Lucinda's Library Notes

 Naturally, the song Unforgettable is playing in my mind as I type this blog but the reason I am writing on this subject is to remind us all that the things of value should never be forgotten in our day to day life. Special memories like your wedding day or the day your baby was born are truly unforgettable. Family members and close friends and special days are unforgettable too. However, I want to challenge us to go beyond this. Sometimes we watch the news and the circumstances of the day create such a powerful emotional response even if they do not directly relate to us that we find them unforgettable. "Where were you when..."is a question that often elicits a quick response because you easily recall what you were doing when a certain event occurred. Sometimes we have to work hard to remember a day and other times it is like a blaring horn and flashing light that we simply cannot ignore.  When I mention this, what kind of days come to mind for you? We choose to remember to ...

This morning I heard this book sung to guitar music and it was so much fun! The book itself is positive and 'up'lifting but the music added to it by making you want to go and sing to everyone to get up and enjoy doing things! Now I think the tune will be stuck in my head! Why did I choose this book? 'UP" is a common early word so reading a book with this word used so frequently will allow a young child many opportunities to join in and fill in the word. It gives them a lot of practice in speaking as well as multiple opportunities to participate in 'reading' the book with you. It adds to what each of you can do as you go through the book together. For early readers, the text is simple overall but even if you cannot read all the words, having a simple word like this one coming up frequently helps you keep going without getting discouraged.  The rhyming pattern also helps improve the flow of the reading so every word doesn't become a challenge to decode and sa...

In high school I acquired a book about Ukrainian Easter Eggs (pysanky  after seeing them at a Caravan Pavilion with my mom. We had wonderful memories of going to explore the world on our doorstep. We took the bus across the city to travel from Greece to Israel to Ireland to Trinidad over the course of the ten day event.  We immersed ourselves in the foods, crafts and arts of these lands. Occasionally it was crowded and minimal but overall it was enriching and delightful. I purchased the tools to create the Ukrainian eggs and the book to learn the designs and had a wonderful time attempting to recreate their works of art. I don't think I came close but my mom kept them in her china cabinet for over two decades afterwards. The picture is a sample pattern as a sample for you . This positive cultural experience, however minor, provided me with a connection to the Ukraine that remains to this day. It is a reminder of the importance of exposing children to different people and cultu...

The activities for T are themed around the word 'Tunes'.  Please add in your own ideas for this theme to expand the list for others interested in this. Most of us know a child who enjoys music so it is a way to reach into their world to connect in an area of interest to them. We want to relate to children on their turf. What are they interested in and how can you jump in and use that to build up their skills? How can you connect through music?  1.Name that tune: Sing or play the first few notes of a song and see if they can identify it. This works on memory, listening skills, auditory recognition and labeling. 2. Dance Party: It can be based on a theme or a favourite singer or random. It can be a five minute physical activity to regulate or get out their 'sillies' or a full evening of fun. 3.Marching Band: Have the children follow your lead or lead you as you march around a room, a house, a yard or the neighbourhood playing musical instruments as a band. The instruments...

  Robert Munsch, Michael Martchenko As a child my brother offered to help me remove a loose tooth with pliers when I sat for hours wiggling it when I should have been asleep. He went to the basement and surprise, surprise, four steps from the top the tooth came out! So, when I thought about the tooth fairy for this, I remembered this story and had to laugh when I discovered the same example inside the book! The story is very descriptive. The main character, a boy named Andrew, came downstairs and saw three big red apples in the middle of the table. Then 5 things happened. He decided to eat one, reached out, took it, shined it and took a bite. Don't you just love how that was broken down step by step so clearly? So what do you think will happen next? Ask children for ideas then see if anyone guessed correctly. He yelled 'YEEE-OW!" Did you see that one coming? Normally we would hear, "YUM!" Oh-oh! Something happened! What do you think went wrong? Do you have any cl...

By transitions I mean the process of completing one task and moving on to the next one, going from A to B.  Why is this a building skill? A lot of people get lost as they move from one thing to another. Some get caught up on A because they are engrossed by it and want to continue it or they fixated on perfecting it and cannot let it go. Some just 'drop everything' and move on to the next activity, only to find out later that they were in a whirlwind and ended up creating a massive mess that they are not very motivated to clean up, having used up all their energy with the shifting activities. Others readily close out what they were doing and neatly put it away but then find they are procrastinating as they move toward B. As they 'drag their feet', they may find other small tasks to do on the way that end up taking up their time and energy and they never do make it to B. Sound like any of you? It is a well-known strategy of successful people that they have priority items ...

Sights and Sounds : What are the sights and sounds of spring? What surprises does the season bring? Promises: What promises do you hope will come true in spring's skies of blue? Rainbows : Are they rainbows of delight or sparkles in spring's daylight? Investigations Do they lead you to scientific investigations or on to seasonal explorations? Nature : Do they involve the wonders of nature or demonstrate examples of biological nomenclature? Gardens : May spring offer gardens green and lead you to enjoy wonders yet unseen! As a teenager I got a book of activities to do with children along the theme of nature and one of them was a picture of a chick with the acrostic of spring written down the side so that children could think of accompanying words that relate to spring. That is what I was thinking of above but turned it more into a poem style acrostic.  What other types of activities can you do for spring beyond what is mentioned?  There is so much of nature that is renewed in ...