Arctic Animals -- 1/28/25

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 online Story Time.

A Polar Bear in the Snow by Mac Barnett
What's That Noise? by Naomi Howarth

Books:

Baby Beluga by Raffi

Hello, Arctic! by Theodore Taylor

I'm a Narwhal by Mallory C. Loehr

Over in the Arctic: Where the Cold Winds Blow by Marianne Berkes

Polar Bear Night by Lauren Thompson

Read the Book, Lemmings! by Ame Dyckman

Walrus Song by Janet Lawler

Craft: Skating Polar Bear

- Print template onto cardstock or heavy paper

- Cut out pieces (iceberg, polar bear)

- Color pieces

- Fold iceberg on dotted line and then glue bottom flaps together so stands

- Fold tab on bottom of polar bear on dotted lines and then glue to back of bear so stands

- Can glue polar bear to iceberg if like

Extension Activities:

- Make Polar Bear Snack Crackers.  Ice a graham cracker with vanilla frosting.  Place two mini-marshmallows in the top two corners for ears.  Place a large marshmallow along the bottom of the graham cracker in the center for its snout.  Place a brown M&M in center of large marshmallow using a little icing for glue to make the nose.  Place two M&Ms above the snout for eyes.

- Have an Arctic Animal Parade.  Ask your child(ren) to "walk" like various arctic animals such as polar bears, caribou, penguins, lemmings, etc.

Template --

Numbers: 8/23/22

Story Times are held weekly on Monday and Tuesday mornings at 10:00 am and Tuesday evenings at 6:00 pm.  Online Story Times will be posted weekly on Tuesday mornings.  (The video is available to watch for one week before a new one is uploaded.)

Click HERE for this week's Story Time video.

Warthogs in the Kitchen by Pamela Duncan Edwards
Count the Monkeys by Mac Barnett

Books:

Bear Counts by Karma Wilson

Chicka Chicka 1,2,3 by Bill Martin Jr.

Construction Countdown by K.C. Olson

Fish Eyes by Lois Ehlert

Mouse Count by Ellen Stoll Walsh

One Big Pair of Underwear by Laura Gehl

The Right Number of Elephants by Jeff Sheppard

Soup for One by Ethan Long

Ten Little Caterpillars by Bill Martin Jr.

Ten Pigs: An Epic Bath Adventure by Derek Anderson

Craft: Flower Count

- Print out template (at left) on heavy paper or cardstock

- Color and cut out at least 15 circles

- Color stems on sheet

- Glue the number of circles onto the stems as indicated

Extension Activities:

- You can practice counting almost anywhere throughout the day.  Examples include counting how many times you chew your food during lunch, how many commercials are shown during a tv show you are watching, or how many steps it takes to walk down a hallway.

- Practice number recognition by asking your child to find certain numbers around you.  They could be on a clock, signs, etc.

Skunk Story Time: February 5-6, 2018

Books:
The Easter Bunny's Assistant by Jan Thomas *
A Pet for Petunia by Paul Schmid *
The Skunk by Mac Barnett *
Who Needs a Bath? by Jeff Mack

Craft: Skunk
This week's craft is pictured at left.  The kids colored a cardstock cutout of a skunk before gluing on cotton balls for the stripes and white parts of the skunk.

Literacy Extensions:
- At the end of A Pet for Petunia, the girl decides she would like a pet porcupine.  Ask your child for reasons why a porcupine would or would not make a good pet.
- Practice letter recognition.  Ask your child to point out the various letters making up "SKUNK" as you read through the book.


Template --

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.

XYZ - X-Rays, Yawns & Zoo: May 26, 2015

Books:
Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett *
I Dare You Not to Yawn by Helene Boudreau
Two at the Zoo by Danna Smith *
The View at the Zoo by Kathleen Long Bostrom *
You Are a Lion! and Other Fun Yoga Poses by Taeeun Yoo

Craft: Person with X-Ray
Each child was given a large gingerbread person cut-out, a quarter sheet of black construction paper, and 12 small rectangles of white paper.  The black construction paper was glued to the front of the person as a X-Ray picture.  The kids then glued on the bones to the black paper.  They could also color on clothes and features for the person.

Literacy Extensions:
- Play the alphabet game while driving.  Ask your child(ren) to find the entire alphabet using signs and license plates.
- Practice alphabet phonics by asking your child(ren) to come up with an animal for each letter of the alphabet.  This can be continued with foods, toys, etc.


Notes:
- Story time was not held on Monday this week due to the Memorial Day holiday.
- I was unable to find any books for the letter "X", so instead we made our craft for that letter.

M - Monkeys & Mice: March 23-24, 2015

Books:
Chicken Soup with Rice by Maurice Sendak
Count the Monkeys by Mac Barnett *
Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
The Monkey Goes Bananas by C.P. Bloom
Mouse Was Mad by Linda Urban *
Mustache Baby by Bridget Heos *

Craft: Moth
I do not have a picture or a template of this project.  I came up with it on my own.  The children were given a moth body and two wings to color.  A half piece of pipe cleaner was wrapped around a clothespin for antennae.  The body and wings were then glued onto the clothespin.

Literacy Extensions:
- Learn about the differences and similarities between moths and butterflies.  For example, some moths are more colorful than butterflies.
- Talk about ways to deal with being mad (i.e. Mouse Was Mad)

2014 Building Block Nominees Story Time: September 22-23, 2014

Books:
Count the Monkeys by Mac Barnett *
That Is NOT A Good Idea! by Mo Willems *

Craft: Monkey Necklace
Each child was given a piece of curling ribbon.  They could have 1-5 monkey heads to color and string onto the ribbon to make into a necklace.

Literacy Extensions:
- Practice counting throughout the day by having your child count various common items (i.e. chips eaten at lunchtime, number of steps taken to walk from one room to another, etc.)
- Talk about how pictures can convey emotions without any text (i.e. That Is NOT A Good Idea)

Our Favorite Books 2013: December 9-10, 2013

Books:
Count the Monkeys by Mac Barnett *
Exclamation Mark by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
I Dare You NOT to Yawn by Helene Boudreau *
Warning: Do Not Open This Book! by Adam Lehrhaupt
Yoo-Hoo Ladybug! by Mem Fox

Craft:
This week's craft was inspired by the paperbag monkey costume found at http://www.bellebebes.co.uk/tag/owl/.  We did not use a paperbag but instead made a flat monkey head out of cardstock.  A face was printed onto half a sheet of cardstock.  Two circles were glued to the sides for the ears.  A craft stick was glued above the eyes for the eyebrow.

Literacy Extensions:
- Talk about the different types of sentences and how they change depending on the ending punctuation (i.e. Exclamation Point)
- Play a game of I Spy with your child focusing on colors and letters of the alphabet (i.e. Yoo-Hoo Ladybug!)