Storytime at Home: V is for . . .

We've been reading through the alphabet this year in Storytime.  Since we won't be able to meet in person for a while, here are some ideas for you to continue with the alphabet at home.

There are more choices than we'd use in one Storytime.  You can choose what you want to do and skip the rest - or spread out the activities over multiple times.

You can see Storytime at Home for T here and for U here.

The letter V

You can write the letters V and v on paper for your child to see.

Here is the letter u in sign language:

And the entire alphabet:

Songs

• The Alphabet Song

• We Clap and Say Hello
  
  We clap and say hello.
  We clap and say hello.
  With our friends in Storytime,
  We clap and say hello.
  
  You can change the third line to: "With our family in our house" to better fit the situation, if you prefer.
  
  Take turns choosing activities with your child: jump, spin, dance, . . . anything you want!

• Silly Dance Contest
  recorded during a live concert here (some verses different from our CD)
  CD version here

• Shake Your Sillies Out
  by the Wiggles on YouTube here

• Victor Vito
  by Laurie Berkner on YouTube here

Books

You can look through your books at home for things that start with V and read some of those with your child.  Vehicle, vegetable, violin, veterinarian, volcano, vacuum, vote, vacation, van, and velociraptor are some of the words you might find in your books.

Here are some online options:

PAR-TAY!: Dance of the Veggies (And Their Friends)
Click here and then in the left column click on pdf full text to read the book.

The following books are available through Capstone Interactive eBooks.  You can find their website here or click on any title below to go to that title, then login with:

Username: continue
Password: reading

After reading a book, you can click on the x in the LOWER LEFT corner, to exit that book and return to the Capstone Interactive page to read more books, if you choose. You can search for books in the orange/brown-ish search box on the right side near the top.

Rocky and Daisy Wash the Van – They also vacuum the van.

Where DoVegetables Come From?

ConstructionVehicles

RescueVehicles

You can also search for vehicles on the Capstone site to find several other books about vehicles.

Velociraptors shorter, 1 sentence per page

Velociraptor – longer, but ok for older preschoolers if they are interested

Volcanoes - longer, but ok for older preschoolers if they are interested

There are 2 books on veterinarians.  Neither one is exactly what I was looking for, but you can take a look and see if your child would be interested.

VeterinariansHelp - shorter

Veterinarians - longer

Craft 

Vegetable garden
Your child can draw draw dirt on paper - giving room for some vegetables to grow under the ground and some above.  You can print these vegetables or draw your own.


U page for alphabet books:  
V page here and V pictures here


Additional activities

Scavenger hunt:
Go on a scavenger hunt in your house or yard.  You can look for things that start with the letter V and/or look for the letter V written on packages, book titles, artwork in your house, etc.  See how many you can find.  Some ideas: van, vegetables, vine, vest, vase, vacuum, vowels.

Create a vehicle:
If you've had any large packages delivered, the empty boxes make great vehicles.  Cut the top flaps off and your child can decorate the outside as any vehicle they choose.  Paper plates make good steering wheels and tires. No large boxes?  A laundry basket can work, too.  Give your child a paper plate steering wheel, and you're all set.  Your child can pretend to drive. 

Create a volcano:
See instructions here.



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Additional resources:

Online reading, learning, and fun resources
Printable activity pages, story starters and more
Screen-free things to do at home
Resources about COVID-19 - books for children, journal pages, tips for talking with your child

Projects:

Share a Smile - Share artwork and letters with Meals on Wheels recipients.
Share Your Story - Share your experiences and daily life during this pandemic.
Poetry Month - Write a poem to add to our Poetree.

Happy Earth Day!

Happy 50th Earth Day!

Here are some activities for your children:

You can see Stacy McAnulty read her book Earth: My First 4.54 Billion Years on Instagram: www.instagram.com/macmillankidsbooks

Or, see a different video of the same book on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/zaPyMqQHugM

Earth Day drawings and activities by Jarrett Lerner are here and here. 

Additional Earth Day information and activity suggestions are here.

National Library Week

We are celebrating National Library Week very differently this year.  Instead of being together at the library, we invite you to explore the library from your home.  

