Artful Living Program is now on Facebook

The Artful Living Program is now on Facebook! You can "like" their page by typing in "The Artful Living Program" in the search box at the top of your Facebook page or by following this link: The Artful Living Program sponsored by the Massillon Museum.

 

Have you heard about The Artful Living Program yet? The Massillon Public Library's Children's Department is involved in an interesting outreach program once a week. Every Wednesday we visit the preschool classes in Franklin Elementary to provide a literature lesson, also known as "story time."

The Artful Living Program believes that fine arts immersion enhances creativity, increases academic performance, and stimulates leadership characteristics. You can read more about it  on the Massillon Museum's website here: Artful Living Program.

The Artful Living Program (a collaboration of Massillon Public Library, the Massillon Museum, Canton Symphony, Ananda Center, Massillon City Schools, and Ashland University) was initiated in one preschool classroom at Franklin School in December 2008 and has now grown to EIGHT classes. A provider from each of the first four groups listed visits classes one day per week to present programs that support the preschool's curriculum.  A Massillon Public Library's Children's Programming Specialist prepares stories, songs, and fingerplays that tie in with the topics that are being currently taught in the preschool. Once a year in December, the preschoolers take a field trip to the library to see our Children's Department Christmas puppet show. Of course, we often see these preschoolers bring in their families throughout the year to use the library, and it's nice to see them showing their parents the books that they've read in Artful Living!

A few weeks ago, Franklin Preschool invited all their preschool dads, grandpas, and special friends to an early Father's Day program held in the school gym. After showing the dads their favorite songs and hearing a couple stories about dads, we were able to talk 10 dads into dressing up and helping me retell the story, Dr. Jean's "My Mother is a Baker."  The kids loved seeing their dads dressed as dogs, cats, a cowboy, a baby, and more. Tom Roehlig, one of the preschool dads, is pictured below as a cat.

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The second part of The Artful Living Program is a Family Component. The evening Family sessions meet at locations in Massillon, such as the Salvation Army. Currently 36 parents and children attend. After a meal, the kids play games while the parents can participate in educational sessions. One month the families took home a packet of family games to share, while another month they received art books and the children got their own hardback book chosen by the library.

 

The best part of Artful Living each week is hearing what the children have to say. One day, after finishing a literature lesson, one little boy smiled big and said, "You know what? You're awesome!" So are the kids!

Artful Living Program weekly in-class lessons are currently funded through a yearly grant from the PNC Foundation and the Marsha Holden Jennings Foundation. The Family component is funded by an Aultman Foundation grant. We are grateful for the opportunities they have provided for us to bring the arts to Massillon preschoolers.

Fall Storytimes

As we’re all gearing up for school and fall, the children’s librarians here at Massillon Public Library are beginning Fall Storytimes. Exciting changes are happening at the library as the construction project starts. While the Audio/Visual Department and Reference rooms are being remodeled, the Audio/Visual Department will be taking over the auditorium. Fall Storytimes will be moving out to the Children's Department by the fireplace. Despite the move, storytime preparation is well under way and we can’t wait to begin this week! Registration for our first session is currently open; call 330-832-5037 or sign your child up at the Children's desk. We encourage caregivers to bring their children and participate in storytimes with them. Reading aloud can be a great bonding experience for you and your child. We promote having one child to one adult, to strengthen the connection between child and adult.

We librarians are busy gathering books, songs, and rhymes to entertain and educate young ones. We incorporate and promote early literacy skills into our storytimes. These skills include teaching children to love books, to use books, to see letters, to tell a story, to make sounds, and to learn new words. Learning comes in all shapes and formats, from reading and sharing classics like Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, to singing "Wheels on the Bus," to dancing around to fun music, to having children match pictures on a big flannelboard. We can’t wait to see you all at our Fall Storytimes!

