Category: Family Storytime

Chickens!

The Plan

Books

Charlie the Chick by Nick Denchfield and Ant Parker
First the Egg by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Is Everyone Ready for Fun? by Jan Thomas
The Little Red Hen by Rebecca and Ed Emberley

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “Ten Fluffy Chickens”
Five eggs and five eggs
And that makes ten
Sitting on top is mother hen
Cackle, cackle, cackle
And what do I see?
Ten fluffy chicks as yellow as can be
Credit: Mel’s Desk

Puppets: “All Around the Barnyard”
All around the barnyard
The animals are fast asleep
Sleeping cows and horses
Sleeping pigs and sheep
Here comes the cocky rooster
To sound his dairy alarm
“Cock-a-doodle-doo!”
To wake the sleepy farm!
Credit: CanTeach

Song: “I Know a Chicken”
Oh, I know a chicken and she laid an egg
Oh, I know a chicken and she laid an egg
Oh my goodness, it’s a shaky egg!
Shake your eggs!
(Fast, slow, circle, etc.)
Credit: Miss Sarah’s Storytime

Craft

I printed out a coloring page and used the foam eggs I had bought for my failed Easter storytime and put them on the coloring page. I added a brad so the chicken could hide. The kids glued feathers and colored their chickens.

How It Went

This was a high-energy, almost wild storytime. I’m seeing higher and higher numbers each week and this week had quite a few new faces, some with questionable behavior. This is the first time I’ve ever had to stop storytime to prevent a child from falling off something they had climbed on. Yikes. Other than that, we had a lot of fun with this theme, even if I was a little stressed the whole time! Best books were “Is Everyone Ready for Fun?” and “Charlie Chick.” With the amazing pop-up at the end, I wonder why I don’t do that book for every storytime.

May 21, 2012 4 Comments Short URL, , Family Storytime

Bugs!

The Plan

Books

Can You Make a Scary Face? by Jan Thomas
Butterfly, Butterfly by Petr Horacek
I Love Bugs! by Emma Dodd
Ten Little Caterpillars by Bill Martin, Jr.
The Very Lonely Firefly by Eric Carle

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “Pretty Ladybug”

Flannelboard: “Six Little Bumblebees”

Action Rhyme: “The Ants Go Marching”
Credit: Childhood

Action Rhyme: “Bumblebee, Bumblebee”
Bumblebee, bumblebee, landing on my nose.
Bumblebee, bumblebee, now he’s on my toes.
On my arms, on my legs, on my elbows.
Bumblebee, bumblebee he lands and then he goes.
Credit: Mrs. Jones — Insects

Craft

This was another Oriental Trading purchase; everyone was THRILLED with it. I have to agree, ladybug is super cute!

How It Went

This was the first session of Spring II and I had a FULL house! For whatever reason, the kids were not having any activities this week, other than the flannelboards, which I was glad I had two prepped! This wasn’t a super original storytime — I did it last year too. But it’s a theme that is always a crowd-pleaser, so I’m happy to do it again.

May 14, 2012 3 Comments Short URL, Family Storytime

Spring!

The Plan

Books

I See Spring by Charles Ghigna
Little White Rabbit by Kevin Henkes
Mouse’s First Spring by Lauren Thompson
Peek-a-Bloom by Marie Cimarusti
Split Splat by Amy Gibson

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “Five Little Kites”
One little kite in the sky so blue,
Along came another, then there were two.
Two little kites flying high above me;
Along came another, then there were three.
Three little kites, just watch them soar,
Along came another, then there were four.
Four little kites, so high and alive
Along came another, then there were five.
Five little kites dancing across the sky,
What a sight to see, way up so high!

Puppets/Fingerplay: “Five Little Bunnies”
Hippety hop and hippety hay,
Five little bunnies went out to play.
Hippety hop and hippety hay,
One little bunny hopped away.
(Count down…No more bunnies are playing today, I hope they come back another day.)

Action Rhyme: “The Rain Is Falling Down”
The rain is falling down (flutter fingers down)
SPLASH! (clap once loudly)
Pitter patter pitter patter (tap legs softly)
The rain is falling down (flutter fingers down)
SPLASH! (clap once loudly)
Pitter patter pitter patter (tap legs softly)
[Repeat until kids are worn out.]
Credit: King County Library System

Fingerplay: “Itsy Bitsy Spider”
Credit: Childhood

Craft

This was an Oriental Trading purchase. I love their tissue paper collages. (I have a campfire one for summer and a mitten one for next winter already purchased.)

