Kindergarten

Kindergartners visiting the library shared some Halloween fun today. We began with Marc Brown’s Arthur’s Halloween, in which Arthur and his sister, D.W., misjudge an elderly neighbor for a witch but end up doing a good deed instead. Next, we enjoyed the pictures and rhyme of Eve Bunting and Jan Brett’s Scary, Scary Halloween and finished with the beloved classic, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. The excitement continued as we had a Halloween Hunt around the library for pumpkins, bats, bugs, leaves and skeletons. Happy Halloween!

Kindergarten students took their first international library journey today to the distant land of Russia. After locating Russia on our globe, we examined some Russian cultural objects—matrioshki

(colorfully painted nesting dolls), pysanki (decorated wooden eggs), kubiki

(alphabet blocks) and had a chuckle as I donned my

sarafan (ornate apron) and covered my head with a platok (headscarf). It was now time to weave the story of Babuskha Baba Yaga, a modern twist on the classic Russian fairy tale witch, Baba Yaga. Award winning author Patricia Polacco, who is of Russian heritage, tells a story that is, in traditional fairy tale style, enchanting, a little spooky and with a hint of surprise at the end. Next, we followed up with Rechenka’s Eggs, Polacco’s colorful picture book about a goose named Rechenka and her miracle eggs.  We concluded with  book browsing and a hearty “Do Svidaniya” (goodbye). Books are due on 10.21.10. Happy Reading!

Kindergartners visiting the library this week made connections to each other and their books.

The point of departure for our activities today was our observation that all books have similarities (titles, authors, cover pages, spine) and differences (sizes, story content, likeability). In a parallel fashion, people also contain similarities and differences. We noticed this as we read our first book, Patti Stren’s charming story, Hug Me, about a porcupine who years for a hug. After unsatisftying years of hugging inanimate objects (telephone poles, traffic lights…oy vey), Elliot sets out to the woods only to meet another lonely porcupine, the homely Thelma Claypits. The two realize that although they are different in their experiences as porcupines, they both need a hug and can give each other comfort. Next, we shared We Are All Alike…We Are All Different, a book written and illustrated by the Cheltenham Elementary School Kindergarten. Student drawings and texts illustrated for us the connections we have with each other and how our differences make the world more interesting. Scaffolding upon this idea, we crafted our own book with individual drawings and observations on our similarities and differences. Copies of this book went home with the students to share with their families.