello song, mostly to give me a chance to ease into things. It also got the kids participating, rather than just listening to me sing.

Book: Shout! Shout it Out! by Denise Fleming

I haven't had great luck with this book in the past, but I wanted something interactive that would help us break the ice. It worked exactly as I hoped it would. Some kids were right with me from the start, but all of them were with me by the end! 

Book: The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams, illustrated by Megan Lloyd (1986)

I loved the way this book went over at the story time I did for the camp last week, so I decided to try it again. I was happy to see the kids and their parents all joining me for the various motions, and I was even more thrilled by the laughter I heard when the pumpkin head went "Boo boo!" 

Books: Stars by Mary Lyn Ray and Marla Frazee (2011)

Song: Moon Moon Moon

Song: The Banana Dance (by Dr. Jean)
This song is the greatest thing ever! I learned it on Monday night in preparation for Tuesday and haven't stopped singing it since. The video below includes all the verses; we only did the ones for banana, corn, mango, and avocado this time.

Book: Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow? (2011) by Susan Shea, illustrated by Tom Slaughter
This is another great book for promoting interaction.  The kids got a kick out of laughing and saying "Noooo!" at every silly suggestion. Some of them even remembered to say yes to the last one, about whether babies could grow up to be big kids like them.

Song: Clap, Clap, Clap Your Hands
I did just the first verse on my own then asked the kids for other movements we could try. I got everything from jump and dance to "car" (we pretended to turning a steering wheel), "sing" (we did the ASL sign for singing, which I knew, thankfully, from Sesame Street), and "bus" (we turned our hands like we do for The Wheels on the Bus.) I was impressed by their creativity and my ability  to think on my feet. 

Book: Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes (2010) by Eric Litwin and James Dean
Pete the Cat worked his magic for our final book - he's the best!

At the end of the actual story time part of the session, we put on the bubble machine and played some Laurie Berkner, while I set out the craft, which was paper wristbands based on the ones I posted about back in February.

All around, this was a hugely successful program that made me feel like a rock star. My only question now is how I will find more books and activities for next time that will keep the excitement and fun at this same level.

6 Kids' Novels About Artists

	The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg A secret gang of teen artists stages "art attacks" to add excitement to their boring lives as high school students in this graphic novel.
	Artsy-Fartsy by Karla Oceanak In his notebook, Aldo Zelnick collects interesting vocabulary words and draws his own cartoons. (Dumbstruck, which I have reviewed, is part of this same series.)
	Saffy's Angel by Hilary McKay Saffy, the daughter of two wacky artists, uncovers a plethora of family secrets, including the fact that she is adopted.
	Trouble-Maker by Andrew Clements Clay, a talented artist, has to learn to stay out of trouble after the older brother he admires returns from jail with a changed outlook.
	Ellie McDoodle: Have Pen, Will Travel by Ruth McNally Barshaw Ellie records the unhappy, but humorous memories of her summer camping trip with her annoying cousins.
	Twice Told: Original Stories Inspired by Original Artwork The stories in this collection are based on photographs. Pairs of authors were assigned the same photo to see how their stories would be similar or different. Includes stories by beloved YA authors Sarah Dessen and John Green.

Baby/Toddler Story Time, 7/10/12

Things that were different about this story time:
1. I stood up for the entire thing. I didn't even bother bringing out a chair for myself.
2. I played two songs on the ukulele, and didn't have the chords in front of me for either one. 
3. Someone besides me picked up on the theme! (It was pets, and a mom in the front row got it right away. I don't announce the themes, since they're mostly for my organizational purposes, but it still made me smile to have it noticed.)
4. A mom who is often very critical told me I am doing a good job!

Here is the list of books, songs, and rhymes:

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

Rhyme: Wiggle Fingers

Book: I Want a Pet by Lauren Child (1999)
I debated about whether to read this book because it's got a lot of dialogue, and it ends on kind of a strange note. My efforts to make the ending more interesting failed, but on its own, the story wasn't too bad. It was a nice change of pace and made a nice replacement for Dear Zoo, which I read just a few weeks ago, and am trying not to overuse. 

Song (with puppet): How Much is that Doggie in the Window?
I turned my flannel board doggie into a stick puppet, and we sang the song twice, barking "woof woof" after each line.

Song: Head and Shoulders, Baby 

Book: Wag a Tail by Lois Ehlert (2007)
I just don't get Lois Ehlert, but this book was kind of funny. I don't know if the kids really liked it, since I think the humor went over their heads, but the book is huge and the pictures are bold and bright, so at least it was visually appealing. Next time, though, I'll stick with Emily Gravett's Dogs.

Rhyme: Five Little Puppies 
I found this rhyme here on a list of finger plays, and came up with some motions to turn it into an action rhyme. It worked so nicely for quieting the group down, I wished that I had used it before the book, instead of before an action song! Next time.

Song: Shake My Sillies Out

Rhyme: Two Little Kittens

Book: Cat Tricks by Keith Baker (1997)
I decided to try this book today because my group doesn't usually respond so well to Mama Cat Has Three Kittens, which is my usual go-to cat book.  While the lift-the-flap format is nice, the pictures are too narrow and too cluttered to be enjoyed from afar.

Song: Here We Go Up, Up, Up

Book: Old MacDonald by Jessica Souhami (1996)
I had forgotten that at the end of this book Old MacDonald has a martian! As soon as I remembered, I knew I had to read it.  This is also the perfect length for an Old MacDonald sing-along - just a few verses, instead of the whole barnyard.

Song (with ukulele and flannel board): Nursery Rhyme Rap

Song: Chickadee

Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This

Genres in Children's Literature, La Trobe University, Lecture 5: Postmodern Picture Books and Lecture 6: Anthony Browne

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 5: Postmodern Picture Books and Lecture 6: Postmodern Picture Books: Anthony Browne.

The first lecture on postmodernism focused mainly on the historical movements and events which led up to the postmodernist movement beginning in the 1960s. Beagley talked about the fact that in postmodernist works, all absolutes are challenged and many different readings can be valid. He said that postmodern books can be ironic, with layers of meaning, and that often they turn well known stories on their heads, making them into something new. Postmodernism, this lecture tells us, is marked by three things:  subversion, when the stable elements of a story are cut away; deconstruction, where what makes up a story is more important than the outcome of the story itself; and meta-fiction, where a book has a self-conscious awareness that it is a book. Beagley mentioned several times that postmodernist books are playful and filled with inside jokes.

In the second postmodernist lecture, Beagley dug deeper into these concepts using the work of well-known picture book author Anthony Browne. In particular, he focused on two of Browne's picture books, a traditional, linear story from 1976 called A Walk in the Park, and a postmodernist retelling of the same story entitled Voices in the Park. Unfortunately, I think all this lecture did was explain why I tend to dislike stories that don't follow a traditional path. Beagley pointed out that postmodern picture books deliberately keep the reader aware that he or she is reading a work of fiction. The reader is never able to just lose himself/herself in the world of the book. I tend to judge books based on how well I am able to immerse myself in them, and how easy it is for me to let go of myself and live vicariously through the characters. I don't know if I've ever really known what to do with books where things don't come to one, clear, emotionally satisfying ending.

While I don't think I'll ever be a fan of postmodernism, these two lectures gave me some idea of how to approach books of this type. I am a bit puzzled as to how I might review a book that is so subjective and so dependent on each individual reader's experience reading it, but it also seems doubtful that I will begin reviewing them any time soon.I think it's safe to say I'm glad to be done with picture books and moving onto the next segment of the course, about graphic novels.


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