Blog Post
PreK BITS – “Z” is for Zoo and zebra
by ryanikoglu
Ms Rachel put Zzzzs in every story this week.
BABY BEE BIRD finally went to sleep in the zoo at night. Great ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzs for everyone at the zoo!
Ms. Sara had us singing in the puddles with new boots on. You can find a recorded version by Charlotte Diamond on the CD "My Bear Gruff which AADL no longer owns. You can enjoy other songs with Charlotte on the CD TEN CARROT DIAMOND. This recording is a long-time favorite of mine to sing with children.
HOORAY For HAT! definitely had a zebra in it.
Z Is For MOOSE. Poor Moose is so upset when he does not get letter M during the alphabet sequence. Zebra the referee, helps Moose get a squeeze-in on letter "Z". AND the illustrator of this book is Paul O. Zelinsky.
ON BEYOND ZEBRA. Dr. Seuss's imaginary zoo animals "beyond zebra".....
XANDER’S PANDA PARTY
ZOOLA PALOOZA ... an all-animal concert group introduces words that are spelled the same but sound different and have different meanings.
Blog Post
PreK BITS – “Y” is for YES !
by ryanikoglu
Ms Rachel tried to get as many "yeses" as possible into the storytime this week..
YES DAY! … what do you call a day when every answer is yes?
Ms. Sara sang the "Uh Oh" song, from a CD recording UH OH! by Rosenshontz. It is no longer in the library collection.
Ms. Rachel sold "Five Yummy Buns From The Bakery Shoppe". Do we want one? YES we do! The one with the sugar on the top!
The GINGERBREAD GIRL … “Yes, Yes. Twist and twirl. I'm so fast I’m the Gingerbread Girl!”
For more ways to get to “Yes” try these titles:
YO! YES? … two lonely kids meet … and shyly make friends.
OLLIE’S SCHOOL DAY: a Yes and No Book
PETE The CAT And HIS FOUR GROOVY BUTTONS
SCAREDY SQUIRREL MAKES A FRIEND because … “Yes” one can overcome one’s fears.
NO DOGS ALLOWED at the restaurant… but another place says “Yes” …
NO MORE KISSES FOR BERNARD! and “Yes” to an alternative.
NO ROSES FOR HARRY … but “Yes” to black spots.
ZARAFA The GIRAFFE WHO WALKED To The KING a true story … and “Yes” she walked 400 miles!
Blog Post
PreK BITS – “X” = Expedition on Extinct !
by ryanikoglu
Ms Rachel did stories with extinct creatures in them.
ME WANT PET ! by Tammi Sauer is about a little Neanderthal child who wants to bring home pets.... Mama say, "No can keep!"
We went on a "Dino Hunt", found some bones, and put them together like a dinosaur exhibit.
The CD MOST AMAZING DINOSAUR SONGS brings us “Dem Bones” and other activity songs related to dinosaurs.
There was a box we found in the room ... and in that box was another box. What did we find? Someone will remember.
If you want more books for your expedition on extinct try the following:
DINOSAUR vs. BEDTIME and other books by Bob Shea
IF The DINOSAURS CAME BACK is an imagination tale by Bernard Most, who loves dinosaurs best.
TEA REX by Molly Schaar Idle
DINOSAUR STARTS SCHOOL by Pamela Duncan Edwards.
DINOSAUR THUNDER by Marion Dane Bauer.
DINOSAUR PARADE by Shari Halpern.
DINOSAUR BONES by Bob Barner.
NEVER ASK A DINOSAUR To DINNER! by Gareth Edwards.
DINOSAUR ALPHABET and other preschool concepts presented with dinosaurs by David West.
Now get in your time machine and go "Whrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr .... back in time to extinct !"
'Whrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr !"
Blog Post
PreK Bits - "W" is for WHALES
by ryanikoglu
Ms. Rachel took a trip to the Arctic for tales of whales, igloos and Inuit people.
“A Whale Of A Tale” from The STORY VINE is an “oral tradition” tale about an Inuit boy who went for a walk.
"Okki Tokki Unga" is an Inuit rhythmic phrase we chanted while paddling kayaks “across the bay.”
Here ... The WIGGLES do their version of "Okki Tokki Unga"
KUMAK’s FISH is an original Inuit folk tale by Michael Bania.
If the list from Storytime is not long enough to satisfy your need for whale blubber, try more whale Tales:
KUMAK'S HOUSE by Michael Bania.
BURT DOW: Deep-Water Man by Robert McCloskey.
Also the recorded kit version BURT DOW: Deep-Water Man
This story was a family favorite when my sons were young. Every boat was the “Tidely-Idely” and we could always find “the pink of Ginny Poor’s pantry.”
BABY BELUGA in book format by Raffi. The song is on recorded CD BABY BELUGA and [">more songs by Raffi .
DOWN To The SEA With MR MAGEE another wacky tale!
COMMOTION In The OCEAN by Andreae Giles.
BREATHE by Scott Magoon.
FOLLOWING PAPA’s SONG by Gianna Marino.
LOOK INSIDE An IGLOO by Mari C. Schuh.
IGLOOS by Jack Manning.
Blog Post
PreK Bits - "V"+ valuable = VALENTINE
by ryanikoglu
Ms. Rachel and Ms. Sara began storytime with "the HELLO song" and then led the audience through an activity called “I’m Making a Blanket For Baby”.
This activity pairs songs we know ... with picture-squares we know ... and we create a "singing" quilt.
YOU’RE ALL MY FAVORITES Mama and Papa Bear declare. Baby bears worry, "We can't ALL be the best."