How It Went

This was a surprise storytime! We do program reminders at my library and my co-worker forgot to call the night before to remind everyone about the program. So I was super bummed that storytime wasn’t going to happen. Well, six families (with a total of 11 kids) remembered to come on their own — hooray! I had to run down and quickly set up, but it was well worth it. The kids had a great time with the theme and they LOVED the butterfly craft!

May 7, 2012 8 Comments Short URL, , Family Storytime

Clouds and Rainbows!

The Plan

Books

It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw
Little Cloud by Eric Carle
Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
Wow! Said the Owl by Tim Hopgood

Extension Activities

I used the pieces from another flannelboard to do: Flannelboard: “Magical Rainbow Stew”
Take an apple, put it in the pot
Stir it, stir it, stir it a lot.
Take it out. What will it be?
The prettiest red you ever did see.
Credit: Andrea at Rovingfiddlehead Kidlit

Action Rhyme: “Rain Is Falling Down” (Tune: Farmer in the Dell)
The rain is falling down, (flutter fingers down) SPLASH (clap once loudly)
The rain is falling down, (flutter fingers down) SPLASH (clap once loudly)
Pitter patter pitter patter (tap legs softly)
The rain is falling down, (flutter fingers down) SPLASH (clap once loudly)
Credit: King County Library System

Fingerplay: “Itsy Bitsy Spider”

Song: “What’s the Weather?” (Tune: Clementine)
What’s the weather, what’s the weather,
What’s the weather, everyone?
Is it windy, is it cloudy,
Is there rain, or is there sun?
Credit: Perpetual Preschool

Scarf Rhyme: “Rainbow Dancers”
Rainbow dancers let’s get ready
Hold your scarves nice and steady.
You’ll hear the colors of the rainbow.
Listen for your time to go.

Shake red…
Shake orange…
Shake yellow…
Shake green…
Shake blue…
Shake purple…

Red scarves turn around,
Orange scarves up and down.
Yellow scarves reach up high,
Green scarves fly, fly, fly.
Blue scarves tickle your nose,
Purple scarves touch your toes.

Everybody dance around,
Swirl your scarves up and down.

Shake purple…
Shake blue…
Shake green…
Shake yellow…
Shake orange…
Shake red…

Rainbow dancers dance around,
Scarves swirl up and down.
Our colorful dance is at an end.
Thank you, thank you, all my friends.
Credit: K at Storytime Fun

Craft

The idea for this craft came from 1+1+1=1, who also has a TON of other rainbow activities in this post. I did wind up using streamers though, since we already had those pre-cut from another craft.

How It Went

This was the last week of the Spring I session of storytime, so it was packed with kids! I got called a magician after the “Magical Rainbow Stew” flannelboard, when I pulled out the rainbow, which pretty much made my day. The biggest hit for the kids was when we danced around with the rainbow scarves — the kids just shriek with joy when I pull out scarves/shakers. And as for books, both cloud books went great, and “Planting a Rainbow” was probably the favorite of all the books.

April 30, 2012 13 Comments Short URL, Family Storytime

Art!

The Plan

Books

The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse by Eric Carle
Blue Chicken by Deborah Freedman
I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More by Karen Beaumont
I’m the Best Artist in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “Mouse Paint”

Action Song: “This Is the Way…”
This is the way we stir the paint, stir the paint, stir the paint
This is the way we stir the paint so early in the morning
(dip our brush, paint the paper, blow it dry, frame the picture)
Credit: Modified from several other sources.

Folder Story: “Scat the Cat”
I’m the Scat the Cat and I’m sassy and fat
And Miss Katie can change my color just like that!
Credit: Modified from Tell Me a Story, but originally I heard about Scat from Anne at So Tomorrow

Song: “I Know the Colors”
I know the colors for painting fun
Green like grass and yellow sun
An orange pumpkin and white snow
A red rose and a black crow
Blue like a mailbox, brown like an ape
A pink pig and some purple grapes
Credit: Preschool Education, many thanks to K at Storytime ABCs for suggesting this one!

Craft

I came up with this idea on my own. I just had my teen volunteers print off palettes and provided the kids with TONS of materials (left-overs) to put all over. Mostly, we had very crazy-looking palettes, not the kind of control you see in my examples!

How It Went

This was a FUN theme! I was so excited about all of the book choices and I think the kids REALLY picked up on that. (I basically drove around to three different libraries to get the books I wanted; that’s how dedicated I was to this theme!) Twitter came through for me big time with extension activities, and I got to use my Mouse Paint flannelboard again! Also, this was my first time ever using Scat the Cat and the whole room was just…mesmerized by it. I will definitely be looking at more folder stories in the future!

