Archive for the ‘read alouds’ Category
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Got the FCAT Blues?
Here is a school poem to lift your spirits during this FCAT week!
The Very Best Feeling
~by Betsy Franko
There’s excited,
delighted,
scared,
and mad.
There’s happy,
embarrased,
surprised,
and sad.
But the very best feeling
that we’ve ever had,
the one that we have every day,
is the feeling we get
when the final bell rings,
and there’s nothing to do but just PLAY!
From the book:
Start the Week With Words!
Posted on: April 4, 2011
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Here is a Spring-y poem for young and old!
The alliteration and repetition build important early literacy skills such as phonetic awareness and vocabulary. Read this to your babies, or help your older children recite this playful poem!
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Nibble Nibble Nibble
~By Margaret Wise Brown
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Nibble Nibble Nibble
Goes the mouse in my heart
Nibble Nibble Nibble
Goes the mouse in my heart
Nibble Nibble Nibble
Goes the mouse in my heart
And the mouse in my heart is
You.
*
Lippity Lippity Clip
Goes the rabbit in my heart
Lippity Lippity Clip
Goes the rabbit in my heart
Lippity Lippity Clip
Goes the rabbit in my heart
And the rabbit in my heart is
You.
*
Flippity Flippity Flop
Goes the fish in my heart
Flippity Flippity Flop
Goes the fish in my heart
Flippity Flippity Flop
Goes the fish in my heart
And the fish in my heart is
You.
*
Biff Bang Bang
Goes the hammer in my heart
Biff Bang Bang
Goes the hammer in my heart
Biff Bang Bang
Goes the hammer in my heart
And the hammer in my heart is
You.
*
Drum Drum Drum
Goes the drum in my heart
Drum Drum Drum
Goes the drum in my heart
Drum Drum Drum
Goes the drum in my heart
And the drum in my heart is
You.
*
Softly now beats the beat of my heart
Softly now beats the beat of my heart
Softly now beats the beat of my heart
All for the love of you.
*
From the book Nibble Nibble by Margaret Wise Brown. Paintings by Wendell Minor. HarperCollins. 1987.
Check this out to view the beautiful illustrations!
Whether you are heading to the stadium, watching on TV, or signing up to play, baseball season is here! The game of baseball has evolved over time, catching on and becoming uniquely American in the 1850s! Now a national pastime, the game is part of our culture in the form of family traditions, movies, heroes, and even poems! One of the most famous baseball poems is Casey at the Bat. It was written in 1888 by Ernest L. Thayer. This poem tells a gripping tale about a fictional baseball team, the ‘Mudville nine’ and star player, Casey.
Please enjoy this excerpt of Casey at the Bat. Visit the library to check out the complete poem!
Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888.
The out look wasn’t brilliant for the Mudville nine that day’
The score stood four to two with but one inning more to play.
And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,
A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game.
[…]
Then from 5,000 throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;
It knocked upon the mountain and recoiled upon the flat,
For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.
[…]
Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt;
Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt.
Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip,
Defiance gleamed in Casey’s eye, a sneer curled Casey’s lip.
Happy Spring! Celebrate with a poem!
Spring
~By Lee Bennett Hopkins
Roots
sprouts
buds
flowers
always-
always-
cloud-bursting showers
rhymes
April fools
fledglings on wing
no thing
is
newer
or
fresher
than
spring.
From the book: Sharing the Seasons: A Book of Poems. Selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins. Illustrated by David Diaz. Margaret K. McElderry Books. 2010.
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A few weeks ago, a NASA spacecraft took some pictures of a passing comet!
Click here to see the pictures!
Read this poem about comets and space!
Comet
Ice, rock, dirt,
Metal and gas –
Around the sun
A comet may pass.
A dirty snowball
Of space debris.
The biggest snowball
That you’ll ever see.
BABIES…BABIES…BABIES
Posted on: February 22, 2011
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Reading books to babies just sounds like a crazy idea, doesn’t it?
Think again!
Some mothers-to-be even read to their baby before it’s even born! If that sounds silly to you, think again. There are many reasons to read to a baby. For one thing, hearing words helps to build a big network of words in a baby’s brain. By reading to a baby, we can increase their language as they grow and develop.
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When we hold a baby close to us and read, it creates a special bond between the baby and the adult. Not only does he learn the sound of words and see new pictures of the world, he becomes a good listener in the process. It’s especially nice if you read some stories to your baby before bedtime. It’s a very calming experience once they get used to the idea. It also helps create a routine, which is so important when it’s time to get the baby to bed and to sleep for the night.
Babies watch everything we do. When you read to a baby, he watches you turn the pages. It’s a basic concept that he is learning about a book. Then he’s old enough, he can begin to turn the pages as you read. You will also catch him playing with a book and turning the pages as he pretends to read.
Babies learn by touching, too. Babies like to teethe on books to find out what they’re all about. Cloth and vinyl books are great for babies. Vinyl ones can even go in the bathtub. Who says you have to sit in a chair to read a book?
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There are wonderful board books at our library for you to enjoy with your baby. We even have Bumbo seats to hold up the babies that can’t sit up by themselves yet.
