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Showing posts from August, 2017

Using Props in Early Learning Programs and At Home

In an article written for School Library Journal by Lisa G. Kropp, we discover how using props can add a new dimension to a storytime at home. Props are extremely useful for five reasons: They make it easy to model play.   Using a simple prop such as a tissue box to pull out scarves or another surprise makes it more fun. Caregivers can easily do this at home. They don't need to be store-bought.  Use easy to duplicate flannel board pieces, made out of oak tag or card stock. Make stick puppets for children to act the story out or extend the book by creating a new ending. They help little ones sit through a rhyme or story. Sometimes young brains need a different visual than the book.  Perhaps they are sitting on a lap 15 feet away from you or the illustrations in the book are on the smaller side or very detailed. Having a prop, such as an enlarged photo, a puppet of a character from the story or a flannel board to supplement the "turn of the page", creates more inter

Here's a great App recommended in School Library Journal!

Mammals Tinybop Inc., 2017. iOS, requires 7.0 or later. Version 1.2.0 $2.99 PreS-Gr. 2 Using this app, viewers can explore the attributes of an African elephant, a Bengal tiger, a brown bat, a red kangaroo, and a two-toed sloth.  Interactive options allow for a look inside each creature's skeletal, muscular, nervous, circulatory, respiratory, and digestive systems and, for two of the animals, their urogenital system. While exploring the digestive system of each mammal, viewers experiment with menu options to determine the foods each animal prefers. Herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores are represented in the group, and astute observers may notice that the stomachs of these animals differ.  Food intake eventually produces waste, which young viewers will no doubt delight in causing to happen. Urogenital systems depict an elephant fetus and a kangaroo's joey nursing. Kids can also explore the animals' unique traits: the bat employs echolocation to determine what is flyi