Kids Blog : storytime

Spanish for Kids!

evillebibliophile@evpl — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:27:00 GMT

North Park Branch Library will be offering a Beginner's Spanish Class and a Spanish story time starting in March.

The Beginners class will start on Wednesday, March 3 at 4:30pm and will run through May 5th. The class will introduce Spanish basics through games and songs in an immersive style. This class is suitable for children ages 5 through 6th grade. Registration is required, and there are only 15 spots available. Please click here to register.

Cuentos y Canciones is a bi-linguql story time that will introduce non-native Spanish speakers to the language. Children will learn animals, colors, numbers, body parts and rhymes in Spanish. This story time starts on Tuesday, March 2 at 11am and will run through may 4th. Registration is NOT required!

If you have any questions about the classes, please contact me! You can also visit the class blog at: http://www.espanolevpl.wordpress.com for more information!

Thanksgiving Tunes are Slim Pickn's

FiddleChick@evpl — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:27:00 GMT

As I was getting ready for my program, Music Mania, I did what I always do; I research tunes that I can play on violin or guitar. However, I didn't expect Thanksgiving to be an underappreciated musical holiday. Of course, many may already know that "Over the River and Through the Woods" would be a spectacular tune to play as it is a Thanksgiving song. However, it’s not a very interactive song and at times...these kids get bored fast if you don't keep them moving. So, what did I do? I changed up the lyrics on a few tunes I already had and created some new ones as well. One song in particular that I really enjoyed was a traditional mountain music song I found which held only one verse and one refrain. I ended up creating 3 new verses by finding a silly Thanksgiving poem and inserting the refrain after every verse.

Turkey Song

As I came over yonders hill,

I spied a mighty turkey,

he flapped his wings and he spread his tail,

and his feet looked awful dirty.

Refrain

Fol-link-a-tidy,

Fol-de-link-a-tidy-o,

Fol-link-a-tidy,

and his feet looked awful dirty.

I'm full of tomatoes,

and french fried potatoes,

my stomach is swollen and sore,

but there's still some dessert,

so I guess it won't hurt,

if I eat just a little bit more.

Refrain

Using tunes with simple refrain or chorus are always the best to use with children; especially if they are silly and easy to learn.

Spooky tales from the mountains

bookmarkbeck@evpl — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:20:00 GMT

West Branch Library will host Susan Bolton, storyteller, librarian, and musician, on Tuesday night, October 28th at 6:30 P.M. Susan will entertain us with spooky Appalachian Folktales just in time for Halloween. Enjoy some mountain music, refreshments, and door prizes. Kids can dress in costume. Please come join us. The whole family is welcome.

There's more in paradise than cheeseburgers.

bookmarkbeck@evpl — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 21:06:00 GMT

I'm talking about children's books written by the "man from Margaritaville"-Jimmy Buffett and his daughter Savannah Jane Buffett. One is JOLLY MON, an original tale about a magic quitar and the man who finds it. Parrotheads can also enjoy a musical version on Buffett's CDs. The other, though good, but not as well written(in my opinion) is TROUBLE DOLLS. TROUBLE DOLLS is based on the Guatemalan legend that a set of tiny wooden dolls placed under your pillow at night will take away your worries and troubles. The real story is very sweet and ends happy. Guatemalan people often attach worry dolls to barrettes, belts, and wire wreaths or as ornaments and gifts. They are kept in a tiny wooden box.

Enjoy these two books, but don't forget to check out SILLY BILLY and THE CURSE OF THE TROUBLE DOLLS in out library system. Making a set of trouble or worry dolls is a good craft to accompany the books.

Music Mania's Special Guests: Tales & Scales

FiddleChick@evpl — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:29:00 GMT

As a former Teaching Artist of Tales & Scales, I am SO happy to present the Tales & Scales Musictelling Company as our special guests at Music Mania this Friday, September 26th at 4:00 pm in the Central Library Lobby. This open reahearsal will last one hour and give patrons an opportunity to witness first-hand the process that Tales & Scales goes through to create and refine their musictelling performances, plus, get a sneak preview of some of their 2008-2009 musictales! Don't miss this wonderful opportunity to see the Tales & Scales musictellers at work!

