Jim Gill Workshop is almost here!

Musical Play is Learning Play with Jim Gill: A Professional Development Workshop - Fri. Aug. 14th 1-4pm

Attention Youth Services Librarians!  

Photo provided by Jim Gill

On Friday, August 14^th from 1:00-4:00pm, Jim Gill is offering a professional development workshop tailored for librarians and early childhood educators at the Oak Creek Public Library in Oak Creek, WI. Registration is required to secure your spot for this event. This workshop is free for participants.

Register now: https://events.getlocalhop.com/music-play-is-learning-play-with-jim-gill-professional-development-workshop-for-early-childhood-educators-and-librarians/event/mp0upT1Ace/

A free family concert will follow in the evening on Friday, August 14^th at 6:30pm. No registration required.

Other events to enjoy while in town include:

Oak Creek Kids Night in Drexel Town Square (Also Jim Gill concert venue, food trucks will be available!)
Friday, August 14^th, 5:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M.
https://www.oakcreekwi.gov/visitor/events/kids-nights

Oak Creek Farmers Market
Saturday, August 15^th, 9:00 A.M. – 1:00 P.M.
https://www.oakcreekwi.gov/visitor/events/farmers-market

For more information, visit https://www.oakcreekwi.gov/visitor 

All these events are sponsored by Visit Oak Creek.

Free Professional Development Workshop with Jim Gill!

 Musical Play is Learning Play with Jim Gill: A Professional Development Workshop - Fri. Aug. 14th 1-4pm

Photo provided by Jim Gill

 

Attention Youth Services Librarians! Save the Date!

 

On Friday, August 14^th from 1:00-4:00pm, Jim Gill is offering a professional development workshop tailored for librarians and early childhood educators at the Oak Creek Public Library in Oak Creek, WI. Registration is required to secure your spot for this event. This workshop is free for participants.

 

Register now: https://events.getlocalhop.com/music-play-is-learning-play-with-jim-gill-professional-development-workshop-for-early-childhood-educators-and-librarians/event/mp0upT1Ace/

 

A free family concert will follow in the evening on Friday, August 14^th at 6:30pm. No registration required.

 

Coming from out of town? Hotel blocks are available while supplies last.

TownePlace Suites by Marriott Milwaukee Oak Creek for 169.00 USD per night - Last Day to Book : Monday, July 13, 2026
Book your group rate for Oak Creek Public Library-Jim Gill Event

Homewood Suites Oak Creek by Hilton 159.00 USD per night

https://group.homewood-suites.com/0cmx1t

 

Other events to enjoy while in town include:

 

Oak Creek Kids Night in Drexel Town Square (Also Jim Gill concert venue)

Friday, August 14^th, 5:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M.

https://www.oakcreekwi.gov/visitor/events/kids-nights

 

Oak Creek Farmers Market

Saturday, August 15^th, 9:00 A.M. – 1:00 P.M.

https://www.oakcreekwi.gov/visitor/events/farmers-market

 

For more information, visit https://www.oakcreekwi.gov/visitor 

 

These events are sponsored by Visit Oak Creek.

It's a Hit! Musical Bingo!

Musical Bingo is a fun twist on the classic game using song titles in place of letters and numbers. And I can’t recommend it enough as a low-cost and low-prep teen program.

I hosted my first Musical Bingo for teens last summer after seeing a post about it on the Teen Services Underground Facebook page by Megan Reddin. She details how she runs the event (coming up with themes, compiling a playlist, creating bingo cards, and gathering prize options).

Since running the program last year, my teens have requested Musical Bingo over and over again. We have a weekly Wednesday teen program and Musical Bingo has become a regular in our rotation of activities. While I usually get between 15–22 teens a week, I find that Musical Bingo will draw in teens that don’t normally attend or participate in the organized activities. 

Example Musical Bingo sheet

I’m always shocked by the songs they know, and it’s incredibly wholesome when the whole room starts singing along.  Their excitement for Musical Bingo continues to surprise me. After our last game, they asked if they could start compiling a list based on their favorite songs. Absolutely, they can 😊

For our next game, all the song lists will be put together by the teens, and I’ll make the boards and provide the prizes. Naturally, a sing-along will break out and fun will be had by all! 

Let us know if you try it out in your teen programming!