April 23, 2012 16 Comments Short URL, Family Storytime

Trains!

The Plan

Books

And the Train Goes by William Bee
Freight Train by Donald Crews
I Love Trains! by Philemon Sturges
A Train Goes Clickety-Clack by Jonathan London

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “Clickety-Clack”

Flannelboard: “This Little Train” (tune of This Old Man)

Action Rhyme: “This Is a Choo-Choo Train”
This is a choo choo train
Puffing down the track
Now it’s going forward,
Now it’s going back,
Now the bell is ringing
Now the whistle blows
What a lot of noise it makes
Everything it goes.
Credit: SurLaLune Storytime

Fingerplay: “This Little Train”
The little train ran up the track (run fingers up arm)
Toot, toot, toot (make train noises)
And then it came toot-tooting back (run fingers down arm)
Toot, toot, toot (make train noises)
Credit: SurLaLune Storytime

Song: “Down By the Station”
Credit: Childhood

Crafts

I bought this craft from Oriental Trading and the kids used glue dots to attach all of the foam pieces. The parents liked this one a lot because it was a picture frame and a magnet craft all in one! The kids liked it because they got to drive their train around once it was done!

How It Went

This was the largest parent/child storytime I have ever done. We had nearly fifty bodies in the room and it was crowded, loud, and energetic. The best books were “I Love Trains” and “A Train Goes Clickety-Clack.” This is the first group that didn’t really respond to “Freight Train,” which surprised me because they are normally a huge fan of any books with colors. (Next week’s theme was “art” which made me super nervous, but I am pleased to say they regained their love of color books between sessions.) After storytime, I had a mom ask me about where she could buy the flannel pieces, and I got the BEST compliments ever when I told her I had made them!

April 16, 2012 13 Comments Short URL, Family Storytime

Jobs!

The Plan

Books

Bark, George by Jules Feifer
Kitten Red Yellow Blue by Peter Catalanotto
LMNO Peas by Keith Baker
Mr. Cookie Baker by Monica Wellington
Toot Toot Beep Beep by Emma Garcia

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed”

Flannelboard: “Down Around the Corner”

Action Rhyme: “Hurry Hurry”
Hurry, hurry, drive the fire truck
Hurry, hurry, drive the fire truck
Hurry, hurry, drive the fire truck
Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep!
(Turn the corner, spray the water, climb the ladder, save the people)
Credit: Childhood

Fingerplay: “Pat-a-Cake”
Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker’s man
Bake me a cake as fast as you can
Roll it and pat it and mark it with a “B”
And put it in the oven for baby and me!
Credit: Childhood

Craft

This was a quick craft, just a coloring sheet that I made up in Publisher and captioned. My favorite kid creation was a superhero/soldier combination. We also had a lot of notable firefighters and quite a few princesses.

How It Went

I really enjoyed doing this theme and absolutely loved the books that I choose for it. A big thank you to Katie at Storytime Secrets for introducing me to “Kitten Red Yellow Blue” which was the biggest hit of storytime! And of course, to Melissa at Mel’s Desk for the “Down Around the Corner” rhyme which the kids LOVED doing and they had a great time playing with my flannel cookies pieces (which will be this Flannel Friday’s feature!).

April 9, 2012 4 Comments Short URL, Family Storytime

Names!

The Plan

Books

From Anne to Zach by Mary Jane Martin
My Father Knows the Name of Things by Jane Yolen
My Name Is Elizabeth by Annika Dunklee and Matthew Forsythe
Naming the Cat by Lawrence Pringle
Princess Baby by Karen Katz

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “BINGO”

Action Rhyme: “My Name Is…”
Hi, my name is Joe
And I work in a button factory
One day, my boss said to me, “Joe, are you busy?”
I said no.
“Push the button with your right hand.”
(keeping pushing with right hand; add left hand, right foot, left foot)
…
One day, my boss said to me, “Joe are you busy?”
I said yes!!
Credit: Childhood

Action Rhyme: “Sing Hello”
Stand up (child’s name) stand up (child’s name)
Turn around, turn around
Reach up high to the sky
Reach back down, touch the ground
Sit back down, sit back down
Credit: A to Z Kids Stuff

Activity: “Name Train”
The name train is coming
Get on board! Choo-choo
The name train is coming
Get on board! Choo-choo
…
Welcome to…(child’s name)
Get on board! Choo-choo
(repeat until all kids are on board)
Credit: Modified from A to Z Kids Stuff

Craft

Originally found on Pinterest, this craft idea comes from Tippytoe Crafts. My volunteers assembled the cars/wheels and engine/wheels. The kids were able to write their names (some with parent’s help, of course) and put together their train.

