We started our annual Dr. Seuss Week off with our parade — and the children always love it. It’s such a festive way to kick off the week. Dr. Seuss spirit fills the air! Every day has a different theme, which makes the week so much fun! The excitement really engages the children — and … More GREEN EGGS AND HAM…YUM! DR. SEUSS WEEK
The Three Little Pigs is one of my favorite stories to read to the children. This well-known tale helps them grow as early readers. The repeating text gives children confidence. They begin to anticipate the words, join in with the phrases, and quickly memorize key parts of the story. Before long, they aren’t just listening — … More THE THREE LITTLE PIGS by Mara Alperin, illustrated Ag Jatkowska
Jerry Pinkney is a Caldecott Award–winning author and illustrator, and his illustrations are stunning. His version of The Tortoise and the Hare is set in the desert, which allowed us to explore deserts and cacti. We also talked about the difference between a turtle and a tortoise, and a rabbit and a hare. I personally think we all … More THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE by Jerry Pinkney
Happy Lunar New Year! It is the year of the HORSE! We started our celebration at our preschool by taking a “flight to China”. We visited some famous sites and learned more about China. We also had a big parade to celebrate. The kindergarten class made this beautiful dragon, and the TK class made the … More THE TRUTH ABOUT DRAGONS by Julie Leung, Illustrated by Hanna Cha
Years ago, I installed this into the library. It is certainly looking a little worn, but the children still love it and want to know all about it. So of course, I had to find yet another version of Jack and the Beanstalk. This is my 6th version of the story! I love this story … More JACK AND THE BEANSTALK by Katie Daynes, illustrated by Paddy Mounter
I like to start this book asking about this picture. What season is it? How do you know? Do you see footprints in the snow? Who could they belong to? Is that a cave? Could a bear be sleeping in it? And then we can talk a little about hibernation. Our vocabulary word: It would … More BEAR SNORES ON by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman
This week we read another classic Aesop fable. The older children were able to begin understanding the moral behind the story, while for the younger children I simply focused on introducing the story itself. It is a wonderful story for opening up conversations about honesty, lying, and the consequences our choices can have. Our vocabulary … More THE BOY WHO CRIED WOLF by Mairi Mackinnon, illustrated by Mike and Carl Gordon
Welcome to Italian week! We started our week with a flight to Italy. Each student had their own passport and a boarding pass. Each child had a seat on the “plane”, our flight attendant and captain shared a safety video and facts about Italy. When the children arrived to Italy, they were all given cameras … More PASTA PLEASE! By Melvin Berger
Christmas time at a preschool can be both wonderful and chaotic—full of loud, joyful noise. Between parties, concerts, Santa visits, and pure excitement, the days are busy and full. This book felt like the perfect choice to offer the children a small slice of calm and quiet amid all the holiday bustle. Mysterious was our … More THE CHRISTMAS QUIET BOOK, by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Renata Liwska
How does Santa go down the chimney? Isn’t that the question every child has asked for as long as anyone can remember? And they are still asking. What if you don’t have a chimney? This is a cute, funny book that addresses these questions. And of course, Mrs. Clause knows all. Does he go headfirst? … More HOW DOES SANTA GO DOWN THE CHIMNEY? by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen
Did you know Aesop was an ancient Greek storyteller who was originally a slave? His stories have been around for thousands of years. They all teach a moral lesson, and it seems these morals are truly timeless. I read a book that referenced this fable, and it made me wonder whether this story is still … More THE GOOSE THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGGS by Mairi Mackinnon, illustrated by Daniel Howarth
We are a play-based school. Sometimes I have to remind myself how important play is. This book is a lovely reminder. “Play-based learning is crucial in early childhood because it fosters cognitive, social, and emotional development through natural exploration and creativity. It enhances problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity, while also helping children develop essential social … More NOT-A-BOX-CITY by Antoinette Portis
It was a busy and fun week, wrapping up with our Halloween celebrations! This is a simple, not-too-scary book that I thought would be just perfect for this week. Jan Brett is one of my favorite illustrators. Our vocabulary word was growl. We practiced our growls and howls, so that the children could understand the … More SCARY, SCARY HALLOWEEN by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Jan Brett
October is Community Helper Month! We are so lucky to have officers on duty at our school! This past week, they brought their police vehicles for us to explore and showed us their uniforms. We want to take a moment to thank our police officers for keeping us safe and for taking the time to … More THE POLICE STATION by Aaron Carr
Since October is the “spooky” month, I decided this might be a great book to read together. This little girl is convinced there are all sorts of scary things in her backyard. I don’t know about you, but it doesn’t take much for my mind to wander down that same spooky path! Our children have … More SPOOKY EERIE NIGHT NOISE by Mona Rabun Reeves, illustrated by Paul Yalowitz