To read more about Musical Bingo, visit the Megan's original post on the Teen Services Underground Facebook group.

Jim Gill Workshop for Library Staff

Attention Youth Service Librarians! Save the Date!

Friday, June 14th @ 9:30am, Jim Gill is offering a professional development workshop tailored for librarians and early childhood educators at the Mead Public Library in Sheboygan. 

A JOYOUS WAY TO LEARN WITH JIM GILL: Promote Readiness, Literacy, Math Development and Inclusion Through Active Music Play

Thirty-five years ago, Jim Gill picked up a banjo excited by the idea that music, apart from the joy it brings, is a great way to help young children learn. In this energizing session Jim shares examples of his award-winning songs and musical books that combine opportunities for active movement with word play and rhymes.  He also discusses:

-How music play inspires young children not only to move, but to regulate their movements…..not only to sing, but to make connections between the words they sing and the printed word and world of numbers.

-How music play can help create an inclusive environment for children with special needs and from all different backgrounds.

Librarians and early childhood educators will leave the session inspired to celebrate with new songs and playful literacy activities.  Even more, they will leave the session thinking about new strategies to help children learn!

Preregistration is essential to secure your spot for this event.  Register here

A free family concert is the following day on Sat June 15th, and is also free and open to the public.

Thank you to the Kohler Foundation for your generous sponsorship of this program. 

Free Archived Singing and STEM Training Webinars

Cathy Lancaster, Youth Services Coordinator at the Library of Michigan writes:

"Below are 2 of the new webinars I’ve offered in the past couple of weeks. Feel free to share them with your libraries – the links to handouts are displayed at the start and finish of each webinar. Our Childhood Trauma in a Time of Crisis should be available soon… Future webinars will all be archived, too, for out-of-state folks to access as I need to save seats for Michigan library staff on the live ones."

Singing Our Way to Literacy!
Singing with children is one of the easiest and most enjoyable ways to increase reading and writing readiness. It also serves as “Storytime Glue.” You don't have to sing well to share music with kids - you just need give yourself permission!  Join, Storyteller and Narrative Consultant, Jenifer Strauss for a webinar filled with rhythms, rhymes, songs and silliness. Learn to use simple rhythm instruments and props to move and groove with kids. Discover how singing refines auditory discrimination and sequencing, improves listening skills, creates phonological awareness, print awareness, enriches vocabulary and uplifts our mood! (Recorded 04/24/2020) 

Motion! with Longway Planetarium’s Laurie Bone
In this STEM training, Longway Planetarium’s Laurie Bone will provide background information about forces and motion, and share connections to the Next Generation Science Standards.  Some easy, tried and true activities that you can do virtually with your patrons using everyday household items will be demonstrated.  Webinar participants will also receive links to information sheets that support each activity so that you can create a “Motion” STEM program, either in the library or virtually, for your families. (Recorded 04/28/2020)

These programs are supported in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Thanks to Tessa Michaelson Schmidt for the share!

Music Permissions? Look No Further

Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

There has been alot of confusion around music permissions for online storytimes. What can be shared? Are musicians and media companies granting the kinds of limited permissions that book publishers are?

As in all questions that have popped up over the past two weeks, someone is working on that!

The someones in this case are CLEL (CO Libraries for Early Literacy) and specifically Jessica Frederickson. The group reached out to a host of musicians and gotten many permissions. But more than that they have written a clear and helpful blog post about it all. Thanks Jessica!

And for those who are interested in finding what children's songs you can sing that are in the public domain, don't forget this great doc from the Public Domain Information Project.

[Update 3/31/20 - also this earlier YSS blog post has publisher and author permissions and the latest on fair use]

Permissions (Books, Authors and Music) YSS COVID-19 series:

• Many Children’s Books COVID-19 Publisher Permissions Extended  6/24/20
• Virtual Storytime – Tips on Fair Use & Kids’ Privacy 5/4/20
• Want Permission? Current Info on Publishers and Authors 3/22/20; updated 4/23/20
•  Music Permissions? Look No Further  3/27/20; updated 3/31/20

Virtual Storytimes YSS blog COVID-19 series:

