• Lists

    Top Ten Tuesday: Book Set Outside the U.S.

    This Top Ten Tuesday topic couldn’t have come at a more perfect time as I’m trying so hard to find words to describe how I’m feeling about all that has been happening in the news – race relations in the U.S., terrorist attacks around the world… I feel so much…

  • Lists

    15 Books to Keep You Cool This Summer

    Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester The Adventures of a South Pole Pig by Chris Kurtz Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett Flora and the Penguin by Molly Idle Polar Bear Night by Lauren Thompson Penguin and Pinecone by Salina Yoon Mama, Do You Love Me? by Barbara Joosse Frozen Secrets: Antarctica…

  • Activities

    Toddler Storytime Theme: Making a Mess

    messy kids

    This is one of those lesson plans that I was super excited about!  Most small children LOVE making a mess!  Then, I had 33 toddlers in my program… and after taking a look at the amount of energy in the room, I realized that my lesson plan wasn’t going to fly.…

  • Activities

    Family Storytime Theme: Noses

    Nose Storytime Opening: “Hello” with sign languageHello, friends. (x3)It’s time to say hello. Puppet Meet & Greet: Meet Woolly (monkey puppet) Early Literacy Tip: Rhyming books are awesome to share with kids, especially when they can start figuring out the rhymes themselves! Book 1: Whose Nose is This? by Peg…

  • Lists

    It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 7/11/16

    I missed reporting last week as it was the 4th of July, so here’s a two-week update.  I’ve been trying to read fairly regularly as I can tell when I’m not reading enough – I get extra stressed out and cranky.  And with summer reading in full force, the less…

  • Lists

    10 Books to Celebrate America’s Birthday

    One Nation: America By the Numbers by Devin Scillian A is for America: An American Alphabet by Devin Scillian Grandma Drove the Garbage Truck by Katie Clark This Land is Your Land by Woody Guthrie The Night Before the Fourth of July by Natasha Wing Hats Off for the Fourth of…

  • Lists

    Building a Home Library

    Check out the Children’s Book Council’s 2016 Building a Home Library booklist created by the  ALSC’s Quicklists Consulting Committee and the  ALA-Children’s Book Council (CBC) Joint Committee, of which I am a part of.  These booklists are created every other year and include not only classic stories, but newly published material…

  • Activities

    Toddler Storytime: Naps

    Kids may despise napping, but when I asked who likes to take naps, every parent raised their hand.  This was a fun storytime to do with the kids – they loved learning the Spanish words for colors and giggled as the toddler in No Nap! Yes Nap! ran away from his…

  • Lists

    It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 5/23/16

    This week instead of reading, I spent a lot of time getting ready for a work happy hour hosted at my house.  Between cleaning the house, mowing the lawn and cooking/baking, it left me with a lot less time to read than I wanted to, but I did get to…