I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean -- 5/16/23

Story Times are held weekly on Monday and Tuesday mornings at 10:00 am. A monthly virtual Story Time is posted the first Tuesday of the month on the library's Facebook page.  It is available to view for one month before the next video is posted.

Click HERE for this month's virtual Story Time.

I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry
I'm the Best Artist in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry
Milo Is Missing Something by Vern Kousky

Books:
Hello, My Name Is . . .: How Adorabilus Got His Name by Marisa Polansky
How to Put an Octopus to Bed by Sherri Dusky Rinker
Octopants by Suzy Senior
President Squid by Aaron Reynolds
Squid and Octopus: Friends for Always by Tao Nyeu
Take Your Octopus to School Day by Audrey Vernick

Craft: Squid
- Draw a simple squid body (rounded triangle with eyes and smile) on heavy paper or cardstock and cut out.

- Color squid body

- Cut crepe paper into  2 six inch crepe paper pieces.  Then cut each of those pieces into four narrow strips.

- Cut crepe paper into a eight inch piece.  Then cut that piece into four narrow strips.  (You will only need of the final strips.)

- Glue eight shorter crepe paper strips and two longer strips onto bottom of squid's body.

Extension Activities:

- After reading I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean, try to determine the size of different sea creatures (i.e. sharks, seahorses, jellyfish, etc) in relation to each other.

- Learn about some of the differences between squids and jellyfish by checking out some nonfiction books from the library or researching online.  One difference is that an octopus has eight tentacles while a squid has ten.

The Alphabet: S -- 4/12/22

Join us weekly on Tuesdays for an online Story Time featuring books read by Miss Amy.  The video will be available for a week before a new online Story Time is posted.

Click HERE for this week's Story Time video.

I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry
How to Catch a Star by Oliver Jeffers

Books:
Chomp: A Shark Romp by Michael-Paul Terranova
The Itsy Bitsy Spider by Iza Trapani
Norman the Slug with the Silly Shell by Sue Hendra
Not a Stick by Antoinette Portis
On Top of Spaghetti by Paul Brett Johnson
Snakes in Space by Kathryn Dennis
Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry

Craft: S is for Seahorse
- Draw the pieces of your seahorse (S body, trapezoid fin, and triangle "spikes")

- Cut out pieces
- Color pieces

- Glue fin to lower back inside curve of S body

- Glue spikes along back of seahorse's head and inside tail
- Draw on an eye




Extension Activities:

- Practice putting on shoes and tying shoelaces.
- Have a letter S scavenger hunt with your child where you try to find things that start with the letter S (i.e. sun, stamp, smile, string, etc.)

Turtles Story Time -- 6/28/21 (Outdoors) - 6/29/21 (Virtual)

Outdoor Story Times are held weekly on Monday mornings at 10:00 am and 11:00 am.  (Registration is required to attend.)  Online Story Times will be posted weekly on Tuesday mornings at 10:00 am.  (The video is available to watch for one week before a new one is uploaded.)


Click HERE for this week's Story Time video.


Turtle Walk by Matt Phelan
Turtle Island by Kevin Sherry

Books:  
The Birthday Pet by Elln Javernick

Hare and Tortoise by Alison Murray
Memoirs of a Tortoise by Devin Scillian

Red, Red, Red by Valeri Gorbachev

Truman by Jean Reidy

Turtle Tug to the Rescue by Michael Slack

The Voyage of Turtle Rex by Kurt Cyrus

We Found a Hat by Jon Klassen

Who Wants a Tortoise? by David Keane

Craft:  Turtle

- Cut out head, feet, and tail shapes from heavy paper or cardstock.

- Color pieces before gluing to a small paper plate.

- Decorate paper plate as turtle's shell with tissue paper, sequins, etc.

Extension Activities:

- Discuss how turtles move slowly.  Ask your child to demonstrate how a turtle would walk (on all fours) and moving slowly.  Have a "race" to see who can travel a set distance the slowest.

- Make turtle snack crackers.  Spread peanut butter (or another spread) onto a round cracker.  Add stick pretzels for legs.

Ocean Animals Story Time: January 17, 2017

Books:
Clumsy Crab by Ruth Galloway
I Spy Under the Sea by Edward Gibbs *
I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry *
Nugget and Fang by Tammi Sauer
Ocean Animals from Head to Tail by Stacey Roderick
Secret Seahorse by Stella Blackstone *

Craft: Paper Plate Stingray
This week's craft is based on the picture above.  Paper plates were cut into quarters.  Each child got one quarter to color.  They then attached half a pipe cleaner to a hole punched at the pointy end of the quarter.  Two googily eyes were glued onto the curved edge.

Literacy Extensions:
- Visit a local aquarium or zoo with ocean animal exhibits.  In the summer, the St. Louis Zoo offers the chance for people to pet stingrays and baby sharks.
- Practice your counting while reading the books.  Ask your child to count the different types of ocean creatures in the books.

Art Story Time: August 29-30, 2016

Books:
Bear Sees Colors by Karma Wilson *
The Dot by Peter Reynolds
Go, Shapes, Go! by Denise Fleming *
I Dream of an Elephant by Ami Rubinger
I'm the Best Artist in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry *
Mouse Shapes by Ellen Stoll Walsh

Craft: Whale
This week's craft goes with the book I'm the Best Artist in the Ocean.  The kids drew pictures on a whale cutout and then colored it.

Literacy Extensions:
- Practice color and shape recognition by playing I Spy.
- Tangrams are a great way to play with shapes.  Tangram patterns can be found online.


Notes:
Last week's story times focused on science.  They were covered by another staff member as I was on vacation.

Template:

S - Spiders & Snowmen: April 27-28, 2015

Books:
Aaaarrgghh! Spider! by Lydia Monks
I'm a Shark by Bob Shea
I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry *
A Pet for Petunia by Paul Schmid *
Snowmen All Year by Caralyn Buehner *
Spots in a Box by Helen Ward
Squirrels on Skis by J. Hamilton Ray

Craft: Shark
Our craft was based on the picture above. Instead of making pictures of sharks, each child was given a cardstock cutout of a shark to color.  They then glued on eyes and teeth.

Literacy Extension:
- Practice letter recognition by having your child point out all the letter "S"s on a page you are reading.
- Talk with your child about how we make words plural.  Most words simply add a letter "S" to the end of the word to make it plural.  However, some words change in other ways. (i.e. foot and feet, hippopotamus and hippopotami, etc.)

Colors Story Time -- Blue, Week 2: March 10-11, 2014

Books:
The Big Blue Spot by Peter Holwitz *
Blueberry Mouse by Alice Low *
The Bog Baby by Jeanne Willis
I'm the Best Artist in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry *
In a Blue Room by Jim Averbeck

Craft: Blue Whale
Children glued blue tissue paper to a cardstock cutout of a whale.

Literacy Extensions:
- While reading the books, see how many "B"s your child can point out in the text.
- Look at different art styles and ways of drawing the same object (i.e. I'm the Best Artist in the Ocean)