Sarah SzatmaryHarford County Library, Aberdeen Branch

Program: Frogs! Drop-in Story Time (ages 0-4)One of the manifestations of Harford County Public Library's commitment to

promoting emergent literacy is our weekly drop-in story time. We hope to help lay a foundation for lifetime learning by helping children enjoy books and expanding that by having songs and fingerplays that go along with the books. We create a sense of belonging and familiarity by the repetition of other songs and fingerplays week to week, and often providing a craft that lets the children take a piece of story time home with them. Story time also helps families see the library as a kid-friendly place, with fun and educational resources, and gives an opportunity to get to know library staff. This meshes with the library's mission, which states, “Harford County Public Library provides a creative environment within the county that encourages the acquisition of knowledge and the love of reading.”

The theme for April 15, 2013 was “Frogs.” A non-fiction book was included. This makes the connection between literature and science, and supports the Common Core goal of including more non-fiction in children's reading. The “Little Tadpole” song is also non-fiction; it tells that the tadpole loses his tail, grows feet, and becomes a frog.

Adult participation is encouraged. The words to songs and rhymes are displayed for them, and they are handed craft supplies to assist their children. Librarian makes a point of thanking them for their help.Opening: CD of lively children's songs.Greeting, then the Welcome Song, in which children are pointed at to the words, “I'm glad you came.”Fingerplay: “Open, Shut Them.” The story time theme is announced, which is “Frogs.” To cue the children that it's time to listen to a book, the song, “It's Time to Read a Book” is sung. This is repeated before each book. Book: Froggy Goes to Bed, by Jonathan London. Aside to parents: London wrote other Froggy books, that the library carries.Fingerplay: Tommy Thumbs UpBook: Frogs!, by Elizabeth Carney (National Geographic, I Can Read non-fiction.)Song: “Little Tadpole” Book: Jump, Frog, Jump, by Robert KalanSong (with motions): Jump, Jump, went the Little Green Frog”Book: The Wide-Mouthed Frog, by Keith Faulkner (pop-up book)Song: Five Little Speckled FrogsClosing Rhyme: “See You Later, Alligator”Craft: Frogs, made from paper plates cut in half, colored, with a long, curled, red construction paper tongue and wiggle eyes attached.

Potential Community Partners: Friends of the Library, to provide funds for crafts; Day-care centers and homeschooling groups, where the story time can be shared.

Set-up: Have space cleared for story time, with tables set up for the craft, either on library

floor or in meeting room. Cut paper plates in half ahead of time, and have paper tongues cut and curled. Have craft supplies ready. Print out words to songs and rhymes, to encourage parents to participate. Be familiar with the books, songs, and fingerplays. Display other books about frogs, and catalogs of library events.

Evaluation: Informal, conversations with attenders, both children and adults. Weekly attendance recorded. (Comment cards are not usually given out at weekly events.)

PRESS RELEASE

ABERDEEN LIBRARY HAS DROP-IN STORY TIME ABOUT FROGS!

The Aberdeen Library continues to hold its weekly drop-in story time. Thetheme for April 13, 2013 will be “Frogs!” The story time will begin at 10:30AM, and run for about 45 minutes. It will include books, songs, fingerplaysand a craft focusing on frogs. The story time will be held in the meeting room. Parents and caregivers accompany the children to story time, and participation by all is encouraged, for a fun, interactive time. While the story time is designed for toddlers and preschoolers, babies and elementary school aged children are also welcome.

The story time is also publicized in the library's catalog of events, Headlines and Happenings, published quarterly. The spring quarter includes March, April and May, so the announcement for an April program would have come out about a month earlier.

At the time this program actually took place, we were not on Facebook. Since then, the Aberdeen Library has gotten its own Facebook page, and events are posted on it.