WHERE SHALL WE GO? by Nanadini Nayar.
Sameer is out of school for the week and packing his vacation bag. Mama guesses where they are going based on the clues going into the bag.
Time to give each other a "hugga hugga hug ... A hug and a squee-ee-eeze" and try some more valuable valentine titles:
GUESS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU? by Sam McBratney
A YOU’RE ADORABLE ... a classic alphabet "love" song, as sung on the CD SMORGASBOARD by Sharon, Lois and Bram
A BEDTIME FOR BEAR by Bonny Becker
HUG MACHINE by Scott Campbell
VALENTINE BEARS by Eve Bunting
LOVE MONSTER by Rachel Bright
TAKING CARE OF MAMA RABBIT by Anita Lobel.
Blog Post
PreK Bits - "U" is for Underneath
by ryanikoglu
UNDER is the word of the day in Ms. Rachel's Storytime.
TOPS And BOTTOMS is a folktale about Rabbit and Bear's new partnership enterprise. All profit gets split 50/50.
Ms. Sara sang "Inch By Inch" aka "The Garden Song", one version can be found on the folk song CD PICKIN' And GRINNIN'.
INCH By INCH is the lyrics in picture book format by David Mallet.
"Ten In The Bed" was sung with props, as done on SING IT! SAY IT! STAMP IT! SWAY IT vol. 3, a CD recording by Peter T. Allard... And the one underneath did yell and shout "Please remember to tie a knot in your pajamas!"
WE'RE GOING On A BEAR HUNT repeats "Over" and "Under" action in the story.
For more fun stories of "Under" things, try the following titles:
TEN In The BED by Judy Cabrera.
UNDER MY HOOD I HAVE A HAT by Karla Kuskin.
UNDER The GROUND by Anna Milbourne.
MUSHROOM IN The RAIN by Mirra Ginsburg.
DIG. WAIT. LISTEN. A DESERT TOAD'S TALE by April Pulley Sayre.
Blog Post
PreK Bits - "T" is for Tubby Time
by ryanikoglu
Today was sponsored by the letter "T" in Ms. Rachel's Storytime.
First ... PARROT TICO TANGO stole the fruit and needed to make things right.
We did "A-Tooty-Tah" for wiggle time.
Then ... we caught the baby and gave her a bath for TUBBY.
For more TUB stories try the following:
PIGEON NEEDS A BATH by the one and only Mo Willems.
RABBIT EARS ... Hopscotch refuses to clean his ears until ....
KING BIDGOOD'S In The BATHTUB .... and "he won't come out!"
GULLIVER SNIP and his swashbuckling bath-time.
QUEEN VICTORIA'S BATHING MACHINE is an historical experience with the real Queen Victoria.
Next time... Don't forget to lather up and play with those bubbles!
Blog Post
PreK Bits - "S" is for Snow
by ryanikoglu
Ms Rachel played with "S" words and "Snow Stories" in Preschool Storytime.
TEN On The SLED by Kimberly Norman. A counting, singing, action-packed story of animals on a sled.
"Five Fat Snow People All In A Row" is a rhythm and counting rhyme of snowpeople melting into puddles.
If you like to sing along with songs, try John McCutcheon's CD WINTERSONGS or sing along with fingerplays in Gari Stein's CD WINTER FUN.
A PERFECT DAY by Carin Berger, reviews all the things the kids did in the snow one day.
If you like SNOW and you like STORIES then try some more of Ms. Rachel's favorite titles:
YOU MAKE ME SMILE by Layn Marlow.
RED SLED by Lita Judge.
IF IT'S SNOWY And YOU KNOW IT CLAP YOUR HANDS by Kim Norman.
The MISSING MITTEN MYSTERY by Steven Kellogg.
OVER And UNDER The SNOW by Kate Messner. Who lives over and who lives under the snow line?
SUPER SNOW DAY SEEK And FIND by Michael Garland, a picture puzzle book.
KATY And The BIG SNOW, a classic by Virginia Lee Burton. See the traffic lined up on the town road behind Katy the Snow Plow.
"Little Snowflake"is a favorite little video of mine.
And my favorite "Snowtime" DVD of all time is The SNOWMAN based on the book by Raymond Briggs.
Now ... where DO the missing mittens go?
Blog Post
Still Puzzled about Health Care?
by Beth Manuel
Are you or anyone you know still in the market place for health insurance? We will have answers for some of your questions!
Monday January 26, 2015: 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm -- Malletts Creek Branch: Program Room
In partnership with the Washtenaw Health Initiative (WHI) and the U-M group, the Health Policy Student Association, this session will provide information about health insurance options and will also provide information to refer community members to services that can directly enroll people into the coverage they’re eligible for. Some community members are enrolled in coverage that requires re-enrollment each year. The speaker will have information and assistance for attendees to learn about re-enrollment. Enrollment will not be conducted on-site.
Blog Post
PreK BITS - "R" is for Rules
by ryanikoglu
Ms. Rachel brought bears to demonstrate etiquette this week.
Some rules are recommended for real bears.
Some rules are recommendations for toy bears.
NEVER ASK A BEAR shows consequences for errors with real bears.
BROWN BEAR IN A BROWN CHAIR demonstrates difficulties a toy bear experiences in a brown chair.
For more recommended titles regarding etiquette,.. and sometimes bears ... try the following:
TEA PARTY RULES by Ame Dyckman
TIPTOE JOE by Ginger Foglesong Gibson
BIG BAD BRUCE by Bill Peet
MR. TIGER GOES WILD by Peter Brown
SUPPOSE YOU MEET A DINOSAUR by Judy Sierra