Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
PossibiliTree Update
Check out the progress on our PossibiliTree!
Mother Goose even stopped by to leave her mark on the PossibiliTree!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Welcome to our PossibiliTree!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Deep in the Heart of Texas - Summer Reading Club - Begins JUNE 2nd @ 11:00
Children do not have to attend the programs to participate in Reading Club fun!
Sign up to read during June and July! By completing reading logs you can turn your log into prizes!
Come to our opening Summer Reading Program on Tuesday, June 2,@ 11:00 a.m. and hear our own Texas Tom tell his Tall Tales!
NEW THIS SUMMER!! FAMILY STORY TIME
Thursday, June 25 Thursday, July 23 Thursday, August 13
Families are welcome from 7-8 pm to hear stories & eat popcorn!!
On Becoming a Reader
by Jan Herbst, Children's Ambassador, Aubrey Area Library
Along with our Summer Reading Program, our library will be emphasizing and encouraging reading. From several decades of research on how children learn to read, we know that children can begin the learning process from the day they are born.
Children begin to learn about spoken language when they hear those that surround them talking, laughing, and singing, and when they respond to the sounds of their world. They begin to understand written language as adults read stories to them and as they see adults reading books, magazines, and newspapers.
Early experiences with spoken and written language set the stage for children to become competent readers and writers.
By the time children reach the age of one, they recognize some speech sounds. They know which sounds make words important to them, and they begin to imitate those sounds. They learn this by listening to those around them. If they do not hear a lot of talk and are not encouraged to talk themselves, they can have difficulty learning to read.
By reading with children, we can help them develop print awareness. We show them how to hold a book right-side up. We turn the pages one at a time. We read from left to right, top to bottom. Knowing about books and print and how they are used is print awareness.
Children who know about print understand that the words they speak and hear are related to the print they see in their environment.
Reading aloud to children has been recognized as the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for success in reading. Children learn new words, learn about the world and begin to make the connections between spoken and written language.
Sign up to read during June and July! By completing reading logs you can turn your log into prizes!
Come to our opening Summer Reading Program on Tuesday, June 2,@ 11:00 a.m. and hear our own Texas Tom tell his Tall Tales!
NEW THIS SUMMER!! FAMILY STORY TIME
Thursday, June 25 Thursday, July 23 Thursday, August 13
Families are welcome from 7-8 pm to hear stories & eat popcorn!!
On Becoming a Reader
by Jan Herbst, Children's Ambassador, Aubrey Area Library
Along with our Summer Reading Program, our library will be emphasizing and encouraging reading. From several decades of research on how children learn to read, we know that children can begin the learning process from the day they are born.
Children begin to learn about spoken language when they hear those that surround them talking, laughing, and singing, and when they respond to the sounds of their world. They begin to understand written language as adults read stories to them and as they see adults reading books, magazines, and newspapers.
Early experiences with spoken and written language set the stage for children to become competent readers and writers.
By the time children reach the age of one, they recognize some speech sounds. They know which sounds make words important to them, and they begin to imitate those sounds. They learn this by listening to those around them. If they do not hear a lot of talk and are not encouraged to talk themselves, they can have difficulty learning to read.
By reading with children, we can help them develop print awareness. We show them how to hold a book right-side up. We turn the pages one at a time. We read from left to right, top to bottom. Knowing about books and print and how they are used is print awareness.
Children who know about print understand that the words they speak and hear are related to the print they see in their environment.
Reading aloud to children has been recognized as the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for success in reading. Children learn new words, learn about the world and begin to make the connections between spoken and written language.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
L.L. Bear Goes to the Farm
Dear Friends,
There's a Big Red Barn in the Children's Story Room, with horses, goats, sheep, and ducks, just like in the book Margaret Wise Brown wrote! The Olympics are over, so all the displays from China are gone. Now I can pack away my Emperor's hat, find a good straw hat to go with my denim overalls, and get ready for a whole new bunch of stories and activities that relate to the farm!
Since I grew up in the woods of Maine, I missed out on life on the farm. Even though I spent many years living in Mrs. Herbst's classroom and traveling around the world, I never spent any time on a real farm. I am so excited that now I can learn about food that is grown on a farm, animals that live on a farm, machinery that is used to help the farmers, and see the seasons change. Maybe I can help pick apples and find the perfect pumpkin for a jack-o-lantern!
