If you come visit the Children’s Room you may notice something different on a few of the tables — iPads!  We now have iPads with fun educational apps installed for you to play with.  Come take them for a tap when you get a chance!

In addition, we now have iPads for library programs — and we kicked things off with our first ever eStorytime on Friday, September 5.  Here’s some of the fun we had!  If you missed this one, and want to catch the next, we’ll be having another eStorytime at the Lamanda Park branch Thursday September 18 at 3:30pm.  The next one at Central will be Friday October 3 at 10 am.


Apps We Shared

We danced with all the animals at the farm thanks to a fiddling cow and Barnyard Dance by Loud Crow Interactive,  based on the book by Sandra Boynton. (iOS, Android, Nook: $3.99).  This story is wonderful in both app and book form, so get on your dancing shoes, and join in the fun!  We tried to see if we could guess who was hiding in the barn based only on animals sounds with Peekaboo Barn by Night & Day Studios (iOS, Android, Kindle: $.99).  While some of the animals living on that farm are unusual, there were some amazing guessers in the group!  We sang Old MacDonald Had a Farm with the animals we found in the app Felt Board by Software Smoothie (iOS: $2.99) Finally, we finished things off with the app Pass it On! by CJ Educations based on the book by Marilyn Sadler, illustrated by Michael Black.  (iOS: $2.99)  Or rather, we would have, but just like the cow in the story became stuck in the fence, so did our story end up stuck (or frozen) on the projector.  But that’s ok, because you can always see how the story ends in the book.


Movements

Try these fun rhymes at home with your child!

Two Mother Pigs
2 mother pigs lived in a pen.    (Show thumbs) 
Each had 4 babies, and that made 10. (Show fingers and thumbs) 
These 4 babies were black as night.  (Hold up 1 hand, thumb in palm) 
These 4 babies were black & white. (Hold up other hand, thumb in palm.) 
But all 8 babies loved to play, (hold up 8 fingers, thumbs in.) 
And they rolled & rolled in the mud all day (roll hands over each other) 
At night with their mother, they curled in a heap (make fist, palms up) 
And squealed and squeaked ‘til they went to sleep.

 


Book We Shared

We also shared the book Book! Book! Book! by Deborah Bruss, illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke.  A perfect pick for September – the animals on the farm are bored because the children have gone back to school.  Will they find some way to stay entertained in the city?  Find out in this book full of fun animal sounds and puns.


Continue the Fun

Want some more fun apps to play with?  Check out our Pinterest pages:

Apps we Recommend: Preschool (ages 2-5) 

Apps we Recommend: Ages 6 and Up