PreSchool STORYTIMES and BABY PlayGROUPS START again this week.
Look forward to 7 WEEKS of Programs with "fresh faces in old places".
The Schedule is the same. The Leaders have changed.
Don't forget to bring "singers","patty-cakes","laughers" and "cozy-laps".
We'll be seeing YOU!

PIGGIES get their stage in Baby PlayGroup this week. We'll do a gentle home-grown version of The Three Little Pigs. You can check out Piggies by Audrey Wood, the fingerplay story; or Piggy In The Puddle by Charlotte Pomerantz for a rhythmic romp in the mud. VERY oink!

Baby PlayGroup Programs begin this week. Every week there are 6 programs at 4 locations. Join us when you can!
3 great books for winter with babies are Snowballs; Mouse's First Snow; and First Day Of Winter. Then let's make some roly-poly snowballs and itsy-bitsy snowflakes together!

Holiday season is near and folks minds turn to gifting. An excellent title to help make choices on gifts for children of all ages is Oppenheim Toy Portfolio. This book is a consumer tool for "best toys, books & DVDs for kids". The 2007 edition is in all Library Branches. The part I like best is they suggest free or cheap play alternatives among the listings.

Brightening Minds: Birth To Two Years provides examples and advice from doctors to show parents how to maximize your baby's potential. This DVD includes activities as well as information on mental, physical and emotional development. The thing I like most is the practical demonstrations on using books with babies and parents. Literacy starts from birth and is a first-rate way to have fun with your child.

I'm scouting DVDs for parents with infants. I found a WINNER in Ten Things Every Child Needs For The Best Start In Life. It supports top research without sounding "academic". You see/hear "big names" in childhood development plainly speak to parents about needs of infants. You get to see other cute, cute, CUTE infants, just like your own! The book 125 Brain Games For Babies provides great ideas on how to play with baby. Have FUN!

NEW Books that are perfect for baby lap-reads are The Busy Little Squirrel by Nancy Tafuri; So Sleepy Story by Uri Shulevitz; and A Good Day by Kevin Henkes. They show pictures that baby sees in her world. They have words that sound lovely to say and use and repeat from the driver's seat.

Baby PlayGroup series is arriving the week of September 10, 2007. And new books keep arriving. Look for rhythm and rhyme and names and pictures you LIKE!
Remember .... You'll need to read it again, and again, and AGAIN!
Try Chicky Chicky Chook Chook by Cathy MacLennan; and Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett; and The Cow Who Clucked from Denise Fleming.

Summer storytimes will start the week of June 11 and go for eight weeks until August 3. Mark your schedule for baby and preschool storytimes!

Baby Playgroups
15 minutes of stories, rhymes & songs followed by open playtime. Babies up to 24 months. No older siblings.
Downtown YSC, Mondays 10:30-11:30 AM
Malletts Creek, Tuesdays 10-11 AM & Thursdays 6:30-7:30 PM
Pittsfield, Tuesdays 6:30-7:30 PM (no playgroup on Jun. 19)
Northeast, Wednesdays 10-11 AM (no playgroup on Jul. 4)

To grow a reader, Mem Fox says, "Do it like this". In other words, let's read lots of books, and repeat the favorites as much as we like! Here's a few. Baby Cakes a board book with simple rhymes. Sock Monkeys Do The Monkey ! won't get put down until you get up to dance. Enjoy !

WARNING! Don't go here if you are not, or do not intend to be, an involved Dad. The graphics are not intended for adults with no children.

If you are an expecting or new Dad, Daddy Brad and Daddy Clay will lead you through the pride and pitfalls of "Building a Good Dad" on their blog. Go to DadLabs.Com. If you are in range of a new birth, diaper pails, breast-feeding, or food faces, to name a few .... these real-life Dads have "Dadvice" for you. They are PROS. The evidence is lab coats WITH company logo on the chest, AND they wear goggles when necessary.
NOTE: Moms, this site can be a lift for you too. Enjoy!

Need Stuff to do with the Baby-O? Take it from the Pros and follow the leaders! Try Gari Stein's Sing With Me series produced by Little Folksters; Raffi's Rise and Shine and other recordings; Sharon, Lois and Bram's One Elephant, Deux Elephants and other recordings. Also try, mood music and action songs by Hap Palmer Movin', and Jim Gill Jim Gill Sings His Do Rem Mi on His Toe Leg Knee.

For babies with books .... mittens and hats and snow .... try Three Little Kittens; The Snowy Day; Do You Have A Hat?; Hello Snow; and All You Need For A Snowman. Happy snowflakes !