Storytime Sharing: You CAN raise a reader!

We love sharing age appropriate books, songs and rhymes from our storytimes. We strive to teach the six early literacy skills at storytimes and offer suggestions for how you can reinforce these skills at home.

This week in Toddler Storytime we learned about gardens, bugs and butterflies! We read the book, Bugs, Bugs, Bugs by Bob Barner which introduced us to daddy long legs, roly poly bugs and more. This book emphasized the pre-reading skill of vocabulary which is knowing the names of things (also of emotions, concepts, and ideas). Later on this skill will help your child understand what he/she read and to recognize words he/she tries to sound out.

We also read Big Yellow Sunflower by Frances Barry and were in awe with the surprise sunflower that appeared before our eyes as we turned the pages.

Songs can bring wonderful excitement, encourage engagement and memory retention. Try to sing to your child/children every day! Click on the song titles we've danced along to and view instructions and even listen to the song.

With a paper butterfly in our hand, we continued the fun by singing the rhyme,

Do you have a butterfly, a butterly, a butterfly?
Do you have a butterfly, then place it on your [body part]!

Paper butterflies flutered onto elbows, shoulders, foreheads, cheeks, wrists and ears!

We also learned that a seed needs rain and sunshine to grow and reinforced this concept through the rhyme, I'm a Little Seed from Tiny Tunes by Carole Peterson, with each child placing a raindrop on the flannelboard.

I'm a little seed in the dark, dark groud
Curl up on the floor on your knees, tuck arms in
Out comes the sun, yellow and round.
Sit up, outstretch atms above head
Down comes the cool rain, soft and slow,
Wiggle fingers as hands move downward like the rain
And UP! the seed begins to grow!
Sretch up tall or stand, hands reaching for the sky

Next came sining to Shoo Fly! from Dancing Feet vy Carole Peterson. That fly listened and left the storytime room!
We all enjoyed moving our colorful scarfs up and down and all around while listening to Flitter Flutter from The Second Line by Johnette Downing.

Our drop in Toddler Storytime continue on Thursdays at 10:30 and drop in Preschool Storytimes continue on Tuesdays at 10:30 for the month of April.