Librarian Ginny

Storytime: Wind!

I love doing themes on slightly abstract subjects in our world that people take for granted. Wind is a great example of this! Often, we don’t even really notice the wind unless it’s more extreme, so pointing it out and looking at how it interacts with everyday things is really fun. There’s also so much potential to work in math and science concepts into this theme!

Storytime: Nature!

There’s so much about nature to be appreciative of: clouds, trees, bugs, animals, plants, hiking in the forest, the sky, sun, and moon! Each one of these can be their own separate theme, but I also like doing the broader topic of Nature. Typically, I’ll do this storytime the same day we do our Preschool Math and Science: Observing Nature program.

Adoption and Foster Care Booklist

Adoption and foster care are topics that our parents and caregivers seem to ask for on a regular basis in my town. Whether they’re adopting a child and need to prepare a sibling, adopting a child and wanting them to know they belong and are loved right where they are, or someone not adopting at all, but is trying to show their child different world views and experiences. All these reasons, and so many more, are valid and valued in our community. Further than that, I wanted to showcase some titles meant for slightly older kids. Maybe a kid who wants to see themselves or their experience validated and represented in a book.

Storytime: Wolves!

Wolves are my favorite non-domesticated animal (bet you can guess my favorite domestic animal)! They’re a weird mix of mysterious, playful, and powerful that I just find fascinating. I visited a wonderful animal sanctuary in Northern Indiana semi-recently that had a pack of wolves and they were just beautiful and playful! I spent almost an hour watching them!

Storytime: (My Amazing) Body!

Learning about bodies is super important for kids and it makes for a fun storytime of movement! Kicking, stomping, jumping, wiggling and waggling! The things our bodies can do are amazing.

Storytime: Sun!

Sunshine! I do love the sun and always feel terrible when I’ve had three (or more) days of rain or during Winter when sun can be hard to come by. But this storytime theme isn’t just good to celebrate the sun and all it brings with it –Life, plants, beach visits, picnics, etc — but it’s a great STEAM subject! A lot of preschoolers don’t know what the sun really is or that it doesn’t go away or cease to exist when it’s nighttime. So, come on! Let’s go open their minds together!

Storytime: Gardens!

Spring and Summer means it’s time to garden! I love planting my garden and seeing things grow, and even more than that I love eating all the yummy produce it creates!

Storytime: Summer!

Sum, Summ, Summer! No, it’s not my favorite season, but I do love the liveliness that comes with it. My family never took big, grand vacations. If we went anywhere, it was to my Grandma’s house in Chicago. But I have vivid memories of waking up at 6am, piling seven bodies (plus luggage) into the car, and driving for 6 hours with no air conditioning. When I was really young, my mom would play car games with us, but as I grew older, it became a time to listen to my music on my Walkman and read. This is always what I will equate with Summer.

Storytime: Bees!

Bees! They are a fun topic for a summer storytime, or when you’re doing a nature/STEAM storytime. I’m pretty afraid of bees, but I know how vitally important they are to our environment, so I try not to include any of my personal hesitancy that could make the kids bias toward them, haha!

Totally Untidy Toddlers #3: Color!

One of the things I hear most often from caregivers in this program is that they’d never try some of the stuff at home because of the sheer messiness. While I totally get it, it also makes me so sad! Messy, sensory play such as this fosters curiosity, imagination, physical and mental development and exploration. When paired with an early literacy activity that the caregiver and child can experience together, it encourages language development, communication, and cognitive skills. Math skills, sorting and categorizing, cause and effect, problem-solving and experimentation are all part of the Play to Learn philosophy. So, while I understand the hesitance for many caregivers to dive in and dye 10 lbs of spaghetti, it also makes me realize how important it is for us to be running programs like this! With all that being said, are you ready for our next Totally Untidy theme? Colors! Here we go!