Chronicles of Summertime: Day 29

Day 29:
Not much to blog about today. We made it to library storytime. First was toddlers and they did books about cars and vehicles. There were a LOT of kids there today, so it was kinda hectic and Snugglepuppy got a little distracted. But he participated more than he has before. I let him play for a bit in the play area afterward while I picked out some books for him. Then, we ended up going home instead of staying for baby laptime as Ladybug was getting fussy.

That was about the extent of our learning for the day. Mommy had to get some things done like grocery shopping, but Snugglepuppy was a big help and Ladybug slept through it all. Mommy tried taking a nap in the evening, but Snugglepuppy kept crawling on me, LOL. Also, we read Froggy Goes to Camp. Snugglepuppy has been really getting into the "Froggy" books. He likes to read along on the "Frooooogy!" part.

That was pretty much our day!

Chronicles of Summertime: Day 19

Day 19:
Today was library story time for both toddlers and babies. Aunt M came with us. We had lots of fun and read books about clothing. Then, we went out to eat at BW3. Snugglepuppy took a nap amazingly, then I took him to the playground, where we played with our new air rocket. Mostly, I shot it and Snugglepuppy ran after it.

Later on tonight, I worked on getting more of my children's books into my database. This has been a goal of mine for a while and when I heard about an app that scans the UPC of the book and puts it into a database, I was on it! This is the best invention ever. It is called BooksApp and it is available for Android for free. So, far, I am getting close to 400 books. Really had no idea I had that many. I am so excited because they are organized by category and it will be a great resource for doing lesson plans.

Chronicles of Summertime: Day 14

Day 14:
Today, we went to Toddler Storytime and Baby Laptime at the library. Snugglepuppy didn't interact a lot at storytime, but he really got into the baby laptime. Which was good because Ladybug decided she was hungry about halfway through, so I nursed her. Anyways, they did some songs and books about baby chicks and the toddlers did some feltboard stories. Afterward, I let Snugglepuppy play in the kids play area and Ladybug was acting very social and I got some good pics.

Here are the books we checked out from the library or renewed. We were excited that they finally had a copy of Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes!

Then, right when we were ready to head home, we heard an announcement they there was free lunch being served on the front lawn for kids, so we stayed and Snugglepuppy got a cheese quesadilla!

For more ideas of things to do at the library, see my other post:

After we came home, Snugglepuppy laid in his room for a while and rested although I didn't make him stay there long. He had a bad night last night of screaming and crying and not wanting to go to sleep after a long late nap.

Snugglepuppy did a few puzzles and played with legos and the train table. Also I am working on a weekly schedule for him that we are going to laminate. I will post it as soon as it's finished and we start using it.

7 Ways to Get the Most out of Your Local Library

I realize not all public libraries are the same or have the same resources available, but you won't know what they have until you check it out. Here are some things to help you get started, some may apply to you and some may not, but these are some things ours offers.

1. Join the Summer Reading Program! Often there are prizes you can win for reading a certain number of books or number of hours. Any age can join at our library, 0-Adults. Parents can read to little ones who aren't reading yet.

2. Check the library's website or call for schedule of events. We went for storytime yesterday and ended up getting a free lunch for Snugglepuppy that we didn't even know about!

3. Go to storytime or baby laptime. They usually make it interactive and have songs and movement activities as well to keep your little ones from getting bored or antsy.

4. Download their app on your phone or tablet. I LOVE this feature at our library, you can check your account to see what books you have out, renew books, search the catalogue and reserve books. It's so convenient!

5. Sign your child up for a library card and teach them how to use the online catalogue to find books/videos. Begin to teach kids responsibility by letting them have their own card and teaching them how to take care of books. Also, some libraries have a program where you can "borrow" e-books. 

6. Let your kids play in the kids play area. Ours has a play farmer's market, a puppet show, blocks, and much more!

7. Use it as a quiet place to READ! Keep the distractions to a minimum and take time to actually read those books you or your kids love.

I'm sure there are many more things to do there. Comment if you have any to add!

Chronicles of Summertime: Day 6

I will start with some things we did over the weekend. We went to the library's Summer Reading Program Kick-off. Snugglepuppy had lots of fun and met Maisy and made Maisy ears to wear. He made a sand castle and saw a magic show. He also got his face painted and a tattoo!