• Online Storytime Creation Tools  11/18/20
• Flipgard, Fanfare and Friends: Celebrity Storytime  9/21/20
• ALSC Virtual Storytime Guide is Out!  6/11/20
• Getting Started with Virtual Storytimes  5/27/20
• “How to Do a Virtual Storytime” Webinars 4/13/20
• Tips on Doing Online Storytimes During COVID-19 Closures 3/16/20; updated 3/20/20
• Storytime Goes Digital 3/20/20
• Digital Storytimes- You Do You! 3/31/20
• Digital Storytime, Screen Time and Intentionality – Oh My 4/6/20
• Facebook Live Online Storytime Tips 3/24/20
• Fixing "My Book is Backwards in Online Storytime!" on iPhone 3/22/20

Sock Hop

Disclaimer: If you ask children what they think a "sock hop" is, you will be told 99 times out of 100, in descriptive terms, about a sack race.

I am in love with this summer's CSLP Libraries Rock theme.  I have gotten to do genre-themed storytimes (including musicals, sqeeee!), Teen Music Trivia, and tons of other delightful music-based programs.  But last Saturday I capped off July with an all-ages Sock Hop, and it was a blast!  Here's what I did:

1) Food - I had a local bakery do up some cupcakes to fit the Sock Hop color theme I had chosen (white, pink, teal), Pixy Stix, candy buttons, punch, chips, and popcorn.  I can tell you right now that the Pixy Stix and the candy buttons were the favorites of the bunch!

2) Crafts - I had out two crafts: Socktopus and Soda Jerk Hats.  The Soda Jerk Hats I bought plain and in bulk via Amazon, here, and let the kids decorate to their hearts content.  The Socktopus involved purchasing lots of socks with fun patterns, thread, poly-fil, and felt.  Check out the full Socktopus instructions here.


3) Playdough Station - I also set out a table of playdough in themed colors, with cutters and rollers.  This is a great younger sibling option when families with multiple age children attend our larger
programs.  It is also a good sensory experience.

4) Local Royalty - I reached out to my local pageant and requested one of this year's Butterfest royalty to attend the Sock Hop.  My request was granted and in our programming room I had Miss Sparta's Outstanding Teen doing a number of musical activities, including boomwhackers, musical chairs, hula hoops, and more.  There is just something about having a "princess" at an event that makes the kiddos go crazy!

5) Music - I had 50s music playlists playing in our Children's area (where the crafts and playdough were) and in the program room.  Everyone bopped along!

I also encouraged the kids to come dressed in poodle skirts/leather jackets or other 50s garb. Overall, the Sock Hop was a success, with families arriving early and staying late!  Rock n' roll really is here to stay!

Rock Out Some Recreated Album Covers!

Looking for a fun, SRP-themed program for teens and tweens?  

How about having them recreate famous album covers?!

Check out THIS super sweet blog post by The Lego Librarian for inspiration and then go forth and recreate it at your library!  Just be sure to follow the advice he gives: provide examples of approved album covers, both as a source of inspiration...and to avoid any awkward situations, as some album covers can be a bit...saucy.

What's really great about this idea is how it can be tweaked to best suit your needs/resources.  It could be a one-off program, a summer-long passive program--you could even offer it as a family challenge!

Another way to change it up?  Consider turning it into a craft!  Participants can recreate the covers using any number of materials, including LEGOs or candy! 

(Well, hello there, Skittle-d David Bowie!)

                                      

OK Go Sandbox - Full STEAM Ahead!

If you're at all familiar with the band OK Go, you know they have some pretty rockin' music videos, taking on everything from treadmill dancing to Rube Goldberg machines.

(And if you haven't seen any of their videos yet, you can check them out here! https://www.youtube.com/okgo) 

After learning that educators were using their videos to teach the fundamentals of science, OK Go joined forces with the Playful Learning Lab at the University of St. Thomas (led by Dr. AnnMarie Thomas) to create OK Go Sandbox, a free online resource for educators that uses the band's music videos as a jumping off point for discovery, creativity, and scientific exploration.

Included for each featured music video is the video itself, a Q & A video, and a few video-specific challenges that are complete with educator guides, worksheets, and more!  

Even better?  It sounds like the band is looking to expand the offerings on OK Go Sandbox, so more STEAM fun could be headed our way!  (Oh, and did I mention it's free?!  There's a link to donate should you so choose, but it is in no way required to access the materials provided.)

Watch the NBC News report discussing the OK Go Sandbox project here.

