Countdown to 2015 -- December 30, 2014

The Turning of the Year by Bill Martin, Jr.
Let's learn the characteristics of each month of the year!

Calendar by Myra Cohn Livingston
Take a trip through the months with this beautiful poem about the activities of the seasons.

Get ready for New Year's Eve with these fabulous party hats!

Reindeer Games -- December 23, 2014

Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London
Rambunctious Froggy hops out into the snow for a winter frolic but is called back by his mother to put on some necessary articles of clothing.

"I'm Not Santa!" by Jonathan Allen
When Baby Hare mistakes Baby Owl for Santa Claus, it takes a visit from St. Nick himself to straighten things out.

Craft Time was all about this guy...  Rudolph!

Opera To Go! -- December 16, 2014

We had a very special guest at storytime today:  Houston Grand Opera's Miss Sandy joined us as a part of the library's Seasons Readings series!  And we SANG the following books...

Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson
One by one, Bear's friends come to his lair to enjoy snacks and tea.  Through it all, Bear remains asleep... Until a little pepper wakes him up with an ACHOOOOOO!  Will he be sorry he missed the party?

Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! by Candace Fleming
After planting the garden he has dreamed of for years, Mr. McGreely tries to find a way to keep some persistent bunnies from eating all his vegetables.









What a treat to have such a talented presenter with us today!

Para los Ninos: How Children Learn -- December 9, 2014

We love having Miss Tiffany visit from the Children's Museum!  She discussed strategies for helping your child learn based on his/her strengths:

Picture Smart is the ability to perceive the visual and spacial world accurately.
Music Smart means your child is sensitive to rhythm, pitch, melody and tone.
Nature Smart involves an understanding of the natural world of plants and animals, noticing their characteristics and categorizing them.
Self Smart includes having an accurate picture of one's own strengths and limitations, feelings, needs, desires and a capacity for self-discipline.
People Smart is the capacity to perceive and distinguish differences in the moods, intentions, motivations and feelings of others.
Number Smart means your child has an awareness of logical patterns, functions and cause and effect.
Word Smart involves the ability to manipulate the structure, sounds and practical uses of language.
Body Smart includes skills such as coordination, balance, dexterity, strength, flexibility and speed.

Then we read:

Don't Worry Bear by Greg Foley
A caterpillar reassures a worried bear that they will see each other again when the caterpillar emerges from its cocoon.

Ten Black Dots by Donald Crews
A counting book which shows what can be done with ten black dots -- one can make a sun, two a fox's eyes, or eight the wheels of a train!








After our books, it was time for some accompanying activities:

We made these wheels to show how an egg becomes a caterpillar
who builds a cocoon where it transforms into a butterfly!

Let's practice counting and estimation by predicting
how many seeds it will take to outline our hands!

Get Cozy! -- December 2, 2014

Bundle up for the holiday season!

Three Little Kittens by Jerry Pinkney

Careless with their mittens, these three kittens are punished with no pie!  Will they find their mittens?

Snowballs by Lois Ehlert

Put on your mittens, and let's head outside to make a snow family!  What will happen when the sun comes out?

We decorated these awesome mitten ornaments for the craft today!