We also went to COSI, our local children's science museum. Snugglepuppy played in the water area and saw the Mythbuster's exhibit for daddy's birthday.

I actually did a post about this water area at COSI earlier and here is a list of things kids can learn here:

Mythbusters Exhibit

We stopped by the Art Festival that was going on downtown near COSI and had a look around and a bite of food. It was a fun weekend!

Day 6:
Today was another RAINY lazy day. We didn't do too much in the morning. Snugglepuppy played with his castle he made at the library using playdough and cars. He built a road for his cars with it. Then, after cleaning that up, we started reading some library books for the summer reading program. He liked the 3 Little Pigs and helped the wolf (he calls it a dog) blow down the houses. Then we read Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons. As an extension, we watched the Youtube video of Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes.

And lastly, we made the fruit and yogurt parfait from Snugglepuppy's Highlights High Five Magazine.

Crushing the graham crackers.

Smashing the raspberries (we changed the recipe a little).

 Adding the graham crackers on top.

The final product.

Digging in!

Chronicles of Summertime: Day 3

Day 3:
After filling up on a yummy breakfast of waffles, we decided to visit the library. There are so many things for kids to do at our branch in addition to finding books. Snugglepuppy of course went immediately to the play area. He played with the play food in the "farmers market" section they have set up interacting with some other children who were there. He also played with the blocks and few other toys. He briefly went to the computers, although he didn't stay long as the headphones weren't working and he couldn't figure out what to do.

While there, we also signed up for the Summer Reading program. This year they are having a castle theme for their opening kick-off this Saturday. Here is a list of books I picked out for Snugglepuppy (and Squeaker):

				Daddy hugs 1 2 3
				Follow those feet! (Dora)
				Go-go gorillas
				Grandma's house (Dora)
				Guess who, Minnie!
				LMNO peas
				My garden
				Night light
				Pete the cat and his four groovy buttons
				Shout! Shout it out!
				Splish, splash, splosh!
				The three little pigs Are you my mother?

We came home and I attempted to give Snugglepuppy a nap. And Squeaker was unusually hungry today, so we really didn't get much else accomplished. Snugglepuppy did play with some of the apps on the iPad and watched Team Umizoomi on TV. I attempted to make a cupcake recipe from Pinterest and failed horribly on the icing when I realized I was supposed to use freeze-dried raspberries instead of frozen raspberries. Oh well, there's always next time. 

Animal Homes Books for Toddler/Preschool

We have been going to the library toddler storytime this week and I wanted to share some of the books we heard. Unfortunately my sweet little boy was being not-so-sweet today and we didn't get a chance to write down the names of the books that were read, but nevertheless, here are the ones I did remember:

Also, I have come across 2 great sites with lists of more books about houses/homes:

Family Reading Partnership

The Miss Rumphius Effect

Have fun reading!

CLICK HERE TO SEE WHERE I LINK UP

Storytime Sunday: Finding Books on a Topic (with Linky!)

There are some excellent resources out there for finding children's books by theme, age level, etc. One of which is your local library. I, of course, can't speak for all libraries, but I know at mine, you can sign up for an educator card which allows you to check out more books and cancels up to $25.00 worth of fines per year. Also, for you can request a teacher's collection. If you call at least 2 weeks ahead and give them the details, they will come up with a group of books based on a certain topic.

Here are 2 of my favorite websites for looking up great books for my lesson plans:

1. Teachers @ Random This website by Random House Publishing is great as it allows you to choose the age level and then choose from any holiday or theme listed. It then comes up with a list of books along with a picture of the cover.

2. Database of Award-Winning Children's Literature (DAWCL) This site has even more categories for searching. You can be very specific. It is good for searching for books written in a certain timespan, multicultural books and even books with different languages. And best of all, every book has won some type of award!

I wanted to hear from you on this topic, so I decided to do this as a linky. Where do you go to search for children's books?

<a href="http://preschoolteacher81.blogspot.com/2011/10/storytime-sunday-finding-books-on-topic.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Book Search Linky Party" src="http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r103/loriajones/books.jpg"/></a>