Art: Shapes & Colors Story Time: August 28-29, 2017

Books:
Bear Sees Colors by Karma Wilson
I Dream of an Elephant by Ami Rubinger *
Mix It Up! by Herve Tullet *
Mouse Shapes by Ellen Stoll Walsh
Shape by Shape by Suse MacDonald *
White Rabbit's Color Book by Alan Baker

Craft: Color by Shapes
The children were given a coloring page of ladybugs with different shaped spots on their backs.  The page was colored by matching the shape colors to the key.

Literacy Extensions:
- Play I Spy using colors with your child.  This will help with color recognition.
- Have your child make a shapes collage.  Give them several cut out shapes and have them make a picture out of the shapes.


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Science: Outer Space Story Time: August 21-22, 2017

Books:
Astro Bunnies by Christine Loomis
The Astronaut Handbook by Meghan McCarthy *
Mousetronaut by Mark Kelly
Oh No, Astro! by Matt Roseser *
There's No Place Like Space! by Tish Rabe *
Zoom, Rocket, Zoom! by Margaret Mayo

Craft: Solar Eclipse Magnet
This week's craft is pictured at left.  The children glued yellow tissue paper squares to cover a cd-rom.  They then glued on yellow paper strips for sun rays.  They then glued on a black circle "moon" to make a total solar eclipse.  A sticker magnet was attached to the back.  They could write on the "moon" with a white crayon if they liked.

Literacy Extensions:
- Learn more about the solar system by checking out some of the great books on the topic at the library.
- Visit the Science Center and Planetarium to learn more about space.

Math & Numbers Story Time: August 14-15, 2017

Books:
Count the Monkeys by Mac Barnett *
Is That Wise, Pig? by Jan Thomas
My Little Sister Ate One Hare by Bill Grossman
Night Light by Nicholas Blechman *
Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin *

Craft: Numbers Snake
The children glued together a paper chain snake.  The paper chain was made from strips of paper numbered 1-12.  The children were asked to make the paper chain putting the numbers in order. A snake's head was glued to one end of the paper chain when done.

Literacy Extensions:
- Practicing counting can be done anywhere.  Simply start counting objects near you.  You can also practice other things while counting such as colors, shapes, etc.
- Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons is a great example of how to include simple subtraction into a counting book.  Try to incorporated simple addition and subtraction whenever you read a counting book with your child.

Reading: ABC Story Time - August 7-8, 2017

Books:
ABC School's for Me by Susan B. Katz
Alphabet Trucks by Samantha Vamos
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. *
Jeepers Creepers: A Monstrous ABC by Laura Leuck *
Sign Language ABC by Lori Heller *
The Sleepy Little Alphabet by Judy Sierra

Craft: Alphabet Tree Match
The children were given a tree coloring sheet with the lower case letters mixed up on it.  The children glued upper case letters to the matching lower case letter.

Literacy Extensions:
- After reading Sign Language ABC have your child try to spell out some simple words in sign language.
- Practice letter recognition by asking your child to find all of a particular letter on each page of a book you are reading.


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Eric Litwin Story Time: July 31-August 1, 2017

Books:
Groovy Joe: Ice Cream and Dinosaurs by Eric Litwin *
The Nuts: Bedtime at the Nut House by Eric Litwin *
The Nuts: Sing and Dance in Your Polka Dot Pants by Eric Litwin
Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin
Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin *

Craft: Pete the Cat & His Shoe
This week's craft was based on the picture above.  The children colored a Pete the Cat head and a converse shoe before gluing it together.  If they wanted, they could then practice their lacing and tying skills with a piece of white yarn for a shoelace.

Literacy Extensions:
- Groovy Joe is a great introduction to the topic of sharing.  Use the book to start a discussion about sharing.
- Extend the book Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by coming up with more things for Pete to step in and the colors his shoes would change.


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