Ready, Set, Baby Tales Lap-Sit Storytime for babies 6-18 months beginning Tomorrow Tuesday, November 1st!!

I am so excited about beginning the Baby Tales Lap-Sit storytime (which will be an exhilarating, non-stop early literacy experience for children 6 to 18 months) starting tomorrow (11/1/11)!

We'll go on a magic carpet ride by dancing with scarves to the song "A Whole New World" from the Disney movie Aladdin, bounce and squeak with an adorable mouse puppet during a lap jog rhyme, read a bounty of baby-friendly stories, see rainbows in the reflections of bright and airy bubbles and so much more!

The storytime will end with a playtime session. Toys and board books will allow parents and caregivers to enjoy a relaxing and fun experience within the library.

Spaces are still available for this wonderful and energetic storytime that will open your baby's eyes to the wonders of books!

*Please see my October 4th posting for more information about this new lap-sit storytime. 

*Please register to ensure a spot in this storytime by calling the Youth Services Desk at 630-368-7734. This and all our storytimes are limited to 10 children. 

Hurray for Hallopalooza! October 19th Halloween Party

Who doesn't love a party? Well everyone at the Oak Brook Public Library certainly does! Our party was filled with spooky games, tasty treats, an eerie tale, and a monster windsock craft which couldn't be beat.

To top off this fabulous Halloween happening, all the children looked spook-tacular in their costumes and showed them off in our Hallopalooza Costume Contest.

Check out the following pictures of our October 19th Hallopalooza Halloween Party!

Storytimes/Programs Have Ended For This Session! Please Sign-Up For Storytimes Which Begin Again On October 31st!

All of our storytimes/programs have ended for this session and will resume with a spectacular and spooky toddler storytime on October 31st. Little ones will get into the holiday spirit with sweetly spooky songs, frightenly fabulous flannel boards, bewitching Halloween-themed books, and an owl craft that toddlers will give a hoot about!

Please sign-up for our upcoming storytimes and programs for children from 6 months to young adults by calling the Youth  Services Reference Desk at 630-368-7734.

We ask you to register as soon as possible due to limited space in our storytimes/programs. Each storytime/program will be limited to 10 participants. 

Happy Hallopalooza!: October 19th Halloween Party

Our Hallopalooza Halloween Party rocked the house today! All the kids looked so adorable in their costumes from princesses to spiders. Halloween musical favorites such as "Ghostbusters" were danced to, a yummy snack of Cheez-Its and juice filled our party goer's tummies, and fun and energetic games such as Frankenstein Says and a pumpkin beanbag toss made the gala quite an event to remember.

Photos of the party will be uploaded to the blog soon!

October 17th Pumpkin Patch Parade Toddler Story Time Topic: Witches

The Pumpkin Patch Parade Toddler Story Time is getting witchy with it during our October 17th storytime. We will dance to the monstrously magnificent song "Monster Mash", wander into a perfect find the shape pumpkin patch game, listen to some bewitching tales, and create a striking and multi-colored witch's hat!

*Further registration for the Pumpkin Patch Parade Toddler Story Time is closed. 

Columbus Day Pumpkin Patch Parade Toddler Story Time Topic: All About Me/My Body

You're very special! Today, we will celebrate the characteristics that make each child special from their hair to their eye color. During our Columbus Day Pumpkin Patch Parade Toddler Story Time, we will gleefully dance to the classic children's song, If You're Happy and You Know It, read books about the hair and body, and  learn about our five senses through a bright, cheerful and sense-sational flannel board, and make a very "handy" hand print flowerpot craft.

Happy Columbus Day!


*Further registration for the Pumpkin Patch Parade Toddler Story Time is closed. 

What a Scare!: Paper Bag Scarecrow Craft

It's fall! The days are getting shorter, the winds are beginning to blow, and the crisp, bright colors of autumn are going to begin their showy parade. Why not create an adorable scarecrow paper bag craft that I have found and use it as a centerpiece on your table or near your entry way to welcome the many bounties of fall? See the link below for directions.

