Magical Activity to Create a Lifelong Reader: Singing

Today's magical activity highlight is singing!  I am a big fan of singing, especially in storytime.  Singing is so important in early literacy.  It slows down language so kids can hear the smaller sounds in words.  That helps when it comes time to sound out words when reading.  Songs also teach through rhythm and rhyme and often include vocabulary not typical of every day conversation.  Even before children talk, they babble which is kind of like their own singing.  Plus it's adorable!  It is easy to incorporate singing into your day.  For example, take a page out of my 8 1/2 year old daughter's book.  She literally sings about things she is doing and narrates the whole experience.  It's like living with a Disney princess sometimes, but this girl has been going to storytime since her days in the womb.  I can definitely see how songs helped her early literacy development.  Another benefit of songs is that we tend to remember things better if they are in song form.  Try naming countries of the world right now.  Go ahead, I'll wait.  Now sing the countries of the world song from Animaniacs!  I don't know about you, but it's been a hot minute since that was a thing and I can still sing along with Yakko like it was just yesterday!  I remember having to memorize a poem in junior high.  It took a lot of practice and repetition.  On the flipside, I could quote every lyric off of the New Kids on the Block Hangin' Tough album right off the top of my head like you were asking me about the weather.  There's just something that makes our brain come alive when you put things to music.  It truly is magical.

One of my favorite things to do in storytime is to sing the story.  It doesn't even have to be a book that is an illustrated song (think Jane Cabrera.)  Some books just have a good natural rhythm, so go ahead and sing them!  A good example of this is I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont.  Not only does it rhyme, but it lends itself well to being predictable which leads to participation from the kids.  Old Black Fly by Jim Aylesworth and Stephen Gammell is another great book to sing.  It also includes a repetitive line, "Shoo fly, shoo fly, shoo!"  Kids will be able to anticipate when it's coming and sing along.  Then there is Eric Litwin, the ultimate matchmaker when it comes to music and early literacy.  I adore Eric Litwin.  The day I got to sing and dance on stage with him is definitely in my top 10 favorite days of all time!

Another fun thing to do is change up the lyrics to songs or add new verses.  For my annual Seussapalooza storytime, I have created custom verses that I sing during "Down By the Bay" like "Did you see Cindy Loo, tying her shoe?" or "Did you see Thidwick the Moose ride in a caboose?"  I also like to sing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" with additional lyrics.  He drives a car and even plays baseball!  Sometimes just making up silly nonsense songs can be fun.  I took my rhyme and created a PowerPoint that I like to use that I share with you!

Books that encourage participation through rhyme, repetition, and even sound effects (think animal sounds) are wonderful tools to promote early literacy.  There is so much that you can do.  Explore and have fun.  Below are some of my favorite books that I like to use in my Music & Movement storytime programs, but believe me when I say there are many, many more!

Picture Book Spotlight: Peanut Goes for the Gold by Jonathan Van Ness

So anyone who knows me knows that I am a HUGE fan of the Netflix series, Queer Eye.  It has been on heavy rotation during these crazy times because I am in need of positivity wherever I can find it, and it delivers.  I love the messages of being proud of who you are, embracing your uniqueness, promoting accomplishments, and coming together to celebrate our beautiful differences.  Now while I love all of the Fab Five, my favorite is Jonathan Van Ness.  He brings the sass, shine, and sparkle to everything he does.  He promotes the importance of self care while highlighting the value of self identity.  Jonathan identifies as non-binary.  Children's and young adult literature have been exploring that people come in a myriad of identities and educate in a way that is appropriate for different age and development levels.  When I learned that Jonathan was working on a picture book, I knew it was going to be something special.  It did not disappoint, and I am super bummed that storytimes aren't happening right now during this crazy pandemic because I would definitely be featuring this book in my programs.

Peanut Goes for the Gold by Jonathan Van Ness with pictures by Gillian Read tells the story of Peanut, a gender nonbinary guinea pig.  The very first line of the book introduces us by letting us know that "Peanut has their own way of doing things."  Immediately I thought of Jonathan telling people to live their best life.  Yaaassss!!!!  People sometimes don't understand Peanut or think that Peanut is weird, but they just keep on living and doing their thing.  Eventually some people join in the fun.  Much like Jonathan, Peanut's energy seems to be infectious.  Probably shouldn't use the word infectious right now.....  Anyway, Peanut has a big goal, and nothing is going to stop them.  Oh, Peanut!  I feel you!  I am the exact same way, and I can bet that a group of preschoolers has the same mindset!  Peanut wants to be a rhythmic gymnast.  They enlist the help of their family for costume, choreography, and music advice and practices everywhere around the clock.  I'm not going to tell you how it all turns out.  You have to read it and find out for yourself, but the main message is that Peanut does things 100% Peanut style!  Sounds a lot like Jonathan, huh?

This is Queer Eye love in picture book form, and the message is something I wish everyone could understand.

Check out my new YouTube page!

Hi, all!  During the quarantine I started a YouTube page where I could post programs, storytimes, etc.  I will be utilizing it more soon!  Stay tuned!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPGNA7A39ecfOn3kycYKfgQ

Five Magical Activities to Create Lifelong Readers

Did you know that there are five things that you should be doing every day with your child?  These five things will promote early literacy and allow your child to grow to be an eager reader.  Research has shown just how valuable these five activities really are, so you could even say they are a little bit...magical.  They are most likely things that you are already doing.  The key is to be mindful of them, and most of all, make them fun!

Drum roll please!

