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Melissa D.'s blog

Picture Book Review: Pond Walk

Are you looking for a book to share during your next parents’ and caregivers’ workshop?

Literacy-Based Crafts: Rocket Ship

One way to prompt conversations between a child and their grown-up during your craft time is to include some written questions as part of the project materials. For example, if you are handing out a coloring sheet, can you write in an open-ended question or two before you photocopy it?

This very simple rocket craft adds an “outer space” coloring sheet with a couple of prompts for the grown-ups to read as the children play.

Rocket Ship

First, the rockets!

Literacy-Based Crafts: Pipe Cleaner Constructions

Here’s a very simple project that can go along with a Houses or Tools or Building storytime! Simply hand out three or four pipe cleaners to each child and ask them to “build” something. It can be an object from one of your storytime books, or something imaginary. (Purchased in bulk, pipe cleaners are just a penny or two a piece. You can cut the pipe cleaners in two before you begin, so children can use a greater variety of colors.)

5 Colorado Library Youth Services Bloggers

These Colorado librarians are blogging their storytimes and book reviews, and talking about early literacy. Follow them for some fresh ideas! If you are a Colorado youth services specialist with a blog that we missed, please let us know!

Passionate Librarian

Inspiring stories about how storytimes can make a difference, early literacy information, book reviews, songs and fingerplay podcasts, and much more.

Miss Mary Liberry

5 Early Childhood Blogs that Discuss Early Literacy

Here are five non-library world bloggers who regularly discuss early literacy activities and ideas. Check them out from time to time! You may be inspired to turn one of their craft projects into a preschool program, or refer storytime parents and caregivers here for further reading about the importance of early literacy.

Teach Mama

Literacy-Based Craft: X Marks the Spot Maps

Many of our storytime families will be traveling this summer! Here’s a craft you can use with a Things that Go or Travelling storytime that starts with recycled maps.

Ask your staff or patrons if they have old maps they can bring in, or call your local AAA office to see if they have out-of-date maps they would be willing to donate.

Cut the maps into smaller pieces, and cut triangles and squares out of construction paper. If you have a diecut machine, you can use it to cut Xs, but if you don’t, skinny rectangle shapes can be glued criss-cross to make your own Xs.

Literacy-Based Craft: Cloud Collage

Recently we wrote about using crafts as a component of literacy-based storytimes. Here is an example of a simple craft that can be an effective conversation starter.

Cloud Collage

You can make a cloud collage as part of a storytime about Birds, Spring or Summer, Weather, Things that Go, Balloons, Up and Down...what else?

Early Literacy-Based Crafts: Talk About It

In this series, we’ve looked at the benefits of craft time at library storytimes, how an open-ended library craft time can support early literacy learning, and provided some tips for creating and choosing literacy-based craft projects.

Early Literacy-Based Crafts: Tell a Story/Sing a Song

In this series, we’ve looked at the benefits of craft time at library storytimes, how an open-ended library craft time can support early literacy learning, and provided some tips for creating and choosing literacy-based craft projects.

Early Literacy-Based Crafts: Incorporate Print

In this series, we’ve looked at the benefits of craft time at library storytimes, how an open-ended library craft time can support early literacy learning, and provided some tips for creating and choosing literacy-based craft projects.

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