Stuffed Animal Sleepover

Check out the fun that the Bookmobile and the Swanton Public Library had with a simple idea! Five libraries in our county did this on the same night. It brought kids into our libraries twice in two days!
What did we do?
We invited kids to leave their stuffed friends at the library for a sleepover. They came back Saturday morning for breakfast, special certificates, and a power point story. Of course kids were happy to pick up their stuffed friends too! I'm not sure who had more fun. Look and see! http://swantonlibrary.org/

Dr. Seuss

This month the Fairfield Laboratory Preschool is delving into Dr. Seuss's rich literary canon. When we get back from February vacation, we'll celebrate his birthday a few days belated. While we read through some of Dr. Seuss’s old favorites, we can continue to build on important learning skills.

Rhyming
Dr. Seuss was a master of rhyme. There’s a Wocket in my Pocket will introduce the kids to “nonsense” rhymes. Fox in Socks adds rhyme to tongue twisting delight. Hop on Pop is full of simple rhymes that will help kids begin to see the patterns in words that sound alike. Being able to generate rhymes is an important pre-literacy skill that helps kids understand the connection to sounds and letters by changing only the first sound in a word. You can support this at home coming up with rhymes for everyday objects. Or choose a word (like “plate” at dinner) and see how many rhymers(real words or nonsense words) that you can think of together.

Imagination
Dr. Seuss likes to imagine new creatures and give them names. It is form him we know about Whos, Diffendoofer Day, Sneetches, Zax and other wonderful, imaginary characters. Reading about these creatures allows the kids to explore their own imagination and think up their own imaginary beings, places, and machines.

Socail Skills
The Sneetches teaches us to be kind to everyone no matter what they look like.

Yertle the Turtle teaches us to not be bossy, even if we are King. We need to be fair so that everyone can have a chance to be happy.
The Cat in the Hat teaches us to have fun, but to also be responsible and clean up after we play.
Getrude McFuzz teaches us to be happy with what we have and be careful of when we are jealous of others.
The Lorax teaches us to respect living things of all kinds and to take care of our resources responsibly.
Green Eggs and Ham teaches us to try foods, even if they look totally disgusting, because they might be delicious.
Horton Hears a Who teaches us that a "person is a person, no matter how small."

In honor of the master's upcoming birthday celebration, I invite you all to pick up your favorite Seuss and have fun sharing wordplay, whimsy, and humor with your children.