Little Kids Rock

Preschool music is not only “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and “The Wheels on the Bus,” although we love familiar, favorite songs during story times.

I didn’t know much about other preschool music until the four several years. In that time, I’ve heard concerts and dance parties geared toward ages 0 to 5, and parents, with some really fun music. Award winners like Alphabet Rockers, Alison Faith Levy, and Lucky Diaz come to mind.

We have new furniture to hold the CDs, so now they are in order, and easier to find. But it’s still always fun to browse what is here.  We have one CD by Lucky Diaz, call number J782.42083 DIAZ. And one by Alison Levy CD J782.42083 LEVY.

 

The mix tapes we use for Stay & Play also have a lot of other great artists and sources. Some include Party in my Tummy — about including fruits and vegetables in your diet. Another one is Pancakes & Syrup — it’s breakfast time. Also “Brush Brush Brush” about how to brush your teeth. And we end with a fun song about cleaning up, What a Mess What a Mess, What a Mess. I found out these songs come from Yo Gabba Gabba. We have several music CDs and DVDs from this program. One CD call number is: CD J781.546 YO

The Alphabet Rockers are also a lot of fun with a rap beat — I’ve heard them perform, as well.  According to our catalog summary, ” Alphabet Rockers is comparable to Yo Gabba Gabba and Choo Choo Soul in their hip hop style, beats, and catchy educational tunes” and include songs such as “Eat the Rainbow” and “Go!”…See CD J781.649 ALPHABET

We hope you enjoy our story times for preschool (January) or toddlers (November/December), and check out the fun music CDs we have for little ones.

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Trick or Treat Time is Almost Here!

Get out those Halloween decorations, the big day is only a week away! I remember the excitement when my kids were young.  We would visit a very sincere pumpkin patch, and the kids would pick out a pumpkin. A day or two ahead of time their dad would carve the pumpkin and we were all set!  On the big day, there were always activities at school, but at night they were ready to trick or treat! It w as fun to see the kids excitement as we went around the neighborhood and they would fill up their sacks with goodies.  And when we were done, watching them go through the goodies, and checking to make sure they were okay, was quite an event!

This year as I look back,   I miss those days.  But I am so lucky, because I have a new grandson coming any day, and one day we will get to share the Halloween fun and excitement together.  Happy Halloween, everyone!

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Tilden Regional Park, Botanic Garden

One of the best places to visit for nature lovers and nature enthusiast is Tilden Regional Park’s Botanic Garden.  The Botanic Garden displays many of California native plants.

 

Specimens of plants have been brought in from all corners of the state for the public to enjoy. The garden is open from 8:30 AM  to 5:00 PM from October 1st until May 31st and from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM from June 1st until September 30th and closed on New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

To see the prominent plants at a particular time of the year and for more information, check out Tilden Regional Park’s Botanical Garden Website.

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Check Out Laptops and iPads at the Library? Oh yes!

Fremont Main Library patrons can now borrow digital devices for in-library use.  Up on the second floor at Fremont Main is a Laptops Anytime kiosk where patrons can choose either a Dell Latitude 5000 laptop or an Apple iPad Air 2 tablet. A patron with a valid Alameda County Library card (the temporary computer passes will not work) can check out a device for two hours and enjoy access to the Internet, the library’s collection of e-resources, and a broad variety of applications anywhere they please within the library.  Printing from these devices is not possible at this time.  Here is an opportunity for anyone considering the purchase of a digital device to try out the capabilities of a laptop or an iPad.  Don’t have a library card?  Library cards are free.  Just fill up an application form and show your ID.  So when are you going to Tech It Out?  Do so either at Fremont Main or the Union City Library.

At the Fremont Main Library (Laptops Anytime’s photo)

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Make Memories, Read to Your Children

As a Children’s Librarian, fall is one of my favorite times of year.  The craziness of summer has subsided with the kids back in school.  The library is still quite busy, but not from the minute we open our doors. And there is another reason I like the fall, story times.

I love doing story time with a group of preschoolers. They are usually old enough to sit and listen for a little while, then do some activity.  We limit story time to 30 minutes for this age group, and it seems to work well. I enjoy picking out the books I’m going to read to the kids, as well as finger plays and music.  I always start off with an action song to get everyone moving.  Then I read a book. I often try to pick books that the kids can interact with.  Books where they can repeat a phrase or make animal sounds are really popular. I intersperse 3-4 books with music or fingerplays until the end when I always do the Hokey Pokey. I hope the children find this as much fun as I do.

You don’t need to be a Children’s Librarian or have any credentials to read with your children. Many years ago, way before I ever dreamed I’d be a librarian, I read to my children.  I still think of those times very fondly.  It meant a lot to the kids, and to me, even if I was tired of reading a particular book 5 times in a row! I think if you were to ask my now adult children, they would say that those times when we sat and read together, are some of their best memories, too.  I think that those experiences fostered a love of reading that they both have to this day.

