Category: Family Storytime

Squirrels!

The Plan

Books

squirrels

Acorns Everywhere by Kevin Sherry
Ol’ Mama Squirrel by David Ezra Stein
That Pup by Lindsay Barrett George
Who’s In the Forest? by Phillis Gershator

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “Ouch”

Action Song: “Grey Squirrel” (Tune: Brother John)
Grey Squirrel, Grey Squirrel
Swish your tail, Swish your tail
Wrinkle up your funny nose
Hold a nut between your toes
Grey Squirrel, Grey Squirrel
Credit: Family! (Thanks, Bri!)

Fingerplay: “This Little Squirrel”
This little squirrel said, “Let’s run and play!”
This little squirrel said, “Let’s hunt nuts today!”
This little squirrel said, “Yes, nuts are good.”
This little squirrel said, “Yes, my favorite food.”
This little squirrel said, “Come climb this tree.” (run fingers up other arm, quickly)
And crack these nuts: one, two, three! (clap hands three times)
Credit: Sunflower Storytime

Fingerplay: “Two Little Squirrels”
Two little squirrels sitting on a hill
One named Jack, the other named Jill
Run away Jack, run away Jill
Come back Jack, come back Jill
(Cloud/quiet & loud; Pole/fast & slow; Sky/Low & High)
Credit: Modified from Childhood

Craft

I got this idea from a Pinterest pin that eventually led me back to La-La’s Home Daycare. The kids enjoyed ripping their paper apart, but I definitely had more than one who froze when I said it was all right to rip the paper.

How It Went

Thursday morning
I had a fantastic group of interactive parents this morning. They kept repeating words and sounds to their little ones as I turned the page and the kids loved it — especially during “Ol’ Mama Squirrel!”

Friday morning
This group really responded to the “Two Little Squirrels” rhyme. They had a lot of fun with the opposites! Their favorite book was “That Pup” since it was a search-and-find, kind of.

November 25, 2013 5 Comments Short URL, Family Storytime

Firefighters!

The Plan

Books

firefighters

Firefighter Frank by Monica Wellington
Firefighters! Speeding! Spraying! Saving! by Patricia Hubbell
Firefighter Ted by Andrea Beaty
I Love Trucks! by Philemon Sturges

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “Calling All”
Fire! Fire! Emergency!
Someone is in trouble.
Calling all *blue fire trucks
Come on the double!
Spray the water,
Now the fire is out!
“Everyone is safe!”
We all shout.
Credit: Fun With Friends at Storytime

Action Song: “Hurry, Hurry Drive the Fire Truck”
Action Rhyme: “Hurry, Hurry”
Hurry, hurry, drive the fire truck (pretend to turn wheel)
Hurry, hurry, drive the fire truck (pretend to turn wheel)
Hurry, hurry, drive the fire truck (pretend to turn wheel)
Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding! (ring bell)
(Turn the corner (lean over to one side, then the other), climb the ladder (pretend to climb), spray the water (pretend to spray a hose).)
Credit: Childhood

Fingerplay: “Five Brave Firefighters”
Five brave firefighters
Sleeping in a row
Ring goes the bell
And down one goes….
Credit: Read, Rhyme, and Sing

Craft

This template came from KidsSoup! I am lucky enough that I took pictures as most of the families arrived and had a co-worker print up their pictures, ready for crafts after all the stories! The kids loved having their photos on their firefighters and gleefully danced around with them.

How It Went

Thursday morning & Friday morning
I bought Fire Chief hats for them. Do I really have to say what they thought of this theme? THEY GOT FIRE CHIEF HATS. Both groups really enjoyed “Firefighter Frank” which is a classic. (And I love Monica Wellington books something fierce.) And besides fire hats, the only thing that compares is firetrucks, which we have a lot of stuff about. All in all, I highly recommend doing this storytime!

November 13, 2013 4 Comments Short URL, Family Storytime

Crayons!

The Plan

Books

crayons

A Day With No Crayons by Elizabeth Rusch
Go to Bed, Monster by Natasha Wing
Monsters Love Colors by Mike Austin
My Crayons Talk by Patricia Hubbard
What Happens at a Crayon Factory? by Lisa M. Guidone

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “Harold and the Purple Crayon”

Flannelboard: “I Have a Crayon”
I have a crayon, I’ll give it to you.
Here is my crayon, my crayon of blue.
I have a crayon, a lovely little fellow.
Here is my crayon, my crayon of yellow.
I have a crayon, it’s here on my head.
Here is my crayon, my crayon of red.
I have a crayon, we can draw a circle.
Here is my crayon, my crayon of purple.
I have a crayon, what do I see?
Here is my crayon, an orange one for me.
I have a crayon, the best ever seen.
Here is my crayon, my crayon of green
Credit: Anne’s Library Life