Our library provides you with FREE access to ebooks, eaudiobooks, online learning opportunities, virtual programs, and more.  We also have compiled additional free educational and entertainment resources from other reputable sources for your consideration. 

Children can explore our options with this bingo board and win a prize for participating.  

(Our TNT (Teen and Tween, 6th - 12th grade) bingo page is here.)

National Library Week BINGO

Share Your Story: Share your experience during this time at home. Details here.	Color a coloring page, do an activity page, or try anything else from this list.	Read or listen to any book or part of a book.	Visit a museum virtually here.	Do something kind for someone else.
Read somewhere you don’t usually read -  in a blanket fort, under a table, outside, or anywhere you choose.	Write a book review.  It can be just one sentence or as much as you want to write.  Details here.	Play a game: I Spy, charades, a board game, a card game, or anything you choose.	Share a Smile: Write a letter or draw a picture to share with someone who receives Meals on Wheels. Details here.	Watch an live event or video of an author or illustrator, or an actor or astronaut reading a book.  Details here.
Tell someone about a book you have read or are reading.	Read or listen to an ebook or eaudiobook. Details here.	Your Choice: Choose something you like on this bingo board and do it again.	Create a comic, write a story, or try anything else from this list.	Observe the animals and plants you see and hear outside. Learn more about one. Details here.
Create something - a drawing, a story, a photograph, a song, a LEGO creation, origami, or anything you choose.	Visit a zoo, aquarium, or aviary virtually here.	Write a letter or draw a picture for a friend or family member.	Read a poem. Details here.	Read to someone else - a family member, friend (virtually), pet, or stuffed animal.
Learn something new that interests you.  Details here.	Go on a scavenger hunt or try anything else from the list of ideas here.	Write a poem, and share it with us to add to our Poetree, if you choose. Details here.	Watch our Stay-at-Home Story Night or attend a virtual library program or read any book. Details here.	Draw a picture about a book you have read.

You can:
- print the bingo page here (with color header and instructions)
- print the bingo page here (printer friendly black & white)
- save one of these images to your device 

with heading and instructions

just Bingo page

Then mark off the activities you do, and email the image or a picture of your paper copy to jperryman@milanlibrary.org.  

Complete one bingo to receive a free book after we reopen.  Complete additional bingos (2, 4, 6, and full card) to enter a prize drawing for a gift card to a local business or bookstore.  

We'll draw names for the prize drawing on Monday, May 4, so please submit your entries by Sunday, May 3.

If one (or more) of the bingo squares doesn't work for your child, you can choose any other activity on the page instead.  

If you have any questions, please email Jennifer at jperryman@milanlibrary.org.


Activity Details:

Most of the activities on the bingo page are already on our blog.  The links on each square will take you to those details. 

Here is more information about the items that don't already have a page.

Book Review: 

Write something about a book you have read.  It can be one sentence or as long as you want it to be. Tell if you liked the book or not and why you liked or didn't like it.  You can write anything else you would like. Younger children can tell an adult and/or draw a picture. Adults can talk with babies and young toddlers about the book. Anyone can talk/write/draw about what they think of a book. If you would like to share your review with us, we will post them online and in the library when we reopen. If you want to share it, you can email it to Jennifer at jperryman@milanlibrary.org.  Please include how you would like your child to be credited: first name and age, just age, or neither (anonymous). 



Animals and Plants:
Go outside - or watch and listen through a window - and see how many animals and plants you see. Notice what they look like, what they sound like, and what they are doing.  Pick one that interests you and learn more about it using any books you have at home or any of these resources: 

Britannica School Elementary (available through MeL)
EBSCO eBook K-8 Collection (available through MeL)
PebbleGo (available through MeL)

World Book Kids (available through MeL)
Michigan Department of Natural Resources - Learn about Michigan's Species
Michigan Department of Natural Resources - Attracting Frogs and Toads
Michigan Department of Natural Resources - Bird and other Wildlife Feeders

The following have fiction and nonfiction books. You may find the animal or plant you're looking for:
Tumblebooks

Overdrive/Libby



Learn Something New:
Use any of our resources or the resources we have shared from others to learn something new.
Learn how to draw something from an author/illustrator video here or a drawing page here.
- Explore World Book Kids, PebbleGo, or any other resource on MeL Kids
- Watch or try a science activity here
- Write a poem. Try a type you haven't written before. Details here.
- Download an ebook or eaudiobook here
- Or try any other activity or resource on our blog:
          Online reading, learning, and fun resources
          Printable activity pages, story starters and more
          Screen-free things to do at home

Stay-at-Home Story Night

Join us on Facebook on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 7:00 P.M. to hear a story.  

