Storytime for August 5th: Stargazing

This week's storytime is all about stars and the night sky!

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Here are the books we'll be reading this week, along with some videos, links, and activities to accompany them!

Meet Marla Frazee

Learn more about Marla Frazee.

Meet Kevin Henkes

Explore Kevin Henkes' website to learn more about his books and find free downloads.

Watch this stop-motion animated version of the story:

Learn more about Oliver Jeffers' books.

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You can also download this week's Takeaway page by clicking here.

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And be sure to check out the related online astronomy and stargazing activities:

•KidsAstronomy—Learn about the constellations and phases of the moon and download a map of the night sky!

•NationalGeographic Kids—Find amazing pictures of the stars and learn some star gazing tips

•Mr.Nussbaum—Learn all about the different types of stars, plus much more!

•Enchanted Learning—Activities and printables about astronomy

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And, finally, if you liked today's stories, here are some more great books about stars and the sky!

• The Magic School Bus Sees Stars by Nancy White
• Zoo In the Sky by Jacqueline Mitton
• Mr. Putter & Tabby See the Stars by Cynthia Rylant
• Star Gazer by Ben Morgan
• Arthur and the Comet Crisis by Stephen Krensky
• Fancy Nancy Sees Stars by Jane O'Connor

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Have a great week, and thanks for coming to storytime!

Storytime for July 15th: Pet Parade

This week, we'll be sharing stories about those furry members of our families--our pets!

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Here are the books we'll be reading this week, along with some videos, links, and activities to accompany them!

Read more about Eric Rohmann and his book, Bone Dog.

Meet Eric Rohmann in the video below:

Here's a preview of A Pet for Petunia

Watch this animated adaptation of Children Make Terrible Pets!

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You can also download this week's Takeaway page by clicking here.

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And be sure to check out the related online activities about pets:

NationalGeographic Kids—check out these hilarious and adorable pet photos!

DiscoveryKids—help the dog catch the Frisbee in this game!

DLTK—arts and crafts featuring cats, dogs, fish, and other pets

EnchantedLearning—Pet-related rhymes, crafts, activities, and printables

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And, finally, if you liked today's stories, here are some more great books about dads!

• City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems
• Just Me and My Puppy by Mercer Mayer
• The Cat Came Back by Fred Penner
• Pocket Pets by Alvin Silverstein
• The Class Pet from the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler
• The Ferret's a Foot by Colleen A. Venable

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Have a great week, and we'll see you next Tuesday!

Storytime for July 8th: Christmas in July

This week at storytime, we're taking a break from the heat and celebrating the imaginary chill in the air for Christmas in July!

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Here are the books we'll be reading this week, along with some videos, links, and activities to accompany them!

Make your own (virtual) snowman at ABCya!

Build a snowman and listen to the "Ten Little Snowmen" rhyme at Starfall.

Help the Grinch grow his heart by delivering presents to Whoville at Seussville.

And here's the famous Grinch song from the classic animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss's book!

What was Santa like as a kid?  Here are a few ideas:

Listen to an interview with author/illustrator Jon Agee here.

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You can also download this week's Takeaway page by clicking here.

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And be sure to check out some of these fun online Christmas activities:

Activity Village—coloring pages, jokes, and games

Merry Christmas Kids Zone—stories, Santa letters, games, and more

Enchanted Learning—fun and easy Christmas crafts for kids

‘Tis the Season—Check out these fun ideas for celebrating Christmas in July with your kids!

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And, finally, if you liked today's stories, here are some more great Christmas books!

• The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore
• Who's That Knocking on Christmas Eve by Jan Brett
• The Christmas Box by Eve Merriam
• Shall I Knit You a Hat?  by Kate Klise
• Bear Stays Up for Christmas by Karma Wilson
• The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree by Gloria Houston

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Have a great week, and we'll see you next Tuesday!

Storytime for June 17th: It's Summertime

This week's storytime is about some of the fun activities we do during summertime!

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Here are the books we'll be reading this week, along with some videos, links, and activities to accompany them!

Read more about Elisha Cooper's inspiration for Beach

Get in the summertime mood with this beach song.

Click here to watch a book trailer for The Watermelon Seed.