On Saturday, October 4th, there will be a big Peanut Festival here in Aubrey. Many years ago there were big peanut farms because the soil around Aubrey is sandy, perfect for growing peanuts! But, gradually the peanut farms were sold to horse ranchers. They like the sandy soil, too, as a good cushion for their horses hooves. People still like to remember the "Old Days" and have an all day celebration to honor their heritage! There will be a parade, a pet show, all kinds of food and craft booths, games for kids, music, fun contests...Wow! I hope there will be hot roasted peanuts to eat!
I hope you will join me for Toddler Time on Tuesdays at 10:15 or for Story Time on Wednesdays at 11:15. I know our time together will be special as we hear lots of stories, sing songs, learn rhymes, move to music, and for the older children do crafts or do some easy "cooking." I can bearly wait to meet you!!!
Your friend and buddy,
L.L. Bear
There's a Big Red Barn in the Children's Story Room, with horses, goats, sheep, and ducks, just like in the book Margaret Wise Brown wrote! The Olympics are over, so all the displays from China are gone. Now I can pack away my Emperor's hat, find a good straw hat to go with my denim overalls, and get ready for a whole new bunch of stories and activities that relate to the farm!
Since I grew up in the woods of Maine, I missed out on life on the farm. Even though I spent many years living in Mrs. Herbst's classroom and traveling around the world, I never spent any time on a real farm. I am so excited that now I can learn about food that is grown on a farm, animals that live on a farm, machinery that is used to help the farmers, and see the seasons change. Maybe I can help pick apples and find the perfect pumpkin for a jack-o-lantern!
On Saturday, October 4th, there will be a big Peanut Festival here in Aubrey. Many years ago there were big peanut farms because the soil around Aubrey is sandy, perfect for growing peanuts! But, gradually the peanut farms were sold to horse ranchers. They like the sandy soil, too, as a good cushion for their horses hooves. People still like to remember the "Old Days" and have an all day celebration to honor their heritage! There will be a parade, a pet show, all kinds of food and craft booths, games for kids, music, fun contests...Wow! I hope there will be hot roasted peanuts to eat!
I hope you will join me for Toddler Time on Tuesdays at 10:15 or for Story Time on Wednesdays at 11:15. I know our time together will be special as we hear lots of stories, sing songs, learn rhymes, move to music, and for the older children do crafts or do some easy "cooking." I can bearly wait to meet you!!!
Your friend and buddy,
L.L. Bear
Thursday, August 7, 2008
The Great Wall of China!
(also introducing our new mascot L.L. Bear!)
L.L. Bear welcomed the children into the story room to see the "Great Wall of China," painted especially for the Olympics! Bear is wearing a little hat he bought while traveling around China. His special hat reminds him of the emperors that ruled over China. We have a display of artifacts to accompany all the wonderful story books and informational books about China. Bear will have his photo album of China for all to see. We hope you will visit and peruse the exhibit...and stay for story time!
This week the children heard the classic tale of Five Chinese Brothers, by Claire Bishop. This amusing tale highlights the gifts of each brother and demonstrates how they cleverly used their gifts to preserve each other.We tied in some basic geography...continents, countries, oceans...so the children will become familiar with our world as they watch the Olympics.
Each child made an "Olympic torch" and then participated in some active, fun games! Olympic gold medals 
(gold-foil wrapped chocolate coins on red yarn necklaces!) were awarded to all our winners!Next Week: more stories, songs, rhymes, crafts, and Olympic games! We'll learn more about China along with learning some Chinese words and phrases.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream!
No screaming, but we did applaud for all the library friends who accomplished their reading goals for the summer! Those who turned in their reading logs were honored before their parents, grandparents and friends with reading certificates and coupons for free goodies. Everyone enjoyed ice cream sundaes...mmm, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, peanuts, gummi bears and M&Ms! 
Over 900 books were read by those who participated. All the children who checked out books and read them, or had others read to them were the winners! Think of all the new adventures they heard or all the new vocabulary words that were introduced to them! Think of all the new ideas or new places they learned about through those books. Think about all the funny stories or amusing characters that they will remember! If you read to your child, think about the precious time you 
and your child spent with each other. Good picture books are rich with various artistic styles and art media that stimulate the creativity and imagination. And, if you are checking out your own books, think about the stellar example you are setting for those who see you immersed in your reading! Happy reading to one and to all! 
and your child spent with each other. Good picture books are rich with various artistic styles and art media that stimulate the creativity and imagination. And, if you are checking out your own books, think about the stellar example you are setting for those who see you immersed in your reading! Happy reading to one and to all! 