Larry Biederman, Library Board president, will read from April 14 through May 7.  

Tuesday, April 14: a LEGO picture book (video here)
Thursday, April 16: Dog Man - We'll read 15 to 20 minutes at a time and continue until the book is finished. (video here)
Tuesday, April 21: Dog Man continued (video here)
Thursday, April 23: Dog Man continued (video here)
Tuesday, April 28: Elephant and Piggie books (video here)
Thursday, April 30: More Elephant and Piggie books (video here)
Tuesday, May 5: Big Smelly Bear, Doctor Ted, and How Many Jelly Beans (video here)
Thursday, May 7: Curious George books (video here)

Ms. Jennifer from the library will read beginning on May 12.

Tuesday, May 12: Potato Pants and Our Silly Garden (video here)
Thursday, May 14: Mouse in the House and Traffic Pups (video here)
Tuesday, May 19: Little Hoot, Little Oink, and Little Pea (video here)
Thursday, May 21: Interstellar Cinderella and Reading Beauty (video here)

Ms. Jennifer from the library will read sometimes, and sometimes we will share videos of authors, illustrators, and others reading.

Tuesday, May 26: We shared videos of Sylvie read by The National Aviary (here) and Ranger in Time read by the author, Kate Messner (here)
Thursday, May 28: We shared a video of Arnie the Doughnut read by Chris O'Dowd on Storyline (here).
Tuesday, June 2: We shared a video of Catching the Moon read by Kevin Costner and Jillian Estell on Storyline (here).
Thursday, June 4: We shared a video of Max Goes to the Space Station read by NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins on the International Space Station via Story Time in Space (here).
Tuesday, June 9: We shared a video of The Case of the Missing Carrot Cake read by Wanda Sykes on Storyline (here).
Thursday, June 11: We shared a video of Lost and Found Cat: The True Story of Kunkush's Incredible Journey read by Doug Kuntz (one of the authors) on Storytime (here). 
Tuesday, June 16: Ms. Jennifer read two books: A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee and Most Marshmallows (here).
Thursday, June 18: Ms. Jennifer read two books: Billy Bloo is Stuck in Goo and Mrs. McNosh and the Great Big Squash (here).
Tuesday, June 23: Ms. Jennifer read Reptiles: True or False (here).


We will post future books as we get closer to them. We hope you'll join us!



____________________________________________________________

Additional resources:

Online reading, learning, and fun resources
Printable activity pages, story starters and more
Screen-free things to do at home
Resources about COVID-19 - books for children, journal pages, tips for talking with your child

Projects:

Share a Smile - Share artwork and letters with Meals on Wheels recipients.
Share Your Story - Share your experiences and daily life during this pandemic.
Poetry Month - Write a poem to add to our Poetree.

Poetry Month

April is Poetry Month.

We invite you to read and write poetry this month.

You can write any kind of poem you want.  You can email your poem to jperryman@milanlibrary.org or bring it to us after we reopen. You can put it on a "leaf" cut out of paper or submit it in any form and we'll add it to a leaf.

Once we reopen, we'll add your poems to our Poetree (poetry + tree) in the library.  As a thank you for participating, we will also have a random drawing to award prizes to a few people who participate.

Take a look at these resources to read and listen to poetry and try some poetry activities:

Poems for kids on poets.org - poetry for you to read

Shel Silverstein - read aloud videos, activities, and more

ReadWriteThink - interactive poetry writing.  Choose acrostic poems, haiku poems, or more and the site will walk you through from brainstorming to writing a poem.  Flash is required for this website.

Scholastic Poetry - Jack Prelutsky, Karla Kuskin, and Jean Marzollo each share one of their poems and writing tips for you to create your own poetry.