Learn more about the book in this video review.

Watch the Talking Potatoes' review of A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever.

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You can also download this week's Takeaway page by clicking here.

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And be sure to check out the related online activities for summertime:

DLTK—coloring pages, printables, songs, poems, and puzzles 

PBS Kids—learn about the great out-of-doors with these nature games 

Activity Village—tons of great ideas for summer-themed crafts 

Crayola—printable coloring pages celebrating summer activities from baseball to the beach 

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And, finally, if you liked today's stories, here are some more great books about summer!

• Time of Wonder by Robert McCloskey
• The Bathing Costume by Charlotte Moundlic
• D.W, All Wet by Marc Brown
• Tom and Pippo on the Beach by Helen Oxenbury
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney
• Summer of the Sea Serpent by Mary Pope Osborne

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Have a great week, and we'll see you next Tuesday!

Storytime for June 10th: Let's Celebrate Dad

This week's storytime is all about the dads (and uncles, and grandpas, and friends) who are special to us!

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Here are the books we'll be reading this week, along with some videos, links, and activities to accompany them!

Visit the Mo Willems homepage to play games and learn more about Mo's characters.

Download and print a Knuffle Bunny Too activity kit, including coloring pages and other activities.

Visit Leslie Patricelli's website to download coloring pages, play online games, and learn more about the author and her books.

Download and print this Interrupting Chicken story kit for some free Papa and Chicken puppets, coloring pages, and crafts.

Check out the chicken activities and games at Enchanted Learning.

Watch a video of author and illustrator David Ezra Stein talking about Interrupting Chicken.

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You can also download this week's Takeaway page by clicking here.

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And be sure to check out the related online activities for Father's Day:

DLTK—coloring pages, printables, songs, poems, and puzzles

Enchanted Learning—cards, crafts, and writing activities about dads 

Disney Family—crafts and recipes for Father’s Day 

PrimaryGames—Father’s Day themed online games

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And, finally, if you liked today's stories, here are some more great books about dads!

• Grandpa Green by Lane Smith
• Jangles: A Big Fish Story by David Shannon
• Knock Knock: My Dad's Dream for Me by Daniel Beaty
• Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
• Just Me and My Dad by Mercer Mayer

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Have a great week, and we'll see you next Tuesday!

April is National Poetry Month!

All month, Smithville Elementary will be celebrating poetry!

Each day, a different teacher will read a poem over the announcements.  The poems will then be posted on our poetry calendar across from the office.

If you'd like to have some fun with poetry, check out one of these sites:

• Poetry Splatter: Write your own poem by filling in the blanks with some splatter words!
• Giggle Poetry:  Read some super FUNNY poems and rate your favorites!
• Poetry 4 Kids:  Meet author and poet Ken Nesbitt, and discover some of his funniest poems!
• Instant Poetry Forms:  Want to write your own poem?  This site makes it easy--just fill in the blanks!

Quilted Stories

The Colorado Valley Quilt Guild has been kind enough to share another box of their "quilted stories" with Smithville Elementary this semester!

Each story comes with a coordinating quilt that was handmade by guild members.  What an interesting, hands-on, unique way of sharing a story together!

Teachers can check out the books and their accompanying quilts in the library.

You can learn more about this semester's selections here:

Grab Bag: Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!  Here are some fun printable bookmarks to help you show your love for books!  Click on each picture below to download and print.  Happy reading!

From: Positively Splendid

From:  Living Locurto

From:  Good Life Eats

This week in the library...

April is National Poetry Month, so we'll be reading LOTS of poetry in the library this month!

Looking for some great poetry to read? Check out one of these awesome sites!

• Poetry 4 Kids
• Giggle Poetry
• Children's Poetry Archive

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This week, 3rd Grade will be writing their own book spine poems using some of the favorite books in our library. Check back next week to read some of their poems!

Want to write more fun poems? Check out this site!

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4th Grade will be reading Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman. Click here to read more about the book, or watch this great trailer:

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5th Grade will be continuing to read Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis, and will also be reading some Langston Hughes poetry.

Click here to read more about Langston Hughes.

This week in the library...

March is Women's History Month, and we're celebrating by reading about some amazing women!

