Sensory Items This Summer

This summer I decided to add a sensory/play element to my storytimes. Here is what we have done so far. I have my last summer storytime next week and we will be playing with a magnetic fishing game.

Independence Day

I had a very small storytime group this week, and most of them were older children (6-10). We read one more book than normal and learned a bit about American symbols. We finished with a Water Fireworks experiment and a glitter fireworks craft. Glitter fireworks were made by putting a large glob of glue on the paper and using a q-tip to "pull" the glue out to make firework shapes. I then had them bring their sheets to me and I put glitter on it.

Inspiration for this flannel board came from Mel's Desk.

Aargh! Pirates!

Lots of pirate "Aarghs!" and common phrases filled this storytime. We even went on a treasure hunt at the end! We read 3 books, practiced colors with the flannel board "Pirate Patches, " played a game similar to memory with "Treasure Matching," and decorated a die cut pirate ship. A co-worker colored the example,
so I can't take credit for her awesome cat!

Beach Day

It wouldn't be summer without the beach! Here is what happened in storytime last week:

Great for bilingual storytime as well!

We also used the flannel boards "Five Little Seashells" and "Five Little Sandcastles."
The flannel board pieces for There Was an Old Lady came from here: http://makinglearningfun.com/themepages/OldLadyShell-FeltBoard.htm.

We made a beach book using a template from The Mailbox as our craft. I created two sand and seashell sensory boxes for kids to play with at the end. They enjoyed seeing the different kinds of shells and would hold them up to their ears to hear the ocean.

Summer Reading Club Bulletin Board

Make a Splash: Read!

Ocean Friends

First summer storytime! Always an interesting mix of regular patrons and lots of people there for the very first time. Our library's summer reading program theme is "Make a Splash: READ!" So, all of this summer's storytimes will be based on this theme. First up: Ocean Friends. I'm trying very hard to incorporate sensory and play items after learning all about it at ALA this spring. Here is what we read:

The flannel board story "The Hat" and flannel board rhyme "Five Little Ocean Friends" were used.

We also made a moved along with egg shakers, made a jellyfish craft and played with an ocean sensory item. The sensory idea came from this blog: http://homeschoolhighplains.blogspot.com/2012/11/o-is-for-ocean-and-octopus.html

August Displays

I chose sports as my theme for August displays. Here is what they looked like: