The Youth Services team at ImagineIF Libraries plans and implements early literacy programs for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers in Kalispell, Bigfork, and Columbia Falls. Our goal in every Storytime is to connect with young children and their caregivers through books, songs, and interactive activities that foster early literacy and social emotional skills.

Explore the Storytime Schedule

Tape Town is an annual Storytime tradition here at ImagineIF Libraries. Preschoolers learn about and practice early engineering concepts while having fun designing a town for their matchbox cars!

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Books Read:

Sixteen Runaway Pumpkins

by Dianne Ochiltree
ISBN: 9780689850905
We kicked things off with a fun seasonal read.

Bing! Bang! Chugga! Beep!

by Bill Martin Jr. and Michael Sampson
ISBN: 9781612545998
We have so much fun singing along to this story. Kids especially love repeating the phrase: “Bing, bang, chugga, beep, This old car goes bouncing on”!

Roadwork

by Sally Sutton
ISBN: 9780763639129
During this read, we talked about how roads are made and the names of various roadwork machines. Kids love big rigs!

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Songs & Interactives:

“The Pumpkins Are Here”

We began by passing out felt pumpkins, then sang along together (to the tune of “The Farmer in the Dell”):

The pumpkins are here, the pumpkins are there,
The pumpkins, the pumpkins are everywhere.

The pumpkins are up, the pumpkins are down,
The pumpkins, the pumpkins are all around.

The pumpkins are in, the pumpkins are out,
The pumpkins, the pumpkins are all about.

The pumpkins are low, the pumpkins are high,
The pumpkins, the pumpkins say “Good-bye!”

Action Cube: Fall Edition

Roll the large, soft cube to randomize actions such as “scamper like a squirrel” or “twirl like a leaf.”

Red Light, Green Light

We played a quick game of classic Red Light, Green Light using printed out traffic lights.

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Activities:

Tape Town

The highlight was the titular activity “Tape Town,” in which we use masking tape on the floor to create our own roads for toy vehicles. We also had blocks painted to look like buildings and construction toys at hand. This is a great activity for collaborative play and early engineering.

Light Table: Blocks

Colorful translucent blocks are lots of fun on our Kodo light table.

Dot Art

Dot paint pens with printed big rig coloring sheets.

Sensory Play: Car Wash

First, get the vehicles dirty in “mud” made from equal parts water, cornstarch, and cocoa. Then, wash them clean again with sponges in warm soapy water!

Mag Wall: Shapes

Colorful shape magnets on our giant mag wall, a hit with all ages.

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