Butterfly Stitch - Royal Blue Cowl

This is a really nice, textured knit stitch, and was a lot easier to do than I thought it would be! I learned using a video from the masters at Knitting Stitch Patterns.

While knitting, I was listening to Neil Gaiman's American Gods. I really liked the narrators for this story because they made it come alive! If you ever get a chance to listen to this book, do it!

Materials:
-knitting needles, size 6.5 mm or US 10.5
-steel yarn needles, size 7cm (for sewing finished ends together)
-about 3 balls of Red Heart Soft Touch royal blue yarn (266m/ball)

Earth Hour Activities at the Library

Last year, we had an interactive display at our library for the week leading up to Earth Hour, which was on March 28, 2015. We asked customers to write about what they would do for Earth Hour on a paper light bulb, and then we taped their responses on our wall so that other incoming customers could see them. Since being able to see the stars is one of the perks of turning off our lights for Earth Hour (and hopefully for more than just Earth Hour), we decided to add an extra component to our display. We had volunteers cut out paper stars and asked customers to either put their names on the stars, or what they would do for Earth Hour. These were then taped to the display wall below the light bulbs, but instead of just taping the stars randomly, we decided to add an educational component to it and used the stars to form constellations.

Pigs Theme - Toddler Storytime

Specs
Age group: toddlers (24 - 36 months)
Group Size: about 8-10 kids and one parent/caregiver per toddler
Time: 10:30am to 11:15am

Parent/Caregiver Handouts
One of my colleagues told me that one of the ways we can encourage parents to participate is to give them printouts of the songs and rhymes we use. This way, they can participate with the child beside them, or on their lap, and the handout close by. Here are the ones we used for this storytime:

Toddler Storytime Rhymes and Songs
Pigs Theme Rhymes and Songs

The Plan
Hello Good Morning
Head and Shoulders Knees and Toes
London Bridge is Falling Down
Book: Ten Pigs: An Epic Bath Adventure by Derek Anderson
Finger Play: Two Mother Pigs
Song: Down on Grandpa's Farm
Activity: Count the Mud Spots on the Pig/Directions Game
Puppet Show: The 3 Little Pigs
Board Book: This Little Piggy by Heather Collins
Craft: Pig Mask
Parachute and Colouring Sheet

Apples and Autumn Theme - Toddler Storytime

Specs
Age group: toddlers (24 - 36 months)
Group Size: about 8-10 kids and one parent/caregiver per toddler
Time: 10:30am to 11:15am

Parent/Caregiver Handouts
One of my colleagues told me that one of the ways we can encourage parents to participate is to give them printouts of the songs and rhymes we use. This way, they can participate with the child beside them, or on their lap, and the handout close by. Here are the ones we used for this storytime:

Toddler Storytime Rhymes and Songs
Apples and Autumn Theme Rhymes and Songs

The Plan
Hello Good Morning
Head and Shoulders Knees and Toes
London Bridge Is Falling Down
Book: Mouse's First Fall by Lauren Thompson
Finger Play: Way Up High in the Apple Tree
Song: This is the Way the Leaves Fall
Activity: Leaf Sorting by Colour
Activity: Make an Apple or Flat Leaf Shape with Playdoh
Craft: Hand Tracing and Leaf Patterns
Parachute + Colouring Sheet

Halloween Spiders Theme - Toddler Storytime

Specs
Age group: toddlers (24 - 36 months)
Group Size: about 8-10 kids and one parent/caregiver per toddler
Time: 10:30am to 11:15am

Parent/Caregiver Handouts
One of my colleagues told me that one of the ways we can encourage parents to participate is to give them printouts of the songs and rhymes we use. This way, they can participate with the child beside them, or on their lap, and the handout close by. Here are the ones we used for this storytime:

Toddler Storytime Rhymes and Songs
Halloween Spiders Theme Rhymes and Songs

The Plan
Hello Good Morning
Head and Shoulders Knees and Toes
London Bridge is Falling Down
Book: Happy Halloween, Witch's Cat by Harriet Muncaster
Finger Play: Great Big Hairy Spider
Song: There's a Spider on the Floor (with bean bags)
Finger Play: Pumpkin Pumpkin
Activity: Boiling Pot
Activity: Spider Location Game
Boardbook: Eensy Weensy Spider
Craft: Spider Hat
Colouring Sheet