Yummy in my Tummy

Now here's a story time that you can sink your teeth into! Starting the week of November 1st, when the trick or treat bags are (hopefully) still full of candy, we'll be talking about FOOD and BAKING and getting ready for Thanksgiving in our preschool storytime sessions. With a theme called, "Yummy in my Tummy" our programmers will present stories and songs about the five senses, children cooking in the kitchen with their favorite adults, and nervous turkeys trying to run away and hide from Thanksgiving cooks.

In Yum Yum! What Fun!, Katie and James are having too much fun cooking up something delicious to notice all the strange guests who stop by. What if one of those "guests" decides to snack on them instead?
Poor little Pea is not allowed any vegetable treats for dessert until he eats all of his sweets in Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. Kids who refuse to eat their veggies will relate to Little Pea in this fun twist on this age-old dinnertime problem. We'll also see what would happen if gorillas left the zoo in search of a good lunch in Gladys Goes Out to Lunch by Derek Anderson.

And just in time for Thanksgiving meals, storytime goers will watch the flannel board story of I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie by Allison Jackson. First she downs a jug of cider to moisten the pie (which really was too dry), then an entire squash, followed by a bowl of salad--and the whole darn turkey! Oh me, oh my!  (Although I have to admit I'm glad to hear "Oh me oh my!" used in this flannelboard story instead of the original "Perhaps she'll die" in the book. I've always been superstitious about saying that out loud when reading to the kids!)

There will be plenty of gobble, gobbles from our little preschool turkeys in songs and stories. Hope to see you at story time!

Who's Afraid of a Scarecrow?

Right now in the beautiful fall season, with all the leaves turning bright colors and the corn fields turning into seas of brown stalks, he might be hard to find. But soon, after the corn stalks are cut down from the harvest, you'll see him out there again, guarding the fields from birds and animals who wish to eat the crops. It's the scarecrow! And this week in our new storytime sessions, we pay honor to the lonely scarecrow who protects his fields no matter the weather.

Who could be afraid of a scarecrow when we listen to adorable stories such as The Little Scarecrow Boy, written by the beloved author Margaret Wise Brown? In the middle of a field stood a scarecrow who hoped that the animals and birds would be his friends, and guess what? He got his wish in the story of Lonely Scarecrow by Tim Preston. The verses written in many books can actually become a song or action verse, as we discover in the board book, I'm a Dingle-Dangle Scarecrow. The non-fiction selection, Scarecrows, by Calvin Harris, uses beautiful illustrations to help us understand how helpful scarecrows can be to our farmers everywhere!

The theme "Scarecrows" also gives the children a chance to learn their body parts through songs and rhymes about our floppy scarecrow friends and through creative movement and music as we pretend to walk and stand like a scarecrow: straight one moment, floppy the next!

This week's storytimes begin Monday, October 18. You can still sign up your children for one of our storytimes by calling the Children's Department at 330-832-5037. Hope to see you there!

It's Fall!

Outside, the temperature is getting cooler. It's "good football weather" as I like to say, meaning here in Ohio we're getting out cozy sweatshirts, making bonfires, enjoying hayrides and picking out pumpkins, and watching football--especially here in Massillon!

This coming week in Storytime at MPL, we're celebrating the beginning of fall with the theme: "Autumn Antics." Autumn continues to offer a special opportunity to read some very simple stories that emphasize the colors, sounds, and smells of the season. We will read some of the following stories in our "Autumn Antics" storytime session the week of October 4th: Ska-tat! by Kimberley Knutson, Mouse's First Fall by Lauren Thompson, It's Fall! by Linda Glaser, We're Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger, Who Loves Fall by Bob Raczka, and When Autumn Falls by Kelli Nidey. Fletcher's favorite tree is changing colors and dropping its leaves. Find out what happens to his tree when the last leaf is shed in the story, Fletcher and the Falling Leaves by Julia Rawlinson.

Looking forward to seeing you all there! The following week we'll take a break from storytimes to get ready for the next session. But you can sign up for the second session of storytimes starting Monday, October 11th by calling the Children's Department at 330-832-5037.

