Families: Weather

For more information on how I plan and prepare my family storytimes, check out this introduction post. I starred the materials used in the plan. Some activities go unstarred because I only do this program once a week.

The Plan

Books

families-weather

Maisy’s Wonderful Weather Book by Lucy Cousins
Tap Tap Boom Boom by Elizabeth Bluemle
Under My Hood I Have a Hat by Karla Kuskin
Wow! Said the Owl by Tim Hopgood

Early Literacy Tip

Scientific studies of the brain suggest that a child’s natural approach to learning is through play. Songs about weather can be followed by games. Tell your child what you are doing as you pretend you are twirling an umbrella or stomping in rain puddles.

Theme Extension Activities

Featured CD: Caspar Babypants’s “More Please!”*

Featured Track: #1 Take the Sun*

Flannelboard: “What’s the Weather?”*

Flannelboard: “Fall Is Not Easy”

Song: “If All of the Raindrops”*
If all the little raindrops were lemon drops and gumdrops
Oh, what a rain it would be!
I would stand outside with my mouth open wide,
Ah ah-ah ah ah-ah ah ah-ah
If all the little raindrops were lemon drops and gumdrops
Oh, what a rain it would be.

If all the tiny snowflakes were cupcakes and milkshakes
Oh, what a snow it would be!
I would stand outside with my mouth open wide,
Ah ah-ah ah ah-ah ah ah-ah
If all the tiny snowflakes were cupcakes and milkshakes
Oh, what a snow it would be!

If all the bright sunbeams were jellybeans and ice cream
Oh, what a sun it would be!
I would stand outside with my mouth open wide.
Ah ah-ah ah ah-ah ah ah-ah
If all the bright sunbeams were jellybeans and ice cream
Oh, what a sun it would be!
Credit: Childhood

Song: “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: Modified from King County Library System

Repeating Extension Activities

I had four back-up activities in case I needed them for time. I rarely used them, but here they are:

  • Dance Your Fingers Up
  • Head, Shoulders, Knees, & Toes
  • Itsy Bitsy Spider*
  • Thumbkin

How It Went

Pop-up books are so stellar; they completely grab everyone’s attention, so “Maisy’s Wonderful Weather Book” was definitely the winner today. There was a lot good singing and dancing. And the kids were really good at talking about the weather during the “What’s the Weather?” flannelboard.

July 2, 2015 0 Comments Short URLFamily Storytime

Shake, Shimmy, & Dance: 7/24

For the first time in our library’s history, we ran our own summer reading program — Make Some Noise! What better opportunity to do a bi-weekly music and movement dance party? This program was advertised for ages 0-7 and their families.

shakeshimmyanddance

The Plan

colordance
Book
Color Dance by Ann Jonas
For this book, I had a set of scarves tucked in a box on the table. I pulled out each color as I read its page and walked around the kids with the scarf trailing behind me. It was a very exciting experience for them because they loved the surprise of what color was coming out of the box. Lots of the kids cheered for their favorite color.

Props
Activity Scarves!

The Playlist

Hello & How Are You? — Old Town School of Folk Music
You Make Me Feel Like Dancing — The Wiggles
Hands Are for Clapping — Jim Gill
Loud & Quiet — Caspar Babypants
Flitter Flutter — Johnette Downing
Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes — Eric Litwin and Michael Levine
Wave Your Ribbons In the Air — The Wiggles
Shake Hands With Friends — Ella Jenkins

How It Went

“You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” was a great kick-off song! I thought that it was an original song until a parent let me know it was a cover of a Bee Gees song. (Whoops!) I thought that the kids struggled dancing to “Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes” today and I’m not sure exactly why. I didn’t think the tempo was too fast when I previewed the track, but it was too fast in actuality.

(For an example of the Powerpoint and handouts that I made for each Shake, Shimmy please visit the original post.)

July 1, 2015 0 Comments Short URLMusic and Movement

Toddler Spring 2015 Rhymes, Songs, & Fingerplays

To read more about how I plan and prepare my Toddler Storytimes, please visit this post.

toddlerstorytimes

Each session, I pick some extension activities to repeat from week to week. Most of the time these have nothing to do with my theme of the day and just allow me to add more movement or songs if that’s what the toddlers need that week. Of course, I don’t use every activity every week. I’ll note in the individual theme summaries which activities I used. These are the activities that I had planned for Spring 2015.

