storytime katie

The Plan

Books

Just How Long Can a Long String Be? by Keith Baker
Not Me! by Nicola Killen
Nuts to You! by Lois Ehlert
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe by Jane Cabrera
Whose Nose and Toes? by John Butler

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “The Napping House”

Flannelboard Puzzle: “Letter N”

Action Rhyme: “On My Face”
On my face I have a nose,
And way down here I have ten toes.
I have two eyes that I can blink.
I have a head to help me think.
I have a chin, and very near,
I have two ears to help me hear.
I have a mouth with which to speak,
And when I run, I use my feet.
Here are arms to hold up high,
And here’s a hand to wave goodbye.
Credit: King County Library System

Fingerplay: “Five Little Nails”
Five little nails, standing straight and steady
Here I come with my hammer ready!
Bam, bam, bam! That nail goes down.
Now there’s just four nails left to pound.
(count down)
Credit: Mel’s Desk

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 hand three times)
Credit: Sunflower Storytime

Craft

I made this craft up, based on the book “Just How Long Can a Long String Be?” I had the kids color a bird and then we glued down ripped paper and string to make a bird’s nest. The kids had a ton of fun ripping up the paper, but they did have some difficultly gluing down the string.

How It Went

I made a grave mistake in this storytime — I did not check our copy of “One, Two” since I had read it before in storytime. We were missing not one, but two pages, so I had to make up the rhymes on the spot. The biggest hit of storytime was “Five Little Nails” since it’s such a noisy one! Their favorite book was probably “Whose Nose and Toes?”

The Plan

Back to Bed, Ed! by Sebastien Braun
I Love My Mommy by Giles Andreae
If You’re a Monster and You Know It by Rebecca Emberley and Ed Emberley
Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
Peek-a-Moo! by Marie Cirumsanti

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: Little Mouse

Flannelboard Puzzle: “Letter M”

Fingerplay: “Baby Mice”
Where are the baby mice?
Squeak, squeak, squeak
I cannot see them
Peek, peek, peek
Here they come out of their hole! (bring your fist forward)
One, two, three, four, five, and that is all! (open your fingers one at a time)
Credit: Perry Public Library

Action Rhyme: “Monster Monster”
Monster, monster, turn around
Monster, monster, touch the ground
Monster, monster, reach up high
Monster, monster, touch the sky
Monster, monster, touch your nose
Monster, monster, grab your toes
Monster, monster, touch your knees
Monster, monster, sit down please
Credit: Modified from Childhood

Action Rhyme: “Zoom Zoom Zoom”
Zoom, zoom, zoom, we’re going to the moon!
Zoom, zoom, zoom, we’ll be there very soon!
So, if you’d like to take a trip
Just step inside my rocket ship
Zoom, zoom, zoom, we’re going to the moon!
Zoom, zoom, zoom, we’ll be there very soon!
Credit: Library School

Craft

This is a craft from Totally Tots. This is one of my favorite of their letter crafts, and I was super thrilled to use it!

How It Went

Another successful storytime with my daycare group. Letter M is a great letter, with lots of different ideas so this storytime was a breeze to plan. Their favorite book was “Kitten’s First Full Moon,” which made me super happy since Kevin Henkes is one of my favorite picture book authors of all time. And as always, my Little Mouse flannelboard thrills them to no end!

The Plan

Books

I Love Bugs! by Emma Dodd
Isaac the Ice Cream Truck by Scott Santoro
An Island in the Sun by Stella Blackstone
Look Inside an Igloo by Mari Schuh
Mañana Iguana by Ann Whitford Paul

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “Ice Cream Colors”
We have ice cream, the best in town,
Let us begin with chocolate brown.
Now, let us scoop us some bubble-gum pink,
It is sweet and yummy, the best, some think.
Here is ice cream minty and green,
It is the creamiest I have ever seen.
Yellow ice cream is lemony and tart,
We like its taste from the very start.
Scoops of blueberry would make my day,
Look at all this ice cream, hip, hip hurray!
Red ice cream is a strawberry delight,
All these scoops are a heavenly sight.
Vanilla white is a popular flavor,
It tastes very good to an ice-cream craver.
Purple ice cream really gives me a kick,
Good and yummy till the very last lick.
Ice cream, ice cream, what a cool sensation,
We love ice cream in any combination!