How It Went

I had a pretty bad cold during this storytime and I think that, unfortunately, it suffered because of how I was feeling. The biggest hit from this storytime was “Princess Baby.” BINGO was also a great song/flannel to do with them and all the kids cracked up during “My Name Is…” when I was doing all the motions. The name train was a sudden stroke of genius when I pulled out my wooden train whistle and we marched around the room. Everyone hopped on the train then!

March 26, 2012 8 Comments Short URL, Family Storytime

Houses and Homes!

The Plan

Books

At My House by Priddy Books
Do Lions Live on Lily Pads? by Melanie Walsh
The House In the Night by Susan Marie Swanson
Leap Back Home to Me by Lauren Thompson
A New House for Mouse by Petr Horacek

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “A House for Birdie”

Flannelboard Game: “Maisy Mouse”

Fingerplay: “Here is a House”
Here is a house built up high (hands over head to make a roof)
With two big chimneys reaching for the sky (raise arms up high)
Here is a window (draw a square)
Here is a door (pretend to open a door)
If we look inside (peek through fingers)
There’s a mouse on the floor! (scamper fingers away)
Credit: Perry Public Library

Fingerplay: “Houses”
Here is a nest for robin (cup both hands)
Here is a hive for bee (fists together)
Here is a hole for bunny (make a circle)
And here is a house for ME! (make a roof)
Credit: Perry Public Library

Craft

I found this AMAZING craft idea on Pinterest, but it’s originally from Snippety Gibbet. My volunteers filled the houses with some paper towels so that the preschoolers could push on them without squishing the whole paper bag. I had pre-cut circles and squares for them to make into windows or doors or whatever they wanted.

How It Went

This was a pretty fun theme to do — I really loved the extension activities that I found and so did the kids. As for books, they have a great time guessing in the lift-the-flap book, “At My House.” They also were very vocal when I read “Do Lions Live on Lilypads?” — they love telling me when the book is wrong! And the craft was very well received by kids and parents. They had a lot of creativity opportunities, drawing what was in their yards. Some drew flowers, some added in pathways or driveways, some drew cars. It was an excellent craft; absolutely recommended!

March 19, 2012 14 Comments Short URL, Family Storytime

Hugs and Kisses!

The Plan

Books

Big Hugs, Little Hugs by Felicia Bond
The Biggest Kiss by Joanna Walsh and Judi Abbot
I Kissed the Baby by Mary Murphy
Kitty’s Cuddles by Jane Cabrera
Plant a Kiss by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “Who Should I Kiss Today?”
I have five little kisses that I want to give away.
Who should I kiss today?
I’ll kiss…Mommy!
(count down using the family set; for the last kiss, have parents kiss kids)
Credit: Storytime Secrets

Action: “Different Kinds of Kisses”
Grandma kisses (grab cheeks and squeeze)
Fish kisses (purse lips and move them)
Movie star kisses (blow big ones)
Rabbit kisses (wiggle nose)
Dog kisses (stick out your tongue and lick)
Credit: SurLaLune Storytime

Action Rhyme: “I Can Hug”
I can hug, hug, hug
I can hop, hop, hop
I can kiss, kiss, kiss
I can stop, stop, stop
I can nod my head for yes,
And I can shake my head no,
And I can sit down very slow.
Credit: SurLaLune Storytime

Action Rhyme: “Give Mom a Hug”
Roar like a lion, growl like a bear
Give Mom a hug, show her you care
Hop like a bunny, flap like a bird
Quiet as a mouse now, don’t say a word
Credit: SurLaLune Storytime

Craft

I was partly inspired by this Pinterest pin and just added the Xs and Os for the hugs and kisses. Some of the kids covered their wreaths, others only sparsely put down hearts.

How It Went

This was our first storytime session after a three-week break, so I was really happy to see the kids again. I had seven returning kids and parents, and one brand-new family! (The first week back it always a bit low, attendance-wise.) The kids were super excited to be back, and I did not have anyone grossed out by kisses. I had a ton of sweet parent/child interactions with kissing and hugging. And the kids were thrilled with Applesauce’s puppy kisses at the end of storytime. My favorite part was at the end of Kitty’s Cuddles when one of my siblings sets gave each other hugs on the baby brother page spread. SO CUTE.

March 12, 2012 7 Comments Short URL, Family Storytime

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