Action Rhyme: “Crayons”
Put your Blue crayon in the air hold it high and leave it there.
Put your Blue crayon on your back
Now please lay it in your lap.
Hold your Blue crayon in your hand
Now everyone please stand.
Wave your Blue crayon at the door
Now please lay it on the floor.
Hold your Blue crayon and jump, jump, jump.
Hold your Blue crayon way, way up!
(Repeat with Green and Red)
Credit: Anne’s Library Life

Fingerplay: “Five Little Crayons
Five little crayons, waiting in a row.
The first one said, “I’m red, you know!”
The second one said, “I’m green like a tree.”
The third one said, “I’m blue like the sea.”
The fourth one said, “I’m yellow as the sun.”
The fifth one said, “Being purple is fun!”
Five little crayons, happy as can be,
Coloring pictures with you and me!
Credit: Hubpages

Craft

The kids did crayon rubbings with our rubbing plates. I totally didn’t take any pictures and feel awful about it!

How It Went

Thursday morning
I made the kids die-cuts of each color for our action rhyme Crayons and they had a great time waving them around. Afterwards, I let them keep their crayons if they wanted to and you would not believe what a treasure paper crayon shapes are! This group’s favorite book was “Monsters Love Colors.”

Friday morning
My Friday morning group loved the flannelboard rhyme best. Afterwards, I turned the board around and took a color off, letting them guess what I had taken. There was a lot of gleeful screaming. Their favorite book was “Go to Bed, Monster” since I had perfected my monster voice by the second storytime!

November 6, 2013 7 Comments Short URL, Family Storytime

Berries!

The Plan

Books

berries

The Berry Book by Gail Gibbons
Jamberry by Bruce Degen
One Little Blueberry by Tammi Salzano
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “Five Strawberries”
Five red strawberries, sweet to the core.
Bear came and ate one and then there were four.
Four red strawberries, growing near a tree.
Bear came and ate one and then there were three.
Three red strawberries, for you and you and you.
Bear came and ate one and then there were two.
Two red strawberries, sitting in the sun.
Bear came and ate one and then there was one.
One red strawberry, left all alone.
Bear came and ate it and then there were none.
Credit: Abby the Librarian

Action Song: Pop Goes the Berry (Tune: Pop Goes the Weasel)
All around the strawberry fields,
We picked some juicy berries
We brought them home and washed them off,
Pop! Go the berries! (have kids jump up on “pop”)
Credit: Jbrary

Fingerplay: At the Cottage Door
One, two, three four,
(Insert child’s name) at the cottage door.
Five, six, seven, eight,
Counting cherries on her plate.
Credit: Childhood

Puppets: “The Mouse & the Red, Ripe Strawberry”

Craft

20131002-104530.jpg

I Pinterested up strawberry crafts and kept seeing adorable ones with buttons like this one and this one. We didn’t have any black buttons, but we did have a MESS of leftover self-adhesive jewels and buttons, so I decided to go ahead and use them up!

How It Went

The kids had a great time, and LOVED the puppet show of “The Mouse & the Red, Ripe Strawberry.” As for books, I think that “The Berry Book” was the favorite — even though I paperclipped some of the pages since it was long and non-fiction for older readers. Craft was highly successful! I had two little girls who completely covered their strawberries in buttons and jewels.

October 9, 2013 2 Comments Short URL, Family Storytime

Bikes!

The Plan

Books

bicylces

Everyone Can Learn to Ride a Bike by Chris Raschka
Hello, Bicycle by Ella Boyd
Max on His Tricycle by Guido Van Genechten
New Red Bike by James E. Ransome

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “If You Have a Red Bike” (Tune: Muffin Man)
If you have a red bike, a red bike, a red bike
If you have a red bike, put it on the board
(repeat with other colors)
Credit: Modified from Color Bears felt set

Action Rhyme: “Bicycle”
I have a little bicycle (hold hands together for little)
I ride it to and fro (rolls hands)
And when I see that big green light
I know it’s time to go! (pedal in air fast)
I have a little bicycle (hold hands together for little)
I took it to the shop (rolls hands)
And when I see that big red light
I know it’s time to STOP! (freeze)
Credit: First Steps Ann Arbor

Action Rhyme: “Riding”
(roll hands) Riding on my bike today
Pedal, pedal all the way
Pedal fast and pedal slow
Riding on my bike I go
(fly around room) In an airplane I fly
Up, up, up into the sky
Up, up, up so very high
In an airplane I fly
(rock side to side) Riding in a car I go
Rocking, rocking, to and fro
Side to side and to and fro
Riding in a car I go.
Modified from: Youth Literature

Song: “Wheels on the Bike”
The wheels on the bike go round and round, round and round, round and round
The wheels on the bike go round and round, all through the town
(Pedals on the bike go up and down, streamers on the bike go swish swish swish, bell on the bike goes ding-ding-ding)
Credit: Modified from Childhood

Craft

20131002-104510.jpg

I got these transportation stickers from Oriental Trading and let the kids go nuts putting them down.