Babies are not born loving books. It’s something we teach them. Bring your baby to the library for a new experience. Sit in a Bumbo seat and read a board book together.
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Visit a baby storytime on Fridays at 10:30 a.m. or 2:00 p.m. You’ll experience singing, dancing, books, and lots of movement. It’s fun for babies and you! Call 868-7703 to reserve a spot for you and your baby today.
*
Judy
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My ValentineBy Myra Cohn Livingston
My Valentine
Has eyes of green
With twenty eyebrows in between.
Her skin is blue.
Her head is square.
She hasn’t got a brain in there.
Her four ears twitch.
Her noses shine
But still,
(I think,)
I’ll make her mine!
Find this and other themed poetry in Celebrations! By Myra Cohn Livingston.
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Poetry can be read for beauty, emotion, action, and to learn! The rhythm and rhyme transform the words from vocabulary and fact to meaningful pieces that stick in your mind. Music too has a great effect on memory.
The following poem is from the book Count me a rhyme: Animal poems by the numbers by Jane Yolen. As children go through the pages, new animals are featured for them to count along with reading or listening to the poem.
To count the rest of your way through the book, check it out today! See below for more poetry that include a lesson.
Six Spiders Spinning
by Jane Yolen
Six spiders spinning
A long and glittering strand;
Six spiders shinnying
Hand over hand over hand over hand,
Hand over hand over hand over hand.
Six spiders throwing
Out a glistering strand;
Six spiders going
Hand over hand over hand over hand,
Hand over hand over hand over hand.
Six spiders hurrying
Down a glistening strand;
Six spiders scurrying
Hand over hand over hand over hand,
Hand over hand over hand over hand.
Six spiders creeping
Upon a glimmering strand;
Six spiders sleeping
Hand over hand over hand over hand,
Hand over hand over hand over hand.
From the book: Count me a rhyme: Animal poems by the numbers. By Jane Yolen. Photographs by Jason Stemple.
Happy Birthday Mozart!
Posted on: January 27, 2011
- In: authors | baby | books | early literacy | kids events | Literacy | mozart effect | read alouds | reading | storytime | toddler | Uncategorized | west palm beach public library
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Happy Birthday Mozart!
The world celebrates the life of Mozart this month,
born January 27, 1756…
Though we may never compare in genius to Mozart’s gift of music, exploring and developing a LOVE for music through song, simple instruments and rhythmic activities, all play a part in early literacy! Musical activities are not only engaging but more importantly they help children develop large and small motor skills, as well as, listening skills.
A favorite musical activity at Toddler Storytime is the Numbas Rumba by Raffi! Children and parents participate in a loose rendition of a ‘rumba dance’ while large numbers are passed and the children trace them with their pointer finger! Did you know that tracing numbers and letters is a pre-writing, literacy skill? What’s even better is that this ‘learning’ activity is just plain FUN for Toddlers! This activity crescendos with children hopping across the ‘numbas’ rug! This entire musical activity enhances children’s awareness of numbers and letters and they develop an interest to explore these symbols even more!
Check out Rise and Shine by Raffi!
Another way of exploring and developing a love for music at storytime is to sing a picture book. One of my favorite pieces of music in the whole wide world is, What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong. It has child friendly lyrics that ALL ages easily understand! The music is played from a CD while turning the pages of the wonderfully illustrated children’s book by George David Weiss, of the same title! This is but one example of a picture book that can be sung instead of read and in this case set to the music as well!
So next time, you pass by Toddler Storytime take a moment to enjoy the music! They really are exploring and developing a love for music and books!
Your city library has a wide variety of children’smusic CDs and DVDs to enjoy with your child no matter the age!
The Leonard Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts is a wonderful DVD collection for the more musically minded elementary age kids that teach all about music and the orchestra.
…and who knows…introducing and developing a love of music early may lead to more formal music training known as, “The Mozart Effect.”
Research shows, “Teaching the music of Mozart or Beethoven to children as young as three can improve their academic performance. Scientists have proved that children who practice for as little as 10 minutes a day on the piano score dramatically higher results in intelligence tests.” (Norton, Cherry. “Early music lessons boost brain power.” Sunday Times (London, England) Oct 12, 1997)
-contributor, Jeanne Taylor, Children’s Librarian
Happy Birthday Mozart!
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We all know and love Eric Carle’s picture books like The Very Busy Spider 
and The Very Hungry Catipillar. Did you know he has published and illustrated dozens of other titles? Included is an illustrated collection of poetry by various authors titled, Eric Carle’s DRAGONS DRAGONS & other creatures that never were.
This is a beautiful book where mythological creatures are brought to life through images only Eric Carle could create. Please enjoy this selection, and check out the book for more! And check back this week for more on Eric Carle.
Sphinx
By Deborah Chandra
As the sun
Is going down,
And shadows mix
With yellow sand,
He rises slowly,
Stretches, stands,
Wades into the Nile to wash
Mummy-dust and sand fleas off –
Licks heavy paws
With heavy tongue
Until the cool night air is gone.
While on Egyptian earth
He drops dry purrs,
Ground out like powdered rock.
KidSpace Blog 
