Library Day ~February 17~

Another week of fun at Time for Tots!   Ava is singing her little heart out and fooling around with her friends and I love every second of it! Today they brought out the parachute to play Ring Around the Rosie and they had a BLAST!

This week's theme for the Family Drop In table is "Chocolate"

Noa and the girls are going to glue these together and add sprinkles afterschool

The craft was a sweet little felt donut with sprinkles and there were several cute books about chocolately treats.  Today we read :

• Chocolate Mousse for Greedy Goose - Julia Donaldson

This was a very cute rhyming story featuring several different animals and their dessert choices.

• Chocolate Chippo Hippo - Vincent Andriani

This story is about a hippo who is obsessed with eating chocolate chip cookies.

• Chocolatina - Erik Kraft

• Oh Ducky! A Chocolate Calamity - David Slonim

Oh Ducky had beautiful illustrations and a fun story with silly characters in a chocolate factory ...Ava really enjoyed this one

Ava's picks this week are Caillou and Rosie's Doll and Mouse's Tail

Ainsley's picks Eloise Has a Lesson and Eloise Breaks Some Eggs

Family picks are Oliver Has Something to Say and Mallory & the Power Boy

Mom's picks:  My Nest Isn't Empty It just has More Closet Space, Full Speed and Marriage by Design

Library Thursday

Thursday was a bit hectic this week since I made plans without consulting my trusty calender (or using my brain)  BUT we made it to Time for Tots!  There were TONS of families so glad to see an above zero temperature day without snow theplace was packed.  Ava had a great time with her friends singing and dancing away.  Every week she gets even more enthused with the stories read.  I love sitting back and just watching her interact.  it really makes me smile inside and out.

Because I over booked myself for the day we had to rush out right after program so I could drop Ava off with my sister and I could make my chiropractor appointment.  We didn't have a chance to read the book selection left on the Family Drop In table but we did scoop up some supplies to do the Valentines craft....which we will do afterschool on Valentines Day for Daddy.  And we did have a chance to trade in our last set of books for new ones...thank goodness for their awesome online service too because Mommy had no time to search shelves for herself.

This weeks picks for the girls are:  OLIVIA goes to Venice -Ian Falconer, Hey Little Ant- Phillip and Hannah Hoose, Monsters vs Aliens Save San Francisco, Bully Trouble-Joanna Cole and Clementine Friend of the Week-Sara Pennypacker.
...and for Mommy :  The guy Not Taken- Jennifer Weiner and Wife for Hire- Janet Evanovich

Library Thursday

Today was yet another Snow Day :o
It didn't seem too bad when I pulled out of the driveway but by the time I drove 5 minutes to the bank and 2 more to the library there were drifts EVERYWHERE.
We were already late for program so I told the girls to scoop up a craft and find 1 book each (the usual rule that we never follow LOL) and race me to check out because the weather was getting worse by the second.
This week's theme is Puzzles.

Craft today was Design Your own Puzzle.

You could do this by using a picture you already have and cutting it into puzzle pieces and putting it back together or you could use the page provided and draw your own picture.

We honestly didn't stay long enough to read the themed books or even catch what the titles were..but we are hoping to make it back on Saturday for the mini concert they are having with Zany Lane.

But we did bring home a couple really good ones :)

Princess Story Collection (Ainsley's choice)
Pocahontas (Ava's choice- it's french LOL)
Pocket Rocks by Sheree Fitch (I love her and she's from NB) 

I have started a 100+ Reading Challenge ...why not the girls too??

I have started a 100+ Reading Challenge for 2011  (my list is posted on the left)  ...but now I'm thinking Why not track the books the girls & I read together as well? ...well I do in my Thursday - Library Day posts but why not a condensed list like my own?

I think it will be interesting to see how many different books we have read and which ones we tend to go back to.

If you'd like to join us in the FAMILY FUN  100+ Reading Challenge Please Link up below and let us know where to locate your families list.  I will also try to keep a star (*)  rating next to the titles so we will remember which ones we really enjoyed and might want to go back to.

Library Day

***This is posted a little late lol.  I just found it sitting in draft still ...oops!  I think I meant to include pictures then got distracted***



Thursday mornings are Ava and I library days.  This morning we snuck in a little bit late to the Time for Tots program and Ava dove right in.  I sat and watched. I could not help but notice just how much Ava has progressed/changed in the last couple of months since attending.  We started in October, back then she sat quietly on my lap and just watched as the other children interacted.  She didn't really listen to the story as it was read and could not be bothered with actions of songs.  Now we're in mid-January and she thinks she's the star of the show.  She runs right in and starts singing her heart out.  She has figured out the pattern of activities ....finger plays, ribbons, instruments, book etc.  I can't help but feel proud seeing her do the Hokey-Pokey without assistance and watch her not only interact with the other children but try to welcome & comfort those who are shy like she once was.

