Warm and Toasty!

January 14, 2013

Warm and Toasty!

A storytime devote to things that warm you up on a cold wintry day!

Books:

Knitty Kitty by David Elliott

Snow Dog, Go Dog by Deborah Heiligman

Soup Day by Melissa Iwai


Songs:

Opening Song: Where is Thumbkin? - Kimbo

 Song 2: Skinny-Marinky-Dinky-Dink - 100 Singalong Songs for Kids

 Song 3(Theme Song Pick): The Frost Song

 Song 4: Shake your Sillies Out - Raffi

 Song 5: Walking, Walking - Wee Sing for Baby

 Song 6: Dance Your Fingers / Clap Along With Me - Wee Sing for Baby

 Song 7: If You're Happy and You Know It - 100 Singalong Songs for Kids

 Song 8: Wheels on the Bus - 100 Singalong Songs for Kids

Felt/Magnet Board:

This week we chose to go a magnet board, and more than paraphrased. version of Jan Brett's The Mitten.

 

This Ukrainian folktale is humorous and adorable. Jan Brett is even kind enough to have a PDF of her animals and mittens on her website so that you can have this as a classroom activity or use to make your own telling of the story.

For our magnet board, we simply printed out pictures of the various animals and used Jan Brett's mitten outline to squeeze all the animals inside.

Craft:

The craft today was one of the easiest possible - a printable snowman to dress up! You can download the original here for FREE! The kids colored (or scribbled all over, depending on the age) the snowman and his clothing and parents helped cut the pieces and assemble them onto construction paper with glue. Super cute and super easy!

How Many Did You Have?

Today we had 49 all together - wowzers!

How Did It Go?

Overall, I'd call it a success. Honestly - the boys in our group were not particularly interested in Knitty Kitty but you can't win them all :-)

Winter!

January 7, 2014

Winter!

Out first storytime of the year! Our system was kind enough to give us a programming break for the holiday season so this is our first storytime in almost a month!! Being in the south, we rarely have enough cold weather to get what some call "snow" and "ice" so we thought devoting a storytime to "Winter" with its snowflakes and snowmen and ice skating would be a bit of an ironic, though fun, endeavor. Little did we know - it was 30 degrees outside when we read these stories!!

Books:

Me Too! by Valeri Gorbachev

No Two Alike by Keith Baker

Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner

These were all wonderful stories about the cold and snow. Me Too! takes a bear and chipmunk through various outdoor winter activities. No Two Alike highlights the differences between two creatures or items that appear to be the same but are different: like snowflakes! Snowmen at Night is very entertaining - it takes you through the adventures of snowmen after dark and explains why they might look a little droopy come morning.

Songs:

Opening Song: Where is Thumbkin? - Kimbo
Song 2: Skinny-Marinky-Dinky-Dink - 100 Singalong Songs for Kids
Song 3(Theme Song Pick): The Frost Song - see below
Song 4: Shake your Sillies Out - Raffi
Song 5: Walking, Walking - Wee Sing for Baby
Song 6: Dance Your Fingers / Clap Along With Me - Wee Sing for Baby
Song 7: If You're Happy and You Know It - 100 Singalong Songs for Kids
Song 8: Wheels on the Bus - 100 Singalong Songs for Kids

The Frost Song was found after a search for some non-Christmassy wintery songs that would be easy enough to sing. We came up with a few simple hand motions to go with the song and went over those with the kids first and thanks to a new CD with instrumental accompaniment we even had music to go with it!

Credit: Babycenter Community
The Frost Song
to the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell"

The frost is in the air.
The frost is in the air.
It's wintertime, It's wintertime,
The frost is in the air.

The frost is on the trees.
The frost is on the trees.
It's wintertime, It's wintertime,
The frost is on the trees.

The frost is on the roof.
The frost is on the roof.
It's wintertime, It's wintertime,
The frost is on the roof.

The frost is on the windows.
The frost is on the windows.
It's wintertime, It's wintertime,
The frost is on the windows.

The frost is on the ground.
The frost is on the ground.
It's wintertime, It's wintertime,
The frost is on the ground.

The frost tells me it's cold.
The frost tells me it's cold.
It's wintertime, It's wintertime,
The frost tells me it's cold.

So inside I'll stay.
So inside I'll stay.
Inside it's nice, and I am warm.
So inside I'll stay.

Felt/Magnet Board Story: 

 



Today we did The Five Little Penguins, a magnet board based on a song put on YouTube by littlestorybug, originally found here on Pintrest.

