Patti Smith and Christina Aguilera

I adore Patti Smith. Her writing is amazing and I love her gritty, rock and roll voice. I read in Spin Magazine that she is a Christina Aguilera fan, and I think that's kind of cool.

And speaking of Patti Smith . . .

Here's my rendition of Because the Night by Patti Smith and Bruce Springsteen.



I know it's kind of lame to spend time crooning into my laptop, but the opportunity to sing with a live band seldom arises anymore now that I'm a librarian.

Jazz in the library, circa 1999

The Shermanettes only sing a capella.

Shermanettes Summer, 2008

Shermanettes Halloween, 2007

BTW, I made sure that the artists receive royalties from Singsnap.com.


Also, you can buy Patti Smith's music here and Christina Aguilera's music here. Check out the official Patti Smith website: pattismith.net. She's an Obama fan, too. Man, that woman has impeccable taste.

Thank You, South Florida Parenting!

The winners are in: Kids Crown Awards

Each year, readers vote for family-friendly places that they think offer the best activities, products and services in South Florida. Our reader panelists and judges are all frequent readers of South Florida Parenting and full-time residents of South Florida.

BEST STORY TIME

MS. REBECCA AND THE "SHERMANETTES"
Anne Leon, director of library services, says Ms. Rebecca "has a lively personality, a wonderful singing voice and makes story time very theatrical and fun." Our readers agree. The "Shermanettes" are a puppet troupe that perform throughout the year and weekly during the summer. There's no need to shush at this library. Your children can laugh, sing and have a roaring good time.

I won an iPod!

Reluctantly, I stayed home from work on Wednesday and Thursday because of a stomach flu (which has promptly turned into a head cold).

ANYWAY, my workmates just informed me that I won an iPod at Thursday's TLC wrap-up party! (TLC, The Learning Challenge, is our library's Web 2.0 staff development project.) Woo Hoo!

I am very grateful for the TLC program, not just because of the iPod or the Joe Jackson CD that I won. If it weren't for TLC, I wouldn't have started this blog which has become my new pastime. Through blogging, I've met some wonderful people online like Miss New Orleans and Alkelda the Gleeful.

The Library 2.0 project has made me love my job and appreciate my coworkers even more. It has also enhanced my friendship with sister Shermanettes, Thursday and Imogene. When we're not busy weeding, ordering new materials, performing literature-based puppet shows, writing scripts, presenting story time programs, making lesson plans, moving furniture, writing publicity, singing, cleaning closets, compiling bibliographies,learning new dance steps, defending the First Amendment, planning events, teaching research skills, serving on committees, recommending books, attending meetings, teaching early literacy classes, giving tours, and working at the reference desk, we have great fun throwing sheep at each other on Facebook.

Singin' the BFG Song

Shermanettes Dahl Day, originally uploaded by roxxyandjake.

YouTube

I'm a big fan of YouTube. Not only is it fun, it's also a useful tool for planning children's programs. For instance, when I needed a review of the basic ballet positions for an Angelina Ballerina Story Time, I found it on YouTube. When I couldn't remember all the steps to the Oompa Loompa Dance for our Dahl Day Celebration, I found them on YouTube. When I was practicing the National Anthem for the Library Night Ballgame, I checked YouTube for the best (and worst) renditions.

This picture was taken at our Dahl Day Celebration. We're singing the BFG song.