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	<title>Mel's Desk</title>
	<link>http://melissa.depperfamily.net/blog</link>
	<description>Storytimes, early literacy, parent education, staff training...it's all good.</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Tue, 07 Sep 2010 10:38:39 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>Extended Play Storytime Posts</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Well, it&#8217;s been a year since I started posting a baby storytime plan almost every week. Where does the time go? My babies are growing up and new babies are coming to storytime. Which is great, because I have every intention of re-using last year&#8217;s storytimes all over again! 
However, I don&#8217;t necessarily want to [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://melissa.depperfamily.net/blog/?p=1218</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Baby Storytime: Mother Goose (Again!)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Our fall storytime sessions start today after a month off, and Mother Goose rhymes make for a fun and familiar way to welcome old friends back and to make new friends feel comfortable. See last fall&#8217;s version here! 
OPENING SONG: Hello Song*
OPENING FINGERPLAY: Open Them Shut Them*
BOOK: Big Fat Hen by BAKER
An oversized picture book [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://melissa.depperfamily.net/blog/?p=1203</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Is Making Your Own Big Books Worth the Effort?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I made a homemade big book this weekend, and I had a great time. It was an interesting challenge, and I definitely have that crafty geek gene, so it was fun to play around with construction paper and glue sticks. And I am really happy with the finished product, which I hope to be able [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://melissa.depperfamily.net/blog/?p=1154</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Making a Homemade Big Book</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I wanted to read a book version of &#8220;Twinkle Twinkle Little Star&#8221; for my Moon &#038; Rockets baby storytime, but the ones I looked at weren&#8217;t quite what I wanted. Michael Hague has a gorgeous version, but the illustrations are too complex and the colors too muted for a large group, especially very young children, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://melissa.depperfamily.net/blog/?p=1117</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Baby Storytime: Moon and Rockets</title>
		<description><![CDATA[How many rockets do babies see in their day-to-day lives? Not many! But talking about new things helps build our babies&#8217; vocabularies! 
OPENING SONG: Hello Song*
OPENING FINGERPLAY: Open Them Shut Them*
BOOK: Higher! Higher! by PATRICELLI
I SO wanted this book to win a Caldecott. I think it&#8217;s perfect.
 
FLANNEL RHYME: 5 Little Rockets
My version of 5 [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://melissa.depperfamily.net/blog/?p=1082</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Baby Storytime: Messy and Clean</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Revamped a Bathtime storytime so I could read Pete the Cat today! 
OPENING SONG: Hello Song*
OPENING FINGERPLAY: Open Them Shut Them*
BOOK: Pete the Cat by LITWIN
I know not everyone loves this book but I am one of the ones who does!

ACTION SONG: If You&#8217;re Happy and You Know It
Pete LOVES his shoes! What makes you [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://melissa.depperfamily.net/blog/?p=1068</link>
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	<item>
		<title>Baby Storytime: Cats and Dogs</title>
		<description><![CDATA[OPENING SONG: Hello Song*
OPENING FINGERPLAY: Open Them Shut Them*
BOOK: What Will Fat Cat Sit On? by THOMAS
It&#8217;s always a good day when you can read a Jan Thomas book!

LITERACY TIP: Print Awareness
When you have a book like What Will Fat Cat Sit On? that has really big words, point to them every now and then [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://melissa.depperfamily.net/blog/?p=1041</link>
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		<title>Baby Storytime: Summer</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Is your summer off to a good start? This storytime actually turned out to be a little too long, and at each session I wound up skipping one or two things. But I like everything so much I kept it all in for this post!
OPENING SONG: Hello Song*
OPENING FINGERPLAY: Open Them Shut Them*
BOOK: Buzzy&#8217;s Big [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://melissa.depperfamily.net/blog/?p=1006</link>
			</item>
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		<title>Baby Storytime: Ocean</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Our Summer Reading Program starts this week! Our babies and toddlers have their own &#8220;Make a Splash&#8221; reading record!  
OPENING SONG: Hello Song*
OPENING FINGERPLAY: Open Them Shut Them*
BOOK: There Once Was a Puffin by JAQUES
My mom used to read this poem to my sister and I when we were kids. It is still one [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://melissa.depperfamily.net/blog/?p=997</link>
			</item>
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		<title>Baby Storytime: Bodies (Again)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Here&#8217;s an update to last fall&#8217;s Bodies storytime! 
OPENING SONG: Hello Song*
OPENING FINGERPLAY: Open Them Shut Them*
BOOK: I Can Help by COSTELLO
 
This is a wonderful story for baby and toddler storytimes! It has really short sentences, but lots of meaning is carried in the bright and clear illustrations so the narrative is rich and [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://melissa.depperfamily.net/blog/?p=981</link>
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