Encourage your own children to write their own stories and get out the markers, watercolors, or crayons and encourage them to illustrate. Right brain, left brain...it's all being actively utilized!
Special thanks to Sonic for all the ice cream certificates; thanks to Judy Nelson at Lights-N-Motion for free admission certificates;
thanks to Judge Darlene Witten for her donation for our Ice Cream Party; thanks to Dwight Mikkelson of Allstate for the bowling coupons. We appreciate your generosity in rewarding our young readers!
We leave our summer reading program, with some photos of a few of our favorite books along with our book companions...L.L. Bear, Cowboy Bear, and their buddies. ...see y'all on the trail to the library...
~JMH
Special thanks to Sonic for all the ice cream certificates; thanks to Judy Nelson at Lights-N-Motion for free admission certificates;
thanks to Judge Darlene Witten for her donation for our Ice Cream Party; thanks to Dwight Mikkelson of Allstate for the bowling coupons. We appreciate your generosity in rewarding our young readers!We leave our summer reading program, with some photos of a few of our favorite books along with our book companions...L.L. Bear, Cowboy Bear, and their buddies. ...see y'all on the trail to the library...
~JMH
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
We Welcome the Creature Teacher
How many opportunities do we have to see, in person, 8 unusual animals from all over the world? Our library friends attending today's program, The Creature Teacher, had that opportunity! Robin Wheeler brought in mammals, reptiles, invertebrates, insects and a bird; she spent several minutes sharing information about each one.
The pygmy hedgehog was every bit as cute as author Jan Brett's illustrations in Hedgies Surprise! Did you know that the chinchilla has 80,000 hairs per square inch and that 300-400 chinchillas are used for one coat? The parrot has the intelligence of a 5 year old, and has the ability to mimic environmental sounds such as the "ding" of a microwave and knocking on a door.
A Hissing Cockroach does not have the same warm and fuzzy feel as a chinchilla, but we learned that cockroaches can live anywhere (!)...even in Antarctica and are capable of eating anything! How interesting to know that the Rose Haired Tarantula will eat her own molted skin! The Giant Black African Millipede does not have 1000 legs, but rather 200-300. This creature likes to stay very still underground for prolonged periods, during which time mold grows on its body. To keep the millipede healthy, microscopic mites live on his body and devour the mold! The last two animals were the chameleon, whose sphere-like eyes act independent of each other and the bearded dragon whose coloring is a perfect camouflage for his desert habitat.
As a special conclusion, the entire audience was invited up to gently touch the little chinchilla!
Our curiosities were piqued by all the intriguing information! Thank you Creature Teacher!
Congratulations to these readers who completed their reading logs: Aleksis, Kelly, Morgan, Kaitlynn, Alicia, Alex, and Abigail. We are so proud of all of you!!
Reading logs need to be turned in by Friday, July 25.
Next Week: Tuesday, July 29 @ 11:15...
Celebrate Reading with an Ice Cream Party!! We will pass out Reading Certificates.
jmh
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Learn While Laughing with Brett Roberts
Brett Roberts likes to describe his show as a party, a celebration of reading! His energy and enthusiasm certainly entertained the crowd of 200 as they marveled at his magic tricks, laughed at his silly antics, and happily went along with his comedic actions. Mr. Roberts used a cleverly designed book worm puppet to review the basic elements of a story: characters, setting, plot, and conclusion. Throughout the entertaining, he continually referred to different books and encouraged the children to read, imagine, pretend, invent, create! It was a fun way to learn!
More of our library friends have completed reading logs! Congratulations to Ashlynn, Maddox, Cayden, Kylie, Jase,
Amelia, Eli, Audrey, Frida, Hannah, Breanna, Hayden, and Kelly.
Please remember to turn in your reading logs by Friday, July 25! We love to see all those books being checked out and read!!
Tuesday, July 22 @ 11:15: The Ceature Teacher brings several interesting animals
Tuesday, July 29 @ 11:15: Our last summer program...ice cream party and reading certificates
jmh
More of our library friends have completed reading logs! Congratulations to Ashlynn, Maddox, Cayden, Kylie, Jase,
Amelia, Eli, Audrey, Frida, Hannah, Breanna, Hayden, and Kelly.
Please remember to turn in your reading logs by Friday, July 25! We love to see all those books being checked out and read!!
Tuesday, July 22 @ 11:15: The Ceature Teacher brings several interesting animals
Tuesday, July 29 @ 11:15: Our last summer program...ice cream party and reading certificates
jmh
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