The rhyme is simple enough:

5 little penguins standing still.
1 little penguin slides down the hill.
Where did he go?
I don't know!
4 little penguins standing still.

4 little penguins...
3 little penguins...
2 little penguins...
until!
1 little penguin standing still.
He goes sliding down the hill.
Where did he go?
I don't know!
Wait!
I know!
With all other penguins playing in the snow!

I'm a little out of practice because of our break, so I forgot to ask the kids to count with me for the entire song, but we'll get there!

Nursery Rhyme:

We've been trying to incorporate a nursery rhyme into our weekly themes. Sometimes we can pull this off easily by doing a certain song or felt board. This week we sang "Polly put the Kettle On" with a few pictures printed from an online storybook. We introduced it because Polly puts the kettle on for tea, and some people drink tea when it's cold outside.

Polly Put the Kettle On

Polly put the kettle on,

Polly put the kettle on,

Polly put the kettle on,

We'll all have tea.

Sukey take it off again,

Sukey take it off again,

Sukey take it off again,

They've all gone away

Craft:

 

Today's craft was a premade kit (Whoo Hoo!! No prep! No Cutting!) from Oriental Trading. It was simple enough to put together although most of the kids didn't have to patience for liquid glue (real glue as some of the moms called it) to dry. This one sat still for about ten minutes and dried perfectly, but sometimes ten minutes is ten minutes too long!

How many did you have?
A comfy 42 came in today. It's our first week back and it was freezing (literally below 32 degress) out so we didn't expect very many.

How did it go?
We lost 'em after three books so we kept with our songs and hand motions after that. It happens sometimes. The kids, however, LOVED the craft.

Gifts

December 3, 2013

Gifts!

Our first of two storytimes devoted to the Christmas-time spirit!

Books:

Clifford's First Christmas by Norman Bridwell

Splendiferous Christmas by Jane O'Connor

Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney

We only did three books today because we has two felt boards ready to go! Llama Llama books are always a success - the lyrical flow makes for easy reading and listening.

Songs:

Opening Song: Where is Thumbkin? - Kimbo

Song 2: Skinny-Marinky-Dinky-Dink - 100 Singalong Songs for Kids

Song 3 (Theme Song Pick): Jack-In-The-Box - WeeSing and Pretend

Song 4: (Theme Song Pick): Tapping - Wee Sing for Christmas

Song 5: (Theme Song Pick): Reindeer Tapping - Wee Sing for Christmas

Song 6: (Theme Song Pick): Jingle Bells - Kimbo

Song 7: Dance Your Fingers / Clap Along With Me - Wee Sing for Baby

Song 8: Wheels on the Bus - 100 Singalong Songs for Kids

Tapping is actually a very cute song that we found on our Wee Sing for Christmas CD - you'd never know it from the very nondescript title!

Tapping
(To the Tune of Twinkle Twinkle)

Tapping, tapping, little elf,
As you work upon your shelf,
Working hard to make the toys,
All for little girls and boys.
Tapping, tapping, little elf,
As you work upon your shelf.

Felt/Magnet Board:

 

Little Jack Horner

sat in a corner

eating his Christmas pie.

He stuck in his thumb

and pulled out a plumb

and said

"Oh! What a good boy am I!"

 

 

 

We told the story of the Elves and the Shoemaker: a poor shoemaker and his wife have little money to make more shoes because business is so poor. Two elves see their situation and decide to help by making shoes while the couple sleeps. Eventually, the family stays up long enough to see the elves at work. To say thank you, the wife makes the two elves brand new clothes.

 

We stressed the generosity of giving gifts: the elves gave their time and energy to the shoemaker and his wife, and the shoemaker and his wife gave the elves new clothes in exchange. 

Craft:

 

 

We made a Pickle Ornament today! For those of you who haven't heard of the pickle ornament, like me, it's meant to be the last ornament placed on the tree. On Christmas morning, all the children run to the tree and search for the pickle ornament. This first one to find it wins a special gift left by Santa. The idea is to have the children look at the tree and the special family ornaments you have at home before tearing into the presents under the tree.

 

We got the kits from Oriental Trading.

 

We had a few glue issues around the room, but overall it was a success. Not many of the parents had heard of the Christmas pickle so it was fairly new all around.

How Many Did You Have?

We had a comfortable 38 today. Sometimes it's nice to know you'll have enough crafts to go around the room.

How Did It Go?

Overall, the kids were a little rambunctious and restless, but we made it through everything we had planned with no edits. I'd call it mostly successful.