Paper Bag Scarecrow Craft

Hallopalooza Halloween Party Is Closed to Further Registrants Due to Popular Demand

Boo-hoo! We're sorry, but because of popular demand, openings for our Hallopalooza Halloween Party are filled. Please see our brochure for more upcoming ghoulishly spook-tacular programs!

Fireman Bob Robertson Helped Make the Lil' Sparks Preschool Fireman Story Time a Four-Alarm Event!

I would like to thank Bob Robertson of the Oak Brook Fire Department for helping me create such an amazing story time. Without his help, humor, and kindness I would not have been able to make my fireman story time such a success.

The children were so engaged and the giggles from the crowd as he read Firebears: The Rescue Team by Rhonda Gowler Greene were contagious. He had such an easygoing manner and you could tell he felt very comfortable working with young children. Fireman Robertson made the book come alive with his dramatic reading and humorous commentary.

Since we had time, he even effortlessly taught the children the important steps of the stop, drop, and roll procedure. He made sure each child understood the process by having them demonstrate the procedure.

Bob Robertson was such a pleasure to work with and the Youth Services Department was grateful to have such a warm and caring individual read to the children.

Thank You!


Miss Jennifer 

Baby Tales: Baby's First Steps into Reading for Babies 6-18 Months Starting November 1st

Miss Jennifer is proud to introduce a brand-new storytime to the library on Tuesdays at 10 am for babies between the ages of 6-18 months.

Remember that it is never too early to start reading and bringing your child to story time! Your child's brain development is constantly increasing with complexity and a rich language, cognitive, and sensory environment such as story time helps develop children's burgeoning skills. Story time is also an enjoyable experience which facilitates interaction between parents, caregivers, and their children. 

See the fascinating facts below which show how children's brain development is rapidly changing during specific stages of development.

Early Milestones in Brain Growth

4 months: The infant's brain responds to every sound produced in all the languages of the world.
 
8 to 9 months: Babies can form specific memories from their experiences, such as how to push a ball to make it roll.
 
10 months: Babies can now distinguish and even produce the sounds of their own language (such as "da-da") and no longer pay attention to the sounds of language that are foreign.
 
12 months: Babies whose parents say, for example, "Lookeee at the doggiee," will go to the
appropriate picture of a dog in a picture book more often than those babies who are talked to in normal, flatter voices.

12 to 18 months: Babies can keep in memory something that has been hidden and find it again, even if it has been completely covered up.  They can also hold memory sequences of simple activities, such as winding up a Jack-in-the-box until the figure pops up.

Source: http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/brain-growth.htm


To learn more about this storytime see the description below.

Baby Tales: Baby's First Steps Into Reading for Babies 6-18 Months (A Lap sit Program)
Tuesdays at 10 am Nov. 1, 8, 15, 29, Dec. 6 and 13

Our littlest patrons will be mesmerized by the magical experience of their first story time. The sounds of bubbly music will fill the air, bold and bright illustrations will come alive through picture books, and wiggly dances will get little ones toes a tapping. Flannel boards and floating bubbles will excite your baby's senses and add wonder to the joy of reading. *This story time does not offer a craft activity.

*Limit 10 Children Per Story time. Please sign-up early in order to ensure a spot in all of our story times.

Online Fire Prevention Games From the Home Safety Council

Preschoolers can join Safety Rangers Wiggle and Giggle in learning about fire safety through these informative and interactive games which include Dress the Firefighter and Visit the Fire Station from the Home Safety Council. See the link below to start playing.

Fire Safety and Burn Prevention Games For Preschoolers From the Home Safety Council

Pumpkin Patch Corner Toddler Story Time October 3rd Story Time Topic: Firefighters

Your toddlers will be all fired up during our October 3rd Pumpkin Patch Parade Toddler Story Time when we dance to a blazing fire truck tune, listen to an inferno of firefighter stories, play with a firefighter dress-up flannel board, and make a fire truck headband. Little firefighters will cheer for this four alarm story time!


*Further registration for the Pumpkin Patch Parade Toddler Story Time is closed.