Art Club: Sand Art

This month's Art Club project was Sand Art. We filled baby food jars with layers and layers of colorful sand to create patterns that looked like mountains and valleys.

Art Club is held the third Tuesday of every month at 4:30PM and is recommended for children ages 5-8 who can work independently. This program is designed to teach children about art and inspire creativity through the use of different techniques and various media.

Next month's Art Club on Tuesday May 19 will be Japanese Paper Dolls.

Art Club: Sand Art Program created by Elizabeth Hunt

Preschool Storytime Week of April 27th

Construction week! We told the story of the Three Little Pigs as a flannel board story. Most of the children were familiar with the story and huffed and puffed as the big bad wolf. They even acted out the piggies - "not by the hair on my chinny, chin, chin!" The morning storytime group read Alphabet Under Construction by Denise Fleming. The afternoon storytime group read Jack's House by Karen Magnuson Beil and Old MacDonald Had a Woodshop by Lisa Shulman. The craft was a hard hat and toolbelt, which seemed to be a real hit with the children.

One of the rhymes was "Johnny Works With One Hammer"

Johnny works with one hammer, one hammer, one hammer,
(make hammering motion with one hand)
Johnny works with one hammer, then he works with two.

Johnny works with two hammers, two hammers, two hammers
(make hammering motion with both hands)
Johnny works with two hammers, then he works with three.

Johnny works with three hammers, three hammers, three hammers...
(make hammering motion with both hands and one foot)

Johnny works with four hammers, four hammers, four hammers...
(make hammering motion with both hands and both feet)

Johnny works with five harmmers, five hammers, five hammers,
(make hammering motion with both hands, both feet and head)
Johnny works with five hammers, then he goes to bed.

Teddy Bear Sleepover

Here are the details about the Teddy Bear Sleepover we are having in May



Uploaded on authorSTREAM by bettysplacefm

Afterschool Programs - Kids in the Kitchen

Our Afterschool Programs are regularly scheduled each Tuesday at 4:30pm. Tuesday, April 28, we will be having our "Kids in the Kitchen." The children will be making a "cookie rocket."

Kids in the Kitchen is every 4th Tuesday of the month. This program is designed for school-age children who can work independently. It includes hands-on experience reading basic recipe instructions and preparing a simple food item. It is limited to 30 children. Tickets are free and required. Tickets can be obtained at the children's desk 30 minutes prior to the event.

Preschool Storytime Week of April 20

Boungiorno! We went on a new adventure in Europe this week to Italy! Stories included The Little Red Hen (Makes a Pizza) by Philemon Sturges, On Top of Spaghetti retold by Paul Brett Johnson, Hi Pizza Man by Virginia Walter and we got to ooooh and aaah over the pop-up book Brava, Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola. The Little Red Hen provided a surprise ending as the duck, the cat, and the dog all pitched in to help wash the dishes after gobbling up their slices of pizza. We learned how to sing "Frere Jacques" in Italian and then we sang it in Italian, English and French. It was great fun listening to the kids sing the song in all three languages. The morning storytime learned how to say hello and goodbye in Italian - boungiorno and cioa! They also learned how to sing "The More We Get Together" in Italian and sang it in Italian, English and American Sign Language.

Piu noi siamo insieme, insieme, insieme
Piu noi siamo insieme, piu felici noi siam
I tuoi amici sono i miei, i miei amici sono i tuoi
Piu noi siamo insiemo, piu felici noi siam

Join us next week as we make our way into the construction zone!

Toddler Time Week of April 20th

Ciao everyone! This week we traveled to Italy! We read Brava, Strega Nona! by Tommie De Paola and we sang the Italian version of Brother John:

Fra Giovanni, Fra Giovanni,

Dormi Tu, Dormi Tu?

Suona la campana, suona la campana,

Din, dan, don! Din dan, don!

Have a great week and Happy Earth Day!!!

Toddler Time Week of April 13th

We celebrated the author Audrey Wood this week!

We read one of Ms. Elizabeth's favorite stories:

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear.

We followed this storytime with faboulous parachute games!

Family Night: April 9th

The bunny stories continued!

We read:

Little Bunny Foo Foo by Paul Brett Johnson
Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! by Denise Fleming

Afterwards, we presented Para Los Niños; a workshop sponsored by the Houston Children's Museum and Target. This workshop encourage families to get a library cards and use the resources of the library. The parents also learn some simple inexpensive activities to do with their child to help their child learn. Other take home community resources besides the library are offered to parents. We will continue to have these workshops until November, and they will be every second Thursday of the month.

Toddler Time Week of April 6th

This week we had fun with bunnies!!! One of our favorite songs was:

Funny Little Bunny

Funny little bunny goes

hop, hop, hop!

Funny little bunny please

stop, stop, stop!

Wiggle your ears,

and crinkle your nose!

Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle
right down to your toes!

Preschool Storytime April 13, 2009

This week's theme was a spotlight on children's author Audrey Wood. What fun it was to read The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear, The Napping House, King Bidgood's in the Bathtub and Silly Sally! We kept things silly by singing "I like to eat, eat, eat, apples and bananas." We also sung If You're Happy and You Know It and Frere Jacques.

The fun continued as we had the children do the parachute. Shake, shake, shake, now stop! Listening skills and teamwork are key skills in the use of the parachute and the kids have so much fun shaking, hopping, and going under the parachute.

Join us next week as we take a visit to Italy and add to our language skills by learning Frere Jacques in another language!

Preschool Storytime Week of April 6

Hoppy Easter! This week in storytime we read books about chicks and bunnies. We read about three slick bunnies in Candice Fleming's Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!, sang along with Little Bunny Foo Foo: Told and Sung by the Good Fairy and made animal noises in This Little Chick by John Lawrence. The morning storytime included Big Fat Hen by Keith Baker. Rhymes and songs included Funny Little Bunny, If You're Happy and You Know It and a Old MacDonald Had a Farm with puppets.

Join us next week for spotlight on children's author Audrey Wood!

Family Night April 2, 2009

We read:
Rain Stomper by Addie K. Boswell
Who Likes Rain by Wong Herbert Yee
I Love the Rain by Margaret Park Bridges

The children helped tell a flannel board rhyme: Three Little Raindrops. This was a new activity which they enjoyed very much.

The craft was a coloring sheet adding clear plastic drops for a three dimensional effect.

Toddler Time Week of March 30th

Bonjour everyone! Our storytime this week had a French twist to it! We read, Everybody Bonjours by Leslie Kimmelman, and sang Brother John in French. We also sang about pommes frites (french fries) and at the end, we "packed" our bags and went to France! It was lots of fun!


Frere Jacques


Frère Jacques, frère Jacques,

Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous?

Sonnez les matines! Sonnez les matines!

Din, dan, don. Din, dan, don.



Toddler Time is every Monday, Wednesday & Thursday at 11:15 a.m. It is recommended for children from 18 months to 3 years.

Preschool Storytime Week of March 30

Our preschoolers went on an adventure this week to France! From singing Frere Jacques and Happy Birthday in French to learning how to say hello "Bonjour." Books read this week included Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans, Crictor by Tomi Ungerer, A Spree in Paree by Catherine Stock, and Everybody Bonjours by Leslie Kimmelman. We even learned how to say french fries in French - pommes frites. Join us next week for chickens and bunnies.

Preschool storytimes are on Tuesdays at 11:15am and 1:30pm and Wednesdays at 1:30pm. They are recommended for children ages 3 years - 5 years.