Storytime - Thanksgiving

Books

This is Thanksgiving by Harriet Ziefert

Toddler 

Thank You, Thanksgiving by David Milgrim

Toddler

Thanksgiving by Brenda Haugen (non-fiction)

Preschool

I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie by Alison Jackson

Preschool

I told a version of this story on the felt board. The clip art images were downloaded from Lil' Country Kindergarten.

Songs/Rhymes

Did You Ever See A Turkey?

Sung to: "Did you ever see a Lassie"
Did you ever see a turkey a turkey a turkey
Did you ever see a turkey go this way and that
Go this way and that way and this way and that way
Did you ever see a turkey go this way and that?

--PreschoolEducation.com

Hello Mr. Turkey 

Sung to: "If You're Happy and You Know It"
Hello, Mr. Turkey how are you?
Hello, Mr. Turkey, how are you?
With a gobble, gobble, gobble,
And a wobble, wobble, wobble.
Hello, Mr. Turkey, how are you?

--PreschoolEducation.com

Felt Board

Turkey Feathers

The template and activities were from Felt Board Fingerplays by Liz and Dick Wilmes (Elgin, IL: Building Blocks, 1997). For more information about the two activities, see my Thanksgiving Flannel Friday post about them.

Crafts

Toddler

Pumpkin Pies. Materials: a quarter of a paper plate, one cotton ball, cinnamon, brown construction paper pie crust, tape, glue, and crayons. Glue the pie crust to the piece of pie, then glue the cotton ball (whipped cream) to the pie, and add some more glue. Sprinkle cinnamon on their pies. They smell delicious! *Disclaimer: I did not anticipate that the toddlers would 1. try to eat the cinnamon or 2. put the plate right up to their nose to smell it, resulting in cinnamon smudged noses. The idea came from Little Family Fun.

Preschool

Turkey Puppets. The idea for the craft and the template came from All Kids Network. Instead of using a paper plate, we used small brown paper lunch bags. Materials: paper lunch bags, construction paper pieces, googly eyes, glue, tape, and crayons. This craft could also be used as a centerpiece for a table (put a toilet paper roll inside the turkey so it can stand up on its own).

Flannel Friday - Thanksgiving

It's Flannel Friday and almost Thanksgiving! We had a great time in storytime today with these very cute Thanksgiving flannels.

This flannel can be used for two different activities. The songs and template comes from the book Felt Board Fingerplays by Liz and Dick Wilmes (Elgin, IL: Building Blocks, 1997). I made seven feathers of each color and two turkeys.

The first activity is a matching game. Two turkeys were placed on the board, one with feathers and one without. I gave each toddler a different color feather (red, yellow, orange, green, and brown), then sang the song. At the end of the song, I asked, "Who has a (color name) one? Add it now." The toddlers with that color feather added it to the bare turkey.

The second activity is a guessing game. I put one turkey with all of its feathers on the board, then placed another set of feathers above the turkey. I sang the song and changed the last words to, "Which one is missing? Guess it now." We went through each feather to find the missing color. They usually had it guessed the minute I turned the board around, but they helped silly Miss Mollie figure it out.

The last flannel activity is a retelling of Alison Jackson's I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie. The clip art is from Marlana's site Lil' Country Kindergarten. The link also provides other activities to go along with the story. I told this story to my preschool class, and both parents and children were silent through the whole story, something that doesn't happen often.

This week's roundup is hosted by Cate at Storytiming. She's requesting that participants comment on her post on our Facebook page with a link to their posts.

To see past roundups or the future schedule, head on over to Anne's blog so tomorrow. And as always, our Pinterest page will show the pictures from this week and weeks past.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

Inspired by Flannel Friday - Five Birthday Candles

It's Flannel Friday yet again! On this special day, 11/11/11, blow out a candle and make a wish! This flannel was inspired by Katie (@katietweetsya) at storytime katie.

I used the song "Five Birthday Candles" from I’m a Little Teapot!: Presenting Preschool Storytime by Jane Cobb (Vancouver, BC: Black Sheep Press, 1996), but there are several others to choose from, including Katie's version. You could also make ten candles and use Melissa's song.

Don't forget to see what everyone else has been up to on this lucky Friday. The roundup is hosted by Sharon at Rain Makes Applesauce. Anne at so tomorrow has the archives from weeks past and the schedule for upcoming Fridays. If you're the visual sort, you can see the images of our submissions on our Pinterest page. And last but not least, join our Facebook page and keep the fun going all week long.

Flannel Friday - Five Little Fishies Swimming in the Sea

Happy Fishy Flannel Friday! I did this song with both of my groups this morning and they absolutely loved it.

"Five Little Fishies Swimming in the Sea"

Five little fishies swimming in the sea,

Teasing Mr. Shark,

"You can't catch me!"

When along comes Mr. Shark

Aaaaaaannnnnndddddd SNAP!

--PreschoolEducation

Continue until there are no fishies left. I like to pretend that the fishies were scared away instead of being eaten. At the end I make up a story about the shark feeling all alone and asking the fish to come back. I'm such a sap. 

Head on over to the roundup hosted by Anne to see what other Flannel Friday participants have submitted this week. Anne also has a very special holiday announcement. See all of the pictures of this week and weeks past on Pinterest, and join in the conversation on our Facebook page.

Storytime - Desserts

Books 

Mr. Cookie Baker by Monica Wellington

Toddler

If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Numeroff

Toddler and Preschool

The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins

Preschool

Songs/Rhymes

Five Little Cookies Rhyme

Five little cookies in the bakery shop,
shining bright with some sugar on top.
Along comes (child's name) with a nickel to pay.
He/she buys a cookie and takes it away.
(Continue with four, three, two, and one)

--Preschool Rainbow

Making Cookies

 --I’m a Little Teapot!: Presenting Preschool Storytime by Jane Cobb. Vancouver, BC: Black Sheep Press, 1996.

Craft

The toddlers were given "fruit" squares and a pie template from Mailbox magazine. 

For the preschool class, I set up each table with four half sheets of paper, four cupcakes, two glue sticks, and a big cup of sequins. The preschoolers went to town decorating their cupcakes just so.