More fun at the Poles today with our toddler to preschool kids! Like last Saturday's Family Storytime goers, we had so much fun with the walrus song, I just have to give another shout out to it's creator, Brytani Fraser.It's brilliant :) Take a look at the Family Storytime post to check out how to do it with scarves :)

When choosing this week's theme, I figured Winter is on it's way - maybe we can learn a little something from the critters who live in the Arctic and Antarctic regions about how to survive :)

 

One way to get through the cold, northeastern months is to READ MORE BOOKS! (OK, maybe the animals on the north and south pole don't read books, but they would if they could ; ) Here's what we read today:

Way Up in the Arctic by Jennifer Ward; Ills. by Kenneth J. Spengler

Grumpy Pants by Claire Messer

Way Up in the Arctic is one of a series of books by Jennifer Ward and Kenneth J. Spengler which explore different animal habitats by using the old, traditional tune "Over in the Meadow" as a springboard for awesome literary creativity :) If you have a young nature lover at your house, check out some of the other books in the series!

I just can't use Grumpy Pants with one storytime group and not the other, it just wouldn't feel right, so we read Grumpy Pants at T&PST as well as at FST :) For one thing, we needed an Antarctic animal book, and what better animal to highlight than the penguin? But more importantly, this is one of the more delightful books about how to cure the grumpies that I've ever read :) This book is a storytimer's gold mine: it talks about 1. penguins, 2. feelings, 3. bathtime, 4. underpants, and 5. Happy Bedtime Rituals. What more could one ask of a children's book?? My favorite thing to do with this book is follow it with the song, "If You're Grumpy and You Know It". I won't bother to put the words down here, because you already know what they are ; ) haha! But if you are feeling un-creative, (and maybe a little bit grumpy yourself?) and want the words, look here: If You're Grumpy... Have fun with it!

Here's a song about some different animals at the North and South Poles that you can move to:

 

Animals in the Arctic and Antarctic!

The Penguin on the ice goes

waddle, waddle, waddle,

waddle, waddle, waddle,

waddle, waddle, waddle!

The Penguin on the ice goes

waddle, waddle, waddle~

All through the day!

The polar bear in the water goes

Swim, swim, swim…..

The fox in the arctic goes

Sniff, sniff, sniff….

The hare on the tundra goes

Hop, hop, hop…

 

 

How did you move? I like pretending I have giant paws when the polar bear "lumbers." Plus, that's a great word isn't it? Lumbers?

 

Speaking of polar bears (and art!) here is an example of a fun, multi media project you can easily do with kids at home or school:

 

We used blue construction paper, white chalk, white crayons and cotton balls. As you can see, there are many potential ways to utilize each medium. You can make an art lesson out of this type of project by talking about the various ways the different elements you are working with look and feel on the paper :) Pull the cotton balls apart! Rub the chalk! Make your bear plaid or polka dotted! I used each medium for three different bears. Can you think of some other combinations?

 

Well, as I told the patrons that were at storytime today, our last Toddler & Preschool Storytime for the session is next Tuesday the 12th. I'm gonna miss you guys!! So you better keep on coming to the library ; ) Come to say hello, and get out books and movies and music, but also to sign up for our Winter Reading Challenge. It's a great way to keep everybody in the literary loop during the winter breaks from school! But any age can sign up. Find out more about that when you come in next.

And see you next time!
Miss Kelly
P.S. Here's a great booklist!
 

Booklist:

 

Way Up in the Arctic by Jennifer Ward; Ills. by Kenneth J. Spengler

 

If You Were a Penguin by Wendell and Florence Minor

Over in the Arctic Where the Cold Winds Blow by Marianne Berkes; Ills. by Jill Dubin

Grumpy Pants by Claire Messer

Little Penguin: The Emperor of Antarctica by Jonathan London; Ills. by Julie Olson

Baby Polar by Yannick Murphy; Ills. by Kristen Balouch

Polar Bear, Arctic Hare: Poems of the Frozen North by Eileen Spinelli; Ills. by Eugene Fernandes

Forever by Emma Dodd

My Little Polar Bear by Claudia Rueda

Polar Bear Night by Lauren Thompson; Ills. by Stephen Savage

I Am Pangoo the Penguin by Satomi Ichikawa

Polar Opposites by Erik Brooks

Little Peguins by Cynthia Rylant; Ills. by Christian Robinson

Penguins 1-2-3 by Kevin Schafer

Nonfiction:

The Magic School Bus Presents: Polar Animals by Cynthia O’Brien J 591.7586

Frozen Wild: How Animals Survive in the Coldest Places on Earthby Jim Arnosky J 591.74 Arnosky

Do Penguins Get Frostbite? Questions and Answers About Polar Animals by Melvin and Gilda Berger; Ills. by Higgins Bond J 591 Berger

The March of the Penguins from the film by Luc Jacquet; narration written by Jordan Roberts; photography by Jerome Maison J 598.47 March

Penguin Day: A Family Story by Nic Bishop J598.47 Bishop

Penguins and Antarctica by Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie Pope Boyce J 598.47 Osborne

Brrr! A Book about Polar Animals by Melvin and Gilda Berger J 591.7 Berger

Polar Bear Math: Learning About Fractions from Klondike and Snowby Ann Whitehead Nagda and Cindy Bickel J 513.2 Nagda

DVD

National Geographic's Really Wild Animals: Polar Prowl YS DVD J 591