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3rd Graders are reading Me...Jane by Patrick McDonnell, which tells the story of scientist and anthropologist Jane Goodall. Here's a quick music video about Jane Goodall:

	Click here to read a quick biography of Jane
	Click here to watch several videos about Jane's work with chimps.
	Click here for Jane's official website.
	Click here for Jane's website for kids--Roots and Shoots.

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4th Graders are reading Queen of the Falls by Chris VanAllsburg, which tells the story of Annie Edson Taylor, the first daredevil to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel! Here's a slideshow of some pictures of Annie and her famous barrel:

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If you'd like to know more about Niagara Falls, Annie Edson Taylor, or other famous Niagara daredevils, click on her picture below:

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Here's a video of one of the daredevils who followed Annie's lead and went over the falls in a barrel. Can you imagine what it must have felt like on the inside of this barrel?

And finally, here's a video of the author/illustrator, Chris Van Allsburg, talking about his book, Queen of the Falls:

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5th Grade is continuing to read Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. Buddy s now "on the lam" and, after a short stay in a Hooverville, ready to hop a train west! What will happen when Buddy and his friend, Bugs set out on their own? Click here to read more about Bud, Not Buddy.

This week in the library...

Mrs. G. has been gone all week to a technology conference in Austin, but the students of SES have been reading one of her favorite books in preparation for Valentine's Day!




In Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch, by Eileen Spinelli, Mr. Hatch leads a lonely life until one Valentine's Day when the postman delivers a huge, heart-shaped box of candy with a card reading "Somebody loves you." Knowing he has a secret admirer gives Mr. Hatch a bright new perspective on life--until it turns out there's been a terrible mistake. But Mr. Hatch's new friends rally to show him that a lot of somebodies love Mr. Hatch. [Summary from Simon & Schuster.]


Here's a great video of actor Hector Elizondo reading Mr. Hatch aloud.

And here are a few video clips of a live theatre version of the story:

If you're looking for more great Valentine's Day stories, information, or activities, check out these sites:

• Family Fun: Valentine's Day
• America's Library: Valentine's Day
• History of Valentine's Day
• Kaboose Valentine's Day
• Valentine's Games

Happy Valentine's Day from the library!

This week in the library...

All grades will be reading and discussing Martin's Big Words by Doreen Rappaport.



Watch a video of the book being read aloud here:

For more information about Martin Luther King, Jr., check out these sites:

• Brain Pop's Martin Luther King, Jr. video
• Time For Kids: Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Biography.com's Martin Luther King, Jr. page

November Fun on the Web

Check out these sites for some Thanksgiving fun!

• Enchanted Learning Fall Crafts


• Family Fun's Thanksgiving Decorations and Crafts


• History.com's History of Thanksgiving


• Scholastic's First Thanksgiving Webquest


• DLTK's Printable Thanksgiving Activities


• Thanksgiving stories, games, and activities from Kaboose


• Turkey to Go Online Game


• Thanksgiving Crafts and Coloring Pages from Crayola

More Halloween Fun on the Web

Looking for more Halloween activities online? Try one of these sites!

• Carve Your Own Pumpkin (Without getting messy hands!)
• The Witch's Stew: Interactive story
• Pink and Purple Pumpkins: Halloween story read aloud for you
• CBBC: What is Halloween? Learn about the history of the holiday.
• History.com Find some short, informative videos and photo galleries
• Halloween Around the World How is Halloween celebrated in other countries?
• Halloween Hangman Can you guess the word before the skeleton is complete?
• PBS Kids: Happy Halloween Halloween-related activities from your favorite PBS shows
• 10 Stunning Pumpkin Carvings Some amazing Jack-o-lanterns
• Animal Planet: Happy Howl-o-ween Halloween goes to the dogs

Want more? Check out Larry Ferlazzo's Best Websites for Learning About Halloween

This week in the library...

Get a Voki now!


Press the play button on the box above to hear about what's going on in the library this week!

Looking for some Halloween fun? Check out these sites:

• Kaboose: online Halloween games, coloring pages, and more
• TLC Family: a collection of classic scary stories
• Family Fun: Halloween crafts, recipes, and costume ideas

And here's a Halloween classic...enjoy!