Author Archives: Melissa

Time to Update the Storytime Resources!

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Melissa

I just got an email from someone asking for me to include their storytime blog on my Storytime Resources page–and as I did so I realized it has been a whopping 18 months since I last updated the list of … Continue reading →

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Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Going on a Picnic: Flannel Friday AND Bonus Staff Training Activity

Posted on September 20, 2013 by Melissa

Today I’m sharing a flannel set that I did not make for an idea I did not come up with! But it’s a good one, plus I wanted to tell you how our team has used it for a staff … Continue reading →

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Posted in Early Literacy Storytime, Flannelboards, Training and Mentoring | 1 Comment

Early Literacy Storytime: Feelings Vocabulary

Posted on September 17, 2013 by Melissa

To build up their background knowledge and their understanding of their world, children need to know more than just the names of concrete objects. They also need to know the names for abstract concepts and feelings and ideas. Since children … Continue reading →

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Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

What I’m Reading: On the Blogs #1

Posted on September 12, 2013 by Melissa

So it’s been a really slow six months for posts here at Mel’s Desk, as I’ve juggled a lot of work for the new Bell Awards and consciously tried to ramp down from a super busy couple of years–at home … Continue reading →

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Posted in Web Resources | 6 Comments

The No-Prop No-Book No-Sweat Storytime

Posted on September 9, 2013 by Melissa

Do you ever have nightmares about storytime? I mean, literal, wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-sweating nightmares? I do. Sometimes in my dream I have a huge group show up for storytime and no matter how much I try, I can’t make them hear me … Continue reading →

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Posted in Preschool Storytime | 23 Comments

More about the Bell Awards!

Posted on September 5, 2013 by Melissa

What are the Bell Awards? Well, don’t worry if you don’t know yet because I will be talking about them a lot for the rest of the year! The CLEL Bell Awards are a brand-new recognition of picture books that … Continue reading →

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Posted in Book Awards | Tagged | Leave a comment

Early Literacy Storytime: Fill in the _____

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Melissa

Speech therapists talk about setting up “communication temptations” in order to motivate children to communicate or speak. A communication temptation is a situation that a child really wants to resolve in a certain way, so they are willing to try … Continue reading →

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Posted in Early Literacy Storytime | 4 Comments

Nursery Rhymes and Reading Skills

Posted on August 7, 2013 by Melissa

I have long been frustrated by this quote in Mem Fox’s book Reading Magic: “Experts in literacy and child development have discovered that if children know eight nursery rhymes by heart by the time they’re four years old, they’re usually … Continue reading →

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Posted in Web Resources | 40 Comments

Apps for a Preschool Tablet Program

Posted on August 3, 2013 by Melissa

Until I get to a write-up of our pilot tablet program (children and adults paired on a tablet, with both guided and free-play app time), here is a quick list of the apps we (me and my colleague Laurie Anne) … Continue reading →

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Posted in Book Lists | Leave a comment

Handouts in Storytime

Posted on July 31, 2013 by Melissa

So recently Jenny asked for some advice about creating a handout for storytime families, and we decided we both wanted to hear what everyone else had to say too! Do you have handouts for your families? If you do create … Continue reading →

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Posted in Storytime & Programs | 14 Comments