The craft table today was the same as last week so we just skipped right on to reading.

Ava spied up an Olivia book (she had recognized "O lib E Ah"  from program a few weeks back) so we sat and read that together just loud enough for her shy friend to hear as well.
Then she ran off and returned with an Iron man book so we read that as well...Ainsley has learned from somewhere (most likely her peers) that some things are "girl stuff"and somethings are "boy stuff" and would probably scoff at Ava's choice but I think that people can enjoy whatever thing people wish...and Iron man wasn't so bad ;)

This week we brought home:
Olivia forms a band - Ian Falconer
Batman versus The Joker -N.T Raymond
Jennifer Jones Won't Leave Me ALONE! - Frieda Wishinsky
Amelia Bedelia and the cat - Herman Parish
The Dog Princess Fairy Tails (Harper Collins Publishers)

Thursday Trip to the Library - January 13/11

Today was declared a SNOWDAY so Ainsley had the opportunity to join Ava & I at our weekly library program "Time for Tots".  I was a little worried she was going to be bored because it's really geared to 18-36month olds but they both had a great time!  Ava I think came out of her shell even more having her sister there.  We did the usual singing, reading & ribbon time, with Ava just begging for more lol...we held the librarian in there 15mins past finish time.

 

After program we hit the Family Drop In table.  This week's theme was Apple Pie. They had some cute little books and an ADOURABLE craft! 

The books to go with the theme were:

Fun at the Library

Yesterday afternoon the girls and I went to our local library.  We had some books to return and I was out of reading material for work.  As always they had a "Family Drop-in" table set up with a craft and activity sheets as well as books that relate to or inspire the theme.

This weeks theme was Snowflakes.

The craft was a lacing snowflake.  They had printed out a bunch of snowflakes and punched holes from one tip to the next.  For the lacing they provided cut strips of curling ribbon in various colours.  Ainsley dove right into this project but found the ribbon a little slippery and wanted to quit when it wouldn't co-operate, but after a little pep talk she gained some confidence and zoomed through it. Ava on the other hand poked her first ribbon through the hole and had her paper tear and she let it go and wandered off to look at books...not interested!  So I finished it up for her (and I must admit the ribbon was slick and at her age I too would walk away). 

Activity finished, we curled up on the couches and read the 3 themed books laid out.

Bunny's First Snowflake by Monica Wellington

- Ainsley enjoyed the fact she could help me read this to Ava.  it was a cute book with repetition and a bit of rhyming.

All You Need for a Snowman by Alice Schertle

- Ava LOVED this book. It walks you through the steps of building a snowman.  Ava loved guessing what step came next or what was missing ie: eyes, nose, a mouth (which never did get mentioned).

A Very Special Snowflake -Don Hoffman.
-  Was a cute story about the family dog named Snowflake who got "lost". 

Ava followed along for a few pages spotting Snowflake in snow piles etc but didn't stick around to hear the end.  Ainsley lost interest the first page in and chose to look for Fancy Nancy books.

Ainsley's Choices this week were (from left to right)
Fancy Nancy Sees Stars - Jane O'Connor
Fancy Nancy Bonjour Butterfly - Jane O'Connor
A Treasury of Jillian Jiggs - Phoebe Gilman
{she picked this because this is the author of the Balloon Tree}

Ava's Choices this week were :
The 101 Dalmatians Escape
A Pony for a Princess - Andrea Posner-Sanchez
Dora's Spooky Halloween - Sonali Fry

Mama's Choices for the week:
The Things we do for Love - Kristin Hannah
Summer Island - Kristen Hannah
A Total Waste of Makeup - Kim Gruenenfelder
Belong to Me- Marisa de los Santos

Back-to-Back Thursday Family Fun!

It's Thursday again! 