How It Went

This was the beginning of our “fall” session, it started in September. I did this storytime for two groups. For the first group, they were a little restless — I had a lot of new faces in storytime. They weren’t having the whole story of “Max on His Tricycle,” so we went ahead and waved to Max’s friends and tooted for his bike. Since I had to shorten my book, I changed my literacy tip on the fly to: “Parents, you don’t have to read every word on the page. Keep reading with a young child positive! You don’t have to finish the book as written.” (That is likely more well-articulated than it was in storytime on the fly, but there you go!) My second group LOVED “Hello, Bicycle” the most.

Both groups really enjoyed the foam stickers that I bought and they worked hard to create their city traffic scenes.

October 2, 2013 9 Comments Short URL, Family Storytime

Trees!

The Plan

Books

trees

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr.
Pie In the Sky by Lois Ehlert
A Tree for Me by Nancy Van Laan
A Tree Is Nice by Janice May Udry

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “Fall Is Not Easy”

Action Rhyme: “A Tree Is a Home”
A tree may be a home for bird (flap arms like a bird)
A tree may be a home for bee (buzz your hand around)
A tree may be a home for snake (slithering snake)
A tree may be a home for monkey (swing your arms)
Hmmm. I wonder if a tree would make a good home for me? (point to self)
Credit: The Holiday Zone

Fingerplay: “Way Up High in the Apple Tree”
Way up high in the apple tree (stretch arms up high)
I saw two apples looking at me (hold up two fingers)
I shook that tree as hard as I could (make a shaking motion)
Down came the apples… (make a downward motion)
And mmm, they were good! (smile and rub stomach)
Credit: Childhood

Song: “I’m a Tree, I have Four Needs” (Tune: Skip to My Lou)
I’m a tree, I have four needs.
I’m a tree, I have four needs.
I’m a tree, I have four needs.
Do you know what they are?
(I need lots and lots of sun, to grow big and strong / I need water now and then, to grow big and strong / I need air just like you, to grow big and strong / I need soil for my roots, to grow big and strong)
Credit: The Holiday Zone

Craft

20140227-135237.jpg

I got this AMAZING craft from The Crafting Chicks. We always have toilet paper rolls stocked, and an abundance of leftover foam letter stickers from the thousands of Oriental Trading crafts that we do. This was a great way to use some of the stockpile!

How It Went

This was another storytime that I tried to time around an April holiday — Earth Day (I think I actually did this in May though). I’m a huge fan of trees, and I had a great time talking, reading, and singing about trees. The kids were very excited to chant along with me during “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” — I had a sibling set that reads that book every night before bed.

September 2, 2013 6 Comments Short URL, Family Storytime

Magic!

The Plan

Books

magic

Anton Can Do Magic by Ole Konnecke
Foxy by Emma Dodd
Magic Box by Katie Cleminson
Maisy’s Show by Lucy Cousins

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “Five Magic Rabbits”
Five magic rabbits in a tall black hat
Along comes a magician who gives each one a pat
He waves his magic wand high above their ears,
Abracadabra, poof! One rabbit disappears (count down)
Credit: Youth Literature

Action Rhyme: “Magic Finger”
Magic finger in the air
Magic finger in my hair
Magic finger on my hip
Magic finger on my lips
Credit: Youth Literature

Magic Trick: Bubble Wand

Magic Trick: Color Changing Scarf

Rhyme & Puppets: “Hat Trick”
Magic, magic, in my hat!
I’ll pull out a rabbit – (pull anything other than a rabbit)
Ahhhh! What is that?!
(repeat until ready for the rabbit)
Magic, magic, in my hat!
I’ll pull out a rabbit –
See! Look at that!
Credit: SLC Book Boy

Craft

I modified this craft from Best Kids Book Site to make it a puppet so that the kids could “pop” their rabbit up out of their hat. As an extra special bonus, I let the kids have glitter which is always storytime magic.

How It Went

Holy moly, this was one of my favorite ever storytimes! The magic tricks made storytime extra special and I wish I had thought of a few more to include. (The bubble wand trick was just that I was using a bubble wand as my magic wand the whole storytime and then all of a sudden, Miss Katie made BUBBLES come out of the wand!! Genius.) The best books were “Maisy’s Show” and “Magic Box.” The kids freaked out in the best way possible when I brought out glitter. All in all, this storytime will remain a favorite for a long time to come!

August 26, 2013 4 Comments Short URL, Family Storytime

Teeth!