The following ebooks are available thouugh MeL in the Poetry & Short Story Reference Center
Click on the link for the book below and then choose PDF full text in the left column.

Poetry for Kids: Walt Whitman
Poetry for Kids: Robert Frost 
Emily Dickinson: Poetry for Kids 

Here is one of our previous Poetrees (poetry + tree). 
We hope to have your poems to add to our Poetree this year when we reopen.

____________________________________________________________

Additional resources:

Online reading, learning, and fun resources
Printable activity pages, story starters and more
Screen-free things to do at home
Resources about COVID-19 - books for children, journal pages, tips for talking with your child

Projects:

Share a Smile - Share artwork and letters with Meals on Wheels recipients.
Share Your Story - Share your experiences and daily life during this pandemic.
Poetry Month - Write a poem to add to our Poetree.

Storytime at Home: U is for . . .

We've been reading through the alphabet this year in Storytime.  Since we won't be able to meet in person for a while, here are some ideas for you to continue with the alphabet at home.

There are more choices than we'd use in one Storytime.  You can choose what you want to do and skip the rest - or spread out the activities over multiple times.

If you missed the T post last week, you can see it here.

The letter U

You can write the letters U and u on paper for your child to see.

Here is the letter u in sign language:

And the entire alphabet:

Songs

• The Alphabet Song

• We Clap and Say Hello
  
  We clap and say hello.
  We clap and say hello.
  With our friends in Storytime,
  We clap and say hello.
  
  You can change the third line to: "With our family in our house" to better fit the situation, if you prefer.
  
  Take turns choosing activities with your child: jump, spin, dance, . . . anything you want!

• Silly Dance Contest
  recorded during a live concert here (some verses different from our CD)
  CD version here

Books

You can look through your books at home for things that start with U and read some of those with your child.  Unicorns, up, underground, under water, uniforms (or occupations that wear uniforms) underwear, umbrellas, and unique are some U words you might find in your books.

Here are two online books:

Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner read by Kate Messner on YouTube here This is a story about a child, a grandmother, and their garden.   "Up" in this story refers to things above ground, in relation to things down in the dirt. For younger children who may think of "up" as things they look up to see or things higher than they are, you may need to explain that "up" in this book is above ground. Think about lying on your stomach on the ground - things you would see above the ground are "up in the garden;" things under the ground are "down in the dirt." If you read Tops & Bottoms last week, you can compare the two books.  Did anything in this book remind you of Tops & Bottoms? Would you want to choose "tops" or "bottoms" if you were growing the vegetable on this page?

Uni the Unicorn by Amy Krouse Rosenthal  read by Brightly Storytime on YouTube here  Uni the Unicorn believes that little girls are real; the other unicorns do not think girls are real.  Uni imagines what she would do if she met a real girl.

Crafts

Up:

You can draw a garden - with plants growing UP and roots growing down. Add anything your child would like that is UP - clouds, birds, etc.

Unicorn craft:

You can print the template here or draw and cut out the shapes.
Source (which includes instructions): easypeasyandfun.com

Unicorn masks:

You can print a unicorn mask here, color it, cut it out, and pretend to be a unicorn.
Source: itsalwaysautumn.com






U page for alphabet books:  
U page here and U pictures here


Additional activities

UNDERWATER animal watching:
You can watch live views of underwater animals on Georgia Aquarium's website here.

Scavenger hunt:
Go on a scavenger hunt in your house or yard.  You can look for things that start with the letter U and/or look for the letter U written on packages, book titles, artwork in your house, etc.  See how many you can find.

UP and down game:
Name something and ask your child to jump UP if the item is found up or crouch down low if the item is found down. After a few times, ask your child to name something and you can both jump UP or crouch down.  Continue taking turns with your child.  Some ideas: clouds, the moon, the sun, stars, the top of a tall tree, grass, the floor, your feet.  Keep in mind some things can be up or down; for example a bird can be "up" when it's flying or "down" when it's standing on the ground.  If you and your child differ on whether something is up or down, it is a good opportunity to talk about why.

UNDER guessing game:
Find a cup, bowl, bucket, or other container that you can't see through.  Choose a familiar object from your house and hide it UNDER the container.  Ask your child to guess what it is. Give them clues and encourage them to ask questions to help them figure out what is hidden.  Then have your child hide an object for you to guess.  Continue taking turns hiding items and guessing.

