Our most recent kindergarten storytime featured the funny days-of-the-week book Mrs. Honey’s Hat by Pam Adams. In the story, the elderly Mrs. Honey does not notice when her grandson and a variety of animals take things from her elaborate hat in exchange for things less desirable. After the story, the children helped to retell it by trading objects on a straw hat for other items. Then the children decorated newspaper hats with the items on Mrs. Honey’s original hat: feathers, cherries (red circles), shells (cut from paper), buttercups (yellow paper flowers), lace (section of a doily), and ribbon. The children loved wearing their Mrs. Honey hats as they left the library. Our thanks to volunteers Roger Gagne and Jean Whitaker for making all those hats!
Mrs. Honey’s Hat
Thankful thoughts
Last week’s library contest provided students with an opportunity to reflect on things for which they are thankful. They were asked to complete the sentence “I am thankful for…” Everyone who did this received a bookmark. Each day during morning announcements last week and this, some statements are read. The following thankful thoughts represent the students’ responses.
- · I am thankful for my family and my friends and my pets and my class and my teacher and my cousins.
- · I am thankful for food, air, and water because I would not live if I did not have food, air, and water.
- · I am thankful for school because I can do math and art and music and I can help others.
- · I am thankful for the Armed Forces.
- · I am thankful for my family, for shelter, food to eat, clothes to wear, and books to read.
- · I am thankful for the Pilgrims and the Mayflower.
- · I am thankful for having a dog and having a brother that I can play with all the time.
All about pets
Mrs. McCall’s class visited the Animal Welfare Society in Kennebunk last week. In conjunction with that field trip, the class’ storytime had a pet theme. The visit began with the song “Bingo.” Next was the book May I Pet Your Dog?: The How-To Guide for Kids Meeting Dogs (and Dogs Meeting Kids) by Stephanie Calmenson. The story was followed by a pet care activity. Each student blindly pulled an item from a bag, identified it, and explained its use. The items included a collar, a leash, a brush, dog tags, and a food dish.
First graders make video
First grade teacher Miss Maria Miliano is the leader of our school’s effort to raise funds by upcycling drink pouches and zippered baggies through Terracycle. Miss Miliano started collecting the pouches and bags last year and many teachers joined in. This year the effort is school-wide. In an attempt to educate staff and students about the project, the first graders created a digital story about the process. Miss Miliano took the photos and Mrs. Miliano helped the students to record the audio. The video was viewed at a recent staff meeting and it is available for teachers to share with their students. You can help CJL by collecting drink pouches and zippered bags at home and sending them into school!
Days of the week
The theme of last week’s kindergarten storytime was the days of the week. The
session began with the song “Days of the Week.” It was followed by a pair of books by John Himmelman: Chickens to the Rescue and Pigs to the Rescue. Both humorous stories use the days of the week as their framework. After the stories, the children played a bean bag game which reinforced the days of the week. The students would likely agree that every day is a good day for a visit to the library!