storytime katie

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.

The Plan

Books

Big Frog Can’t Fit In by Mo Willems
Dancing Feet by Lindsey Craig
Hooray for Fish by Lucy Cousins
Old MacDonald Had a Farm by Jane Cabrera
A Splendid Friend Indeed by Suzanne Bloom

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “Five Green and Speckled Frogs”

Flannelboard Puzzle: “Letter F”

Action Rhyme: “The Frog”
Croak said the frog, (make croaking sound)
With his golden eyes. (fists up to eyes)
Sitting on a lily pad, (crouch on the ground)
Catching flies. (grab air with hand)
I have a sticky tongue, (stick out tongue)
It’s as fast as can be…
And I catch the mosquitoes (catch bugs again),
1-2-3. (count on three fingers)
Credit: Child Fun

Fingerplay: “Two Friends”
Two little friends are better than one,
And three are better than two
And four are much better still
Just think! What four little friends can do!
Credit: King County Library System

Song: “One, Two, Three, Four, Five”
One, two, three, four, five, (hold up fingers one by one, while counting)
Once I caught a fish alive. (put hands together and wiggle like a fish)
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, (hold up fingers one by one, while counting)
Then I threw it back again. (make throwing motion)
Why did you let it go? (hold hands out asking why)
Because it bit my finger so. (shake hand, as if hurt)
Which finger did it bite? (hold hands out asking why)
This little finger on my right. (wiggle pinky finger)
Credit: Childhood

Craft

This is a craft that I came up on my own. I printed up fish from a Google Image clip art search and then had my teens cut and tie the fish onto the yarn. The kids LOVED this craft and had a great time with their strings of fish.

How It Went

This was a great letter — so many different topics to choose from — and it was a very fun storytime to do. There was a lot of singing with this plan and my daycare kids really make an effort to sing along with me, even if they don’t know all the words. The only thing that didn’t work well was “A Splendid Friend Indeed.” I’ve used it before and it went very well, but it didn’t hold the daycare’s attention like I thought it would.

The Plan

Books

Chew, Chew, Gulp! by Lauren Thompson
Elmer by David McKee
First the Egg by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Five For a Little One by Christ Raschka
I Drive a Fire Engine by Sarah Bridges

Extension Activities

Flannelboard Puzzle: “Letter E”

Flannelboard: “Elephants in the Bathtub”
One elephant in the bathtub going for a swim
Knock, knock (clap twice)
Splash, splash (slap knees twice)
Come on in! (motion with both hands)
…
Five elephants in the bathtub going for a swim
Knock, knock (clap twice)
Splash, splash (slap knees twice)
They all fell in! (knock the felt pieces down)

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: “Eat an Apple”
Eat an apple (bright hand to mouth)
Save the core (close hand in fist)
Plant the seeds (touch the ground)
And grow some more (extend arms up)
Credit: Best Kids Book Site

Craft

I came up with this idea on my own. All of the elephant crafts that I found were adorable, but not practical given that I only have access to crayons and glue at the daycare. So, I decided to spice up a regular coloring sheet by turning it into a puzzle! The kids really enjoyed the puzzle aspect and a lot of them colored their own version of Elmer.

How It Went

Nearly the whole daycare was sick this week, so the kids were very quiet and not their normal boisterous selves. "Elmer" was probably the biggest hit as this group of kids LOVES naming colors. I got the kids to be absolutely silent during "Five for a Little One" as we listened with our ears to hear what we could. It was so quiet, we could hear the clock ticking the seconds down!

The Plan

Books

Dinosaur Vs. the Library by Bob Shea
Hilda Must Be Dancing by Karma Wilson
The Little Dump Truck by Margery Cuyler
One Pup’s Up by Marsha Wilson Chall
10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle

Extension Activities

Flannelboard Puzzle: “Letter D”

Flannelboard Song: “Five Little Ducks”

Action Rhyme: “Dinosaur, Dinosaurs”
Dinosaur, dinosaur, turn around
Dinosaur, dinosaur, touch the ground
Dinosaur, dinosaur, reach up high
Dinosaur, dinosaur, wink one eye
Dinosaur, dinosaur, touch your nose
Dinosaur, dinosaur, touch your toes
Dinosaur, dinosaur, slap your knees
Dinosaur, dinosaur, sit down please
Credit: Childhood

Action Rhyme: “Little Duck”
I saw a little duck go hop, hop, hop (hop three times)
I told the little duck to stop, stop, stop (hold up hand for stop)
I went to the window to say, ‘How do you do?’ (hold out hand for handshake)
He wagged his little tail and far away he flew! (shake tail and fly away)
Credit: Childhood

Fingerplay: “Dance Your Fingers Up”
Dance your fingers up, dance your fingers down
Dance your fingers to the side, dance them all around
Dance them on your shoulders, dance them on you head
Dance them on your tummy, and put them all to bed
Credit: Best Kids Book Site

Puppets: “Five Little Doggies”
Five little doggies were playing in the sun. (Hold up hand, fingers extended.)
This one saw a rabbit, and he began to run. (Bend first finger.)
This one saw a butterfly, and he began to race. (Bend second finger.)
This one saw a pussycat, and he began to chase. (Bend third finger.)
This one tried to catch his tail, and he went round & round. (Bend fourth finger.)
This one was so quiet, he never made a sound. (Bend thumb.)
Credit: Perry Public Library

Craft

I got this amazing craft idea from Totally Tots, and they have done a craft for every letter of the alphabet — I know that I will definitely be using that again. Because this was another outreach storytime, I had the dinosaurs pre-assembled except for the spines, which the kids glued on at the daycare. They colored all over their dinosaurs and some of their names wound up inside their dinosaur’s belly. Quite a few kids made jokes about their dinosaurs eating them!