The Plan

Books

teeth

Bear’s Loose Tooth by Karma Wilson
Brush, Floss, Rinse by Amanda Doering Tourville
Clarabella’s Teeth by An Vrombaut
Maisy, Charley, and the Wobbly Tooth by Lucy Cousins

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “Go Away, Big Green Monster”

Flannelboard: “Tooth Fairy”
Look and see, look and see
Can you find the tooth for me?
Is it under the (color) pillow?
Credit: SLC Book Boy

Fingerplay: “Five Little Teeth”
There were five little teeth in my teeny tiny mouth
I pulled and I twisted and one popped out
Now there are…one, two, three, four.
(count down)
Credit: What Happens In Storytime

Song: “This Is The Way”
This is the way we brush our teeth,
Brush our teeth, brush our teeth
This is the way we brush our teeth
So early in the morning
(floss our teeth, rinse our teeth)
Credit: Modified from Childhood

Craft

These smiling cotton ball teeth were found on Kiboomu Kids Crafts. The cotton balls in craft were a great textile experience for the little ones. And I got to use up a lot of our cotton balls!

How It Went

Since I discovered “Clarabella’s Teeth” in alligator/crocodile storytime, I’ve wanted to use it every week! Needless to say, I found another theme to do — teeth! While their parents definitely appreciated the important message of dental hygiene care, the kids just had fun!

August 19, 2013 3 Comments Short URL, , Family Storytime

Libraries!

The Plan

Books

libraries

Book! Book! Book! by Deborah Bruss
Dinosaur vs. the Library by Bob Shea
Lola Loves Stories by Anna McQuinn
Otto the Book Bear by Katie Cleminson

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “Five Little Books”
Five little books at the library
Five little books as great as can be
Along comes (name) with their library card
To take one home and read
Credit: What Happens In Storytime

Song: “If You’re a Reader and You Know It”
If you’re a reader and you know it, clap your hands
If you’re a reader and you know it, clap your hands
If you’re a reader and you know it and you really want to show it
If you’re a reader and you know it, clap your hands
(shoot hooray, read a book)
Credit: Modified from childhood

Song: “Read, Read, Read a Book” (Tune: Row, Row, Row Your Boat)
Read, read, read a book,
Travel anywhere,
Worldwide, you decide,
A book will take you there.
Read, read, read a book,
Beginning to the end,
What a way to spend the day,
A book’s a special friend!
Credit: Harris County Public Library

Craft

I used up leftover foam bookmarks from our supply closet. (Can you tell that I’ve recently been doing some closet cleaning?) I put out a ton of foam shapes and the preschoolers went nuts.

How It Went

This was my storytime for National Library Week. (I know! I’m so behind!) We had a great time talking about getting our first library cards and how much we love coming to the library. It was all pretty heart-melting. The kids really got into roaring along with Dinosaur and making animal noises in “Book, Book, Book.”

August 12, 2013 12 Comments Short URL, Family Storytime

Butterflies & Caterpillars

The Plan

Books

butterfliescaterpillars

Butterfly, Butterfly by Petr Horacek
Peek-a-Bloom by Marie Cirumsanti
Ten Little Caterpillars by Bill Martin Jr.
Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “Butterfly Colors”
The first to come to the garden bed is a lovely butterfly of brilliant RED.
Then in comes another and that makes two. Fly right in, my friend of BLUE.
“The garden is fine, the best I’ve seen,” says the butterfly of softest GREEN.
Our garden needs a sunny fellow, fly on in, butterfly with wings of YELLOW.
Little friend of PURPLE, fly in too. The garden is waiting for a color like you.
ORANGE, orange, you’re waited so long. Fly right in, where you belong.
Butterflies, butterflies, you’re such a sight! Flying together – what a delight!
Credit: Miss Meg’s Storytime

Flannelboard: “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”

Fingerplay: “My Friend Caterpillar”
My friendly caterpillar (fingers crawl up arm)
Made its cocoon one day (close hands together)
It turned into a butterfly (open hands with thumbs hooked)
And quickly flew away (flap hands)
Credit: SurLaLune Storytime

Song: “The Life of a Butterfly” (Tune: Skip to My Lou)
I’m a caterpillar, wiggle with me
I’m a caterpillar, wiggle with me
I’m a caterpillar, wiggle with me
What’ll I be my darlin’?
(A chrysalis, now sleep with me / A butterfly, come fly with me)
Credit: Songs for Children

Craft

This foam kit was one that we randomly found in the “Odds and Ends” supply cabinet. I decided to use it in storytime!

How It Went

I had a great time in this storytime. The kids were super active during our songs, but settled down nicely for the stories. Favorite book was “Butterfly, Butterfly” — it’s a never ending crowd pleaser complete with pop-up at the end! They really had a good time guessing the with the flannelboard, too!

August 5, 2013 7 Comments Short URL, Family Storytime

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