Friends

November 26, 2013

Friends

A storytime about Friends and loved ones - and Thanksgiving too!!

Books:

The Ugly Pumpkin by Dave Horowitz

Big Hugs, Little Hugs by Felicia Bond

I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie by Alison Jackson

The Grandma Book by Todd Parr

Songs: Opening Song: Where is Thumbkin? - Kimbo

Song 2: Skinny-Marinky-Dinky-Dink - 100 Singalong Songs for Kids

Song 3 (Theme Song Pick): Five Fat Turkeys - Kimbo

Song 4: Dance Your Fingers / Clap Along With Me - Wee Sing for Baby

Song 5: (Our Theme Song Pick): She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain - Kimbo

Song 6: Shake My Sillies Out - Raffi

Song 7: (Our Theme Song Pick):  Peanut Butter and Jelly - Kimbo

Song 8: Wheels on the Bus - 100 Singalong Songs for Kids


Felt/Magnet Board:

We did a Thanksgiving Magnet Board that has GONE MISSING since storytime! While I can't post a picture of how cute it was I can tell you it was adorable! We got all of the cute Thanksgiving clipart from the linked website and told the story of the Pilgrims and the Native Americans.

How Many Did You Have?

We had a shocking 69 people for this storytime!

How Did It Go?

All in all the storytime went well. We talked about Thanksgiving and the importance of the Pilgrims making friends with the Native Americans and all the yummy things you get to eat at Thanksgiving dinners.

Family

November 19, 2013

Family

A storytime devoted to the people you probably will be spending your Thanksgiving feast with: Family!

Books:

Little Pea by Amy Rosenthal

The Grandpa Book by Todd Parr

Spoon by Amy Rosenthal

We only did three books today because we had 2 (count em! 2!!!) felt/magnet board stories that we wanted to share today.

Songs:

Opening Song: Where is Thumbkin? - Kimbo

Song 2: Skinny-Marinky-Dinky-Dink - 100 Singalong Songs for Kids

Song 3 (Theme Song Pick): Five Fat Turkeys - Kimbo

Song 4: Dance Your Fingers / Clap Along With Me - Wee Sing for Baby

Song 5: (Our Theme Song Pick): She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain - Kimbo

Song 6: Shake My Sillies Out - Raffi

Song 7: (Our Theme Song Pick):  Peanut Butter and Jelly - Kimbo

Song 8: Wheels on the Bus - 100 Singalong Songs for Kids

To tie in the "She'll be Comin' around the Mountain" we said beforehand that "Grandma" was comin' around the mountain for Thanksgiving dinner and, perhaps, the kids' grandmas too would be coming around for Thanksgiving dinner.
Also, we closed with the last three songs one after another - the kids were getting restless and nothing keeps their attention better than singing and moving with the songs.

Felt Board / Magnet Board:

We found this last year and decided to use it again - it was one of the first magnet boards we used in our storyimes. I found the rhyme at DTLK Holidays. The magnet board was made using basic clipart found in Microsoft Publish, which is a little bit easier to use when dealing with pictures than Microsoft Office. All of the parents gave a little chuckle at the last line:

Five Little Turkeys

Five little turkeys standing at the door,
One waddled off, and then there were four.

   

Four little turkeys sitting near a tree,
One waddled off, and then there were three.

 

Three little turkeys with nothing to do,
One waddled off, and then there were two.

 

Two little turkeys in the morning sun,
One waddled off, and then there was one.

 

One little turkey better run away,
For soon it will be Thanksgiving Day.

Stone Soup!
We did the traditional story of stone soup with a few additions and alterations. The story has a dog searching and searching for his lost boy when he gets hungry and thirsty. He asks a lady if she would share some food with him and she says "No!" The rest is the traditional story of the dog finding a stone and wanting to make some delicious Stone Soup with it. The lady when lends him a pot, carrot, potatoes, and a tomato to make the Stone Soup that much more tasty. Finally, the lady tastes the soup and decides some bread and butter and milk would go perfectly with the meal. We also made the addition of "And then they shared the stone soup for their Thanksgiving meal!"

Craft:

To go with our Stone Soup felt board, we did a Stone Soup Craft with some yummy vegetable the kids might see on their Thanksgiving plates next week. This was a craft found in some hand-me-down files so the origin is not known and we definitely didn't invent it ourselves - perhaps it came from an old SRP manual. A very cute equivalent can be found at DTLK under their felt board fables.

How Many Did you Have?