A "heifer" is not always a cow...

bookmarkbeck@evpl — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:44:00 GMT

Homeschool moms, teachers, and librarians interested in teaching children a lesson in compassion will appreciate these gems. The fact that these books are based on TRUE happenings will impact children's thoughts and feelings.

Beatrice's Goat by Page Mc Brier- A little girl in Uganda receives a pregnant goat from Heifer International allowing her to buy a uniform, books, and attend school-her lifelong dream.

The Goat Lady by Jane Bregoli-A story about Noelie Lemire Houle, a Canadian woman living in Massachusettes who raised goats for Heifer International. Her life and farm are memorialized in beautiful paintings done by the author and hung in Dartmouth Town Hall and library.

Mia's Story by Michael Foreman-A little girl living in a "trash city" in Chile who turns her misfortune and sadness into happiness. The illustrations and line drawings are wonderful. Touching and inspiring-positive feelings of hope.

Heifer International is an organization providing livestock etc. to impoverished areas of the world.

Teaching Music Appreciation for Children

FiddleChick@evpl — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 20:38:00 GMT

Sometimes individuals see music as something only a trained professional can do or teach. In learning a specific instrument and to one day perform or teach it for a living you may be right. However, there are some things you can do as a parent, relative or teacher to help young children learn about the world around them through music.

Having a background and a degree in music can give you a distinct advantage, but as I have also worked with young children for many years (not only as a librarian but as a Teaching Artist for Tales & Scales) I quickly learned that the children do not come to your program to grade you on how proficient you are in music, they come to have fun! And we as educators should make it fun. But if you are not sure about picking up an instrument or have never palyed one before, try using hand-helds or other various percussion instruments! There is never a time that I haven't had at least one child go for my hand-held instrument's before going to my violin. These are such useful tools in teaching not only musical terms such as dynamics and rhythm, but they are also very useful for creating a whole different world. When reading a story to a child, don't just read it...interact within the story to the child. This week's theme for Music Mania is Animals. One of the various songs we will be singing is about different animals and one of them just happens to be a rattlesnake. I would then ask a child to pick out an instrument that best represents a rattlesnake. Generally they would go for the maraca's and just shake it. However, this just won't do during Music Mania...you can't just shake the maraca's to be a snake, you have to TRANSFORM into the snake (this is the part where they crawl all over the floor and shake the maraca's). You can use this example for other animals as well. A tambourine can be transformed into a dog collar by placing it around your neck as you bark like a dog.

Teaching music appreciation can be fun! Don't be worried about looking silly, just have fun with it!

Osborne, Usborn, Usborne, Us Born Books, whatever?

bookmarkbeck@evpl — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 17:43:00 GMT

Is anyone familiar with this publisher and the Usborne Books? I don't mean Mary Pope Osborne, but that's what came to mind when my next door neighbor started raving about the beautiful educational books she buys for her daughter.

Then I remembered, I have one on my bookshelf-On the Beach a lift the flap book . I love it! The illustrations are filled with beautiful color , detail, and dimension. The text is informative. What intrigued me was that these books can be

purchased at book parties-just like tupperware. You can attend a party or give one, be a consultant just like Mary Kay and make up beautiful bookshelves instead of faces. Is anyone a consultant or knows one? Has anyone been to a party? We have lots of these books in the system and I'm glad. Thanks EZReader. Look under Usborne and enjoy.

"Banjo Granny"

FiddleChick@evpl — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 19:43:00 GMT

As I was looking for books patrons could check out that tied into my theme of the week (Folk Music) for Music Mania, I found a great book called "Banjo Granny" by Sarah Martin Busse & Jacqueline Briggs Martin. At the very beginning of the book there is a song written for the author's grandon (Jacqueline)/ son (Sarah). It is a delightful book of how a grandmother who happens to play banjo travels across the country to see her grandchild and play bluegrass music for him. This book actually reminded me of a previous childrens librarin, Beth Reasoner, who moved up north in Indiana to be closer to her own grandson. She also happens to be guitarist as well! So, for all of you cool grandmothers or mothers with a pretty cool mom who plays an instrument, this just may be the book for you!