An Apple a Day

Want to know what we're doing in Preschool Storytime this week? Well, if it's Fall, then it's apple picking time! So this week, our stories and songs and fingerplays are all about APPLES.

If you've never had apple pie, you will want to taste it after you hear our stories: How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman, An Apple Pie for Dinner, retold by Susan Van Hecke, and the popular The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall. Other selections this week's storytime theme, AN APPLE A DAY, might include Little Mouse and the Big Red Apple by A.H. Benjamin, Pepo and Lolo and the Red Apple by Ana Martin Larranaga, Apples Here! by Will Hubbard, and Up, Up, Up! It's Apple Picking Time by Jody Fickes. Aren't apple stories delicious?

Teachers and Librarians, if you'd like to know some of the other fingerplays and songs we used this week to plan your own Apple-themed storytime, please let me know. We would be happy to share ideas!

Squirrels and Chipmunks Invade Storytime at the Library this week!

What's happening at Preschool Storytime the week of September 20?
As we approach the begining of the season of Autumn this week, our "Squirrel Tales" storytime will include hilarious adventures of our little furry pals!

• Mama Squirrel has knitted three very special red sweaters for her babies named Mack, Mick, and Molly in the story Hooray for Fall by Kazuo Iwamura.
• Inspired by a really naughty squirrel she was observing, author Lois Ehlert wrote Nuts to You!
• Claude Clement's book entitled Little Squirrel's Special Nest tells of a mama squirrel attempting to prepare her net as she discovers that the help of her friends is a wonderful gift!
• Old Man Fookwire wanted the birds to stay for the winter, so he built birdfeeders and filled them with seeds and berries. Oh, no! The clever squirrels outsmart this fella, and the hilarity continues in Those Darn Squirrels! by Adam Rubin.

While many of the preschool storytime sessions are full, there are still openings for the 4 and 5 year olds (not yet in kindergarten) class on Thursday mornings. We are also accepting names on a waiting list for another session of PJ storytime on Monday evenings.

Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library

We have adapted our Story Times to reflect the recent research described in "Every Child Ready to Read" (ECRR). ECRR introduces parents and their children to the six early literacy skills that are the basic building blocks for learning to read. We demonstrate how you can develop these skills in your child in a fun and entertaining way. We encourage you, as your child's FIRST and BEST teacher, to use the activities shared at the library to enrich your child's environment. Story Times involve listening, singing, rhyming, moving, following along, and responding. Each child is unique and will participate when ready. Our main goal is to foster a love of language and books in a relaxed and fun atmosphere. The six pre-reading skills are:

Loving Books (Print Motivation)

Using Books (Print Awareness)

Seeing Letters (Letter Knowledge)

Telling a Story (Narrative Skills)

Making Sounds (Phonological Awareness)

Using New Words (Vocabulary)

ECRR is a partnership of the Public Library Association, the Association for Library Service to Children and the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development.

Story Time

The Massillon Public Library's Story Times include a variety of books, storytelling, rhymes, fingerplays, songs and movement activities. We provide informational handouts to encourage parents and caregivers to continue Story Time activities at home. This helps to reinforce early literacy skills. Each week, a take-home craft further reinforces the ideas learned or discussed in Story Time and also provides fun and creativity. In order for us to prepare materials, we require that you pre-register for Story Times. We hold sessions that are approximately six weeks long, beginning in early January, late February, early September and late October.

Family Story Time (all ages) with Mrs. Brant is on Mondays from 7-7:30 pm

Tots and Toddlers Story Time (2's and 3's) with Miss Green is on Wednesdays
from 10:15-10:45 AND 11:15-11:45 am

Tyke Tales Story Time (0-23 months) with Mrs. Haney is on Thursdays from 10:15-10:35 am

Preschool Story Time (4 & 5, not yet in K) with Mrs. Haney is on Thursdays from 11:15-11:45 am

Watch for other special events throughout the year!