Today's total was 64!! Lots of new faces and lots of extended family probably because its so close to Thanksgiving!

How Did it Go?

Overall it was very smooth. The kids were well behaved right to the end and when they weren't we had lots of songs to grab their attention again.

Farms

November 12, 2013

Farms

A storytime about life on the farm, synching ourselves up for the big THANKSGIVING - where, you know, there's food. Food that comes from farms!

Books:

Cows to the Rescue by John Himmelman

Cock-A-Doodle-Moo! by Bernard Most

Story County: Here We Come by Derek Anderson

Pigs to the Rescue by John Himmelman

Songs:

Opening Song: Where is Thumbkin? - Kimbo

 Song 2: Skinny-Marinky-Dinky-Dink - 100 Singalong Songs for Kids

 Song 3: Shake My Sillies Out - Raffi

 Song 4 (Our Theme Song Pick): Peanut Butter and Jelly - Kimbo

Song 5 (Our Theme Song Pick): Old McDonald - 100 Singalong Songs for Kids

 Song 6: Dance Your Fingers / Clap Along With Me - Wee Sing for Baby

Song 7: Wheels on the Bus - 100 Singalong Songs for Kids

Felt Board / Magnet Board:

This was a half failed attempt at an Old McDonald magnet board. In the version of the song we have on 100 Singalong Songs for Kids, the singers repeat the sounds of the previous animals after they introduce an animal so the final chorus would be:

With a Neigh Neigh here
And a Neigh Neigh there.
Here a Neigh, there a Neigh
Everywhre a Neigh, Neigh!

Quack Quack here
And a Quack Wuack there
Here a Quack, there a Quack
Everywhere a Quack Quack!

Oink Oink here
and an Oink Oink there
Here an Oink, there an Oink
Everywhere an Oink Oink!

Moo Moo here
And a Moo Moo there
Here a Moo, there a Moo
Everywhere a Moo Moo!

So I thought, wouldn't it be cool the make a box that I could attach the animals a noises to and turn it quickly as they new animals and noises came up in the chorus. All in all - it's an ok idea! Except, the magnets I used weren't strong enough to hold to each other so the pieces fell off easily while I turned the box around to show the previous animal. Oh well - I still have a magnet board to use for Old McDonald next time!

 Craft:
 

 

 

This was a perfect craft for this storytime and all of the kids loved making it. It can be found at DTLK-kids.com along with lots of other great and free printable crafts that are easy to make. We happen to have an abundance of cardboard rolls (TP Rolls for the crude) and need to use them as often as we can.

How Many Did You Have?

Today, at one point I counted 57, though of course the little ones were scrambling around and I may have missed one or two. We had to run off extra pages for the craft!

How Did It Go?



We did have a fifth book planned that we didn't get to, but all in all I'd say it was a success. Note: In Cock-A-Doddle-Moo!, the rooster has lost its loud crow so you have to whisper "Cock-A-Doodle-Doo" when he talks. Whispering will get attention a lot faster than yelling - all the kids quieted down so that they could listen.  

Food!

November 5, 2013

Food!

A storytime devoted to some yummy deliciousness! To start off the yummiest of months, November, we decided to go with Food.

Books:

Lunch by Denise Fleming

May I Please Have a Cookie? by Jennifer E. Morris

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers

Songs:

Opening Song: Where is Thumbkin? - Kimbo

 Song 2: Skinny-Marinky-Dinky-Dink - 100 Singalong Songs for Kids

Song 3 (Our Theme Song Pick): Peanut Butter and Jelly - Kimbo

 Song 4: Shake My Sillies Out - Raffi

Song 5: Dance Your Fingers / Clap Along With Me - Wee Sing for Baby

Song 6: Wheels on the Bus - 100 Singalong Songs for Kids

Felt Board / Magnet Board

We did a modified version of "Which House is the Mouse in?" turning it into "Which Apple is the Worm in?" We had the kids identify the colors of the apples and then we checked to see if the worm was in that apple - of course he was hiding until the very end! I used basic black and white clipart I found on the Internet and colored them in. An easy printout of this board is here!

Craft

We had this in our leftovers from Summer file - and it worked great with our food theme! Many thanks to Learn Create Love Blog. There are a ton of free, printable crafts to use at home or in the classroom!

How Many Did You Have?

We had 43 all together today!

How Did It Go?
Pretty well all in all. Most of the kids knew The Very Hungry Caterpillar and definitely enjoyed guessing the foods in Lunch. Overall, I'd say it was a success!