We’re so lucky to have dear friends and family who help us navigate life when things go awry. We might talk about it, shout about it, remember it, laugh about it, hide from it, even think about throwing everything away or making someone else suffer. But often, what we really need is someone to simply … More THE RABBIT LISTENED by Cori Doerrfeld
Creativity Courage Collaboration We celebrated International Dot Day! Dot day is a day that encourages creativity, courage, and collaboration by inspiring people of all ages to “make their mark,” beginning with just a small dot, and to share their creativity with the world. But really shouldn’t every day be Dot Day? We started the story by … More THE DOT by Peter H. Reynolds
The winner of the 2023 Caldecott Medal and a cute summer book. Poor dog is soooo hot. We had some fun making all the sound effects from these pages. She seems like a caring dog mom. We practiced calling a taxi too. A train. A boat. A pier. Where are we? So much fun. Oh … More HOT DOG by Doug Salati
We have been celebrating Mothers all week! Happy Mother’s Day! You know this illustration makes me happy. Is there any better way to spend time with your child? We identified the mommies and their babies. And of course all the wonderful things our mothers do with us and for us. Come on moms, let your … More I LOVE MY MOMMY BECAUSE… by Laurel Porter-Gaylord, illustrated Ashley Wolff
If you don’t know Doreen Cronin and Click, Clack Moo – you need to go look that book up now. They are cute, clever and funny books. The kind that are just as fun for the adults to read as the children. This one does not disappoint. Our vocabulary word (no, it is not a … More GIGGLE, GIGGLE, QUACK by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Betsy Lewin
A growth mindset is the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication, effort, and learning, rather than being fixed traits, encouraging individuals to embrace challenges and learn from setbacks. Every once in a while, people give me books by friends or family. This is one of them, and look how cute it is. … More THE YET PET by Theresa Tan
In this version she is taking Brussels sprouts soup to her grandmother. Hahah. Of course, we needed to look at the rules of the woods. 1. Keep to the path 2. Don’t talk to wolves. Oh no! She forgot one of the rules. (Our children felt confident they would never forget that one). What a … More LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD, retold by Susanna Davidson, illustrated by Mike Gordon
In a world of globalization, it is important that our children learn about other cultures. This week we celebrated Italy. The food, the historical sites, and the language. How fun! In the library, we read Pasta Pasta Lotsa Pasta. We looked at all the pastas from the book. Do you know them all? Do you … More PASTA PASTA LOTSA PASTA by Aimee Lucido, illustrations by Mavisu Demirag
This book is a 2018 Caldecot Medal winner. The illustrations are amazing. There are very few words in this book, and really none are needed. The children (even the 2 year olds) were all enthralled. (Notice the Little Red Riding Hood similarity). This reminds me of Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey. Who is more … More WOLF IN THE SNOW by Matthew Cordell
Last spring I attended a preschool education conference. A very talented and inspiring speaker, https://playtolearnpreschool.us, was giving away literacy sets from https://rallyfeltco.com, via numbers under our seats. How thrilled was I to win this!? You know it is one of my favorites. Retelling a story is so important for our emerging readers. I have not … More THE THREE BILLY GOATS GRUFF by Mara Alperin, illustrated by Kate Pankhurst
There were ghosts in the library this week as we celebrated Halloween and The Day of the Dead. The Day of the Dead is celebrated mostly in Mexico. It honors loved ones who have passed away. The children loved this book. It is cute, colorful and just a little spooky. I think almost every child … More GUSTAVO THE SHY GHOST, by Flavia Z. Drago
We are so happy to be back! 🙂 Children love the “misbehaving” David. Probably because we can all relate to him! 🙂 Our vocabulary word for this book is tardy. How do we know this is the library? What will David do now? Will he play nicely with his friends? I love David Shannon. On … More DAVID GOES TO SCHOOL by David Shannon
Miss Library’s Sister, Mother Goose is always happy to see all of the children! Each child jumped over a candlestick to get into the library (and took home this card so they could jump at home!): Mother Goose reminded the children how she gets around (on her goose of course) and where she lives(in this … More Mother Goose reading LITTLE LUMPTY by Miko Imai
This is a funny little Easter book that has some subtle character lessons in it for the children. Cat is JEALOUS (our vocabulary word) of the Easter Bunny. He chooses a motorcycle to get around, which of course the children love. He also puts together a snazzy outfit. But Cat soon learns how hard he … More HERE COMES THE EASTER CAT by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Claudia Rueda … More HERE COMES THE EASTER CAT by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Claudia Rueda
GREEN EGGS AND HAM by Dr. Seuss. We started our Dr. Seuss week with a wonderful parade. The Kindergarten class made a large birthday cake and Trufulla trees, and the TK class made a Dr. Seuss Hat (all made in maker space): Every year, I swear I am going to choose another book for the … More I DO SO LIKE GREEN EGGS AND HAM. THANK YOU! THANK YOU, SAM-I -AM