How It Went

I truly cannot express how blessed and grateful I feel to be doing storytimes with this group of kids. They are amazing listeners, kind-hearted helpers, and it really raises my spirits every time I walk into their classroom and squeals of “MISS KATIE! YOU’RE HERE!” reach my ears again. As for this particular storytime, the kids LOVED “Dinosaur Vs. the Library” and really enjoyed roaring along with the book. “Dance Your Fingers Up” remains one of the best fingerplays that I’ve recently found — definitely add it to your repertoire.

The Plan

Books

Charlie Chick by Nick Denchfield and Ant Parker
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault
Dog’s Colorful Day by Emma Dodd
I’m Not Cute by Jonathan Allen
Toot Toot Beep Beep by Emma Garcia

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”

Flannelboard Puzzle: “Letter C”

Finger Puppets: “Ah-Choo!”
Chicken’s nose tingles
Chicken’s nose twitches
Chicken is going to sneeze!
Baa-choo! Baa-choo! Baa-choo!
(Repeat with different animals)
Credit: Modified from SurLaLune Storytime

Song: “Driving Round In My Car”
Driving round in my little red car
Driving round in my little red car
Driving round in my little red car
Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep!
Credit: Childhood

Craft

This was an easy idea that I’ve done before — teen volunteers punched out the circles from cardstock and the kids assembled their own caterpillars and colored them. They had a great time assembling their caterpillars and writing out their names.

How It Went

This was a very loud and rambunctious storytime — the kids loved shouting out colors in “Toot Toot Beep Beep” and “Dog’s Colorful Day.” And this group had NEVER heard “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” before! I was very glad to fix that and they enjoyed hearing about the letters climbing up the coconut tree. I always love getting to use my “Very Hungry Caterpillar” flannelboard because it was the first one I ever made! The letter puzzles continue to be a huge hit, and I will keep doing it until it gets dull!

The Plan

Books

Banana by Ed Vere
Bears on Chairs by Shirley Parenteau
Book! Book! Book! by Deborah Bruss
Butterfly, Butterfly by Peter Horacek
Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “Letter B” Puzzle

Flannelboard: “Six Little Bumblebees”

Action Rhyme: “Bears Eat Honey”
A bear eats honey (pretend to eat)
He thinks it’s yummy
In his tummy (rub tummy)
But the bees don’t think it’s funny!
Buzzzzzzzzzzz! (make buzzing noise)
Credit: King County Library System

Song and Puppet: “Sleepy Bear” (Tune: Thumbkin)
Where is bear? Where is bear?
Here I am. Here I am.
How are you this winter?
Very tired, thank you.
Go to sleep. Go to sleep.
(Have kids shout “WAKE UP BEAR” to do the song again.)
Credit: Preschool Education Music & Songs — Winter Animals

Craft

Letter B bird! I got this craft idea from Kiboomu. I did the template for the letter B and the feet/beak in Publisher. The feathers were a Google Image Search find. The kids had a great time with this one and one of the teachers said it was her very favorite craft that I had ever done with her class!

How It Went

Even though I was sick during this storytime, I think that it was another rousing success. The kids had a lot of fun making farm noises during “Book, Book, Book,” but the best part of storytime was when I read “Grumpy Bird.” I had everyone make grumpy faces along with me as I read. They alternated between pursing their lips and scrunching up their foreheads and pouting to hysterical laughter. And I figured out a way to let everyone greet Applesauce during storytime by using a set of apples numbered to let everyone have their own turn to pat the puppy.

Welcome to the first letter in my alphabet series! I’m doing the whole series with my daycares and have (at this point) plans to do every letter until I wind up doing “XYZ” together.

The Plan

Books

Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington
Apple Pie ABC by Alison Murray
The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse by Eric Carle
I Love Planes! by Philemon Sturges
LMNO Peas by Keith Baker

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “Five Little Apples”

Flannelboard Puzzle: “Letter A”

Fingerplay: “Way Up High in the Apple Tree”
Way up high in the apple tree
I saw two apples looking at me
I shook that tree as hard as I could
And down came the apples
And mmmm, they were good!
Credit: Childhood

Song: “ABCs”
Credit: Childhood

Song: “Apples and Bananas”
I like to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas (each x2)
(repeat with other vowel sounds)
Credit: Childhood

Song: “The Ants Go Marching”
The ants go marching, one by one, hurrah, hurrah!
The ants go marching, one by one, hurrah, hurrah!
The ants go marching, one by one, the little one stops to suck his thumb
And they all go marching down to the ground, to get out of the rain
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom
(Two by two/the little one stops to tie his shoe; Three by three/the little one stops to climb a tree; Four by four/the little one stops to say “no more!”)
Credit: Childhood

Craft

Alligator Masks! I got this template from KidsSoup and my teen volunteers cut everything out and assembled it. At the daycare, I only have access to crayons and glue, so I’m doing the most basic crafts possible when I’m there.

How It Went

This was my first outreach storytime in a long time. (I think in over a year, actually.) Needless to say, I was pretty nervous about the logistics of the room set-up and how everything would go. I packed up all the books, puppets, and my travel flannelboard and had a WONDERFUL time. The kids were super receptive to the theme and while I was reading “The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse,” they tried to come up with all “A” names for the animals. That led to the crocodile becoming an alligator and one child calling the cow an “ACOW.”