Get Craft Happy During Our December 27, 29, and 30th Create a Craft Drop-In Craft Program!

Get out of the winter chill by dropping by during our Create a Craft, drop-in craft spectacular, on December 27th, 29th, and 30th during the hours of 11-2 pm.


The tables will be stocked full of crafts for children of all ages to decorate and design to their heart's content.

Some of the crafts that kids can make include Miss Jennifer's crafts (made for children 2-8 years). These crafts include a heart-y snail craft, smitten with mittens craft, glam goldfish collage, and a rockin' star windsock! See the photos below for a preview of these cute and funky creations!

See you there!

We May Be Having Our Last Storytimes of the Year, But There Are Still So Many Fun Things To Do At the Library!

We will be finishing up our last storytime sessions of 2011 for the kindergartners (today at 4:30 pm) and the preschoolers (Wednesday at 4:30 pm). The babies and toddlers ended their storytimes on Monday and today at 10 am.

But don't worry, even though our storytimes do not begin again until the week of January 16, 2012, we still have plenty of things for our little patrons to do.

During winter break, you can enjoy a fun prize-filled bingo game open to children of all ages. Winter Break Bingo will be held in the YS Program Room on Tuesday, December 27th from 6:30-7:30 pm.

Children will also love creating easy-to-make crafts on Tuesday, December 27th, Thursday, December 29th, and Friday, December 30th from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. We will have the YS Program Room crammed full of ready-to-make crafts that children of all ages can make and do! So come on down and bring your friends to our crafting bonanza, Create a Craft.

Registration is not required for these programs.

Prancing Reindeers in the Library! Reindeer Paws Family Funfest on December 4th Photos

We had several little prancers join us for our December 4th Reindeer Paws Family Funfest this past Sunday. We played lots of great games including Pin the Carrot on the Snowman and Red Light, Yellow Light, Green Light, danced to a rousing jingle bell dance, read a ton of holiday tales including Llama, Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney, and colored the lovely penguin coloring page you will see in the pictures below.

Our little prancers also left with a goody bag stuffed with cute little gifts to add just a little more holiday cheer.

                                               

                                         



Coloring and chilling out





Bucket Ball toss game



Catching Bubbles




Pin the carrot on the snowman game






Warm and Cozy coloring sheets



Toddling Twos December 5th Storytime Topic: Mice

Squeak on into the library during our December 5th Toddling Twos storytime when our storytime is all about adorable and squeaky mice! We'll read mice stories, search for a mouse in colorful houses, dance with wintry puppets to "Jingle Bell Rock", and enjoy lunch with a very hungry mouse in a pip-ingly perfect flannel board story.

Little ones will leave with a very special friend which they will make named "Squeaky the Mouse"!


*This storytime is filled and closed to further registration. Please call the Youth Services Reference Desk at 630-368-7734 or check out out website www.oak-brook.lib.il.us to learn about our other youth programs.

Up on the Housetop Reindeer Paws! Spaces Still Available for Sunday, December 4th Reindeer Paws Family Funfest!

Reindeer will be prancing in our library's Meeting Room on Sunday, December 4th  from 2:30-3:30 pm when I will be holding my Reindeer Paws Family Funfest for children ages 2-5. This will be quite a merry holiday event filled with: 

• Games including a variation of the popular game Red Light Green Light and Pin the Carrot on the Snowman 
• Wintry tales
• A winter parade
• Holiday music
• A jingle bell dance
• A family sing-along to songs such as "Frosty the Snowman" 
• Coloring a smiling penguin coloring sheet that will decorate the library during the holidays
• And much, much more!

So come on down to this family-friendly extravaganza that will add a dash of sparkle and glitz to the beauty of the holiday season!

Spaces are still available for this event! Please call the Y.S. Reference Desk at 630-368-7734 to register for this program. 

Toddling Twos November 28th Storytime Topic: Fall

The days are getting shorter and the beauty of the holiday season is upon us! Why not celebrate the loveliness of fall by listening to autumn-themed stories, welcoming a secret guest to our storytime in a Peek-a-boo Guess Who am I? game, and creating a grinning, pumpkin-headed scarecrow? We will do just that during our Toddling Twos Storytime on Monday, November 28th. See you there!

*This storytime is filled and closed to further registration. Please call the Youth Services Reference Desk at 630-368-7734 or check out out website www.oak-brook.lib.il.us to learn about our other youth programs.

Craft-tastic! Take a Look at Some of the Crafts that the Toddler and Preschool Storytime Children will Be Creating In Upcoming Sessions!

We may be taking a week off from programming due to the holiday, but Miss Jennifer has put on her thinking cap and already created her toddler and preschool crafts for upcoming sessions! Our storytime sessions will resume Monday, November 28th!

*Please note that the Toddler and Preschool Storytimes are filled for this session. Please call the Youth Services desk to learn about more of our exciting youth programs at 630-368-7734.

You Don't Scare Me, Scarecrow!

Chillin' with Penelope Penguin

Squeaky the Mouse

No Storytimes the Week of November 20th Due to Holiday

Due to the holiday, we will not be holding any storytimes from November 20th-26th. We will resume our storytimes the following week beginning Monday, November 28th.

Please note that there will be a few changes in the library's hours during this week. On Wednesday, November 23rd the library will be open until five o'clock. The library will be closed Thursday, November 24th and Friday, November 25th.

Registration for the Toddling Twos Toddler Storytime is Closed to Further Registrants

There are so many toddlers toddling on down to the Toddling Twos Toddler Storytime that all our spots are filled! Thank you for your interest in this storytime and please see our website or stop in to the Youth Services Department to learn about more of our new and exciting programs for kids and teens of all ages.

November 7th Toddling Twos Toddler Storytime Topic: Farm

Your little pumpkins will be a-maized by the crop of activities that await them during our November 7th farm storytime. We'll read some fresh-picked stories about growing things and farm animals, create a corny craft using real corn husks, and learn about feelings through quite an emotional pumpkin faces flannel board.

*Registration is required to ensure a spot in this storytime. Please call the Youth Services Reference Desk at 630-368-7734 to register. Limit 10 children per storytime.

Oh Baby! Baby Tales Lap-sit Storytime Ages Extended to 6-23 Months from 6-18 Months

Every baby deserves a quality early literacy experience filled with enchanting songs, whimsical fingerplays/flannel boards, and playful books that will ignite their love of reading at an early age. That's why I've extended the ages of children who can enjoy this storytime from 6-18 months to 6-23 months. I wanted to make sure that the bouncy bubbles, dancing, swirling scarves and vibrant stories can be seen and heard by as many little eyes and ears as possible.


So, are you wondering what your  baby will be introduced to during their next storytime? Okay here it goes...


Tuesday, November 8th Storytime 


We'll dance under the sea with colorful scarves to Disney's "Under the Sea" from The Little Mermaid, Play an infant version of Musical Simon Says using a variety of instruments such as shakers and a drum, clap to the classic children's fingerplay rhyme Patty Cake, Patty Cake and read a "zoo" of animal themed books.


This 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.




There's still room to register for this creative and giggly storytime. So please register by calling the Youth Services Reference Desk at 630-368-7734. Limit 10 children per storytime. 

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. 

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. 

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.