Playtime is reading time Play is one of the best ways for children to learn language, literacy skills, and social skills. Make time for both structured, logical games and also for open-ended imaginative play as often as you can.
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International Games Day @ your Library
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International Gaming Day , Saturday, Nov. 21, an initiative of the American Library Association, is a great opportunity for families to get out of the house and play together in the one community institution that welcomes everyone. The goal of IGA is to reconnect communities through their libraries around the educational, recreational, and social value of all types of games. Gaming of all types at the library encourages young patrons to interact with a diverse group of peers, share their expertise with others (including adults), and develop new strategies for gaming and learning. Please join us, 11:30 am - 2 pm.
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Walking, Walking Tune: Frères Jacques Walking, walking, walking walking Hop, hop, hop! Hop, hop, hop! Running, running, running Running, running, running-- Now we STOP Now we STOP. Here is the Beehive Here is the beehive but where are the bees? Hidden away where nobody sees. Watch and you’ll see them come out of their hive. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5! BZZZZZZZZZ! Inside a Rocket ShipInside a rocket ship (crouch down) Just enough room (hold hands close to body) Here comes the countdown 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ...Zoooooooommmm! (Jump up, throwing hands over head) Mama's Little Baby Adaptation of traditional tune Mama’s little baby loves clapping, clapping, Mama’s little baby loves clapping fast. Mama’s little baby loves clapping clapping Mama’s little baby loves clapping slow. Ideas for other verses: jumping, dancing, stomping Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes— Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes— Eyes and ears and mouth and nose, Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes! Tooty Ta Echo Chant By: Dr. Jean Feldman Chorus: A tooty ta, a tooty ta, a tooty ta ta Add cumulative verses: Thumbs up… Elbows back… Feet apart… Knees together… Bottoms up… Tongue out… Eyes shut… Turn around… Are You Hiding Tune: Frere Jacques Are you hiding, are you hiding? Where are you? Where are you? I’ve looked here and there, I’ve looked everywhere, Where are you? Peek-a-boo! A Box Here is a box. Put on a lid. I wonder whatever inside is hid. Why it’s a __(name of animal)__, without any doubt! Open it up and let it come out. (Pretend to be the animal) Bouncing BallI’m bouncing, bouncing everywhere. I bounce and bounce into the air. I’m bouncing, bouncing like a ball, I bounce and bounce until I fall.
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Preschoolers often enjoy these classics: Scrabble Junior Sorry! Chutes and Ladders Checkers Candy Land Hi ho! Cherry-o! Cariboo Sequence for Kids Connect Four Blockus A great resource for more family games is Family Fun Magazine--find recent issues upstairs with the magazines for grown-ups, or explore online,
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A ball for Daisy
by Christopher Raschka
E RAS Told through impressionistic illustrations by the Caldecott Medal-winning author of The Hello, Goodbye Window, a poignant, wordless tale features an endearing young dog that is heartbroken when a bigger dog destroys a favorite toy.
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Hide & seek
by Il Sung Na
E NA When the animals play hide and seek, Elephant finds everyone but Chameleon, who has hidden so well no one can find him
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Not a stick
by Antoinette Portis
E POR Putting his brilliant imagination to the test, a little pig is able to transform a simple stick into a series of incredible things, like a painter's brush and a knight's sword, in order to take on his grand tasks and magical adventures.
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The day the crayons quit
by Drew Daywalt
E DAY When Duncan arrives at school one morning, he finds a stack of letters, one from each of his crayons, complaining about how he uses them. 75,000 first printing.
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Shark vs. train
by Chris Barton
E BAR A playful rivalry between a shark and a locomotive culminates in a burping contest, a high-stakes bowling game and a pie-eating competition in a tale that also encourages youngsters to pick a favorite champion and envision wacky scenarios. 50,000 first printing.
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Buddy and Earl
by Maureen Fergus
E FER When Buddy, a dog who likes to play by the rules, meets Earl, a hedgehog who knows no limits, they set off aboard a pirate ship for an imaginative journey together
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Yo! Yes?
by Christopher Raschka
E RAS Two lonely characters, one black and one white, meet on the street and become friends
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Duck on a bike
by David Shannon
E SHA Duck decides to try and ride a bike and soon influences the rest of the farmyard animals to try after a group of kids leaves their bikes outside the farmhouse.
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I spy with my little eye
by Edward Gibbs
E GIB Asks young readers to identify the animal based on their color, including blue for a blue whale, white for a polar bear, and green for a frog, in a book with die-cut spy holes
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Niño wrestles the world
by Yuyi Morales
E MOR Believing himself capable of fending off the most monstrous opponents, underpants-clad Lucha Libre champion Niño is challenged by a no-holds-barred wrestling match that truly tests his skills when his younger sisters wake up from their naps.
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How to train a train
by Jason Eaton
E EAT Lavishly illustrated with retro-style artwork, a whimsical guide to training a "pet train" instructs young enthusiasts about important issues including where trains live, what they like to eat and how to get them to perform the best train tricks.
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My friend Rabbit
by Eric Rohmann
E ROH After letting Rabbit play with his toy plane, Mouse finds himself in a real jam as the plane gets stuck high in a tree, but despite Rabbit's persistent assistance, Mouse's plane just won't come free. A Caldecott Medal winner.
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Print your own board game
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Sleep, Big Bear, sleep!
by Maureen Wright
E WRI It's time for Big Bear to hibernate, so Old Man Winter tells him, "Sleep, Big Bear, sleep;" but Big Bear thinks Old Man Winter has told him to drive a jeep, to sweep, and to leap--finally, Old Man Winter finds a noisy way to get Big Bear's attention!
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This board game is based on Will Hillenbrand’s book, Sleep, Big Bear, Sleep. Choose some dice and counters and play! Find this and other activities based on the illustrator’s books at www.willhillenbrand.com.
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