Woody Guthrie ALWAYS makes folk music fun

FiddleChick@evpl — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 16:21:00 GMT

This weeks theme for Music Mania is "Folk Music." By folk I of course mean "American Folk" or "Mountain Music." Of course, I already believe no matter what age you are, you are going to love folk music because of its peppy energy and silly lyrics. But, it never hurts to find some great resources to translate that to children and make it fun and interesting for them. That's why I would recommend "Woody's 20 Grow Big Songs." This comes as a C.D. within the EVPL system but it was also published as a book with lyrics and music. We no longer have the book, but it DOES still come in print (Check out Amazon.com)! This book also has guitar tabs for you to use as a guide to learning these wonderful songs. So, check it out!

Children and how they can learn about composers

FiddleChick@evpl — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:43:00 GMT

This week's theme for Music Mania is Composers! As I imagine, like many teachers, I wondered for a moment how I was going to get kids into learning about composers. I was able to come across a great C.D. called "Peter Ustinov reads The Orchestra." This C.D. is actually based from the book by Mark Rubin. In this C.D. Peter Ustinov narrates to children about various subjects including composers. So, I took this narration from a Tales & Scales standpoint by asking the children what THEY would do if they were composers while giving them hints on what a composer would look for when creating music (dynamics, tempo, melody, harmony, tone color, etc). Do we want our music loud, soft or in between? Do we want our music fast, slow or in between? I of course have a piece of music in mind that is familiar to the children and would play this excerpt on my violin fast, slow, in between as well as loud, soft and in between. Of course, there are so many more places you can go when composing music so feel free to branch from this C.D. and beyond. Hopefully this will be a great tool for others just as it has been for me.

dr. jean

bookmarkbeck@evpl — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:56:00 GMT

Dr. Jean songs and books will be featured at the NBL storytimes next week. Dr. Jean has 35 years experience in education and as a consultant. She holds a PH.D. from Georgia State University. Twelve of her popular songs have been"hand selected and transformed into delightful readers." I know an old lady who swallowed a one, and My mother is a baker will be especially fun. Kids love Dr. Jean and she has wonderful ideas for us. Wouldn't she be a good presenter at cypd or a summertime program? Let's keep getting her stuff for sure!

Breathing new life into the music world

FiddleChick@evpl — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:17:00 GMT

You may notice after a period of time that your own child may become bored with their studies within classical music. Don't be discouraged or worried! As a classically trained musician I also went through a period of time where I became bored. Sometimes you become used to one type of song and dance. It wasn't until I was 16 that I began experimenting with different genres of music and was introduced to a violinist who was breathing new life into the music world. Her name is Vanessa Mae. A classically trained violinist as well, but brings the classics into what she describes as "violin techno-acoustic fusion." By taking classical pieces and giving them a new edge she updates the classics and makes them relevant and interesting to today’s age of children while still maintaining the integrity of the compositions. Another woman I found who makes this era of music exciting and new is Petra Berger. As a vocalist who is compared to the likes of Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion, this native Dutchwoman is TREMENDOUSLY musical and takes popular operetic pieces and gives it a new spin.

To take a look at both of these ladies click on the hyperlinks below.

Vanessa Mae

Petra Berger

How to make classical music fun for kids

FiddleChick@evpl — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:21:00 GMT

I've noticed not only as a former child musician but now as an adult musician/teacher that getting young children interested in classical music is almost like pulling teeth! Some kids just aren't interested in the classics. So, how do you get them interested? The Director of Education at the Evansville Philharmonic introduced me to an amazing C.D. titled "Beethoven's Wig: Sing A-Long Symphonies." I kid you not; you will laugh aloud just like I did when you hear the lyrics to the most recognizable classical music such as Beethoven's 5th Symphony. The lyrics you may ask?

Beethoven's Wig is very big
Beethoven's wig is long and curly and it's white
Beethoven takes his wig off when he sleeps at night
Because it's big

This C.D. amongst many new additions is available at EVPL (Beethoven's Wig: Sing A-Long Symphonies). Check it out! I guarantee your children will love it!

Beethoven's Wig Website: http://www.beethovenswig.com/

Fall Children's program schedules available now!

Blazer@evpl — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:59:00 GMT

Check out your favorite branch and all the wonderful programs coming your way beginning September 2!