Action Rhyme: “Everyone Can March”
Everyone can march, march, march
Everyone can march, march, march
Everyone can march, march, march
And now let’s make a stop.
Verses: clap, jump, tap, etc.
Credit: Jbrary

Action Rhyme: “This Is Big”
This is big, big, big (stretch hands far to sides)
This is small, small, small (cup hands together)
This is short, short, short (hold palms close vertically)
This is tall, tall, tall (hold palms far apart vertically)
This is fast, fast, fast (roll hands quickly)
This is slow, slow, slow (roll hands slowly)
This is yes, yes, yes (nod head)
This is no, no, no (shake head)
Credit: Mel’s Desk

Action Rhyme: “Zoom, Zoom, Zoom”
Zoom, zoom, zoom, we’re going to the moon
Zoom, zoom, zoom, we’re going to the moon
If you want to take a trip,
Climb aboard my rocket ship,
Zoom, zoom, zoom, we’re going to the moon
5, 4, 3, 2, 1, blast off!
Credit: Jbrary

Bounce: “A Smooth Road”
A smooth road, a smooth road, a smooth road, a smooth road (bounce baby gently)
A bumpy road, a bumpy road, a bumpy road, a bumpy road (bounce baby faster)
A rough road, a rough road, a rough road, a rough road (bounce baby faster)
A hole!(drop baby gently between your knees)
Credit: Co-worker

Bounce: “Icka Bicka Soda Cracker”
Icka bicka soda cracker, icka bicka boo
Icka bicka soda cracker, up goes you! (lift baby)
Icka bicka soda cracker, icka bicka boo
Icka bicka soda cracker, I love you! (hugs and kisses)
Credit: Co-worker

Fingerplay: “Where Is Thumbkin?”
Where is thumbkin? Where is thumbkin? (put hands behind back)
Here I am! Here I am! (bring hands around from behind the back)
How are you today, sir? Very well, I thank you! (wiggle thumbs, one at a time)
Run away, run away! (hide hands behind back again)
Credit: Childhood

Lift/Song: “The Elevator Song”
Oh the city is great and the city is grand
There’s a whole lot of people
on a little piece of land
And we live way up on the 57th floor
and this is what we do when we open the door.
We take the elevator up and the elevator down,
take the elevator up, take the elevator down
Take the elevator up and the elevator down
And we turn around.
Credit: Jbrary

Lift: “Tick Tock”
Start by swaying baby from side to side
Tick tock, tick tock
I’m a little cuckoo clock
Tick tock, tick tock
Now I’m chiming one o’clock lift once
More verses: Two o’clock, three o’clock
Credit: My co-worker

Movement: “Roly, Poly”
Roly poly, roly poly
Up, up, up
up, up, up
Roly roly poly
roly roly poly
down, down, down
down, down, down
Credit: Jbrary

Song: “Open, Shut Them”
Open, shut them, open, shut them
Give a little clap, clap, clap
Open, shut them, open, shut them
Lay them in your lap, lap, lap
Creep them, crawl them, creep them, crawl them
Right up to your chin, chin, chin
Open up your little mouth
But do not let them in, in, in!
Credit: My co-worker Sarah

Song: “These Are Glasses”
These are my glasses (make glasses with your finger )
This is my book (hands pressed together)
I put on my glasses (put on the glasses)
And open up the book (open your hands)
Now I read read read (hold out the “book”)
And I look look look (look through the glasses)
I put down my glasses (put hands down)
WHOOP (clap hands together)
Close up the book
Credit: Sarah from GreenBeanTeenQueen is the first person who taught me this one! (It’s a Laurie Berkner song.)

June 30, 2015 6 Comments Short URLToddler Storytime

Discovery!: Throwback Games

discovery

For this spring session of “Discovery!”, we switched to a 30-45 minute format instead of the hour long program it had been in the fall. This worked so much better for our families!

I wanted to start off the session with another icebreaker type of activity so that the kids would become familiar with me and be cool with the harder/more complicated things we might try in the future. Instead of doing the parachute as an icebreaker (I did use it later on in the session!), I went with a throwback game session so that parents would also have some fun with me.

To start it off, we read two books:

discovery-throwbackgames

Playground Day by Jennifer J. Merz
Follow the Leader by Erica Silverman

And that led us straight into our games:

1. “Follow the Leader” I played this in a slightly modified version where each child got to tell us what they wanted the group to do. Instead of having the child led the line, we just stayed in our group bunch. Most of the kids decided that we should jump, so be prepared for that possibility.

2. “Red Light, Green Light” I had the kids line up against the wall of our meeting room and stood at the other end. I turned my back to them and called “Green Light” while they all raced towards me. I shouted “Red Light” and turned around quickly to catch any kiddos that didn’t freeze in time. Since I was playing with preschoolers, we did not play for “winners” in any of the games and just played for fun. So as far as the kids know, none of these games have a winner.

3. “Musical Cushions” I wasn’t about to use chairs with preschoolers since that seemed like a recipe for disaster. As each child was knocked out, I let them control the CD player for the next round. Most of the kids decided that the best part of the day was when they got to push the CD player buttons!

