Don't worry!

It has been a VERY busy spring at the library. I have plenty of posts to catch up on. As soon as classes have finished for me (May 4 or so), I plan on updating everyone on all the fabulous things we have been up to! From Bubbles to Rodeo, and Volcanos to Slime, I have some super fun things to share.

Spotlight on: Hey girl, check out this young adult display!

Hey girl, I'm sure you've seen the awesome internet meme featuring Ryan Gosling in several scenarios where he says Hey girl, followed by something you wouldn't expect out of his mouth (but have always dreamed you'd hear should you ever meet him).


Well our FABULOUS Young Adult librarian, Michelle, has created a brand new display upstairs using some that were already created that spotlight young adult books. She has also created some of her own in order to match some of the books she picked for said display. When I saw it I had to start a slow clap. No one joined in and it was slightly awkward but I like to think it made her day.

Here are some pictures so you can enjoy this truly delicious setup.

Hey girl, I know you'll spot all the pictures of me because of your keen Nancy Drew like observation skills

Hey girl, Our love story is better than Cupid and Psyche.

One more. Just because I can.

Want to see more Hey girl Young Adult pictures? Go here.

Crafter- Day Fishes!

My branch has had to withdraw a lot of unsuable CDs and DVDS lately and asked if there was anything I could possibly use them for. I believe my exact response was, "Ummmm, YES!"

I spray painted the side that shows what it was with white spray paint and used steel wool on the data side for two reasons. A) If the cds were in any way still usuable and someone happened to take it home, I did not want them to see something they weren't supposed to and B) to make the jewels and beads adhere better.

I put out seed beads, confetti, dot stickers, and googly eyes. Also, we had tons of scrap paper to choose from. I showed off some fishes for examples but I saw some pretty amazing fish come out of there! I'm so proud of how this program has blossomed and can't wait until the next one!

Love is in the air and on the window display!

I wanted to come up with a window display that could be used for two different displays. I usually have to put a lot of time into the items that go on the window and with a hectic schedule this semester I needed to make it easy on myself.

Through inspiration on pinterest, I came up with the following:

The clouds and hearts are 3D.I found a picture of the girl under the umbrella online and printed it on a transparency. It was easy to trace and add color.

The hearts will be changed after Valentine's day to raindrops and the books will be changed to fit a  theme of April Showers bring Bluebonnet flowers. I will dsiplay books from the Texas Bluebonnet list.

Penguins Story Time

What is the perfect way to jump back into story time after winter break? PENGUINS!

Everyone loves a good reason to waddle around like you are a penguin.

I decided to add in a few minor tweaks to my overall story time pattern using some of the knowledge gained from my first semester observations.

I wanted to add in a Hello song again but this time I have the lyrics written down on a big yellow pad so that everyone can see them. If the parents know the words ahead of time they can join in and eventually so will the kiddos. I chose to use the version we also use in lapsit story time so if anyone has graduated from that program and has moved into my toddler program they will feel comfortable.

Hello Song

Hello everybody (Wave Hello)

and how are you (Open hands so hand is flat and make them go up and down)

How are you, (Same as above)

How are you? (same as above)

Hello everybody(Wave Hello)

and how are you, (Open hands so hand is flat and make them go up and down)

How are you today?

To kick off our topic today, we first read If You Were A Penguin by Wendell & Florence Minor. It quickly shows some of the things that penguins can do such as living in warm or cold places, as well as how they can wear tuxedos and make funny faces!

Now for my flannel board story I made up a rhyme to go with some penguins I found here. I laminated the hats and put velcro on them so they can attach to the penguins head much like it shows to do to turn them into a lapbook activity. After I said the verse, I would ask if anyone could see a matching color.

The Penguins Are Missing Their Hats!

I found a red hat, red hat, red hat

found a red hat, wonder where it goes?

(For more verses replace the word red

with orange, yellow, green, blue, purple)

Next story on the agenda, is Flip and Flop by Dawn Apperly. This is a charming tale of an older and younger brother penguin. The younger one is constantly trying to do the same thing that his older brother does.

Next I had a fingerplay written on the big yellow pad so that kiddos and parents could join in. ( I can't remember where I found this at, at the moment.)

Penguin Family
One royal penguin feeling very blue (hold up one finger)
Called for his brother and then there were two (hold up two fingers).
Two royal penguins swimming in the sea (swimming motion)
Called for their sister and then there were three (hold up three fingers)!
Three royal penguins waddle on the shore (waddle),
Call for their mother and then there were four (hold up four fingers).
Four royal penguins learning how to dive (make diving motion)
Call for their father, and then there were five!

Our final story is one of my absolute, all time favorites! Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester is such a great tale about it is okay to be unique and march to the beat of a very different drum.

The reason for leaving Tacky until the very end is because our craft is making our very OWN Tacky the Penguin! I found the pattern for the penguin part here and traced an outline of the body to make the shirt. I used different scrapbook paper to make many different and unique shirts.

You're a Mean One, Miss Megan!

The library decided to join our local parade this year and of course went with a book theme. We chose the Grinch who stole Christmas. With a lot creativity, a little money, and a great committee it turned out AWESOME!

The Grinch Crew

A Grinch Closeup

And with that, Mega Story Time will be taking a Christmas Break and will resume Story Time in January. Can't wait to show you what I have coming up!

Merry Grinchmas and Happy New Year!

Mister Owl Story Time

Let the owl puns begin! "Owl" jump right into this week's story time! "WHO" would believe i'd have so much fun! *Gigglesnort*

We started our storytime with WOW! Said the Owl by Tim Hopgood. An adorable segue into our topic with a good 'hook' that the kids could enjoy as well as lots of colors.

Ten Little Owls

Next, we utilized some laminated owls I had to sing Ten Little Owls (sitting in a tree tonight). We really had to wiggle our fingers first to warm them up because it is chilly out this morning!

Our next story was Whooo's there? by Mary Serfozo. I would point out the animal on the page and ask the kiddos what it was before reading the paragraph. This was another good one with a repetitive phrase through out which made it rhyme-y.

Five Little Owls

For my "flannel board" story I printed the pictures found here. (Click to download the pdf and the printable that I used as well as the lyrics are on the last two page. However, there are some other great items that can be used in this packet.) and laminated them. I put velcro on the owls that coordinated with spots of velcro on the tree. I pulled each one off one by one as I read the story.

The owl pulled off so you can see the velcro

Finally, our last book has the BEST illustrations in my opinion, The Book of Sleep by Il Sung Na. We pointed out all the different animals and I asked if they could sleep like the animals in the book (One eye open, two eyes open, etc.)

He was a real 'hoot' to make!

Our craft for the day was an owl of their very own. It was a combination of several templates but mostly the one found here (Which will be added later since we have new computers and I can't find the link. :( ).