____________________________________________________________

Additional resources:

Online reading, learning, and fun resources
Printable activity pages, story starters and more
Screen-free things to do at home
Resources about COVID-19 - books for children, journal pages, tips for talking with your child

Projects:

Share a Smile - Share artwork and letters with Meals on Wheels recipients.
Share Your Story - Share your experiences and daily life during this pandemic.
Poetry Month - Write a poem to add to our Poetree.

Children's Books in Emojis

How many children's books can you name based on their description in emojis?

Source: Pobble

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Additional resources:

Online reading, learning, and fun resources
Printable activity pages, story starters and more
Screen-free things to do at home
Resources about COVID-19 - books for children, journal pages, tips for talking with your child

Projects:

Share a Smile - Share artwork and letters with Meals on Wheels recipients.
Share Your Story - Share your experiences and daily life during this pandemic.

Poetry Month - Write a poem to add to our Poetree.

Share a Smile

We are collaborating with Milan Seniors for Healthy Living to share children's artwork and letters with individuals who are served by Meals on Wheels.

Children are home from school, perhaps looking for extra things to do.  Individuals are home alone, perhaps looking for virtual connections to others.  We hope to connect these two groups by inviting your children to write a letter and/or draw a picture that we can share with the Meals on Wheels program.

If you'd like to participate, please scan or take a picture of your child's letter(s) and/or drawing(s) and email it to Jennifer at the library (jperryman@milanlibrary.org).  She will compile the submissions and email them to Milan Seniors for Healthy Living. Someone from Meals on Wheels will print them and distribute them to individuals through their deliveries.  Given the current health situation, we think this is the best option to share messages without sharing germs.

If you have any questions, please contact Jennifer Perryman at jperryman@milanlibrary.org.

Thank you in advance for "sharing a smile!"

____________________________________________________________

Additional resources:

Online reading, learning, and fun resources
Printable activity pages, story starters and more
Screen-free things to do at home
Resources about COVID-19 - books for children, journal pages, tips for talking with your child

Projects:

Share a Smile - Share artwork and letters with Meals on Wheels recipients.
Share Your Story - Share your experiences and daily life during this pandemic.


Poetry Month - Write a poem to add to our Poetree.

Share Your Story

We are all living through an unusual time.  The current pandemic affects all of us, and each of us in a different way.

Our library would like to collect a local account of this time.  We invite you to send us anything you'd like to share - photographs, drawings, writings - anything that shares what your experience and daily life now is like.

We plan to compile your submissions into a collection to have in the library.  Our community will have access to this account now - and when this is history, our future community will be able to read first-hand accounts of our experiences.

Here are a few writing prompts for children, if you'd like to use them.  You can also write and/or draw anything in any format.

If you need ideas, here are a few suggestions:
What did you do today that you wouldn't have done on a "normal" day?
What did you not do today that you would have done on a "normal" day?
What do you miss about school or work?
What do you like or not like about being home and away from school or work?
How are you keeping in touch with family and friends while you can't visit them in person?
Have you done something to help someone else?
Has someone done something to help you?
Have you missed an event during this time?
What are you looking forward to doing after we return to "normal."

You can submit information to us:

• here - A Gmail account is required. You'll upload your submission directly on that page.
• Email us at info@milanlibrary.org and then complete this form.
• Bring information to the library once we reopen.  We can scan your documents if you'd like to keep the originals.

We look forward to seeing what you share.


A separate project:
The Library of Michigan is also collecting information through their COVID-19: Save Your Story project in collaboration with the Historical Society of Michigan.  If you are interested in participating in their project, you can see details are here.  (Please share with us, too!)

____________________________________________________________

Additional resources:

Online reading, learning, and fun resources
Printable activity pages, story starters and more
Screen-free things to do at home
Resources about COVID-19 - books for children, journal pages, tips for talking with your child

Projects:

Share a Smile - Share artwork and letters with Meals on Wheels recipients.
Share Your Story - Share your experiences and daily life during this pandemic.
Poetry Month - Write a poem to add to our Poetree.