Friday Story Hour had a special guest on October 19th. My dog, Harley came for a visit. We sang songs with rhythm instruments, read the book, “Duffy Time” and talked a little about dogs. Our daughter took a class at State Cloud State that explained how to use different methods to train animals. Harley is very stubborn, but is extremely food-motivated. Harley knows several cute behaviors, and is very willing to do them: for a treat. This was his third or fourth visit to the library. Harley loves coming, but now thinks he should always come to work with me. For our project, I used this picture of Harley himself, which I turned into a coloring sheet. It’s amazing what you can do with a computer.
On Friday the 26th we used the book, “Mice,” by Rose Fyleman, with illustrations by the great Lois Ehlert. We used shapes to create our own mice. Some of the children used precut shapes; yes, that is what I was doing at the desk with scissors and brightly colored foam. Other children used scissors to cut their own shapes. The Friday Story Hours are planned for children 3-5, but younger children can usually do our art projects with a little help from mom or dad.
“Mice” did double duty because it was also the book for Toddler Time. Toddler time is a fun story hour on Wednesday mornings from 10:15 to 10:45. Babies are very welcome at toddler time and they enjoy being with the 2 and 3 year olds. Older siblings are always welcome. We don’t do projects, but always sing and dance and read a book. “Mice” was a wonderful book to use for children of different ages. The story line was very simple, but could be expanded based on the illustrations that show the tools Ms. Ehlert used to make the collages in this enchanting book.
Fun with 4-H will be in full swing in November, when Darcy Cole will be here on November 29th. Bring your friends and join us for this great afterschool event, which starts at about 3:15. Elementary Book Club (2nd Tuesday), Middle School Book Club (3rd Tuesday) and High School Book Club (4th Tuesday, December date to be announced) provide a book club experience for students in grades 3 through high school. There is always room at the book club table for more people who love books.
Our story hours are fun, but they are also an important foundation for literacy. This fall, fifty to sixty children visit the library each week for story times. Of course, there is always room on the story hour rug for another child who loves books.