So parents, put down that cell phone, tablet or laptop.  Turn off the TV set.  Is what you are missing really that important?  None of is indispensable to our job or friends, but we are indispensable to our children as they are growing.  Want them to do well as adults?  Then spend some time NOW with them reading.  It’s one of the most important things you can do.  You will be a hero in your children’s eyes and you will be creating memories that last a lifetime: yours and theirs.

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Discover and Go Again

Thanks again to my library card, I will be visiting the Exploratorium in San Francisco next week.  Make no mistake:  I made the reservation last November, and that was after months of checking almost daily the library’s Discover & Go site, where passes to the Exploratorium are snapped up almost as soon as dates are opened.  My lucky day came and I immediately made my reservation.  Now I won’t be able to make another reservation to the Exploratorium until next year, not able to even check available dates.  I understand on February 1 passes were released for April and all have been taken.  Anyway, the moral here is to keep on trying and to be ready and flexible with the date of your trip to any popular Discover and Go venue.  Just keep trying; free passes to Discover & Go venues are well worth the time and effort a qualified library card holder spends to get them.

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On Eating Ajos And Giving Tiempo

Decades ago, in another century and in another country, I had to take Spanish language classes in school.  Ostensibly this was to enable us, members of younger generations, to appreciate the country’s history and literature.  Critics, however, saw this as a continuing reminder that Spain had ruled the Philippines for 400 years and kept the natives in the dark, maintaining educational institutions solely to benefit the peninsulares and the insulares–Spaniards from the mainland who lived in the new colonies and the full-blooded Spaniards born on the islands.  With typical youthful shortsightedness, I saw my Spanish classes only as requirements to meet in order to graduate high school, then college.   Since then, here as an adult in our diverse community, I have been taking lessons off and on, trying to learn the language.

I do remember some things of my college Spanish classes.  One professor, in particular, required the class to memorize sayings, and for our final exam we had to write down as many of those observations on life that we could remember.  Two adages have stayed with me all these years:

El que se pica, ajos come.   I admit I have used or been reminded of this saying at times, especially on occasions that prompted thoughts of “if the shoe fits…”  as well as “serves you right.”  After all, he who feels the sting most likely bit into the garlic, right?

Hay que darle tiempo al tiempo.  This one appears to be meant for anyone expecting something.  Researchers perhaps?  In this age of instant gratification, one is told to be patient, to wait and to allow things to happen in due time.  Be that as it may, I say now is the time to wish one and all:  Feliz Navidad, prospero año y felicidad!

Explore the Library’s language learning resources.

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Monarch Butterfly Migration

From December through mid-February, Monarch Butterflies will migrate.  There are some popular places within the Bay Area to take a look at these amazing creatures.  We have information on lots of butterflies here at the library: http://bit.ly/IfeUNy

In honor of these amazing insects, here are some butterfly related crafts!

Coffee Filter Butterfly
Supplies needed:
Coffee Filter
Clothes Pin
Watercolor Paints OR Markers and a spray bottle of water

1. Flatten the coffee filter
2. Have your child paint it all over with watercolors OR color it with marker and then spray with water
3. Let it dry
4. Clip it down the middle with the clothes pin

Voila!  A butterfly!

Binoculars
Supplies needed:
Two empty toilet paper rolls
Glue
Markers
Hole Punch
Yarn or string

1. Decorate the outside of the toilet paper rolls
2. Glue them together, long ways (side-by-side) and let dry
3. Punch a hole on the outside of each roll of toilet paper (mirror image ways)
4. Tie the yarn or string through the holes
5. Go searching for butterflies!

English: Photograph of a Monarch Butterfly. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Cinco de Mayo

Chiquy Boom saying hi! (Photo credit: San José Library)

We’re celebrating Cinco de Mayo a little bit early this year – on May 3rd, we’re having silly magician Chiquy Boom! put on a bilingual silly children’s magic show with music and movement games!

Come celebrate with us at 4PM and be entertained!

This free program will be in the Children’s Area of the Library.

¡Ven a ver el mago tonto Chiquy Boom! se presenta un show bilingue de magia infantil con juegos de movimientos corporales!

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Celebrate Frogs!

You may be aware that April is National Poetry Month, but did you know that it’s also National Frog Month? It sure is! Frogs are very interesting animals known as  amphibians. That means they live in both water and on land during their lifetime. Frogs start life as tadpoles living in the water and then they change into a frog. This change is called metamorphosis. April is almost over but there is still to time learn about frogs and amphibians. The library has lots of books about frogs you can read. You can also learn about frogs from the WorldBookDigital database that is provided through Alameda County Library.

Here are a few frog facts that I found really interesting:

-Frogs don’t drink water, they absorb it through their skin.
-Frogs can breathe air through their skin too.
-Frogs have eyes that rotate so they can see in almost every direction.

Take a look at theses websites to learn more about frogs:

kidzone.ws – learn all about a frogs life and habitat

sfbaywildlife.info – learn about frogs in the San Francisco bay area

oaklandzoo.org – learn about amphibians at the Oakland Zoo

Animal Diversity Web – listen to different frog sounds

A celebration of National Poetry Month and National Frog Month:

Here is a frog haiku written by Matsuo Basho, a famous Japanese poet.

The old pond–
a frog jumps in,
sound of water.

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