This week "Time for Tots" featured a Squirrel craft...god bless the people who prepare these things for the Family Drop-In program because some of their designs are quite tedious...however Ava enjoys ANY craft that involves a glue stick.

this was all cut from craft paper: tail, body, arm, head & acorn

Every week I let Ava pick her own book to borrow as well as one her older sister might enjoy.  These are her picks for this week.  (I know there are 2 for each...what can I say I'm a sucker for books...I'll have to post about our in home "library" someday...or maybe just the credit card statement lol) 



left: Happy Feet  Friends Forever bySiobhan Ciminera
right:  Whiskers by Catherine Daly
Ainsley loves that she can read these all by herself or with minimal help.



left: Skip through the Seasons by Stella Blackstone
right:  Elusive Moose by Joan Gannij
(I just noticed that the one on the left is a seek-and-find book which should make it even more fun)

 
Mommy even found a new novel to read this week.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1472878.Firefly_Lane

I read one of kristin Hannah's books recently, called Magic Hour, and got so wrapped up in the characters.  I really enjoyed her writing so I used my local library's website to search out other books by her and requested holds for them.  I cannot wait to see how good this one is.


Family Ties this week was week 9 of 10 and we had a great night but reality set in that our time is almost through....for now, gossip says they're working on the next installment :)
For our family meal we had cheese pizza (Ainsley's favorite) and lots of fruit (Ava's favorite).  As the icebreaker we did a "story chain".  Table one writes the opening line to a story, then passes to table 2 to add the next ...and so on.  The last table puts on the finish touch and then reads aloud for everyone to hear.  The kids got quite the kick out of the silly result.  (This totally reminds me of my jr high Mad Libs days).

When we split into our groups:
Preschool cut pictures from flyers & magazines and made their own picture books.
School age did a lesson on action words aka verbs and acted out all of their actions.
Adult's had a mini-info session.  Several resource groups from our community made small presentations letting us know what services are available to our families in our own "backyards".   There were represntatives from Family Counselling , Loans, Adult Education  and  the neighbourhood Community Centre.   All I can say is WOW!  There was a LOT of useful information and a LOT of programs available that I had NO IDEA exsisted.

So all and all a very GREAT DAY WITH MY FAMILY!

Back-to-Back Thursday Family Fun!

Do you ever find that somedays are busier than others?  Or that all the excitement happens in a small time space between long boring stretches?
Thursday is our busiest day of the week. It's the day the kids can't wait for!

Every Thursday morning Ava & I head to our local library to do a program called "Time for Tots".  This is based on ages 18-36mths.  They do a Welcome song, ribbon & action songs, drum time and a story.
Ava LOVES her weekly program, especially the ribbons ( watch for an upcoming post on How To:  Ribbons).

1. Welcome Song  :  A is for Abigail, pretty , pretty Abigail, All the children love her blow a kiss Hello.
2. Ribbon & Actions Songs    The Itsy Bitsy Spider... Head and Shoulders, Knees & Toes...Twinkle Twinkle Little Star ...Hokey Pokey
3. Drum Time  Horsie, Horsie-  Clip, Clop,Clip, Clop,Clip, Clop,Clip, Clop,  Horsie Horsie On your way      We've been together for a many a day.  So let your tail go swish and your wheels go 'round--Giddy up, you're homeward bound! Clip, Clop,Clip, Clop,Clip, Clop,Clip, Clop,
4. Story Time  Today was Brown Bear, Brown What Do You See? 

The Craft for the day (in the main part of the library...drop in program)

was brown bears & polar bears.

You need:  Construction Paper (cut into Medium circle{3inch diameter}, small cirle {1inch}, and 2 smaller circles{1/2inch}), glue, scissors & black fun foam (cut small circle-size of thumb, punch 2 holes with holepunch)

Then  afterschool on Thursdays we have "Family Ties".  It's Literacy Program that promotes Food, Family, Fun!  Our family and 9 others meet at Ainsley's elementry for a healthy meal (tonight was chicken rice with veggies, and chicken with multigrains rolls), social time with other families, then we seperate into 3 age groups: Preschool, school, & adult and do an hour of workshops that involve Literacy & Numerancy in our homes.  This evening Ava's group did The Itsy Bitsy Spider, The Monkey's tease the Crodile & a drawing (Preschool).   Ainsley's group learned about Different Ways to be Smart: Word, Music, Picture, Body, Math, Nature, Myself, and Other People Smart (School).  The Adults had the Principal of the school as a guestspeaker and she had a very informative chat with us on how the report cards work, how our school is a "Community School" (we have businesses in the community who volunteer at & sponser our school) and did a Q & A for any of our concerns etc.

Overall we had an EXCELLENT day! ...I just wish sometimes the excitement were spread a little more evenly throught the week...since I still work evenings as well...leaving me to blog at obscene hours of the night lol.

GoodNight!!  Have a GREAT FRIDAY :)