Here are the five magical activities:

• Singing
• Talking
• Reading
• Writing
• Playing

In future posts I will be sharing my own tips and tricks for how to include these activities in a typical day along with research and information that support them.  Learning opportunities are all around us, even in your own home which is a great thing considering we are currently in a global pandemic!  I am also planning on recording some storytimes where I share books and songs that you can share with your children along with activities supporting singing, talking, reading, writing, and playing.  In the meantime I have included some links below that will begin to share some information.

http://www.earlylit.net/handouts-and-activities

http://everychildreadytoread.org/resources/

https://www.ed.gov/early-learning/talk-read-sing

Greetings from the Covid Prep Librarian

    So today is my first day as a Covid prep librarian.  After three months of quarantine life, I went back to Curbside librarian doing all my word behind closed doors.  Now my library system has reopened to the public for the first time since March 13, albeit with 25 % capacity.  That's not the only change.  We are now behind plexiglass windows, much of our furniture has been removed to allow for social distancing, there are stickers on our floor in 6ft intervals (that I keep seeing out of the corner of my eye wanting to pick them up), tables have one chair, and my children's area looks like a crime scene with caution tape everywhere.  Usually this time of Summer is the busiest.  Today I think I have seen a total of 5 kids, and they were in and out with their parents and a loaded bag of books.  It is almost surreal to be here.  It feels like I am in some kind of contagion movie, but unfortunately I am not co-staring with my beloved Matt Damon. 

    I don't feel like a librarian very much these days.  I haven't done a storytime since March 11.  They are on hold indefinitely along with all library programming, basically my favorite part of the job.  Summer is usually Librarian Christmas, bustling with activity, celebration, and joy.  It has been rough.  A big part of my identity is being a children's librarian.  I am also back to full time hours.  I got very used to being home with my kids and even when I went to 20 hours I still got to see a lot more of them.  It's like coming back from maternity leave all over again, only my girls are 7 and 8 years old and really know that I'm not there.  As babies they were good as long as they had food, diaper changes, and snuggles.  They have told me over and over during this whole mess how much they loved having me around more.  Ugh!

    I need to find some kind of outlet.  I want to be creative.  I need to be creative.  So this is going to be my platform for a while.  Hopefully you will indulge me and share this blog with friends and family in need of a librarian.  With each passing day I feel like I am losing my skills and my enthusiasm.  I need to reclaim my sparkle.  So let's get started with this new phase of my career.  I couldn't have imagined 14 years ago when I started that things would be like this.

More soon!

Miss Jen

It's been a minute!

Wow.  It's been a while since I have updated this blog.  The first two months of the year were crazy for me for a variety of reasons, mainly illness and family stuff.  Then March Madness took on a whole new meaning with the Coronavirus.  My library closed at 5:30 on March 13, one month ago today.  From the moment I got home from work that day I have been thrust into a completely new world.  It's been straight survival mode.  If that meant my kids wanted to stay in pajamas all day and eat popcorn for dinner, I was all for it as long as we were all happy and healthy.  Their worlds have been completely altered, and it has been challenging to say the least to try and explain things to 6 and 8 year olds who thrive on seeing their friends everyday, going to Grandma and Papa's house all the time, staying super active in their dance classes, and being able to go to places outside of our house.  My 8 year old's first communion that she has been looking forward to for years is indefinitely postponed.  The dance recital we have spent the last seven months preparing for is in question, although most likely postponed.  I threw the annual Father Daughter Dance at home because it was cancelled.  For the most part, they have been doing okay, but I have thrown myself into keeping things as "normal" as possible and it has come at a cost.  My mental well being has been suffering.  I haven't had my usual energy, and creativity has gone right out the window.  I perpetually feel like I am in a fog of uncertainty and my lack of routine just doesn't work well for this Type A gal.  I need to be busy, I need to be active, and I am an extrovert who needs to see people besides the ones I live with.  But I think I am starting to turn a corner.  Slowly but surely, I am figuring out how to navigate my new reality.  I am trying to find any outlet I can to connect with others and be creative.  I started a Facebook group, Staying Sane in Quarantine that is up to 3.3 thousand members!  I am also working as part of my library's social media team to produce video content in a variety of areas.  All of this is helping me find myself again.  As a result, I am also resurrecting my long ignored blog.  If anything, documenting everything that is happening will allow me to reflect back on this time in the future and be very grateful and appreciative of what I have, especially the career that I love so much.

So stay tuned.  I'm back!

Winter 2020 Preschool Storytime: Week One 1/7/2020

Holy cow, it's 2020!  It has been a decade since my last post!  Ha ha!  It seems like our December month off from storytimes flew by.  Of course taking the last couple of weeks off when my kids were on winter break may have something to do with that.  Now I'm back, slowly readjusting to reality, but so excited for another round of storytimes!

Winter 2020 Preschool Storytime

Week One:  1/7/2020

Opening Song:  “Good Morning” (Track #1 Songs for Wiggleworms)

Song:  “Stretch Back”  (Track #19 Outrageous Orange / Eric Litwin)

Rhyme:  “One Little Red Fish”

Sing, Talk, Read, Write, Play

Rhyme:  “If You’re Ready for a Book”

Book:  Big Plans / Bob Shea, Lane Smith

Scarf Song:  “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” (Track #11 Musical Scarves / Georgianna Stewart)

Ribbon Song:  “Wave Your Ribbons” (Track #16 Hot Poppin’ Corn / The Wiggles)

Book:  The Cow Loves Cookies / Karma Wilson, illustrated by Marcellus Hall

Song:  “Shake My Sillies Out” (Track #1 Fun in the Sun disc 2)

Book:  If I Built a House / Chris Van Dusen

Rhyme:  “Zoom, Zoom, Zoom”

Shaker Song:  “Milkshake” (Track #18 Songs for Wiggleworms)

Closing Rhyme:  “Goodbye Rhyme”

Closing Song:  “Goodbye Song” (Track #13 Shining Like a Star / Laura Doherty)