Flannelboard Puzzle: “Letter I”

Fingerplay: “Itsy Bitsy Spider”
The itsy bitsy spider went up the waterspout
Down came the rain and washed the spider out
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain
And the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again
(Great big hairy spider, teensy weensy spider)
Credit: Childhood

Craft

I got the idea for this craft (and used their printables) from First School. Teen volunteers again cut everything out and had everything glued down for the daycare. The kids spent their time coloring and making up flavor combinations. I had a lot of rainbow-flavored ice cream cones!

How It Went

With some of the harder letters, I’ve been pulling some of the Pebble Book non-fiction from our collection. I sometimes skip pages and tend to skim over any complicated parts, but I love letting the kids see some photograph-based books. Igloos BLEW their minds! Also, this was the first opportunity I’ve had to read “Mañana Iguana” and it is my very favorite new storytime book! I’ve read it four more times since this storytime.

The Plan

Books

Clip Clop by Nicola Smee
Heads by Matthew Van Fleet
Leap Back Home to Me by Lauren Thompson
My Heart Is Like a Zoo by Michael Hall
Say Hello! by Rachel Isadora

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “Where Is Maisy Mouse?”

Flannelboard Puzzle: “Letter H”

Action Rhyme: “How Do You Say Hi?” (Do actions as they are said.)
Hey! Hi! Howdy! Yo!
There are many ways to say hello!
Wave your hand. No your head.
Smile big or wink instead.
Blow a kiss. Tip your hat.
Shake your hands. Give a pat.
Of all the ways to say hello,
Here’s the way I like to go…HELLO!
Credit: Transitional Songs

Action Song: “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”

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 WONDERFUL letter craft at Totally Tots. I haven’t been doing every craft with the letter in the craft, but have been instead striving for the easiest craft possible at the daycare setting!

How It Went

This was probably my last easy letter before a couple of ones I’ll struggle with (I and J), so I made sure to have a lot of fun picking books for letter H! I’ve had “Heads” in our storytime collection for over a year at the library and haven’t used it in a storytime until now — the group went NUTS for this interactive board book. It was definitely the hit of the day. (Really, all of the books went amazing because I LOVE all of the books so!) It’s been a while since I played “Little Mouse” with this group, but they still remember/love the Maisy flannelboard when it comes out. All in all, just another perfect storytime with this group.

The Plan

Books

At the Supermarket by Anne Rockwell
Gorilla Gorilla by Jeanne Willis
Higher, Higher by Leslie Patricelli
My Garden by Kevin Henkes
Two at the Zoo by Danna Smith

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “Go Away, Big Green Monster”

Flannelboard Puzzle: “Letter G”

Action Rhyme: “My Garden”
This is my garden
I’ll rake it with care (make raking motion)
And then some flower seeds (pat the ground)
I’ll plant them there
The sun will shine (make circle with hands)
And the rain will fall (let fingers flutter down)
And my garden will blossom
And grow straight and tall (cup hand together, extend upward slowly)
Credit: Step by Step — Garden Theme

Fingerplay: “Grandma’s Glasses”
These are Grandma’s glasses
This is Grandma’s hat
This is the way she folds her hands
And lays them in her lap
Here are Grandpa’s glasses
And here is Grandpa’s hat
And here’s the way he folds his arms
And takes a little nap
Credit: Childhood

Song: “Sticky Bubblegum”
Sticky, sticky, bubblegum, bubblegum, bubblegum
Sticky, sticky, bubblegum, sticking your hands to your head
Un-stick!
Credit: Local Daycare (They taught this to me while they were waiting for the bus to take them back to school. I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE this song.)

Craft

I came up with this craft on my own forgot I saw this craft on Abby’s, googled the template, and bought some label stickers for the kids to use as gumballs. This was a great idea, and worked very well with my daycare group! [Edited to add: I clearly subconsciously remembered Abby doing this and thought it was my own idea!]

How It Went

Letter G was a hard one to find books that I liked, for whatever reason. I had a lot of good topics brainstormed (grandparents, giraffes, gorillas, grapes, groceries, gardens, girls) and it took me a while to find books that worked. I was super pleased that I put the extra effort into it because I found a lot of storytime gems. “Gorilla Gorilla” was a huge success and the kids also really enjoyed “At the Supermarket.” Kevin Henkes is one of my favorite storytime authors and “My Garden” was again a rousing success. Their favorite activity was definitely “Go Away Big Green Monster” and the “Sticky Bubblegum” song. All in all, another wonderful storytime session.