4. “Duck, Duck Goose” This is where having parents help the kids was imperative, otherwise they all tried to run at the same time to chase the runner. I spent most of this game running with the “goose” to help them around the circle. Again, we didn’t play for winners, so no one was taken out by the game.

And that was it! I had a few other games in my head (Mother, May I? & Simon Says) but we were running short on time anyways. And I didn’t take any pictures since I was very busy facilitating the whole ordeal, but I sure had fun.

June 29, 2015 0 Comments Short URLPreschool Storytime

Flannel Friday: Animal Flashcards

Adorable animal flashcards are this week’s prop!

2015/01/img_0770-0.jpg

I used these in toddler storytime and sang “Where is Animal?” to the tune of “Where is Thumbkin?”

Prop Song: “Where Are Animals?”**
Where is [animal]? Where is [animals]?
Here I am. Here I am.
How are you today, sir? Very well, I thank you.
Run away. Run away.
Credit: Modified from childhood

I purchased this clip art from Pink Pueblo’s Etsy shop. Each animal print-out was backed with a piece of blue cardstock for stability. Then, together, they were laminated.

—
Andrea is hosting the round-up today! You can also check out our website, Pinterest, or Facebook!

June 26, 2015 6 Comments Short URLFlannels

Families: Boxes

For more information on how I plan and prepare my family storytimes, check out this introduction post. I starred the materials used in the plan. Some activities go unstarred because I only do this program once a week.

The Plan

Books

families-boxes

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell*
Meeow and the Big Box by Sebastien Braun*
My Book Box by Will Hillenbrand
Not a Box! by Antoinette Portis

Early Literacy Tip

Let children explore using their imagination. We’ve all seen the time after we’ve unpacked a new item or toy and our child is more interested in the box than the toy. Let them imagine whatever they want the box to be!

Theme Extension Activities

Featured CD: Wiggleworms’s “Wiggleworms Love You”*

Featured Track: #4 Little Red Caboose*

Flannelboard: “Building Blocks”

Flannelboard: “Color Zoo”*

Prop: “Memory Box”*

Fingerplay: “I Have a Little Turtle”*
I have a little turtle
He lives in a box
He swims in a puddle
And he lives on the rocks
He snapped at a mosquito
He snapped at a flea
He snapped at a minnow
And he snapped at me
He caught the mosquito
He caught the flea
He caught the minnow
But he didn’t catch me!
Credit: Childhood

Repeating Extension Activities

I had four back-up activities in case I needed them for time. I rarely used them, but here they are:

  • Dance Your Fingers Up*
  • Head, Shoulders, Knees, & Toes
  • Itsy Bitsy Spider
  • Thumbkin*

How It Went

This was our time change this past week, so the kids were extra wiggly. The kids sat super well for “Meeow and the Big Box”, but really wanted to come up during “Dear Zoo” and lift the flaps for me. (Luckily I stand for this storytime and there’s no chance of them getting ahead of the flaps.) I skipped the “Building Blocks” flannelboard because I worried that I didn’t have enough pieces for all the kids. (I have fifty pieces.)

June 25, 2015 2 Comments Short URLFamily Storytime

Shake, Shimmy, & Dance: 7/22

For the first time in our library’s history, we ran our own summer reading program — Make Some Noise! What better opportunity to do a bi-weekly music and movement dance party? This program was advertised for ages 0-7 and their families.

shakeshimmyanddance

The Plan

brontorina
Book
Brontorina by James Howe
I love the story of Brontorina. The kids and I did our very best ballet dancer impersonations today and pliéd and relevéd to the best of my teaching ability. (I took two years of ballet when I was a child. I remember first, third, and fifth position. That’s it.) But despite our nowhere near perfect ballet steps, they had a great time dancing and hearing Brontorina’s story.

Props
Parachute! (WARNING: Measure your room before you buy a chute!! This one just fits in our large meeting space, but I almost bought the next size up based on the handles…)

The Playlist

Hello & How Are You? — Old Town School of Folk Music
Walkin’ Shoes — Carole Peterson
The Airplane Song — Laurie Berkner Band
Rolling Ball — Eric Litwin and Michael Levine
Fast & Slow — Laurie Berkner Band
Take the Sun — Caspar Babypants
Very, Very Tall — Old Town School of Folk Music
Shake Hands With Friends — Ella Jenkins

How It Went

The families are officially pros at the parachute. When I ask the kids to touch the wall, they run to it and stay there until I’ve shaken out the chute. I got more than a little teary-eyed during “The Airplane Song” this week — partially because of Angie (who once mentioned that the thought of the kids sitting down in their hometown made her tear up), partially because the kids are so darn cute I can’t even, and partially because I think the new library finally feels like home to me.

(For an example of the Powerpoint and handouts that I made for each Shake, Shimmy please visit the original post.)