Copyright Works Entering the Public Domain in 2019

 Virginia Woolf  Photo: George Charles Bereford

Nick Douglas over at lifehacker has shared a great list of 1923 copyrighted works that will enter the public domain January 1, 2019.  This is the first time in over 20 years that a full year of copyrighted works will be released.  The list includes movies, like Charlie Chaplin's The Pilgrim, music, including "Yes! We Have NO Bananas!", and BOOKS, including Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf.  Once open to public use, these films, pieces of music, and certainly books, could lend themselves well to a teen program focused on re-telling or mashing up elements of the works.  Check out the article and full list HERE.

WLA YSS Sessions in Short: Sing, Sing a Storytime

Sing, Sing a Storytime: Integrating Music into your Storytime

Thursday, October 19, 2017     3:45-4:30

Lori Bell

Lori began by telling us the significance of music as a learning tool. She shared a myriad of resources for music. Even if they were familiar, it was great refresher. I know I was saying to myself, “I should dust off___________and get that back into my storytimes.” She showed us how you do not need to be an expert at an instrument but can still introduce it to the children and play a few chords. (Great idea for next summer’s reading theme: “Rock and Read”!)  She showed us a really smart way to keep patrons engaged and keep yourself organized. For every storytime she creates a PowerPoint! She has the lyrics incorporated and then caregivers and kids can follow along (even if they are not reading, they can associate words with sounds)

Author: Elizabeth Timmins

A Different Tune

Let's talk about music!  I have fallen back in love with my children's music collection.  What I first saw as a tiny, outdated, and admittedly old (I'm looking at you Kid Songs) collection, has grown to be a vibrant part of our circulating materials.  Yes, they are CDs, and yes that feels a bit 90s like all the time, but the miraculous part is that with a little weeding, relabeling, and choice additions of new music, this collection has grown significantly in popularity.

Not sure where to start with a children's music renovation?  Have no fear, SLJ's ClefNotes music reviewers are here, with the Top 10 Children's Music of 2016!  Titles include Justin Roberts' Lemonade and The Laurie Berkner Band's Superhero.  Check out the full list HERE and get your groove on!

52 Weeks: Week 19 Youth Battle of the Bands

Brought to you by the Wisconsin Library Association Youth Services Section, 52 Weeks of YA Programming is a collection of teen programs submitted by YSS members across the state.

Week 19: Youth Battle of the Bands Submitted by YSS Member Laurie Bartz

Music and Early Literacy

Lately, I've been promoting kids and family music as a way to develop early literacy skills. Some of my favorite artists include Ella Jenkins, Hap Palmer, Raffi, José-Luis Orozco, Elizabeth Mitchell, David Landau (a Madison area artist who has excellent rates for library programs - FYI), and the Laurie Berkner Band.

A recent discovery of mine, but an artist who's been around for a long time is Susie Tallman. I especially like the albums Children's Songs: A Collection of Childhood Favorites and Let's Go! Travel, Camp and Car Songs, but she has many others including  Classic Nursery Rhymes which features some diverse arrangements of traditional nursery rhymes.

http://www.susietallman.com/records/childrens/index.html

Earlier in March, Jodie who blogs at Growing Book by Book: Nurturing Our Youngest Readers wrote about kids' songs that build literacy skills.

What are your favorite kids' and family musicians? What songs do you love to use in storytimes? Do you sing? Use a playlist? Share with us.

Music and Movement

The Association for Library Service to Children had a guest post about Music and Movement at the Library by Stephanie Prato of the Fayetteville Free Library in New York. It spelled out a few good reasons to keep including music and movement in our storytimes, as well as programming around music even if we aren't specifically music educators.


What types of music and movement programs or unprograms are you doing at your library?

Stephanie's suggested these resources for Music and Movement Education:

1. Pica, R., & Pica, R. (2010). Experiences in movement & music: Birth to age 8. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.
2. Early Childhood Music and Movement Association
3. LetsMove.gov
4. National Association for Music Education

Music Music Everywhere

We often find ourselves highlighting books in programs - whether favorite book characters or authors or subjects.  The programs flow around our promotion of the wonderful books we have in the collection and the books (hopefully) head home with the kids.

But are we doing the same promotion with the music CDs in our collections?

Ann at sotomorrow blog has a great post highlighting ways that she promotes her CD collection in her storytimes.  It's got me inspired!