June 24, 2015 0 Comments Short URLMusic and Movement

Toddlers: Music

For more information on how I plan and prepare my toddler storytimes, check out this introduction post. And for a complete list of the repeating extension activities, visit this post. I starred the materials used in the plan; multiple stars indicate use for more than one session.

The Plan

Books

t-music

The Babies on the Bus by Karen Katz*
I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More by Karen Beaumont
If You’re Happy and You Know It by David Carter
Row, Row, Row Your Boat by Jane Cabrera*

Early Literacy Tip

Even if you can’t sing on key, be sure to sing to your child! Your child is not looking for a concert-quality song; he/she wants familiar sounds from a person who means a great deal to them.

Theme Extension Activities

Featured CD: Rockin’ Red by The Learning Groove

Featured Track: “I Can Shake My Shaker Egg”*

Flannelboard: “Brown Bear, Brown Bear”*

Flannelboard: “Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes”*

Repeating Extension Activities

  • Open, Shut Them*
  • These Are My Glasses*
  • This Is Big, Big, Big*
  • Zoom Zoom Zoom*

How It Went

Tuesday morning
I had such singing, it was amazing! I should have led off with “Row, Row, Row” though — it would have made a better leading book. The group loved “Zoom Zoom Zoom”! Singing “Brown Bear” is always a tip they love to hear over and over again.

And there were no Thursday classes this week, sadness! I came down with the plague cold that I’m still fighting over a month later.

June 23, 2015 0 Comments Short URLToddler Storytime

Flannel Friday: Lots of Cars!

Today’s flannelboard was one I found at Miss Meg’s Storytime!

2015/01/img_0769-0.jpg

“Lots of Cars”
There are lots of cars driving down the street (pretend to have a steering wheel)
Tell me what color do you see? (place color car on felt board)
Big cars, little cars (spread arms big and little)
Beep! Beep! Beep!
There are lots of cars driving down the street!

I used Homemade by Jill’s car template which I had pinned on Pinterest a few years back. I kept my cars really simple since I was using this flannelboard in toddlers and wanted them to be able to play with them afterwards.

—
Laura is hosting the round-up today! You can also check out our website, Pinterest, or Facebook!

June 19, 2015 10 Comments Short URLFlannels

Families: Ocean

For more information on how I plan and prepare my family storytimes, check out this introduction post. I starred the materials used in the plan. Some activities go unstarred because I only do this program once a week.

The Plan

Books

families-ocean

Fish, Swish, Splash, Dash by Suze MacDonald
Hooray for Fish! by Lucy Cousins*
I’m a Shark! by Bob Shea*
Who’s Is the Ocean? by Dorothea Deprisco

Early Literacy Tip

When we do songs like the “Itsy Bitsy Spider”, we are working on new vocabulary (itsy bitsy, teeny weeny, great big hairy) and letting our children hear the song multiple times. Repetition is so much important for little ears!

Theme Extension Activities

Featured CD: Laurie Berkner’s “Best of Laurie Berkner Band”*

Featured Track: #13 The Goldfish

Flannelboard: “I’m the Biggest Thing In the Ocean”*

Flannelboard: “Five Little Fishes Swimming In the Sea”*
(This is just a play on “Five Little Monkeys Swinging In a Tree” and I used a shark puppet to gobble up the fish.)

Puppet: “If You Ever See a Fishy”* (Tune of “Did You Ever See a Lassie?”)
Did you ever see a fishy, a fishy, a fishy
Did you ever see a fishy, swim this way and that?
Swim this way and that way, and that way and this way?
Did you ever see a fishy, swim this way and that?
Credit: Childhood

Song: “Baby Shark”
Baby shark, do-do doot-doot
Baby shark, do-do doot-doot
Baby shark, do-do doot-doot, doo
(Repeat with Mama Shark, Papa Shark, and Grandpa Shark. Baby Shark is done with two hands, wrists touching to make a shark mouth. Mama Shark is slightly bigger, Papa Shark is bigger than Mama. For Grandpa Shark, fold fingers in and clap with no teeth.)
Credit: My amazing co-worker Amanda

Repeating Extension Activities

I had four back-up activities in case I needed them for time. I rarely used them, but here they are:

  • Dance Your Fingers Up
  • Head, Shoulders, Knees, & Toes
  • Itsy Bitsy Spider*
  • Thumbkin

How It Went

At this point, during our opening song (“Hello Friends”), our American Sign Language has gotten so good! I love seeing the kids and parents/caregivers participate so much during our songs. My crowds keep getting larger and that is such a positive thing! The best part of this storytime was definitely “The Goldfish” — the kids loved dancing along with that song and playing.

June 18, 2015 0 Comments Short URLFamily Storytime

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